Eat chocolate, drink wine, add fun to life: SLU geriatrician shares secrets of staying young
November 19, 2007Little lifestyle changes can pay big dividends to aging baby boomers who want to stay vibrant, says John Morley, M.D., director of the division of geriatric medicine at Saint Louis University, in a new book that outlines a 10-step program to improve quality of life as we age.
“Living well and feeling good enough to do whatever you want to do throughout your lifetime is priceless,” says Morley, who is coauthor of “The Science of Staying Young.”
“I suggest little changes that involve good eating, such as including dark chocolate in your diet, drinking wine, socializing and adding simple exercises that anyone can do. It’s more fun than most people think. Being proactive about living well and feeling better for the rest of your life, regardless of your current chronological age, doesn’t have to be a chore.”
Morley, who co-directs Saint Louis University’s Center for Aging Successfully, pushes those who want to stay young to add a little SPF – spontaneous physical fun -- to their lives.
He advocates fidgeting in your office chair to burn calories, spending time walking from your car to the mall rather than driving to find a close parking space, working in your garden, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or going dancing once a week.
“Spontaneous physical fun is such a logical thing, and so appealing,” he says.
Morley and coauthor Sheri Colberg, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist and professor of exercise science at Old Dominion University in Virginia, are clear that their book is not a guide to living longer. Rather it is a passport to living better, packed with practical tips to stay young, healthy and vital.
“We both fervently believe that enjoying life is far more important than adding years, particularly if those additional years are spent in poor health,” Morley says.
“Quality of life is more important than quantity of days. Do you want to have more energy, be healthier, feel mentally sharper and rev up your sex drive? All of these are quality questions.”
In his book, Morley blends advice for living better with a prescription to detect medical problems early, when they are most easily treated. “It’s all about being proactive. Boomers like to ask questions, and we’re giving some answers so they can take control of their lives,” he says.
The book breaks the science of staying young into 10 steps.
“The process of getting older, although inevitable, can be a difficult one, both physically and mentally,” Morley says. “But take heart, because you can do many things to keep yourself feeling and looking younger than you really are.”
Source: Saint Louis University
-
'Un-growth hormone' increases longevity
Dec 23, 2010 |
4.6 / 5 (14) |
3
-
Smartphone app illuminates power consumption
Nov 20, 2009 |
1.5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
Black Holes: Eternal Prisons No More, Stephen Hawking's Lecture
Mar 16, 2009 |
4 / 5 (59) |
98
-
Putting a new spin on current research
Nov 15, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (14) |
0
-
Vodafone's CEO survives -- for now
Jul 25, 2006 |
1 / 5 (5) |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
Starve a virus, feed a cure? Findings show how some cells protect themselves against HIV
A protein that protects some of our immune cells from the most common and virulent form of HIV works by starving the virus of the molecular building blocks that it needs to replicate, according to research published online ...
10 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Overeating may double risk of memory loss
New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. The study was released today and will be ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
6 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Injured boomers beware: Know when to see doctor
(AP) -- It happened to nurse Jane Byron years after an in-line skating fall, business owner Haralee Weintraub while doing "men's" push-ups, and avid cyclist Gene Wilberg while lifting a heavy box.
11 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Declining health-care productivity in England: Who says so?
Reports that the National Health Service in England has been declining in productivity in the last decade appear to have been accepted as fact. However, a Viewpoint published Online First by The Lancet disputes this. The Vi ...
4 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
FDA-approved drug rapidly clears amyloid from the brain, reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice
Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, show t ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Feb 09, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (58) |
17
|
Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy
For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...
New method to examine batteries -- MRI from the inside
There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived ...
Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...
A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell
Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...
Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact
Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.
Researchers find extensive RNA editing in human transcriptome
In a new study published online in Nature Biotechnology, researchers from BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, reported the evidence of extensive RNA editing in a human cell line by analysis of RNA-seq data, demons ...
Nov 20, 2007
Rank: not rated yet
Nov 20, 2007
Rank: not rated yet