How To Live Longer——10 Strange Ways

10.Living Long By Learning A New Language

Good brain function is an important ingredient of healthy longevity. Ability to speak 2 or more languages ensures good brain function. This ability delays the onset of Dementia (loss of memory due to old age) and Alzheimer’s (Loss of memory due to disease mostly during middle age). Studies have proven that both these conditions can be delayed by at least 5 years if the person in question possesses the ability to speak 2 or more languages.

9. Starve To Smartness

Low calorie diet results in long healthy life and delays the signs of ageing like insulin resistance and elevated blood pressure. It has been proved in animals that if they are kept hungry while provided all the essential nutrients then they live longer. Now humans are also trying low calorie diets by stopping eating short of being full and it has resulted in many beneficial health effects.

8. Being Religious

A few studies have proven that those who follow some religion live longer than atheists. This might either be due to stronger social support among the religious communities or due to direct divine intervention.

7. Dwell On Mountains

It is now a proven fact that communities living on mountains live longer as compared to those living in the plains. A good proportion of these communities live to be 100 or more and living examples are high-country Colorado counties and tiny communities of Sardinia. This long-life effect of living on heights could be due to fresh mountain air or due to good work out given to your heart by uphill walk or because of both the reasons.

6. Gene Therapy

Although not available for human beings but it has been proven to prolong life in mice by 24%. It was tested in mice of all ages and was found to be successful in all age groups but younger the mice more successful the therapy was because younger mice treated with this technique lived longer than older mice treated with this technique.

 5.Busy And Work Hard To the Limit

A project analyzed data collected about 1500 children over a period of 80 years , starting in 1921 showed that those individuals lived longer who were most involved with and committed to their jobs as adults. While those individuals who were happy-go-lucky, carefree and had a good sense of humor lived shorter. Although it is said that happiness and health go hand in hand but people are happy because they are healthy and not other way round.

4. Become Rich

The ‘Haves’ live longer than the ‘have nots’. Hence stop thinking about getting rid of all your belongings and consumerism to live a simple life. Rich countries have a long life expectancy among their residents as compared to those of living in poor countries and even in rich countries rich people live longer than poor ones. Hence work hard and get rich if you really want to live a longer and healthier life.

3. New Body Organs

New body organs except brain can be grown using ones ones own cells. These organs can be used to replace those which bail out on the  person in question due to ageing. Because when you die only one vital organ fails while others are working perfectly alright. Since these organs are grown from one’s own cells hence there is no question of rejection. Skin is being grown for quite sometime in laboratories while now it has become possible to grow even more complicated organs like heart and bladder.

2. Right Kind Of Medicines

The desire of many for eternal life or at least longer life has led to the research for such medicines which could prolong the life of the human beings. One such medicine is rapamycin which prolonged life by 14 % in mice but since its use in humans is for suppressing the immune system in transplant patients hence it increases the risk for development of cancer.  Some more research for its further refinement can lead to development of a useful drug for prolonging the life of human beings.

1. Do Good Deeds In This World

You should not always be saying me, me, me, rather you should always be ready to help others. One of the ways to help yourself is to help others. A review of more than thirty longitudinal studies carried out by the Corporation for National and Community Service found that volunteering increases your life expectancy significantly, especially if you’re doing it for purely altruistic reasons.

Not only that, volunteering builds your social networks, and having a lot of friends around you in your old age also helps you live longer. The same effect isn’t noted for family relations, though. What’s that saying, you can choose your friends..?

Tip of the day

Fresh food gives the body the essential vitamins and minerals needed by it. Preserved food contains a lot of harmful chemicals that are bad for the body.

Bags Under Eyes; Causes, Symptoms, Treatments And Lifestyles

Bags under eyes — mild swelling or puffiness under the eyes — are common as you age. With aging, the tissues around your eyes, including some of the muscles supporting your eyelids, weaken. Normal fat that helps support the eyes can then migrate forward into the lower eyelids, causing the lids to appear puffy. Fluid also may accumulate in the space below your eyes, adding to a swollen appearance.

Bags under eyes are usually a cosmetic concern and rarely a sign of a serious underlying medical condition. At-home remedies, such as cold compresses, can help improve the appearance of bags under eyes. For persistent or bothersome under-eye puffiness, cosmetic treatments are available.

Symptoms

Bags under eyes can include:

Mild swelling
Saggy or loose skin
Dark circles
When to see a doctor
You may not like the way they look, but bags under eyes are usually harmless and don’t require medical care. However, see your doctor if the swelling:

Is severe and persistent

Is accompanied by redness, itching or pain

Affects other parts of your body, such as your legs

Your doctor will want to rule out other possible causes that can contribute to the swelling, such as kidney or thyroid problems, infection, or an allergy.

Causes:
As you age, the tissue structures and muscles supporting your eyelids weaken. The skin may start to sag, and fat that is normally confined to the area around the eye (orbit) can migrate forward below your eyes. Also, the space below your eyes can accumulate fluid, making the under-eye area appear puffy or swollen. Several factors can lead to this, including:

Fluid retention due to changes in weather (for example, hot, humid days), hormone levels or eating salty foods

Sleeping flat on your back

Not getting enough sleep

Allergies or dermatitis, especially if puffiness is accompanied by redness and itching

Heredity

Treatments:
Bags under eyes are usually a cosmetic concern and don’t require specific treatment. Depending on the cause of the swelling, home and lifestyle treatments, such as applying cold compresses or sleeping with your head raised, can help reduce or eliminate puffy eyes.

Medical and surgical treatments are available if you’re concerned about the appearance of under-eye swelling. Treatment may not be covered by medical insurance if it’s done solely to improve your appearance.

Skin treatments-
Skin treatments traditionally done to treat wrinkles, such as laser resurfacing or chemical peels, may improve skin tone and tighten the skin. This may lessen the appearance of under-eye swelling and improve any discoloration.

Eyelid surgery-
Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) is an option to remove bags under eyes. During blepharoplasty, the surgeon cuts just below the lashes in your eye’s natural crease or inside the lower lid. The surgeon removes excess fat and sagging skin. Depending on where the initial incisions are made, stitches may follow the lower lid’s natural crease or be placed inside the lower eyelid.

In addition to correcting bags under eyes, blepharoplasty can also repair:

Baggy or puffy upper eyelids
Excess skin of the upper eyelid that interferes with your vision
Droopy lower eyelids, which may cause white to show below the iris — the colored part of the eye
Excess skin on lower eyelids

Lifestyle and home remedies
The following tips can help you reduce or eliminate bags under eyes:

Use a cool compress. Wet a clean washcloth with cool water. While sitting up, apply the damp washcloth to the skin under and around your eyes for a few minutes using mild pressure.
Get enough sleep at night. For most adults, seven to eight hours a night appears to be the best amount of sleep.

Sleep with your head slightly raised. Add an extra pillow or prop up the head of your mattress. Or, elevate the entire head of the bed a few inches. This helps prevent fluids from accumulating around your eyes as you sleep.

Reduce allergy symptoms. Avoid allergens when possible, and ask your doctor about over-the-counter or prescription allergy medications. Talk to your doctor about prevention strategies if you develop under-eye reactions due to hair dyes, soaps, cosmetics or other allergens.

Tips for Quitting Smoking

Smoking is regarded medically as an habit that is particularly injurious to ones health, on top of this is the fact that it is also very addictive in nature; this explains the reason why it is not an easy task to carry out when it comes to quitting smoking. However, for those desirous of achieving this goal, it is the resilience and self-determination that matter most.  Below are some pragmatic tips that can assist with quitting smoking.

Decide on a Specific Quit Date
For some people, choosing a particular date to quit is helpful when no or low stress is anticipated for at least the first three days afterward. If smokers lose their nerve on the chosen day, they must not get discouraged but should simply choose another one as soon as possible.

Let the Body and Mind Heal during Withdrawal
Retreat from the world when cravings become overwhelming: take naps, warm baths or showers, meditate, read novels.
Assist the body in getting rid of nicotine. Drink plenty of water, eat fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fiber-rich foods. Carrots, apples, and celery are good munching foods.
When cravings occur, hold your breath as long as possible or take a few deep rhythmic breaths.
Use meditation or relaxation and deep breathing exercises. In fact, taking deep breaths when the urge to smoke occurs is a good stop gap measure.

Get Family and Friends Involved
Tell all your friends and family that you’ve already quit, so you’ll be embarrassed if they catch you smoking. Pay a family member or friend if they catch you smoking. The amount should be large enough to be a deterrent, but not too large as to be ridiculous. If your partner smokes, try and persuade him or her to quit or at the very least not to smoke around you and others.

Exercise
An enjoyable exercise program is a great asset. Studies continue to show that smokers who exercise, vigorously if possible, can greatly increase their ability to quit smoking, while reducing their risk for weight gain. Move the muscles when craving occurs. Dance, run, walk, jump up and down, stretch, do push-ups. Yoga is an excellent exercise program for quitting.

Maintain a Healthy Diet
Eat plenty of fresh, crunchy fruits and vegetables. This is also a useful way of satisfying oral cravings without adding many calories.

Drink plenty of water and healthy beverages.
Weight gain is a problem in quitting. One study reported that a low-calorie diet during withdrawal and for the first few weeks helped women prevent weight gain and improved abstinence significantly compared to those on a normal diet, even when subjects went off this diet later on.

Change Daily Habits
Change the daily schedule as much as possible. Eat at different times or eat many small meals instead of three large ones, sit in a different chair, rearrange the furniture.
Find other ways to close a meal. Play a tape or CD, eat a piece of fruit, get up and make a phone call, or take a walk (a good distraction that burns calories as well).
Substitute oral habits e.g. eat unsweetened, chew sugarless gum, suck on a cinnamon stick. One small research study comparing men who had quit for 10 years with those who failed found that those who substituted other types of oral behavior were more likely to succeed in quitting than those who didn’t. People who simply tried to distract themselves with busy activities were typical of those who relapsed.
Go to public places and restaurants where smoking is prohibited or restricted.

Set short-term quitting goals
Set short-term quitting goals and reward yourself when they are met, or every day put the money normally spent on cigarettes in a jar and buy something pleasurable at the end of a predetermined period of time.
Find activities that focus the hands and mind but are not taxing or fattening: computer games, solitaire, knitting, sewing, whittling, crossword puzzles.
Avoid substituting smoking with heavy drinking of alcohol, caffeine, or other stimulants or mood altering substances.

Tip of day

Mental health is d positive balance of the social, physical, economic and mental aspects of one's life and is as important as physical health.

Reasons You Should Take Dinner Before 7pm

According to Louis J. Arnone, director of the comprehensive weight control program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, eating late at night is the equivalent of eating an extra meal. It also elevates triglyceride levels, which are associated with metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and heart disease.

More reasons to stop eating after 7pm:

If you eat late at night, your body stores the calories instead of burning them off. Weight gain, here we come! On the positive side, when you finish eating dinner before 7pm (assuming you go to bed before 11pm), you give your body time to digest the food you’ve eaten. That in turn means your stomach is not trying to work while you’re sleeping. That means less chance of acid reflux. And of course you’ll sleep better, which leads to better overall health.

Don’t believe that eating after 7pm will make you fat? Just ask Dr. Bob Greene, who works with Oprah. Every time he’s helped her take off the weight, one of the key components is closing up the kitchen at 7pm sharp.

Getting Started:

Even though this is a simple daily change, it’s not easy to do at first – especially if you have an evening snack habit! The best way to approach this change is to keep in mind that it’s just a habit – your body doesn’t need any of those calories.

Get the process started by making sure to eat a well-balanced dinner by 7pm. If you still have cravings later in the evening, you can have a snack – just substitute your regular evening snack with healthy alternatives. For example, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, or blackberries are high in fiber, rich in anti-oxidants, and are quickly digested. Carrot sticks and hummus are also a great substitution.

Finally, make sure not to stay up too late, or the cravings will kick in no matter what you eat!

Directions:

Finish eating by 7pm every evening.

Clinical Pear: Cutaneous and Gastrointestinal Purpura

A 38-year-old previously healthy man presented with progressive rash, abdominal pain, arthralgia, and low-grade fever that had lasted for 2 weeks despite treatment with oral prednisolone at a dose of 30 mg per day. Physical examination showed diffuse abdominal tenderness and palpable purpura distal to the knees (Panel A). The white-cell count and C-reactive protein level were elevated (13,600 cells per cubic millimeter [normal range, 3900 to 9000] and 6.5 mg per liter [normal value, <3.0], respectively), but other laboratory tests, including platelet count and urinalysis, were normal. Computed tomography revealed thickening of the duodenal and jejunal walls. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed purpuric lesions in the descending duodenum (Panel B). The duodenal and skin biopsies revealed leukocytoclastic vasculitis with IgA deposition, which is consistent with IgA vasculitis (Henoch–Schönlein purpura). The patient was treated with high-dose glucocorticoids including pulse therapy, which were tapered successfully after cyclosporine was added to the treatment. IgA vasculitis, a systemic small-vessel vasculitis, causes palpable purpura in the lower extremities, abdominal pain, arthralgia, and glomerulonephritis. Gastrointestinal endoscopy may reveal vasculitic lesions that are similar to those observed in cutaneous vasculitis.

Source url: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMicm1302936

Tip of the day

If you are enduring an intense lower back pain that consistently throbs, then you may be experiencing kidney stone symptons

10 Home Remedies to treat Chapped Lips

Causes of Chapped Lips:

Some factors that lead to chapped lips are

• Deficiency of vitamins, iron or essential fatty acids.
• Allergic reaction to some chemicals.
• Dehydration
• Excessive licking of lips
• Exposure to sun radiations
• Smoking
• Certain medications
• Change in climatic conditions

Home Remedies for Chapped Lips:

• Coconut oil is very effective in treating chapped lips. Simply apply small amount of oil on your lips several times daily.
• Aloe Vera is an amazing healing agent for our skin. Put a small amount of Aloe Vera gel on your lips daily to cure chapped lips.
• Crush some rose petals and add few drops of glycerin on them. Apply it on your lips every night before going to bed. It will help you to retain the color and lost moister of your lips.
• Rub a slice of cucumber on your lips to get rid of chapped lips.
• Apply castor oil on your dry lips to make them smooth and pink.

• Honey is a great moisturizer. Rub some honey to your chapped lips to heal them fast and retain their moisture.
• Apply some mustard oil into your naval. It is one of the most effective remedy to get rid of chapped lips.
• Mix together one tsp each of glycerin, lemon juice and castor oil. Apply this on your lips and leave it overnight. Wipe it off with cotton dipped in water in morning.
• Apply milk cream on your lips to heal the lips and to keep them soft.
• Apply a paste of honey and Vaseline on the lips and leave them for 10-15 minutes. Remove it by using a cotton ball dipped in warm water.

Some Do’s and Don’ts:

• To avoid dry, dark and patchy lips always apply sunscreen on your lips before stepping out.
• Never peel the dead dry skin from the lips.
• Keep your body hydrated by drinking lots of water. People who do not drink sufficient water are more prone to get dry lips and dry skin.
• Gently buff your lips, using a soft toothbrush, to get rid of the deposit of dead cells that will cause more drying and flaking.
• Never ever lick of bite your lips, it will cause more chapping.
• Vitamin A rich food, like, carrots, tomatoes and green leafy vegetables should be included in the diet to solve the problem of chapped lips.
• Apply lip balm every night prior to sleeping. Use pure shea butter if possible.