Beer, workaholism, and shopping are our faithful helpers in this delicate matter. We survive in every way that is available, but there are more interesting things than morning exercises, vegetarianism, and avoiding alcohol.
1. Save Water, Drink Beer
According to a report published in the Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research journal, observations have shown that moderate alcohol consumption (one to three drinks per day) is associated with the lowest mortality rates, while total abstinence from alcohol increases the risks. Moreover, the study found that the mortality rate among the people, who do not drink, is actually higher than among mature alcoholics.
This does not mean you have to drink a bottle of Jack Daniels every night. Experts recommend moderation and red wine because it is believed that red grapes improve blood circulation and have a positive effect on the heart.
2. Make Love
Science has proven that the people who restrain their sexual activity can rightfully be considered foolish. Some of them believe this will help them live longer! But the bright minds, who have conducted a panel study in Caerphilly, have found that sexual activity has a “protective effect” on health.
Sex improves the physical well-being, reduces stress and speeds up the brain. In addition, the study found that the men who often reach orgasm (about a hundred times a year), can expect to prolong their life for three to eight years and reduce the risk of death by 50%.
3. Go Shopping
The study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health shows that daily shopping helps to reduce mortality by 28% in men and 23% women. This does not mean you have to withdraw all the money from your accounts in an attempt to improve health. The pluses of shopping are not in buying more things – they are connected with walking and communicating with people more often.
4. Laugh
It’s not just that laughter makes you happier. Norwegian scientists have found that the one who takes life with humor can count on additional eight years of life.
Laughter of an average intensity helps keep blood vessels elastic. But hysterical laughter may excessively stimulate the internal organs, which can lead to health problems.
5. Use Dental Floss
Dentists spend half of their life trying to convince us to use dental floss. And apparently, it is very wise advice: leading gerontologist Dr. Thomas Pearl believes that dental floss can extend your life for one and a half years. Its use prevents gum diseases, which are a sign of chronic bacterial infections in the mouth. These bacteria can affect the performance of the heart: they move into the arteries where they promote the formation of blood clots. In addition, the body’s immune resources are pulled away to fight the bacteria that leads to narrowing the arteries.
6. Don’t Be Skinny
Media often force women to become extremely slim. But the researchers from Oxford University found that women with wide hips, thighs and butts face a lower risk of heart disease and abnormalities in metabolism. According to Doctor Konstantinos Manolopoulos, both shape and the location of fat deposits are important. Apparently, when fat is accumulated on the hips and lower back, it helps to absorb fatty acids, which could lead to clogged arteries. Therefore, let your partner support Beyonce in you rather than Kate Moss.
7. Win an Oscar or a Nobel Prize
Okay, maybe it’s not so easy, but more motivated people should know about the belief that getting awards can be good for your health.
Actors and directors who have received the “Oscar” turn out to live an average of four and a half years longer than their counterparts without an award. The same can be said about Olympic medalists: their life is approximately three years longer than the life of other athletes. A Nobel Prize winner lives a year or two longer than those who were nominated, but did not receive the award. Obviously, the whole point is in the victory.
8. Drink Coffee
The study published in the Yearbook of Therapy shows that the women who drink horrendous amounts of coffee – about six cups a day – are 25% less likely to die from heart disease, while those who drink little or no coffee are more susceptible to heart attacks. The pluses of abundant use of caffeine do not apply to men. However, according to the study, men’s health is not impaired by the consumption of coffee.
9. Don’t Sit, Stand up!
Sitting for a long time is a direct path to diabetes, cancer and premature death. A new study shows that sitting less than three hours a day can increase your life expectancy for two years. Those who work in the office can find it problematic to reduce the time of sitting in a chair to three hours a day. However, the news is enough to vote for the introduction of special desks instead of office chairs.
10. Be Attractive
Even though there are a lot of reasons to feel disgust for those who hit the jackpot in the genetic lottery, this is yet another reason to hate attractive people. According to the research conducted by the University of Waterloo, attractive people live longer than ugly ones. This finding corresponds to the evolutionary theory of sexual selection, which states that people choose partners on the basis of their biological features (such as a healthy and beautiful appearance), indicating good genes.
11. Earn a Lot of Money
Obviously, money can help you buy more than happiness. Wealth and socio-economic status play a key role in determining the life span, as the most lasting longitudinal study of health shows. In accordance with what scientists call “the social gradient of health”, people who receive higher education and make a successful career, are more inclined to think about the future and can make better decisions, keeping a long healthy life in mind.
12. Work as Long as You Can
The discovery, which seems to contradict the logic, was made on the basis of a 90-year study, which included 1,528 people. Those who are actively building their career in middle age live longer than those who retire early.
13. Use Garlic Health Benefits
Besides the supposed anti-vampire effect, garlic is one of the best medicinal plants that you can eat. It contains a special combination of protective ingredients that help support the immune system of the body and its natural defense.
It has been proved that garlic is good for the heart and the respiratory tract; it reduces the possibility of cancer and is a powerful antiseptic, which repels harmful bacteria. In order to fully assess the benefits of this wonderful plant, it is best eaten raw. Think of a chewing gum in advance.
14. Eat Nuts, Apples and Chocolate
Let’s be honest: it is great, of course, that apples and nuts are good for your health, but you are reading this section in order to justify a chocolate lover that lives inside you. And yes, studies show that dark chocolate is not only good for the heart; it can increase life expectancy. Scientists at Harvard have shown that those who eat chocolate live about a year longer than those who do not treat themselves with it. The people, who were eating one to three chocolate bars a month, showed the best results: their risk of premature death was 36% lower.
