The DIY Guide to Taking 12 Years Off Your Life

How-To Guide:  How to age yourself 12 years … 

All you have to do is combine these four common bad habits — smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet — and you too can age an additional 12 years!

This was discovered by tracking almost 5,000 Brits.  I bet they could have found more than 5,000, and I’m positive they could do this study in the US — no problem!  These findings highlight one more reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle ~ unless you are 9 and trying to get a fake ID.

Not everyone partook in all 4 bad habits, but for those who did, 29% of them died during the study. The most common causes of death included heart disease and cancer, both related to unhealthy lifestyles.

 The study also include people who had no “bad habits” (you know; boring people – lol) and only 8% of them died during the course of the study. 

You might think that you don’t really have any “bad” habits, but the way the study defined them might make you stop and think.  The aging behaviors were: smoking tobacco; indulging in more than three alcoholic drinks per day for men and more than two daily for women; getting less than two hours of physical activity per week; and eating fruits and vegetables fewer than three times daily.

When you combine all these risky behaviors, the risk of death increased substantially and made people who engaged in them seem 12 years older than people in the healthiest group. 

The good news is that you don’t need to be fanatical to be in the healthy category.  These behaviors add up and are cummulative, so it should be possible for most people to manage to do it.

For example, a side salad, one apple and a glass of  juice (not fruit punch) would suffice for the fruit and vegetable cutoffs in the study.  The amounts are pretty modest and less strict than many guidelines.  Compare this to the USDA recommendations of at least 4 cups of fruits or vegetables daily for adults, depending on age and activity level; and about 2½ hours of exercise weekly.

Eating healthfuly, exercising, drinking in moderation and no smoking combine to create an Anti-aging lifestyle, and isn’t that what we all want? 

Posted by Laurie Puckett, Remmel Wellness Center, a full service chiropractic and wellness facility in St. Petersburg, Florida.