Ultralongevity - Living Longer
Ultralongevity
By Mark Liponis, M.D.
The newest medical research shows that the best way to live a long, healthy life is to have a healthy immune system. How do you get one? By reducing your immune system's activity -- a quiet, peaceful immune system is a strong, happy one.
Science has long known that an overactive immune system leads to autoimmune diseases. Now it appears that every disease of aging -- from heart attacks to cancer -- is related to immune over-activity. Here are ten tips by Dr. Mark Liponis, author of 'Ultralongevity,' that will help you take the best possible care of your immune system so that you can live (almost) forever.
Living Well
Avoid Antibiotics
Frequent antibiotic use prematurely ages the immune system and is linked to a number of health effects, including heart disease, allergies, asthma, and even breast cancer. Such usage is a sign of someone whose immune system is often in battle mode, fighting an infection but also wreaking havoc on his or her health in the process.
Floss
Yes, floss! Flossing helps reduce plaque buildup in the teeth and gums. Plaque is a thick coating of nasty bacteria and is linked with an overactive immune system and a doubled risk of cardiovascular disease. Research has also shown that periodontal disease doubled the risk of stroke in adults over 25.
Make Love
Just what you were waiting for: Sex is good for you! And not just sex; few things quiet down a revved-up immune system better than loving and feeling loved. When you're loved, not only does everything seem better in the world, it is better in your body, too.
Play with Rover
An animal companion plays an important role in supporting your immune system. Dogs and cats (and other pets) create contact with most of the harmless germs your immune system needs to know as it develops in childhood. Without exposure to the right germs, your immune system may react to everything from pollen to grass, leading to allergies, asthma, and skin rashes.
Forget Three Meals -- Graze All Day Long
Despite what you might think, eating three large meals a day is no longer considered healthy. Meals are one of the biggest stresses on your immune system, and the bigger the meal, the greater the stress. Instead, feel free to graze all day -- as long as you eat small amounts each time.
Lower Your Voice
Have you been angry recently? Have you yelled at anyone? Your kids? Your spouse? At the office? Even when your voice gets a little edgy, it's a sign of inner hostility, and that tells your immune system you're geared up for a fight. Translation: Get ready to be hurt by an overactive immune system.
Sleep
When you sleep, your immune system can finally relax, recharge, and repair. It can't do this during the day -- it's too busy defending you. This is why it's difficult to sleep when you're sick, because your immune system is so damn active. All kinds of repair processes occur during sleep, while sleep deprivation is an important cause of immune over-activation.
Exercise In Rhythm
Dance! Sway! Move to the beat! The latest research suggests that while exercise is great, rhythmic exercise is even better -- numerous studies of athletes show that those who moved the most rhythmically (i.e. swimmers and rowers) enjoyed the lowest immune system activity. Other studies have shown that adding music to rehabilitation improves the outcome. So don't just walk -- walk to the beat!
Eat a Few Brazil Nuts
Maintaining a good diet is important for your immune system. Healthy, balanced meals emphasizing plant-based foods will give you all the requisite vitamins and minerals. One of these minerals is selenium, which helps prevent autoimmune diseases. And one of the best sources of selenium is the Brazil nut -- although you shouldn't eat more than six a day.
Let the Sun Shine On You
Too much sun exposure can lead to skin cancer. But that doesn't mean you should avoid sunlight, which is the primary way we get our vitamin D. Twenty minutes of daily sun exposure on the face and arms--or any other similarly sized body part -- meets the need for your daily D requirement.
More on AOL Body: Living Well
▪ Better Body, Better Life
▪ Live a Longer, Healthier Life
▪ Surprising Ways to Live Longer
Recent Comments
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3 comments
XaamoTTomaaX 06:26:45 PM Jun 29 2008
Wha!? In the medical community? Hardly. Every time you bring a child to the doctor with a cold the reflex reaction is to prescribe AB's in the same way they over drug every other condition whether actual or manufactured (ADHD for ex.). Doctors and drug companies are in bed together and they all profit from our poor health. Please don't tout the capitalistic and corrupt medical community as anything more than a business community. If you want to take care of yourself, do it the right way and the right way is not to over drug your body which is the common philosophy in the "medical community". Sure some drugs have their place but if you have ever been behind the scenes in a doctor's office you would know that the drug reps give all sorts of perks and kick backs to doctors in exchage for the doctors prescribing their drugs as often as "legally" possible.
LGTHINK 03:30:12 PM Jun 29 2008
TO MIKEE: IT'S WELL KNOWN IN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY, AND IN THE GENERAL POPULATION THAT ANTIBIOTICS DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD IN THE LONG RUN. HAVEN'T YOU EVER HEARD THAT?!? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
mikee60369 09:56:12 AM Jun 29 2008
"Avoid Antibiotics"..."which can prematurely age the immune system". Wuh? Prove that claim.
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3 comments
