6 Reasons to Drink Water

 Reasons to Drink Water

It's no magic bullet, but the benefits of water are many.

Americans seem to carry bottled water everywhere they go these days. In fact, it has become the second most popular drink (behind soft drinks). But water lovers got a jolt recently when we heard that a new report had found that the benefits of drinking water may have been oversold. Apparently, the old suggestion to drink eight glasses a day was nothing more than a guideline, not based on scientific evidence.

But don't put your water bottle or glass down just yet. While we may not need eight glasses, there are plenty of reasons to drink water. In fact, drinking water (either plain or in the form of other fluids or foods) is essential to your health.

"Think of water as a nutrient your body needs that is present in liquids, plain water, and foods. All of these are essential daily to replace the large amounts of water lost each day," says Joan Koelemay, RD, dietitian for the Beverage Institute, an industry group.

Kaiser Permanente nephrologist Steven Guest, MD, agrees: "Fluid losses occur continuously, from skin evaporation, breathing, urine, and stool, and these losses must be replaced daily for good health," he says.

When your water intake does not equal your output, you can become dehydrated. Fluid losses are accentuated in warmer climates, during strenuous exercise, in high altitudes, and in older adults, whose sense of thirst may not be as sharp.

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Simple Ways to Live a Healthy Lifestyle

Live a Healthy Lifestyle

You hear a lot about living a healthy lifestyle, enough that the phrase 'healthy lifestyle' may be one we'd like to permanently retire. The problem is, that phrase describes the life we need to live if we want to feel good and look good. So, what does it actually mean? Well, there are the obvious things that describe a healthy person: He or she doesn't smoke, is at a healthy weight, eats healthy foods and exercises on a regular basis. It sounds so simple, it's funny just how hard it is to do all of those things in our current world.

The good news is, you don't have to change everything at the same time. In fact, the trick to healthy living is making small changes. Take more steps each day, adding fruit to your cereal, having an extra glass of water or saying no to that second helping of buttery mashed potatoes. So, what else can you be doing to live healthy? Your first order of business is to start exercising.

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Improve Your Memory

Improve Your Memory

Tips to boost your memory and keep it strong for years to come.

Sometimes I think my memory is actually too good. Like when I realize I still know the lyrics to nearly every song released in the '80s. Or that I can recite, verbatim, lines from at least half a dozen episodes of Seinfeld and Sex and the City. But then I'll go to transfer a load of laundry into the dryer and discover that it's already dry; seems I forgot to ever turn on the washer. Or I'll forget my neighbor's name — again. Could it be that sitcom dialogue and song lyrics are taking up so much brain space there's none left for remembering when my next dentist appointment is or whether I've mailed the mortgage payment this month?

There's certainly a lot more information to commit to memory these days. "I used to have one phone number, one bank account, and no passwords," my 73-year-old mother says wistfully. "Now, between work, home, and my cell, I have four phone numbers, plus a bank-account number and PIN, and at least seven passwords, including a code for the copy machine in my office."

She blames 21st-century information overload for her everyday memory lapses — misplacing her glasses or walking into the kitchen only to forget what she needed there. "There's some truth to that," says Gary Small, M.D.,director of the Memory & Aging Research Center at UCLA. "And it's also likely that because there are more memory challenges now, our slips are more noticeable."

But Dr. Small won't let my mom — or me — off that easily. "Our lives may be more frenetic, but we actually have the capacity to remember much more than we do," he says. "We simply need to work on improving our attention."

Fortunately, research is yielding new ways to do that, to sharpen memory now and keep it strong as we get older. Read on for these short- and long-term strategies.

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50 Ways to Get More Active

 Ways to Get More Active

Here are some ideas for how to get more active.

Note: If the idea of exercising vigorously scares you, start with small doses. Do an activity that will get your heart beating faster, even just for a few minutes at a time.

Walk briskly, climb a few extra stairs, walk up a hill, tread water and stretch in the pool instead of just lounging, skip rope or play tag with the children. Aim to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day.

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How To Eat To Live To 100

Eating For Longevity

Over the past century, average life expectancy has increased radically in the United States. With this increase, it has become more common for people to live to extremely old ages, even up to 100 years.

Many characteristics play into a person's life expectancy. However, diet seems to play a larger role than others in terms of increased longevity and decreased disability. If length of life has grown to be a measure of health, we might be able to learn a thing or two from the people who have been around the longest. The members of the "100 club" have nutrition secrets that could increase your quality and quantity of life.

Here are a few things you can do today:

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8 Fall Foods You Shouldn't Miss

Grapefruit

Along with the changing colors of the leaves and the fall season upon us, comes delicious produce packed with nutrients. Choosing a colorful assortment of fruits and vegetables is best, as different nutrients exist along the different color spectrum. The orange pigment found in fall produce such as butternut squash, pumpkin and sweet potatoes, for instance, contain the antioxidant beta carotene known to promote eye health. And, the red pigment found in pink grapefruit contains the antioxidant lycopene linked with prostate health.

Here are some nutritious winners that also taste great.

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45 Tips To Live a Healthier Life

Healthier Life 

How healthy are you? Do you have a healthy diet? Do you exercise regularly? Do you drink at least 8 glasses of water a day? Do you get enough sleep every day?

Our body is our temple, and we need to take care of it to have a healthy life. Do you know that a shocking over 65% of Americans are either obese or overweight? That’s insane! Think of your body as your physical shell to take you through life. If you repeatedly abuse it with unhealthy food, your shell will wear out quickly. While you may look okay on the outside, on the inside, your arteries are getting clogged up with cholesterol and arterial plaque. That’s not a pretty sight!

Life is beautiful and you don’t want to bog yourself down with unnecessary health problems. Today, your vital organs (kidney, heart, lungs, gall bladder, liver, stomach, intestines, etc) may be working well, but they may not be tomorrow. Don’t take your good health today for granted. Take proper care of your body.

Good health isn’t just about healthy eating and exercise – it also includes having a positive mental health, healthy self-image and a healthy lifestyle. In this article, I’ll share with you 45 tips to live a healthier life. Bookmark this article and save the tips, because they are going to be vital in living a healthier life.

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