Is it really possible for anyone to live happily to 100? The good news is that your body was designed to be 100 – you just have to get out of the way.

Getting out of the way means taking an honest look at the habits and lifestyle you are living with today. Most of us have developed habits that limit our true health potential.

But don’t let these bad habits of the past discourage you – it is never too late to make new choices. What you did in the past can be changed, and your body will respond in kind. What matters is what you do from this moment forward.

Top 5 Daily Habits for Your Longevity
It takes 14 to 21 days of repetitive behavior to form a new pattern in your brain. Once the pattern is formed, it becomes an automatic behavioral response.

As you develop new healthy habits, they will begin to replace bad habits. These healthy lifelong habits are adapted straight from the time-tested traditions practiced by centenarians all around the world, and I can say with certainty that they will transform and rejuvenate you!

Eat five small meals a day.
In the Western culture, meals are taken three times a day, but it is much better to eat five smaller meals. When you eat smaller portions five times a day, you deliver a steady stream of nutrients, blood sugar, and energy to your body throughout the day.

Additionally, eating this way is less taxing on the digestive and metabolic systems and also reduces your risk of heart disease.

Climb the stairs instead of using elevators.
The health benefits of a daily exercise program cannot be stressed enough. Regular exercise can help promote physiological well-being, strengthen the immune system, maintain joint mobility, increase energy – and the list goes on.

Look for opportunities all through your day to work in physical activity. Power-walk, run, or ride your bike instead of driving. Begin a daily tai chi practice. Join a gym and actually go! Practice safely and watch your health results pile up.

Laugh it up!
We know from research that laughter and joy boost immune functions, especially the production of the natural killer cells that help protect the body from illness and cancer. Laughter also increases the release of endorphins, compounds that give you a sense of well-being, in your brain. Without a doubt, joyful people live longer and healthier lives.

Drink 8 glasses of water every day.
Water is essential for all healthy body functions. Centenarians from around the globe cite their native water as the source of their health and longevity – and the scientists agree with them. What they all have in common is pure water sources located far from any city, free from chemicals and toxins.

Choose filtered water; the best filtration processes are the ones that use activated charcoal, which removes the impurities but leaves the water-soluble minerals. Also, do not store water in plastic containers because the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can leach into the water.

Unwind with meditation.
Stress is the root cause of most of the diseases that shorten our life span. In our modern society stress will continue to increase – unless you find techniques to manage it. Meditation is the best way to release tension and revitalize your being. It teaches you to breath properly, which is critical for eliminating up to 70% of your body’s toxins and wastes. It also quiets your mind, lowers your stress hormones, and teaches self-discipline, which is a necessary attribute to achieving your health and longevity goals.

Try this beginning meditation:
Sit comfortably on a chair or the floor. Breathe naturally and close your eyes. Each time a thought appears, put it inside a balloon and let it fly up into the sky and disappear. Do this until the thoughts are exhausted. After a bit, your body will feel very light, and your mind will become still. The first few times it may take a while, but it will get easier and faster with practice.

I hope you use these healthy habits for years to come! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

For the longest time, I thought the same thing:

Health food store = Healthy natural hair!

Boy! Was I wrong!! Here’s the problem: A company can include a few natural ingredients or one or two organic ingredients in their product, mix it mostly with DANGEROUS CHEMICALS, and still label their shampoo NATURAL” or “ORGANIC”.

This may surprise you, but I really believe that there is at least a 95% chance that the shampoo you are using right now is bad for your health……and your hair for that matter!

I know this is a pretty bold statement, But, you don’t have to take my word for it. You can find out the truth for yourself the same way I did.

All you have to do is read about just some of the well-documented and dangerous chemicals regularly used in many haircare products that I’ve listed below and then go to any store you want that sells shampoo and start reading the labels. You’ll really surprise yourself. You’ll see, just like I did, that almost every product on the shelf contains 1 or more of these dangerous chemicals.

• DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE WORDS NATURAL, HERBAL OR ORGANIC ON THE LABEL!!!!!!!! READ THE INGREDIENTS LIST!!!!

• There are even some haircare products on the market that say 100% natural and chemical-free that contain some of these dangerous chemicals, so again, READ THE INGREDIENTS LIST!!!!!!!

Because when you think you are doing something healthy for your hair, you are really slowly poisoning your bloodstream, which affects all your organs and even your hair and scalp in an adverse way!

The reason is: those chemicals, that Many popular hair products contain, actually irritate your scalp and clog your follicles, which can contribute to baldness!! The ironic thing is, many of these products claim to even help you grow hair.

Here are some very common chemicals, used in many popular shampoos, that could be making you sick:

• Sodium Lauryl or laureth Sulfates: Cheap and Harsh synthetic detergents that cause dry skin and skin irritations. Also causes hair loss. Found in many shampoos. May also be linked to cancer.

• MethylParaben and/or Propylparabens: Increases rate of breast cancer in woman and decreases fertility rates in males. Some experts feel that parabens, along with many other chemicals can promote endometriosis in women.

• Copolymer(Polyvinyl Pyrrolodene=PVP): Derived from petroleum. May be linked to cancer.

• Propylene Glycol: Found in anti-freeze. May cause brain, liver and kidney problems.

• Imidazolidinyl urea: A form of formaldehyde. Linked to cancers, skin irritations, dermatitis and also nerve damage.

• Lauramide DEA: Chemical used as a foaming agent. Shown to cause cancer. Also dries out your skin and hair.

• Polyquaternium: A serious skin irritant. In extreme cases may cause anaphylactic shock.

• Methylisothiazoline: This chemical causes neurological damage. It stops the neurons in your brain from communicating. Also, pregnant mothers should never use a product with this chemical in it because it can cause abnormal brain development in the fetus you are carrying.

• Artificial coloring: Another unnecessary chemical you don’t need in your shampoo.

• Artifical or Synthetic Fragrances: Again, may cause skin irritations and also shown to cause respitory problems in some people. Natural haircare products smell great using only herbs, natural oils, fruits and other safer alternatives to these dangerous chemicals.

Now, I’m not saying to become a “monk” and avoid all the “joys of living”!!

The point is this: If we want to live a vibrant life and avoid illness and age gracefully, we have to develop healthy habits. We can’t burn the candle at both ends all the time and eat mostly junkfood throughout the day and expect to feel good or even look good, for that matter. Everything in moderation.

Below are some simple but very powerful, health-promoting habits we can develop to really improve our sense of well-being and help fight off disease as well as slow down the aging process.

1) Get some form of regular exercise 3-4 times a week. It was mentioned on the t.v. show “EXTRA” that 75% of AMERICANS do not do any form of regular exercise. Is it any wonder that obesity is on the rise in this country. A good exercise program would include stretching, some form of cardio and strengh-training. Try to include all 3 forms of exercise during the week.

2) Get Plenty Of Restful Sleep. (2 hours before midnight is better than 4 hours after midnight.) Don’t stay up too late.

3) Keep Your Body Properly Hydrated and alkalined. It’s important to drink about 8 glasses of fresh, clean water with a high pH every day.

4) Eat Fresh, Organic Fruit And Vegetables Everyday. They are loaded with “live” enzymes, fiber and vital nutrients your body needs to stay young and vibrant.

5) Keep Your Colon Clean by eating a high fiber diet and taking probiotics. (Almost every disease starts in the colon. That fact alone shows how critical it is to keep your digestive tract clean and functioning properly. If you do not have 2-3 bowel movements a day, then, your colon probably needs some attention.)

6) Get Some Natural Sunshine Everyday For about 15 minutes. (Your body needs sunshine to assimilate vitamin D and help you avoid depression.) Remember, the sun is at it’s hottest during the hours of 10:00am-2:00pm. If you are worried about skin cancer or have a pre-existing condition, don’t sunbathe during these hours and consult a qualified physician first.

7) Develop A Positive Outlook On Life And Avoid Dwelling On Negative Emotions. ( It is well documented and no longer a theory. Just about every “wellness expert” and doctor agrees that negative emotions release chemicals in your body that can effect you adversely. Some of the conditions related to negative emotions are: heart attacks, constipation, acid indigestion, shingles and hairloss. Just to name a few.)

Take Lots Of Anti-Oxidants Everyday To Prevent Free Radicals From Multiplying In Your Body And Compromising Your Health. Free radicals lead to aging and cancer. Some great anti-oxidants are acai berries, fruits high in vitamin C, broccoli, apples, etc.

9) Avoid Excessive Alcohol And Don’t Smoke.

10) Try To Remove As Many Unnecessary Chemicals As You Can From Your Life By Using Natural Cleaners, Laundry Detergents And Avoiding Processed Meats and junk food.

Another hidden danger is the use of many popular shampoos and skincare products sold on the market today. They are loaded with unnecessary, cheap chemicals that make their way into your bloodstream and compromise your health.

Now, in the latest bit of research, mothers who were pregnant with babies who were born between June and October had children who, when studied at the age of 9 years, were taller and had wider bones than those born in the darker months.

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) –  which is also known as Children of the 90’s – is a long-term health research project based at the University of Bristol, England. All of the more than 14,000 Children of the 90’s were born during 1991 and 1992, and their health and development have been followed in great detail ever since.

Originally, all of the ALSPAC families lived in England around Bristol and Bath. Now, some live as far away as Kenya, Brazil and Australia, but they remain in the study.

The families have provided answers about a wide range of health issues such as the benefits of eating fish during pregnancy, peanut allergy, eczema, and childhood ear infections. You can find a list of research findings here.

Based on this latest study, and consistent with my previous posts, pregnant women and children would do well to go outside in the sun, without sunscreens for 15 minutes a day.

Jon Tobias of Bristol University, and a lead researcher on the ALSPAC project, said “Wider bones are thought to be stronger and less prone to breaking as a result of osteoporosis inlater life, so anything that affects early bone development is significant. Pregnant women might consider talking to their doctor about taking Vitamin D supplement, particularly if their babies are due between November and May, when sunlight levels are low.”

Deep Vain Thrombosis (DVT) can occur during or as a result of air travel due to little movement or activity. DVT is a condition in which a blood clot forms in a vein that is deep inside the body, most often in the lower leg and thigh.

During flight your body is at greater risk of DVT because blood flow slows down. A blood clot can break off and move through the blood stream and in some instances get lodged in the brain, lungs, heart or other area causing serious health problems.

The International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics is reporting that heart rate variability (HRV), which is the sign of a healthy heart, has a higher incidence in yoga practitioners than those who don’t do the exercise.

HRV deals with the mechanisms of heart rate regulation, which means the heart would be able to respond well to changes in the body.

The researchers looked at the HRV of 42 healthy men who did not practice yoga, and 42 men who were experienced practitioners. The age range for the participants was between 18 and 48 years old.

It was found that the yoga practitioners had higher HRV levels, and better autonomic control over their heart rate, leaving them with a healthier heart.

In addition to practicing yoga, herbal-supplements reports that nutritional supplements such as fish oils and omega-3 fatty acids can be used to prevent heart complications.

Here’s another anxious thought: Scientists say women are wired to worry—at least more so than men. In our poll, 54% of you said you worry more than your spouse, with only 12% claiming your partner worries more than you do.

That’s thanks, in part, to the hormonal roller-coaster women ride month to month and through the years. “The highs and lows can make women prone to feeling everything from anxious to depressed,” says Jerilyn Ross, a licensed independent clinical social worker, president and CEO of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, and author of One Less Thing to Worry About.

And while men tend to be linear problem solvers, “Women are more in touch with their emotions, and worry is an emotion,” points out Judith Orloff, MD, a psychiatrist and author of Emotional Freedom: Liberate Your-self from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life.

Still, experts say that with some practice we all can learn to be a little less worried and a whole lot happier. Here’s your recipe for a more joyful life. Read on and say, “So long, dark side.”

1. Find your joy
One of the keys to finding happiness in tough times is “simply being aware of what is happening right now, without wishing it were different,” says James Baraz, a meditation instructor and founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California.

That may require a little less multi­tasking and worrying and more stopping to smell the roses, says Lori Hilt, an anxiety specialist at the University of Wisconsin. “When we get caught up in cycles of brooding and worrying, our minds are stuck in the past or the future,” she says. “Get out of the cycle by focusing on the present, noticing the cool breeze on your skin, the taste and texture of a bite of food.”

“When I’m blue, I’ll mix up a fruity drink, insert one of those festive straws—umbrella open, of course—and pretend I’m at a party. It’s impossible not to feel happy when your drink has a pretty paper umbrella!”
—Diana Estill, 55, Murphy, Texas

2. Lighten Up
Looking for joy means looking for reasons to smile. Happily, just the act of smiling makes you happy! Even a forced grin tells your brain, “My mouth muscles are moving up, so I must be happy,” and leads to a release of happiness-inducing endorphins, psychologist Sybil Keane, PhD, says.

“Because of the threat of layoffs, my job is stressful. I cope—people think I’m nuts—by watching those funny cat videos on YouTube. It’s a nightly ritual that always cheers me up!”
—Termeh Mazhari, 25, Great Neck, New York

“If something sad happens in my life, I look for the comedic spin. I find that the more humiliating the situation, the funnier it can be—or end up being. That’s how I survive.”
—Kathy Griffin, comedian and star of Kathy Griffin My Life on the D List and author of Official Book Club Selection

3. Get moving
Physical activity is a power­ful ally to greater well-being and joy. “Exercise, yoga, or any kind of regular movement helps get you out of your head,” Baraz says. “In addition to being a healthy activity, it triggers endorphins that have a profound effect on lifting your spirits. It makes you come alive.”

What do you think are the three

What supplements are the most important depends on your gender and your age. If your diet is lacking, a basic multivitamin is a good idea, which simply assures that you are getting the recommended daily doses of a number of essential vitamins. Beyond this, if you are a woman, I recommend you consider both calcium (600 mg twice a day) and magnesium (200 mg twice a day). 

Calcium is needed for bone health, and while we need approximately 1,500 mg a day, the average American woman has approximately 500 mg a day in her diet. The good news is that if you do not like to take pills, you can get your calcium in the form of chocolate chews! Magnesium is needed for bone health, and it also counteracts the constipating effects of calcium.

If you are premenopausal, you will be glad to know that calcium and magnesium have been shown to improve menstrual symptoms, including cramping, breast tenderness, mood swings, and even food cravings. (Chocolate is actually rich in magnesium, and it has been hypothesized that the need for magnesium may be why women crave chocolate around their periods.) Men do not need to supplement with calcium but should try to get 1,000 mg daily in their diet.

There are two other supplements for both men and women, and fish oil is one of them. Generally in this country, our diets have far more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids. Oversimplified, omega-6′s are the bad fats and omega-3′s are the healthy fats. If your diet is not rich in fish and other omega-3′s, you should consider supplementing with 1,000 mg of fish oil a day, being certain that each pill contains at least 200 mg of DHA and 200 mg of EPA. Increasing omega-3′s decreases inflammation in your system, which can affect everything from heart disease to cancer.

Lastly, we are learning that many Americans are actually deficient in vitamin D, and this can cause a huge variety of symptoms including muscle aches and fatigue. You can ask your doctor to check a vitamin D level to know specifically if you are deficient. It is also safe to supplement with vitamin D3, 1,000 mg a day. Vitamin D is also critical in bone health, and seems to be associated with cancer risk as well. Supplementing at these levels poses no risk of toxicity.

And while there is no cure for the disease, it can be managed by eating healthy foods, exercising, maintaining a healthy weight and, if needed, medications or insulin therapy to regulate blood sugar levels.

But researchers say these same healthy lifestyle choices can also significantly delay or perhaps even prevent type 2 diabetes, even for those who are at high risk for the disease.The latest evidence comes from a follow-up study on 3,234 overweight or obese adults with elevated blood glucose levels who participated in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a three-year randomized trial completed in 2001.

Initial DPP results showed that the program, which consisted of reducing fat and calories, increasing physical activity to 150 minutes a week, and frequent interaction with health-care professionals who provided training in diet, exercise and behavior modification, reduced the development of type 2 diabetes by 58 percent. Those assigned to two daily doses of metformin, an oral diabetes medication, but no lifestyle changes reduced the development of the disease by 31 percent over the same period, compared to those assigned a placebo.

Results from the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS), which included 2,766 of the DPP participants, shows that the diet and exercise group not only cut their risk of developing diabetes by 34 percent over a 10-year period, but also sustained a moderate weight loss and had lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels. People over 60 got even more dramatic results, cutting their risk of diabetes during the study period by about half.

The group initially assigned metformin and later added in the lifestyle program had an 18 percent lower risk of developing diabetes. “Interventions that result in weight loss lower the risk of diabetes, and that lower risk appears to persist for a long period of time,” said study author Dr. William C. Knowler of the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Knowler acknowledges that losing weight is a difficult task and can’t be accomplished simply by telling people to slim down. “To make things like this happen on a large scale, we have to do more than simply tell people to lose weight,” he said, adding that people need access to weight loss clinics that can teach them about diet and exercise.

“When you consider the devastating medical complications that go with type 2 diabetes, these are very significant findings,” said Dr. Ronald Goldberg, principal investigator of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine arm of the study. “It demonstrates that lifestyle changes can last as long as 10 years in preventing or slowing diabetes in people who are at risk.” Dr. Griffin Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, agrees, saying that “millions of people could delay diabetes for years and possibly prevent the disease altogether if they lost a modest amount of weight through diet and increased physical activity.”

Dr. Anoop Misra, director of the department of diabetes and metabolic diseases at Fortis Hospitals in New Delhi, India, and author of an accompanying journal editorial, says the study shows that lifestyle intervention is “the best bet” for effectively preventing diabetes. “Diet and exercise remain the most important modalities to prevent diabetes, and any drugs are less important.”

Misra says all nations should take steps to help curb the diabetes epidemic, such as regulating the advertisement and sale of “energy-dense junk food to children” and encouraging regular physical activity starting at an early age. “Spreading awareness about proper lifestyle and adverse consequences of obesity and diabetes should be at the top of health agenda of all nations.”

Walter Willett, who chairs the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, argues that there is a “direct causal link” between sugar-sweetened soft drinks and energy drinks and obesity, which is in turn linked to heart disease, some types of cancer, arthritis, and type 2 diabetes.

So he and a colleague, Lilian Cheung, a lecturer in the nutrition department, are suggesting that we all start focusing on drinks with a far lower sugar and calorie content: things like water, tea, seltzer with a splash of juice, and coffee with one lump of sugar. They call on beverage makers to create reduced-calorie beverages with no more than 1 gram of sugar per ounce, without using noncaloric sweeteners like aspartame and stevia.

[See why VitaminWater is a poster child for the importance of reading food and drink labels.]

That kind of beverage would have about 3 teaspoons of sugar per 12 ounces and about 50 calories. Look at Harvard’s chart to see how soft drinks, juices, and sports drinks stack up next to that standard—the worst offender, cranberry juice cocktail, has 200 calories and 12 teaspoons of sugar in a 12-ounce serving. (No word yet on how the beverage industry trade group has received this suggestion, but I will write a post if it does respond.)

[Here's the skinny on caloric sweeteners like agave and corn syrup.]

Why the fuss over sugary beverages rather than, say, candy bars? Willett and Cheung say that these drinks are the largest source of added sugar in the diet of young Americans, with teen boys drinking more than a quart per day. In addition, other researchers, such as Barry Popkin, have suggested that liquid calories don’t prompt our bodies to feel full the way calories in solid form do.

The Harvard folks say we need to retrain our bodies away from intense sweetness, which is why their hypothesized beverages don’t include low-calorie sweeteners like stevia, either. “When adults get conditioned to everything being sweet, it’s hard to appreciate the gentle sweetness of a carrot or an apple,” says Willett. That means using even low-calorie sweeteners may lead to weight gain, he says. (Or it may not: A study published last year suggesting low-calorie sweeteners led to overeating was done in rats, not people.)

As I’ve written before, whether or not you buy the idea that sugary soft drinks and energy drinks are any worse than sugar in solid form, cutting them out may be an easy way to lose weight. Harvard suggests alternatives including low-sodium miso soup, infused waters, and homemade fresh fruit coolers. If you’re not willing to give up your soda habit and are trying to lose weight, at least be aware of the calories and sugar the drinks are adding to your diet, and make up for that by paring back elsewhere.