1. Consume less calories.

There’s only one strategy that has been shown in experimental research to extend life span: calorie restriction. In rodents, fish, fruit flies, worms and monkeys — eating less food makes you live longer. Of course the key to food reduction is making sure what you do eat is loaded with nutrients. Maintaining a healthy weight reduces all sorts of metabolic stresses on the body. A good place to start: try reducing calories by 25 percent a day.

2. Eat Less Sugar.

Sugar depletes the body of important minerals needed for a smoothly functioning metabolism. It depresses the immune system, making your body less able to mount an attack on health-robbing pathogens. High-glycemic diets – high in sugar or high in processed and refined foods like bagels which convert to sugar almost instantly – have now been found to be associated with several types of cancer. High sugar diets raise triglycerides and increase the risk for metabolic syndrome, diabetes and heart disease, all conditions that can potentially shorten your life.

3. Worry Less About Cholesterol.

Cholesterol used to be considered a two-party system, the “good” and the “bad,” but it’s actually far more complex. LDL, so-called “bad” cholesterol, actually has a half dozen varieties — some of which are not dangerous at all. Concentrating on cholesterol alone diverts our attention from the larger picture when it comes to heart disease risk. The ratio of triglycerides to HDL cholesterol (it should be under 5) is a far better predictor of heart disease than overall cholesterol. And basic lifestyle modifications (giving up cigarettes, exercising and lowering your weight) have a far more profound effect on mortality than your cholesterol ever did.

4. Quiet Your Mind.

Stress is a component of nearly every major disease. The stress hormone cortisol ages the brain by literally shrinking the hippocampus, which is essential to memory and thinking. High levels of cortisol also cause you to put on fat around the middle. The only thing that’s been consistently shown to bring down stress is meditation. Taking a few minutes a day to quiet your mind, calm your nervous system, lower your heart rate and oxygenate your brain with deep breathing can pay off in health dividends beyond your wildest dreams.

5. Eat omega 3’s.

The omega-3’s in Krill oil are among the most heart-healthy nutrients on the planet. Eating krill/fish is a big component of nearly every native diet that has been shown to be associated with lower rates of heart disease, the number one killer of Americans. Fish can help lower blood pressure, improve mood and feed your brain, things that are all associated with healthier (and longer) lives. Many health experts recommend at least ½ gram of fish oil a day from fish or supplements. You can meet the World Health Organization and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (WHO-NATO) recommendations by consuming two servings of fatty fish per week. Make sure it’s not rancid!!!

6. Make Connections.

The longest lived and healthiest people are those with connections to something outside themselves. For over two decades, research has shown that people with few social connections are far more likely to have poor mental health, poor physical health and to die prematurely. Social support networks extend life. Taking care of someone or something outside yourself is life-extending and health enriching. People who are connected to their extended families, or to their churches, synagogues or communities, or who spend some time volunteering and helping others rate themselves as happier, more satisfied and more fulfilled.

7. Check Your Levels.

Doctors don’t routinely check homocysteine levels, but they should. According to some experts, the lower your homocysteine, the better off you are. A level of 9umol/L or less is generally considered optimal. Those with dangerously high levels of homocysteine have a 50 percent greater risk of heart attack. And 40 percent of deaths due to stroke are associated with high homocysteine. The good news is it’s a cinch to bring your levels down by supplementing with three B vitamins — folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.

8. Exercise Regularly.

There’s no better anti-aging strategy in the world than daily exercise.
In some studies, it’s been found to be as effective against depression as an anti-depressant. It strengthens bones, keeps muscles toned, improves flexibility, increases circulation, lowers blood pressure and improves blood sugar control. And it keeps oxygen flowing to the brain, heart and lungs. And according to new research, regular exercise can not only increase the ability of the brain to function, but it can actually increase its size. The best anti-aging exercise program incorporates both cardiovascular and weight training to keep your muscles strong, toned and youthful, help control your weight and keep your metabolic rate humming.

9. Lower Inflammation.

When you stub your toe, chemicals in the body rush to the injured area, filling it with fluid and surrounding the injured areas with chemicals that can help fight infection. That’s inflammation — and it’s part of the healing process. Problem is, many of us are walking around in a chronic state of low-grade inflammation. That’s not good. The dark side of inflammation is that it can damage arteries, nerve cells and the immune system. Inflammation is a component of every degenerative disease including Alzheimer’s, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. What to do? Eat fruits, vegetables and fish! The phytochemicals and omegas found there serve as powerful, natural anti-inflammatories, lowering the risk for cancer, heart disease and other diseases of aging.

10. Sensible Sunlight.

Vitamin D is one of the most underrated vitamins in the world. Your body makes it, but only when you’re exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D enhances performance, fights cancer and builds bones. Older adults who don’t get enough are at increased risk for both poor physical performance and for disability. It’s possible — but difficult — to get enough vitamin D from food. We need the sun. For most Caucasians who are living where there is sunlight, exposing 10 percent of your body a couple times a week is enough to get your vitamin D requirement. Darker people or people who live in the northern latitudes need more. Don’t be sun phobic. Sensible sun could extend your life.

–
Brandon Horak-Health Educator, Strategist, Herbalist.

An Awesome Appetizer for Knees and Hands

To keep your knees and hands free of arthritis, here’s what you should have before each meal: a small salad.

Why? Because the vitamin K in leafy greens — think cabbage, spinach, and swiss chard, for starters — could help reduce your risk of joint damage.

Get a Grip on Arthritis
In a study of older adults, those with higher blood levels of vitamin K were significantly less likely to develop the bone spurs and cartilage damage that are common in painful osteoarthritis. Hands seemed to benefit most, but people’s knees got some protection, too. Just one word of caution: If you’re on blood thinners, check with your doctor about appropriate K intake.

ARE YOU NETWORKING AND WORKING?

 Many job seekers are well aware of the fact that most positions are filled through networking.  But many job seekers have also faced the uncomfortable situation of having to revive or even create a network while hunting for a new job because they did not keep their networks active while they were employed.  Because they did not keep up with people that they knew when they didn’t need anything, it is that much harder to reconnect with people when they do need something—namely a job.

 Here are 10 tips for keeping your network alive and well throughout your work life, not just when you are looking for that next position.  Once you are employed, use these secrets to maintain your network and even expand it.

1. Once you have a landed a new job, be sure to let everyone in your network know about your new position.  You can do this by phone or email.  And be sure to give them your contact information so that you can stay in touch.

2. Stay in contact with people in your network when you don’t need anything.  Periodically send them a professional article that would be of interest to them.  Send them an e-card for the holidays.  These are nice ways of just maintaining the relationship.

3. Call or email your professional contacts to bounce ideas off them.  People love to have you ask them their opinion.  It’s a way of staying in touch and at the same time having a sounding board.

4. Create a tickler file on your calendar (you might want to use Microsoft Outlook) to remind you to contact people in your network on a quarterly basis.  If you don’t schedule it, you’re unlikely to do it, and your time will be taken up doing other things.

5. Attend professional association meetings and get involved.  Most professional associations are begging for people to hold offices within the organization.  You will increase your visibility in the field if you not only attend the meetings but also participate actively in the running of the organization.

6. Stay in touch with colleagues from previous organizations.  These colleagues can be a good source of referral for potential job openings in the future.  And you may also be in a position to refer these colleagues to openings at your organization.  Bosses usually ask good workers if they know of anyone they would refer when they are looking for new workers.  Staying in touch can be mutually beneficial.

7. Start a Yahoo group for former co-workers for the professional advancement of all who are interested.  This is a great way of staying in touch with people who know you professionally.  This gives you a network of professionals outside of the organization that you currently work for.  You can exchange links to professional articles, ask for advice from the group, and keep each other abreast of what is happening with the group members professionally.

8. Look for opportunities to write or speak on topics that you know very well.  This increases your visibility in your field of expertise, and it increases the chances that people will seek you out because you are knowledgeable.  This will enlarge your network.

9. Create a profile on a professional online networking group like LinkedIn.com.  Also, make sure to connect with other people that you know on LinkedIn.  You can also join groups on LinkedIn that are clustered around a topic of interest to the group members (i.e., recruitment, entrepreneurship, and alumni of different institutions).

10. You can always do lunch.  Even though the Internet has become a great way to communicate with people, nothing can compare with face-to-face contact.  Schedule time to go to lunch with people in your network periodically to get face time with them.  This will really personalize your contacts with people in your network.

Cheryl Palmer is a career coach and the founder of Call to Career (www.calltocareer.com), a professional career coaching firm.  She is also a freelance author.  You can email Cheryl at cheryl.palmer@calltocareer.com.

Every year for the past 9 years, Cinco De Mayo has taken on a special meaning for me.
My mother passed away on this day after a 5 month bout with cancer. It seems very fitting that she would pick this day for her transition. She had visited Mexico City many times with her parents who had business partners there. She loved the people and culture and even the food! My mother lived in Mexico City with this family for almost a year when she was in her teens.
It is time to celebrate new birth in the spring time of the year. So Cinco De Mayo reminds me to celebrate my mother’s life and the joy she lived and all the joy she brought others in her very special way. Rather than morn her loss, I always have a plan to be a celebration of her life instead. She always loved a great party! Life is to be lived and celebrated every minute of every day!
I am happy and grateful she was my Mom and happy and grateful for all the things she taught me and all the gifts she gave me through my life and even now!
So Happy Cinco De Mayo!

                                                                           
“Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.”
~ JamesAllen
As a Man Thinketh
                                                                         
“Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them. ”
~ W. Clement Stone 1902-2002
Author and Businessman
                                                                            
“Watch your thoughts, they become your words…Watch your words, they become your actions…Watch your actions, they become your habits…Watch your habits, they become your character…Watch your character for it becomes your destiny.”
~ Frank Outlaw

Our first priority should be to prepare a long-term strategy for improving the state of the world that focuses on the coming generations.
~His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Housing’s Role in the

• Lunch will be served at this workshop.
• If you are no longer able to attend this workshop, will not be staying for lunch, or have dietary restrictions please email jrial@livable.com.
• For directions to the Kauffman
  Foundation
  Conference
  Center, please visit: http://www.kauffman.org/conferencecenter.cfm

 
Download Kansas City Grant Overview and Application Now>

• February 26, 2008 – Application Due to Partners for Livable Communities
• March 11, 2008 – Awards Made

Eligible Counties:

• The State of Missouri
  
  Bates
  Caldwell
  Cass
  Clay
  Clinton
  Jackson
  Johnson
  Lafayette
  Platte
  Ray.

• The State of Kansas
  
  Franklin J
  ohnson L
  eavenworth
  Linn
  Miami
  Wyandotte.

Aging in Place Initiative:
Developing Livable Communities for All Ages

This workshop has been cancelled due to severe weather warnings. All registered participants will receive notice when this event is rescheduled.The deadline for the JumpStart the Conversation grants will be adjusted accordingly once this event is rescheduled. Please feel free to contact jrial@livable.com with any question.
Housing’s Role in the
Kansas City Metropolitan Area: Creating a Livable Community for All Ages
December 12, 2007 CANCELLED
9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.Kauffman Foundation Conference Center
4801 Rockhill RoadKansas City, MOPost-workshop Grant

OpportunityThe “JumpStart the Conversation” grants are an opportunity for Kansas City Metro Area organizations to take action in their communities on the Aging in Place Initiative. Grants will be awarded to innovative ideas focused on the theme of Housing for older adults.

What would you like to see happen in your community to make it more livable for all ages? Download Kansas City Grant Overview and Application Now> (873.30 KB)If you have any questions, please contact jrial@livable.com