Issue Date: June 15, 2008
Vacation deficit
If you check your e-mail or voice mail on vacation, you're not alone. Nearly a quarter of American workers do, according to a "vacation deprivation" survey by Expedia.com. And 31% will not use all their vacation days because of job pressures.
But Kathleen Hall, CEO of The Stress Institute, says "taking time for vacation and leisure is not a luxury. It is a necessity. The chronic stress of work can lead to emotional and physical illness."
How do you leave work behind? Hall suggests:
1. Encourage your spouse, children and co-workers to remind you to "detach and disconnect."
2. If you can't leave behind your work responsibilities, check e-mail or call the office only at scheduled times, then resume your vacation.
3. Limit your use of BlackBerry devices and laptops.
4. Tell clients you're away, and designate another contact person.
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How to be younger, longer
What you eat can dramatically influence how fast your body ages, according to mountains of research. Here are four important rules for aging slowly and fighting chronic disease.
Get plenty of antioxidants. A leading cause of aging, experts say, is "oxidative stress," which results when cells become dysfunctional over a lifetime or die because of attacks from internal and external chemicals known as "free radicals." Consuming lots of antioxidant-packed foods, mainly fruits and vegetables, boosts your cells' power to resist attack.
Infuse your body with omega-3. Chronic inflammation speeds up aging, promoting heart attacks, arthritis, skin diseases and Alzheimer's, while reducing memory, immunity and muscle function. Omega-3 oil in fatty fish, such as salmon, dampens chronic inflammation, studies show. Red meat promotes inflammation.
Control blood sugar. Eating foods that spike your blood sugar and keep it chronically high leads to cell changes that promote aging and chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, gallbladder and heart disease, Alzheimer's, and breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers. What spikes your blood sugar: white bread, white potatoes, most white rice, processed grains and sugary cereals.
Maintain a normal weight. Obese people are more apt to have type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and mental deterioration. MRIs show faster brain aging in overweight Americans, says new research at the University of California, San Francisco. Other research finds that heavier adults harbor higher brain levels of toxic amyloid beta, a protein involved in Alzheimer's. Restricting food intake slows many aging processes and prolongs life in animals.
10 terrible aging foods
+ Bacon
+ Hot dogs
+ Potato chips
+ White bread
+ White potatoes
+ Corn oil
+ Sugary processed cereals
+ Sugary soft drinks
+ Red meat
+ Doughnuts
10 top anti-aging foods
+ Apples
+ Blueberries
+ Spinach, dark leafy greens
+ Salmon and sardines
+ Whole-grain cereals
+ Popcorn, unsalted
+ Nuts, notably almonds, walnuts
+ Legumes, including peanuts
+ Green tea
+ Extra-virgin olive oil
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Try ancient qigong
Qigong can reduce stress that leads to aging.
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Looking for a form of exercise that doesn't require a certain level of fitness, special equipment or a gym membership? Qigong (chee-GUNG) may be the answer. Through slow-paced breathing and exercises, this ancient Chinese practice "allows you to focus and build strength," says Michael Roizen, chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic and co-author of "You: Staying Young." "It really allows you to establish a mind-body connection."
Qigong has been shown to improve posture, circulation, flexibility and blood pressure. Roizen thinks the main benefit comes from its meditative aspect. "The magical property of qigong is its ability to help you deal with the kind of stress that makes us age," Roizen says. "It helps slow aging at the cellular level." Find a qigong workout in Roizen's book.
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