Two large-scale new studies of the relationship between physical activity and longevity show that the right types and amounts of physical activity reduce the risk of premature death by as much as 70 percent.

The two studies also suggest that there can be an upper limit to the longevity benefits of being active, and pushing beyond that ceiling is unlikely to add years to our life spans and, in extreme cases, might be detrimental.

Dr. James OKeefe, director of preventive cardiology atSaint Lukes Mid America Heart Institute and a professor of medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, was an author on one of the studies. The study,published in August in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, asked tens of thousands of participants how many hours they exercised a week.

The very active group, people doing 10-plus hours of activity a week, lost about a third of the mortality benefits, compared to people exercising for 2.6 to 4.5 hours a week," Dr. O'Keefe said.

Read the fullNew York Times article: How Much Exercise Do We Need to Live Longer?

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New York Times: How Much Exercise Do We Need to Live Longer? - Saint Luke's Health System

If being sedentary is the new smoking, then UC Irvines nascent Exercise as Medicine class is the modern equivalent of the old surgeon generals warning on cigarette packs.

Taught byJames Hicks, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, the course examines the hazards of physical inactivity and explores how exercise not only improves overall health but can even alter or reverse the trajectory of cancer and other diseases.

Hicks says he created the class which debuted this spring with 85 biology students and turned away another 179 to spread the gospel of walking, running and other forms of exertion.

Because many biology majors go into medicine, Im trying to make them converts who will tell their friends, parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and patients that regular physical activity is like a fountain of youth, he says.

For decades, science assumed that the gradual decline of physiological performance as people grow old was a fixed slope, and by age 65 or 75, youre supposed to be sitting in a rocking chair, Hicks says. We all die, but the slope can be altered.

About 20 years ago, researchers discovered that intense movement causes muscles to release chemical compounds that boost health, immunity and longevity, he notes. It wasnt an entirely new concept. Around 600 B.C., a physician in India prescribed daily exercise to his patients. And Hippocrates described walking as mans best medicine.

Today there are reams of studies to back up these ancient suppositions. Ive collected gigabytes of literature on the connection between physical activity and health, says Hicks, who previously directed UC Irvines Center for Exercise Medicine & Sport Sciences (now theCenter for Integrative Movement Sciences).

One of the subjects in his syllabus is the burgeoning field of exercise oncology. UCLA, UC San Francisco, Harvard University and New Yorks Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center are among the medical institutions that recommend exercise as part of cancer treatment, he says, adding that specific activities can help with certain tumors. For example, breast cancer patients who walk briskly for three hours a week after receiving standard treatment have been reported to enjoy 32 percent better outcomes, a success rate few drugs can match, Hicks says.

Other lecture topics include exercise and diabetes, heart disease and brain health. Although theres no lab component to the course, students log their activity levels and calculate how many calories they burn. At the beginning of the quarter, Hicks polled the class on how they spend their downtime and created a word cloud to display the results. The No. 1 leisure activity: watching YouTube.

Hicks hopes students will be less sedentary by the end of the course. One of the reasons the U.S. was hit so hard by COVID-19, he says, is that too many Americans are obese.

Known for his research on vertebrate hearts, Hicks, 67, practices what he teaches, bicycling 60 to 120 miles a week, walking to campus every day and taking stairs instead of elevators for climbs under five floors.

At the end of the Exercise as Medicine class, he plans to show aone-minute Canadian videothat asks, What will your last 10 years look like? Using a split screen, it depicts the same actor in hauntingly parallel scenes, one version healthy and the other sickly. A key to finishing life on the healthy side, Hicks says, is staying physically fit: We can age with vitality. Its never too late to get started.

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Aging with vitality - University of California

As medical and social advances mitigate diseases of old age and prolong life, the number of exceptionally long-lived people is increasing sharply. The United Nations estimates that there were about 95,000 centenarians in 1990 and more than 450,000 in 2015. By 2100, there will be 25 million. Although the proportion of people who live beyond their 110th birthday is far smaller, this once-fabled milestone is also increasingly common in many wealthy nations. The first validated cases of such supercentenarians emerged in the 1960s. Since then, their global numbers have multiplied by a factor of at least 10, though no one knows precisely how many there are. In Japan alone, the population of supercentenarians grew to 146 from 22 between 2005 and 2015, a nearly sevenfold increase.

Given these statistics, you might expect that the record for longest life span would be increasing, too. Yet nearly a quarter-century after Calments death, no one is known to have matched, let alone surpassed, her 122 years. The closest was an American named Sarah Knauss, who died at age 119, two years after Calment. The oldest living person is Kane Tanaka, 118, who resides in Fukuoka, Japan. Very few people make it past 115. (A few researchers have even questioned whether Calment really lived as long as she claimed, though most accept her record as legitimate based on the weight of biographical evidence.)

As the global population approaches eight billion, and science discovers increasingly promising ways to slow or reverse aging in the lab, the question of human longevitys potential limits is more urgent than ever. When their work is examined closely, its clear that longevity scientists hold a wide range of nuanced perspectives on the future of humanity. Historically, however and somewhat flippantly, according to many researchers their outlooks have been divided into two broad camps, which some journalists and researchers call the pessimists and the optimists. Those in the first group view life span as a candle wick that can burn for only so long. They generally think that we are rapidly approaching, or have already reached, a ceiling on life span, and that we will not witness anyone older than Calment anytime soon.

In contrast, the optimists see life span as a supremely, maybe even infinitely elastic band. They anticipate considerable gains in life expectancy around the world, increasing numbers of extraordinarily long-lived people and eventually, supercentenarians who outlive Calment, pushing the record to 125, 150, 200 and beyond. Though unresolved, the long-running debate has already inspired a much deeper understanding of what defines and constrains life span and of the interventions that may one day significantly extend it.

The theoretical limits on the length of a human life have vexed scientists and philosophers for thousands of years, but for most of history their discussions were largely based on musings and personal observations. In 1825, however, the British actuary Benjamin Gompertz published a new mathematical model of mortality, which demonstrated that the risk of death increased exponentially with age. Were that risk to continue accelerating throughout life, people would eventually reach a point at which they had essentially no chance of surviving to the next year. In other words, they would hit an effective limit on life span.

Instead, Gompertz observed that as people entered old age, the risk of death plateaued. The limit to the possible duration of life is a subject not likely ever to be determined, he wrote, even should it exist. Since then, using new data and more sophisticated mathematics, other scientists around the world have uncovered further evidence of accelerating death rates followed by mortality plateaus not only in humans but also in numerous other species, including rats, mice, shrimp, nematodes, fruit flies and beetles.

In 2016, an especially provocative study in the prestigious research journal Nature strongly implied that the authors had found the limit to the human life span. Jan Vijg, a geneticist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and two colleagues analyzed decades worth of mortality data from several countries and concluded that although the highest reported age at death in these countries increased rapidly between the 1970s and 1990s, it had failed to rise since then, stagnating at an average of 114.9 years. Human life span, it seemed, had arrived at its limit. Although some individuals, like Jeanne Calment, might reach staggering ages, they were outliers, not indicators of a continual lengthening of life.

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How Long Can We Live? - The New York Times

For centuries many have searched for the secret to a longer life. From not smoking to reducing alcohol intake, there are many ways to help lengthen ones life. Drinking more tea is another healthy approach and in particular Rooibos tea which helps reduce cancer risk, promote healthy hearts and weight loss and boosting longevity.

Rooibos teas health benefits include supporting a healthy heart, preventing cancer, managing and preventing diabetes, supporting healthy digestion, fighting inflammation, promoting stronger bones, supporting weight loss, slowing down ageing process, treating blood pressure, supporting healthy skin, fighting dandruff and supporting kidney health.

The College of Korean medicine conducted a study and found that Rooibos tea has a positive effect on heart health as it helps keep hormone levels balanced and inhibits the release of excessive hormones from the adrenal gland.

This further helps to prevent hypertension and high blood pressure.

Rooibos tea contains nothofagin and aspalathin, which are powerful chemical compounds known to calm inflammation in the vascular system and acts as a vasodilator.

READ MORE-Apple cider vinegar cleaning hacks: 10 household uses for ACV

Rooibos is associated with health benefits due to its high levels of health-promoting antioxidants, which include aspalathin and quercetin.

Antioxidants may help protect cells from damage by free radicals.

In a study published in the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, free radicals, antioxidants and how it helps with overall health was investigated.

The study noted: When an overload of free radicals cannot gradually be destroyed, their accumulation in the body generates a phenomenon called oxidative stress.

This process plays a major part in the development of chronic and degenerative illness such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, aging, cataract, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

The human body has several mechanisms to counteract oxidative stress by producing antioxidants, which are either naturally produced in situ, or externally supplied through foods and/or supplements.

Tea chemist and scientist Dr Tim Bond said: There is also evidence to show that rooibos helps protect body cells from oxidative damage.

The explanation for these effects is that rooibos tea contains a diverse range of phenolics including two unique polyphenols, aspalathin and nothofagin, which have a particularly strong anti-oxidative activity.

Rooibos tea also contains essential bone strengthening minerals including potassium, calcium and magnesium all integral for proper bone health.

Rooibos tea could also help to reduce the likelihood of brain function decline.

Continued here:
How to live longer: Rooibos tea prevents cancer and promotes healthy hearts - Express

Thanos Tzempelikos, professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, has received the prestigious Leon Gaster Award from the Society of Light and Lighting as a co-author of the paper "Cross-validation and Robustness of Daylight Glare Metrics." This award is presented annually, naming the best paper of the year concerned with lighting applications. The award was presented at the societys Annual Awards evening in December in London.

Dr. David Waters is the recipient of the Center on Aging and the Life Course's (CALC) Outstanding Professor Award.Waters is professor emeritus in the College of Veterinary Medicine and a CALC faculty associate. Waters teaches biology of aging and received numerous student nominations for the award, which recognizesexceptional teaching and mentoring of emerging scholars in aging. He is director of the Center for Exceptional Longevity Studies at the Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation.

* * * * *

Orr Fellowship, a postgraduate professional development program based in Indianapolis, has recently selected four Purdue seniors as Orr fellows. The Orr Fellowship is one of Indianas most celebrated nonprofit talent programs. The students Miguel Diaz, Sean ODell, Eleanor Hamilton and Hannah Vanderbosch were chosen out of nearly 1,300 applicants and will begin at one of 46 Orr Fellowship partner companies upon graduating in May. They also will participate in Orr Fellowship programming dedicated to nurturing entrepreneurship and developing strong leadership skills.

Christine McCall, a graduate research and teaching assistant in the College of Health and Human Sciences, earned a top honor from the National Council on Family Relations for a paper. McCall won the Outstanding Student and New Professional Paper Award for her paper titled A Part of Our Family? Effects of Psychiatric Service Dogs on Quality of Life and Relationship Functioning in Military-Connected Couples.

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Appointments, honors and activities - Purdue News Service

In the first DGA published during a global pandemic, you'd think COVID-19 would get some airtime. Unfortunately, it only got one sentence. I know most of us are ready to see coronavirus in our rearview mirrors, but it's not history (yet).

The past 10 months have shown us scientific discoveries in real-time, linking preventable nutrition issues (e.g., vitamin D deficiency) with COVID-19. And considering immunity is a top priority, I think it's a miss the Dietary Guidelines did not take the opportunity to inform Americans of the links between nutrition and immune function. The singular mention in the DGA explains that, "people living with diet-related chronic conditions and diseases are at an increased risk of severe illness from the novel coronavirus."

I appreciate, however, that the DGAC (remember, they wrote the 835-page Scientific Report to inform the much shorter DGA) adds more color to the issue, calling out two, concurrent epidemics in our country: "These parallel epidemics, one noninfectious (obesity and diet-related chronic diseases) and one infectious (COVID-19), appear to be synergistic."

Schneeman explains the committee faced a logistical, timing challenge: "The COVID-19 pandemic emerged as the committee moved into its final phases of work." She went on to say that, "As a committee, we were struck with the vulnerability of those with diet-related chronic diseases (e.g., obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease) to the most serious outcomes from infection with the virus. In addition, the disruptions due to the pandemic have resulted in food insecurity and hunger, increasing the challenges to make healthful dietary choices."

DGAC member Regan Bailey, Ph.D., MPH, R.D., echoes this paradox, sharing that while "nutrition is critical to the immune defense and resistance to pathogens, both undernutrition and overnutrition can impair immune function." (Bailey is a professor in the Department of Nutrition Science at Purdue University, as well as director of the Purdue Diet Assessment Center.)

At mindbodygreen, we recently explored undernutrition in the complex problem of food insecurity, as well as overnutrition (and unhealthy nutrition patterns) in the synergy between metabolic health and immunity.

Based on these insights, I believe embracing healthful nutrition patterns, supporting food security initiatives, addressing nutrient gaps, and maximizing other lifestyle factors (e.g., physical activity, sleep, etc.) are powerful levers we can choose to pull to improve metabolic health, and thus our immune system.

Indeed, DGAC member Linda Van Horn, Ph.D., RDN, L.D., professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University, and Chief of the Nutrition Division at Feinberg School of Medicine, underscores the fact that, "now more than ever, the importance of healthy eating, weight control, and prevention of both cardiometabolic and infectious diseases is a recognized goal, worldwide."

Ultimately, diving deeper into the nutrition/immune system relationship in the Dietary Guidelines was passed onto the next iteration (20252030). In the meantime, Donovan shares these actionable insights: "a healthy immune system depends upon an adequate intake of many nutrients, protein, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (especially omega-3s), vitamins (e.g., vitamin C and the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and E), and minerals (e.g., iron and zinc)."

In addition to these macro- and micronutrients, Donovan explains that, "the best place to get immune-supporting nutrients is from whole foods, particularly fruits and vegetables, which provide dietary fiber and phytonutrients that benefit the gut microbiome and immune function."

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I'm A Nutritionist & This Is What I Really Think About The New Dietary Guidelines - mindbodygreen.com

In the the Harvard study, researchers used plasma samples from 323 Danish people between the ages of 30 and 70 who were infected with the coronavirus and had levels of PFAS in their blood. The data also included other health information and demographic variables.

PFAS concentrations were higher in men, subjects with Western European background and increase with age, but were not associated with the presence of chronic disease, according to researchers. One hundred eight 33% of the participants had not been hospitalized. Of those whod spent time in the hospital, 16% had been in the ICU or died.

Among five PFAS compounds that researchers analyzed in the participants blood, those with elevated levels of perfluorobutyrate, or PFBA, were more than two times likely to have increase severity of coronavirus. Among the study participants who were hospitalized, they were five times more likely to be admitted to the ICU or die, based on blood samples obtained at the time the patients were diagnosed up to one week prior, researchers found.

PFAS in general weakens the immune systems response to infection. However, PFBA in particular builds up in the lungs, which is an organ that COVID-19 infects. So thats why elevated levels of PFAS may lead to more severe cases of the coronavirus, Burdette said.

In a recent statewide study, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency detected levels of PFAS in 24 Southwest Ohio public drinking water systems. That includes Aullwood Audubon Farm Discovery Centers water system in Dayton, whose PFAS level is 94 parts per trillion. The EPAs action level is 70 ppt.

The pandemic, the presence of PFAS in the region and the Harvard study should not cause residents to make major lifestyle changes, although they need to remain diligent and continue to educate themselves, Burdette said, reiterating the fact that more research is needed.

This study has gotten a lot of interest, and when that happens, the small studies lead to better studies, he said. So, Im sure throughout the world there are probably more groups now that are on a bigger scale looking at this, and will hopefully get us more definitive data.

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Study finds forever chemicals can lead to severe COVID-19 cases - Dayton Daily News

NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kantaro Biosciences, LLC, a joint venture between the Mount Sinai Health System and RenalytixAI (LSE:RENX / NASDAQ: RNLX), and manufacturing partner Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH), entered into a marketing and distribution agreement with Atrys Health (BME: ATRY), a biomedical company dedicated to providing diagnostic services and medical treatments of excellence. Atrys Health will offer COVID-SeroKlir and COVID-SeroIndex, Kantaro's quantitative SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody test kits, in select European and South American territories, including Spain, Portugal, Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Chile.

Atrys Health is a distributor for Kantaro quantitative antibody tests in select European and South American territories.

The Kantaro tests have received a CE Mark for detectingthe presence and precise level of neutralizingIgG antibodiesthat areproduced as part of the immune response to COVID-19 virus exposure. The Kantaro testsare also the first and only quantitative antibody tests that do not require proprietary equipment, meaning they can be run easily in anyapproved clinical laboratory.Quantitative testing for neutralizing antibodiescaninform healthcare decision-makingandpublic health policiesworldwide.

"Atrys Health is the latest in a growing list of high-qualitydistributionpartners. This agreement represents another critical step forward in bringing the Kantaro quantitative antibody tests to doctors, patients and researchers in regions affected by COVID-19," said Sara Barrington, Kantaro's chief commercial officer. "We believe this type of antibody testing is increasingly relevant at this point in the pandemic to provide peace of mindand answer important questions about vaccine response, longevityand immunity."

Isabel Lozano, CEOof Atrys Health, said: "Our partnership with Kantaro diversifies and widens our portfolio of diagnostics at the forefront of innovation. We humbly embrace the opportunity to make the Kantaro quantitative antibody testsavailableto our customers in Europe and South America and bepart of the globaleffort to increase testing and begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic."

COVID-SeroKlirand COVID-SeroIndexareenzyme-linked immunosorbent assays(ELISA)that havedemonstrated 97.8% sensitivityand 99.6% specificityfor detecting COVID-19 IgG antibodies, making them highly accurate with low potential for false results.The high precision results froma two-step process that utilizes two virus antigens: the receptor-binding domain(RBD)and the full-length spike protein.

Theunderlying technology in theKantaro quantitative antibody test is based on research performed attheIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.The Mount Sinai technologyhasalreadybeen used in a highly diverse population of over 86,000 patient samples to screen for convalescent plasma donors anddetermine past infections in the clinical assessment of potentially life-threatening complications from COVID-19, including lung, kidney and cardiovascular disease. This technology has been utilized extensivelyin peer-reviewed research published in ScienceandNature.

About Kantaro Biosciences

Kantaro Biosciences, a joint venture between the Mount Sinai Health System and RenalytixAI plc, is dedicated to ensuring that high-quality diagnostic tests for critical health challenges are accessible. The company provides rigorous, results-driven and reproducible diagnostics to advance the care and well-being of people, communities and society. Kantaro specializes in the rapid scale-up of groundbreaking diagnostic innovations and the creation of partnerships to bring these crucial technologies to market. For more information, visitwww.kantarobio.comand follow Kantaro on Twitter @kantarobio.

About Bio-Techne Corporation

Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) is a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic communities. Bio-Techne products assist scientific investigations into biological processes and the nature and progress of specific diseases. They aid in drug discovery efforts and provide the means for accurate clinical tests and diagnoses. With thousands of products in its portfolio, Bio-Techne generated approximately $739 million in net sales in fiscal 2020 and has over 2,300 employees worldwide. For more information on Bio-Techne and its brands, please visit http://www.bio-techne.com.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest academic medical system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai is a national and international source of unrivaled education, translational research and discovery, and collaborative clinical leadership ensuring that we deliver the highest quality carefrom prevention to treatment of the most serious and complex human diseases. The Health System includes more than 7,200 physicians and features a robust and continually expanding network of multispecialty services, including more than 400 ambulatory practice locations throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of the Top 20 Best Hospitals in the country and the Icahn School of Medicine as one of the Top 20 Best Medical Schools in country. Mount Sinai Health System hospitals are consistently ranked regionally by specialty and our physicians are in the top 1% of all physicians nationally by U.S. News & World Report.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.orgor find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitterand YouTube.

About Renalytix AI plc

RenalytixAI is a developer of artificial intelligence-enabled clinical in vitro diagnostic solutions for kidney disease, one of the most common and costly chronic medical conditions globally. The Company's products are being designed to make significant improvements in kidney disease diagnosis, transplant management, clinical care, patient stratification for drug clinical trials, and drug target discovery. For more information, visit renalytixai.com.

1 Intended uses of COVID-SeroKlir may vary by country.

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SOURCE Kantaro Biosciences LLC

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Kantaro and Atrys Health Partnership Expand Global Footprint of Quantitative COVID-19 Antibody Tests in Europe and South America - BioSpace

Americans are living longer than ever before about 30 years longer, on average, than a century ago according to leading scholars who participated in the Century Summit, a four-day virtual conference convened in December by The Longevity Project and the Stanford Center on Longevity. The conference looked at everything from business innovations to caregiving to new ways for Americans to work and thrive throughout the increasingly long lives they're now living.

"Longevity is ... among the greatest opportunities we have had in human history," Psychologist Laura Carstensen, founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, said. "Essentially, our ancestors handed us 30 extra years of life with no strings attached. It's up to us to make sure that we use these years to improve quality of life, not just in old age but at every stage in life."

Researcher Susan Golden said adults 50 and older now represent 35% of the nation's population and account for more than 50% of consumer spending and 83% of household wealth.

That huge market of older adults is beginning to attract "A-level entrepreneurs, who could be doing anything," Robert Chess, a biotech entrepreneur and Stanford business lecturer, said.

"They're coming in and reinventing areas that have traditionally been the purview of nonprofits and mom-and-pop businesses," Chess said, citing a startup called Wider Circle focused on alleviating senior loneliness and another called Honor that specializes in the field of home health care.

Even iconic global brands with youthful images have embraced the aging customer base, making "stealth" changes to retain this group, he said.

"You think of BMW, the 'ultimate driving machine,' with 30- and 40-year-old marketing and demographics," Chess said. But the average age of a new BMW owner is actually 56.

The Bavarian auto giant redesigned its dashboard and controls with more color contrast, larger type and bigger knobs, without ever announcing it, Chess said.

"It works really well for older people, but they don't quite know why. It works well for the younger people. But (BMW) is still marketing the same way they always have. It's essentially stealth design," he said.

Similarly, Nike finding it was losing customers as they got into their 50s, 60s and 70s introduced the CruzrOne athletic shoe.

"The marketing is 'athlete forever,' so they're not marketing it toward older people, they're marketing it for cross-generation," Chess said.

"But it has features such as a flexible back heel so it's easier to get in and out of the shoe. It has more stability control; it has more padding because as your feet get older the padding gets thinner all things that are just good for everybody."

Chess said the CruzrOne was inspired by 82-year-old Nike founder Phil Knight, who walks eight miles a day.

Despite its youthful image, eyewear maker Warby Parker has found that its fastest-growing market segment is people 60 and above, Chess said. "So, they provide all the features needed (by older customers, such as progressive lenses) but still keep their young market. What you're seeing is companies that have young brands but are going where the growth is.

"They're doing it by providing product features that work for everybody but are needed by the older people."

In seeking to lead longer and healthier lives, Americans should consider emulating the nation's Latino population, David Hayes-Bautista, a professor of medicine and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told participants at the conference.

Latinos in the United States enjoy longer life expectancies and lower death rates from heart disease, cancer and other causes than non-Hispanic whites, said Hayes-Bautista, citing data from the National Center for Health Statistics.

Hayes-Bautista, who's spent 40 years studying the health and culture of Latinos in the United States, said the group can be considered a model for longer, engaged lives. Latinos in the U.S. enjoy nearly 3 1/2 years of longer life expectancy 81.8 years than non-Hispanic whites, at 78.5 years, he said.

"That's surprising because they have less income as a population, less education, lower access to care, but they manage to live 3 1/2 years longer," he said.

Similarly, U.S. Latinos have 30% lower age-adjusted death rates from several leading causes of death, including heart disease and cancer, he added.

The reasons, in part, have to do with "some behaviors, which are counter-intuitive," Hayes-Bautista said. Latinos are about 30% less likely to use tobacco and alcohol and 40% less likely to use drugs, he said.

"This surprises a lot of people because the stereotype is the drunken Mexican, etc., etc.," he said. "And part of this may be due to some dedication to work."

Latinos consistently have a higher rate of labor force participation and a higher rate of household formation than non-Latinos, he said, citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

"We don't have to re-invent anything," Hayes-Bautista said. "If we want to increase life expectancy, lower mortality, keep people engaged and have big families, actually Latinos have been doing that ... We just need to understand and appreciate what's under our nose right here in this country."

For more information or recordings of the Century Summit go to longevity.stanford.edu/century-summit.

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Americans are living 30 years longer on average and that's a big plus for businesses - Palo Alto Online

CHICAGO, Jan. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --Newsweek global top-10, Israel-based Sheba Medical Center, world-renowned for its innovation model known as ARC (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate), has signed an official deal led by Kaleidoscope Health Ventures. Sheba, together with Kaleidoscope and Farpoint Development, are entering a joint venture to develop, execute and lead the Chicago ARC Innovation Center based on a shared vision for the transformation of health care.

The JV unites the successful ARC open collaboration modela repeatable prototype that exemplifies Israel's "Startup Nation" mindsetwith a market-driven approach adapted for the U.S.The center will be an anchor for the $7 billion, 100-acre Bronzeville Lakefront development on the historic site of the Michael Reese Medical Center.

The Chicago ARC will give international companies a U.S. foothold, develop health disparity solutions, incubate health innovation startups, collaborate on data science initiatives and be a gateway for global investment.

Chicago ARC Innovation Center Is Unique, With Many Firsts

The Chicago ARC aims to create billions of dollars in value and dramatically accelerate the successful adoption and adaptation of disruptive technologies. Under the leadership of the JV team, the Chicago ARC will foster new capabilities that grow health ventures through access to data, experienced operators, customers and capital. Focus areas include precision medicine, big data and artificial intelligence, virtual reality, telehealth and medical technologies. The Chicago ARC model includes:

Chicago Is Ground Zero for Global Health Innovation

Illinois has all the ingredients to create better health outcomes. It is among the nation's top producers of STEM degrees and is home to the third largest medical and life science economic engine in the nation. World Business Chicago reported that the Chicago region generates approximately $72 billion in economic output and supports almost 700,000 employees annually. As one of only four U.S. cities with three tier-one research universities, Chicago area institutions amassed over $900 million in National Institutes of Health-funded research and development funding as of 2019.

"The Chicago ARCwill enhance our incredible reserve of STEM talent, expand our next generation life sciences ecosystem and attract further capital to accelerate growth, while also serving asa transformational epicenter geared toward creating healthcare equity across our city's South Side communities," Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot said.

"Given these assets, and the extensive preexisting global partnerships brought by ARC to Chicago, this new venture sets the stage for the development of a new global innovation model. It will be a model that fuels the kind of transformative and collaborative change every life sciences innovation hub should aim to createa model from the start that is focused on inclusion and designed to use assets across communities, states and countries," P33 CEO Brad Henderson said.

This announcement comes on the heels of recent announcements that demonstrate Chicago's goal, and ability, to become a global innovation destination. "We've already been recognized for our leadership in quantum science and in startup exit value," Henderson said. PitchBook just recognized Chicago as the top U.S. city for exit value fueled by VC investment in 2020.

"We're focused on building transformative partnerships that improve economic growth and equity in our city, and Sheba's first physical U.S. innovation center gives us a tremendous opportunity to further this goal. Given our depth of talent and entrepreneurial spirit, Chicago will be able to serve as the epicenter for their North American partnerships and help create a world class healthcare innovation hub," World Business Chicago Interim President & CEO Michael Fassnacht said."We welcome Chicago ARC's vision and the JV team's expertise in innovation and inclusivity to carry on the legacy of the formerMichael Reese Medical Center."

Healthcare Equity Is the Underlying Mission

"Our primary purpose goes beyond turning scientific discovery into financial returns; it's about turning scientific discovery into scalable innovation that drives health equity for all. The Chicago ARC redesigns the way healthcare innovation is done to achieve this commitment. It's an especially critical goal in Chicago because there's a 30-year life expectancy gap between the city's poorest and wealthiest ZIP codes," Kaleidoscope Co-founder S. Bob Chib noted.

"Tackling pressing health challenges through a collaborative platform will bring solutions to the market faster that not only generate significant financial returns but also enable health, social and economic justice throughout our state and nation," Kaleidoscope Co-founder Ken Bahk added.

"The Chicago ARC is an ideal catalyst for the Bronzeville Lakefront development, which we envision as a healthy neighborhood of the future. We plan to break ground in mid-2021. In the interim, the Chicago ARC will operate from a nearby space and move to the Bronzeville Lakefront site when the 500,000-square-foot facility is completed in Q4 2023," Farpoint Managing Principal Scott Goodman said.

"The Bronzeville community has been a center of medical innovation for more than 125 years. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performed the first successful open-heart surgery here in 1893 at Provident Hospital, the nation's first nonsegregated hospital which he also founded in 1891. It's fitting that Sheba's ARC Innovation Center will anchor, with an equity lens, the anticipated Bronzeville Lakefront development on the former site ofthe historic Michael Reese Hospital. It will continue our community's consequential legacy in developing life science solutions with global impact," Alderman Sophia King (4th) said.

Israel and Sheba Are Committed

"The ARC Innovation Center aligns with one of Israel's greatest prioritiesthe transformation of health care. COVID-19 has reinforced how important it is to address and achieve health equity, making new and smarter healthcare approaches even more urgent and pressing," Sheba Deputy Director General, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Eyal Zimlichman said.

"Transforming health requires more than a single institution or nation,which is why global collaboration is so important. Israel, and Sheba as its national medical center, started the journey long ago to disrupt health care through groundbreaking technology. TheChicago ARC Innovation Centerwill expand our efforts in the largest global market,"Sheba Director General Prof. Yitshak Kreiss added.

"With Sheba's expertise in healthcare innovation, the leadership of Chicago and a pioneering joint venture, this partnership will help drive health equity and economic growth throughout the entire city and beyond for decades," Chicago's Israeli Counsel General Aviv Ezra noted. "The Consulate's partnership with Kaleidoscope and this initiative has been one of our main focuses during my time as Consul General in Chicago. It's a win-win for everyone."

About the Chicago ARC Innovation Center Joint Venture Partners

Sheba, Kaleidoscope and Farpoint are partnering to realize a new model for holistic health, wellness and longevity by connecting the best science, talent, technology and data globally. The team has engineered the Bronzeville Lakefront planned development as an ESG-aligned health and wellness innovation hub to attract strategic partners and investors. The partners have proven track records in developing and executing notable projects and decades of successful leadership in their respective fields, as noted here:

About P33

About World Business Chicago

Contact:Kellie Quinn, [emailprotected]

SOURCE Kaleidoscope Health Ventures

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P33 and Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, Together With Joint Venture Team Kaleidoscope Health Ventures, Farpoint Development and Israel's Sheba Medical...

Last week, C.N. indicated she needed a little lift during this COVID time and asked what the Successful Aging column could do to help. As part of an HBO special, we showcased quips from four legendary comedians in their 90s: Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, Mel Brooks and Dick Van Dyck.

This week we feature quotes from four women in their 90s for a bit more levity with a message.

Age doesnt matter according to Angela Lansbury. Lansbury, age 95, has been on stage, television and in films for over 70 years, never permitting her chronological age to hold her back. She has said, Ive never been particularly aware of my age. Its like being on a bicycle I just put my foot down and keep going.

What we know. During childhood, there are expected age-related milestones in a childs development, such as when the child walks, talks and can read. Thats not the case for older adults. Expectations about how older adults look, behave and think are not based on developmental stages but on social expectations which often is an excuse for ageism. Most older adults keep going regardless of their age.

Betty White advocates getting enough sleep. As a 98-year old actress and comedian, White has a television career spanning 80 years and has worked longer in the industry than anyone else. In promoting sleep, she says, Get at least eight hours of beauty sleep, nine if youre ugly.

What we know. Sleep is considered an important part of our routine and is essential for survival as is food and water. Recent research suggests that sleep has a housekeeping role by removing toxins in our brain that accumulate when we are awake. For older adults, less than seven hours of sleep a night generally is considered insufficient The American Academy of Sleep Medicine refers to a study by UCLA researchers who discovered that just a single night of insufficient sleep can make older adults cells age quicker. For a good read on sleep, see The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life One Night at a Time by Arianna Huffington (Harmony Books, 2017).

Iris Apfel believes in authenticity. Apfel, age 99, is a businesswoman, interior designer, model and considered the worlds oldest fashion icon. She describes herself as a geriatric starlet, known for her brightly colored clothing, layered jewelry and oversized glasses. There is even a Barbie doll modeled after her. She says, When you dont dress like everyone else then you dont have to think like everyone else. She adds, I always dressed for myself and dont care what anybody thinks.

What we know. With age we have the opportunity to become more of ourselves and less reliant on fulfilling expectations of others. Authenticity refers to the characteristics, roles or attributes that define who we are, even if they are different from how we may act.With age there is a tendency to see ourselves as more authentic, according to researchers Elizabeth Seto and Rebecca J. Schlegel.

Dr. Ruth views life in a positive way. Ruth Westheimer, age 92, is a sex therapist, author, media personality and talk-show host. She says, I actually look for things to smile about. In a 2019 interview she indicated as a Holocaust survivor, she defused anxiety and shame by focusing on the present and using humor and charm.

What we know. Having a positive attitude not only makes us feel good, it effects our longevity. A study from the Boston University School of Medicine found that after decades of research, those who were more optimistic about life lived longer, often to age 85 and older. Researchers suggest several reasons. More optimistic people may be able to regulate their emotions and behavior more effectively as well as their ability to bounce back from difficult situations. Furthermore, they may have healthier lifestyle habits.

Thank you C.N. for your good question. These women in their 90s have lived and seen a lot. During the current climate, some of their tips might be useful: Dont let age hold you back, stay positive and authentic and of course, get enough sleep. Above all, stay safe and be well and kind to yourself and others.

Helen Dennis is a nationally recognized leader on issues of aging, employment and the new retirement with academic, corporate and nonprofit experience. Contact Helen with your questions and comments at Helendenn@gmail.com. Visit Helen at HelenMdennis.com and follow her on facebook.com/SuccessfulagingCommunity

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4 female celebrities in their 90s offer tips for living a long and fulfilling life - The Mercury News

The holiday season is a joyous time for many, but research suggests that this time of year, the risks of heart attacks increases. In fact, a 2004 study reports that cardiac mortality is highest around Christmas and New Years.

But can you really die from a broken heart? Not exactly.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, more commonly known as broken heart syndrome, is a very real (and somewhat rare) heart condition typically brought on by stressful events. While the condition is increasingly recognized by medical and scientific communities, its effects on gender and age were not well understood, until now.

A new study published in October 2021 analyzed 135,463 cases of broken heart syndrome, finding that 88.3% of all cases were in women with middle-aged and older women most at risk.

Results showed that older women were up to 10 times more likely to be diagnosed than younger women or men of any age. Cases had also been on a steady increase in the United States since well before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings offer important implications for understanding the heart-brain connection in older adults, especially women.

Broken heart syndrome is a relatively uncommon condition resembling a heart attack brought on by stressful events. Symptoms include chest pain and shortness of breath.

Also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, the condition is diagnosed when a person presents symptoms associated with a heart attack but doesnt have blockages in their arteries. Death from broken heart syndrome is rare, though it can occur in some individuals.

While the overall prevalence is not fully known, older studies suggest that 1% to 2% of all cases involve chest pain and other symptoms of acute coronary syndrome though these estimates are expected to increase.

We see rates rising out of proportion to what we would expect to be from recognition alone, especially in women compared to men so we have to attribute this to increasing incidence, lead researcher Susan Cheng, MD, MPH, MMSc, director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, wrote in an interview with Psych Central.

Broken heart syndrome became widely accepted in 2005 when a research team of cardiologists at Johns Hopkins published a seminal report of documented cases in the New England Journal of Medicine.

That seminal report was the first to show that the condition is not that uncommon, often right in front of us when we might otherwise assume something else is going on, said Cheng.

Johns Hopkins researchers characterized broken heart syndrome as a suddenly weakened heart accompanied by a measurable surge in stress hormones. This was much-needed evidence of the key biological link between a stressed brain and a broken heart, Cheng explained.

Women tend to be more vulnerable to broken heart syndrome, but the underlying reasons are not fully known.

One possible explanation, according to Jennifer Wong, MD, a cardiologist in Orange County, California, is that the syndrome can be triggered by emotional distress. Stress may also affect women differently than men.

It can be that in general, theres less cardiovascular disease in women than in men, but theres long been this theory that theres often other mechanisms that are more common in women, like stress-induced cardiomyopathy, Wong said by email.

Its also possible that external stressors have been increasing among at-risk women in general.

The overall magnitude of environmental stressors is likely at play given reports were seeing from other centers that have found increased case rates during the pandemic, Cheng said.

While broken heart syndrome is increasing among women ages 50 to 74 years old, the data shows the risk decreases with age for women over 75, which came as a surprise to researchers.

We believe this is due to a combination of factors at play, and hearts become more vulnerable with increasing age, up to a point, Cheng said. After that point, the excess surge in stress hormones is either not as high or not as effective at impacting the heart.

In addition, the data offer implications for further study to determine which factors are most at play in raising the risk in this demographic.

These findings are making us focus on the years that follow the menopausal transition, and what cardiac factors might make a heart more vulnerable to stress in a woman in her 50s or 60s, but not in her [late] 70s or 80s, Cheng said.

Doctors recommend the same lifestyle tips for the prevention of broken heart syndrome as they would for preventing heart disease, with an emphasis on stress management.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends maintaining a healthy, balanced diet, and getting regular moderate exercise to help prevent heart disease at any age.

Maintaining healthy relationships can lead to greater happiness and reduced stress. The Harvard Study of Adult Development suggests that relationships are key to health and longevity, and broken heart syndrome shows how brain stress is connected to heart stress.

Although we dont have definitive evidence from clinical studies or trials as of yet showing that the opposite is true that brain health is connected to heart health over the longer term its safe to assume this is likely the case, Cheng said.

Managing your stress through exercise, mindfulness, or simply doing things that you enjoy or having outlets for your stresses will help decrease the occurrence of stress-induced cardiomyopathy or other stress-induced health conditions.

Of course, stress management is crucial for our mental well-being.

To better understand the underlying causes and triggers of broken heart syndrome, research will continue to identify molecular markers that could more clearly signal susceptibility and risk for developing the condition, as well as paths to recovery.

In the meantime, women ages 50 to 74 can protect their hearts with healthy lifestyle choices and stress management.

A healthier lifestyle is probably also going to help our mental health, which indirectly helps with disease prevention, Wong said.

See more here:
Broken Heart Syndrome on the Rise In US Women: Here's Why - PsychCentral.com

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Covid-19 Update Precision Medicine Software market: Poised to Garner Maximum Revenues by 2027 with major key players in the market Syapse, Allscripts,...

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Oct. 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has hit minority groups in the United States hard, with significantly more deaths among Black and Hispanic Americans compared with white and Asian Americans, a new study finds.

According to the report, these disparities highlight the need to address ongoing inequities influencing health and longevity in the United States.

What's more, "focusing on COVID-19 deaths alone without examining total excess deaths that is, deaths due to non-COVID-19 causes as well as to COVID-19 may underestimate the true impact of the pandemic," added study author Meredith Shiels. She's a senior investigator at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

For the study, the researchers compared excess deaths by race/ethnicity, sex, age group and cause of death from March to December 2020 with data from the same months in 2019. The team used provisional death certificate data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The findings showed that nearly 3 million people died in the United States between March 1 and Dec. 31, 2020. Compared with the same period in 2019, that totaled 477,200 excess deaths, with 74% of these excess deaths being due to COVID-19.

After taking age into account, the numbers of excess deaths by population size among Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic men and women were more than double those in white and Asian American men and women, according to the report.

The data do not explain the reasons for the excess non-COVID deaths. "It is possible that fear of seeking out health care during the pandemic or misattribution of causes of death from COVID-19 are responsible for a majority of the excess non-COVID-19 deaths," Shiels said in a news release from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The excess deaths that occurred during the pandemic have resulted in growing disparities in overall U.S. death rates, with the gap in age-adjusted all-cause deaths increasing between 2019 and 2020 for Black and American Indian/Alaska Native men and women compared with white men and women.

For example, the investigators found that in 2019, total deaths by population among Black men was 26% higher than in white men, but in 2020 it was 45% higher. The same held true for women. In 2019, total deaths by population among Black women was 15% higher than in white women, but in 2020 it was 32% higher, according to the report published Oct. 5 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Resistance to vaccination could be one big contributing factor.

Study co-author Dr. Eliseo Prez-Stable is director of the U.S. National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. He said, "Our efforts at NIH to help mitigate these COVID disparities have been heavily focused on promoting testing and vaccine uptake through community-engaged research. However, vaccine hesitancy poses a real threat, so we are addressing the misinformation and distrust through collaborative partnerships with trusted community stakeholders."

More information

For more on COVID-19, head to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCE: U.S. National Institutes of Health, news release, Oct. 4, 2021

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Minorities Bore the Brunt of US COVID Deaths - WebMD

Most of us assume that aging means living with declining health, including prescription drugs, disease and chronic pain. So, while we may be living longer, were not living betterthats the paradox of aging.

Now, from Dr. Steven Gundry, author of the New York Times bestseller The Plant Paradox, comes a groundbreaking plan for living a long, healthy, and happy life: THE LONGEVITY PARADOX: How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age

Working with thousands of patients, world-renowned heart surgeon and

cardiologist, Dr. Gundry has discovered that the diseases of aging

we most fear are not simply a function of age; rather, they are a byproduct of lifestyle choices over decades.

THE LONGEVITY PARADOX is the culmination of the results he has observed in patients, analysis of an enormous amount of recent research on the gut biome and his study of the worlds longest-lived communities.

In it liestrue secrets to the fountain of youth. To find out how it can help you to live your best, longest life, get your copy today!

Continue reading here:
Books - Gundry MD

By Scot Baddley, president and CEO, YMCA of Greenville

My family and I have always been grateful for the gift of health. But the past year has made us cherish our health as a gift like we never have before.

What encourages me during the uncertain times were in is understanding the invaluable benefits of a healthy lifestyle. We can take proactive measures to defend our bodies from sickness like COVID-19 and other viruses. A recent study by the Henry Ford Health System shows that physically fit people are less likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19. When you prioritize exercise, you are training your body not just to be strong, but also to fight disease, improve mental health and increase longevity.

Plus, by taking care of yourself, youre taking care of others, too your loved ones who depend on you and the people you meet in the community.

Exercise truly is medicine. Medical experts have cited the role an active lifestyle plays in reducing risk of developing common diseases.Mladen Golubic, M.D., Ph.D., reported that 80% of chronic diseases are driven by lifestyle factors. Just by maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, following a healthy diet and not smoking, you are taking steps to save your own life. It is a simple formula, yet only one in three adults get the recommended amount of physical activity each week.

The key is to get started and make exercise a habit.

Stress is an epidemic. It lurks in the shadows of a much larger and more visible epidemic, but it remains a critical threat to mental health, which can have long-term effects.

Whether we realize it or not, stress takes a toll on us. From major life changes to daily micro-stresses, sustained stress can lead to a weakened immune system, high blood pressure, heart disease and more.

While we cannot always control circumstances, by exercising you can release stress and build a healthy routine to help you take on whatever your day brings you. Exercise makes me feel better about my day, and that carries into my work and family life.

Finally, exercise can help you live a longer life. One of our members at the George I. Theisen Family YMCA can speak to this. At 84 years old, she comes to the Y every day to ride 6 miles on the stationary bike. A picture of health with no signs of slowing down, she is a living testament to the fact that regular exercise keeps her vibrant and strong.

The hardest part of obtaining the gift of health, like anything worth taking on, is making the commitment. At an all-encompassing health center like the YMCA of Greenville, getting started and making the commitment is as simple as making the decision to walk through the door and keep coming back. The Y welcomes everyone, at any stage of their life and at any stage of their health journey.

The Y meets you where you are, providing you with the encouragement, accountability and tools to be successful. When you keep coming back, you keep giving yourself and your family the gift of health.

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Op-ed: Healthy habits are more important than ever - GREENVILLE JOURNAL - Greenville Journal

In Atlanta, Black women in their 20s are more likely to develop heart disease due to health conditions, new research shows.

A study released on Tuesday shows that out of the about 1,000 Black women surveyed, women under the age of 40 were more likely to eat fast food, which can result in higher-than-recommended salt intakes and lead to high blood pressure and body mass among all age groups.

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

It just reinforces the point that preventative cardiovascular disease care needs to implemented early in young Black women, Nishant Vatsa, Emory Universitys internal medicine resident colleges hospital and lead author of the study, told The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The survey was part of Emory University's 10,000 Women Project, which provides free cardiovascular risk screenings, education and resources for follow-up care to decrease heart disease and high blood pressure in women, especially Black women, NPR reported. The women, who ranged from their 20s to 60s, were surveyed between 2015 and 2018 by researchers at Emory University from large churches and civic organizations, 30 percent of whom had post-graduate degrees.

"The data that we collected was through questionnaires asking about certain socioeconomic risk factors such as income, education and health insurance," Vatsa said. "We also asked about certain lifestyle risk factors that are related to cardiovascular disease, particularly relating to diet and exercise, as well as smoking habits."

Black women in Atlanta are already three to four times more likely to die from childbirth than white women in the same city, the AJC reported, giving them the worst maternal mortality rates in the nation.

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Originally posted here:
Young Black Atlanta women are more likely to develop heart disease | TheHill - The Hill

Living to be 100 used to be a novelty, so much so that Willard Scott, the Today Show weatherman, would announce your name on air in awe (Al Roker still does). Yet, these days it's not so uncommon to live that long. We're all living longer than ever. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently pegs 78 years of age as the average life expectancy. That's not too shabby considering a century ago people lived to be around 39 (due to an influenza outbreak).

But what if we could push it 25 years more?

Worldwide, there are nearly 500,000 people who have made, or surpassed, the 100-mark, and this number is projected to grow to 3.7 million by 2050. Here, Eat This, Not That! Health rounds-up the latest research that'll not only help you to live to be triple digits, but ensure you're happy doing so. Read onand to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these 19 Ways You're Ruining Your Body, Say Health Experts.

Don't down a bottle of Jgermeister in hopes of a long life ahead. But a glass of red wine, by all means. "Our research shows that light-to-moderate drinking might have some protective effects against cardiovascular disease," says Bo Xi, MD, associate professor at the Shandong University School of Public Health in China and the lead author of a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, "while heavy drinking can lead to death. A delicate balance exists between the beneficial and detrimental."

The Rx: Red wine contains antioxidants, can lower cholesterol, reduces the risk of stroke and increases bone density. Enjoy one to two glasses a day if you wish.

Eating meat less than once a week may increase longevity by 3.6 years, according to a study published in the American Journal of Nutrition. Another 22-year study out of Finland found increased mortality and disease among individuals with higher animal protein intakes.

The Rx: If you must eat meat, opt for leaner proteins (chicken, turkey, lean cuts of beef) and keep off the bacon and sausages since diets heavy in processed meats are linked to higher risk of cancer and heart disease. Otherwise, explore the exciting new world of plant-based nutrition, with a product like Beyond Meat, made with pea protein.

Be mindful of your surroundings, and what you're breathing in. Everything from Benzene (found in gasoline), smoke, and other toxins can lead to cell degeneration and increase mortality rates, studies show.

The Rx: Don't miss this essential list of 100 Ways Your Home Could be Making You Sick.

Olive oil, veggies, fruits, nuts, seafood and a moderate amount of wine and cheesewe've all heard the Mediterranean diet is the secret to a longer life. In fact, numerous studies have linked the diet to improving brain health and function, lower risk of cancer and other diseases.

The Rx: Now it's time you tried it. Eat almonds, hummus, wild salmon, garlic, lemon, quinoa, cauliflower, chia seeds and olives frequently. Eat eggs, Skyr, and chicken moderately. And eat red meat rarely. Avoid entirely the packaged, processed, store-bought items that are loaded with additives.

RELATED: 9 Everyday Habits That Might Lead to Dementia, Say Experts

Gene variants found in centenarians have been linked to their longer lives. A healthy lifestyle can help people live into old age, but these genes help maintain basic maintenance and function of the body's cells in individuals of advanced age, in their 80s and beyond.

The Rx: You can't outrun genetics but you can learn about yours. Consider taking a DNA test, in which you'll learn about your proclivity to certain diseases.

Japan is doing something right! It currently holds the title of longest life span, according to the World Health Organization. This may have something to do with the size of their plates. When it comes to diet, the Japanese tend to eat smaller portionsspecifically the size of a salad plateand don't overstuff themselves. Centenarians studied in Okinawa stop eating when they are 80 percent full. They also tend to live seven years longer than Americans, according to a study, and have fewer cases of heart disease and cancer.

The Rx: Experiment with the 80% rule. Or at the very least, don't keep eating when you feel full.

Don't work so hard; your life depends on it. A Finnish study followed male businessman born between 1919 and 1934, and found that those who didn't sleep enough, were overworked, and didn't take enough time off (i.e. vacation) were 37 percent more likely to die between the years of 1974 and 2004. By 2015, some of the oldest participants, who always took their vacay, reached 81 to 96 years of age.

The Rx: Our current culture rewards non-stop go-and-do work. But at what cost? If you have vacation days, use them to unplug, and be firm with your boss if you must. He'll value your work more if you're alive than dead.

RELATED: The #1 Reason You Could Get Cancer, According to Science

Each hour you binge Netflix, Hulu, HBOthe list goes onafter the age of 25 may cut your life by 22 minutes, according to research out of the University of Queensland, Australia. Those who spent an average of six hours in front of the tube per day were also likely to die five years earlier than those that didn't watch TV at all.

The Rx: There are other reasons to stop clicking "next episode." They can be addictive and eat up your time. (Robert De Niro is currently suing an ex-employee because he watched 55 episodes of Friends in a row.) Enjoy your One Day at a Timeone episode at a time.

A study out of the University of Naples found that too little or too much sleepsleeping less or more than six to eight hours on averageis linked to a 30 percent higher chance of premature death.

The Rx: Seven to eight hours of shuteye is the sweet spot.

RELATED: This Supplement Can Raise Your Heart Attack Risk, Experts Say

Packed with vitamin C and other nutrients, studies have found mustards, also known as Brassicaceae, will keep you around longer, according to researchers.

The Rx: Enojy cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radishes, watercress, Brussels sprouts and a few spices like horseradish, wasabi and, yes, white, Indian and black mustard.

Hey, none of us are getting out of this alive, but that's no reason to keep that sour mug. Researchers examined smile intensity among photos of baseball players from the 1950s. Of the players who had died in the years 2006 to 2009, those who were not smiling in those photos lived an average of 72.9 years, while the big smilers lived nearly 80 years. They concluded that there's a clear link between smiling intensity and longevity.

The Rx: Men, stop telling women to smile. It's demeaning and implies they're subservient. However, given the impact on our health (mental and otherwise), we could all stand to turn that frown upside down.

Old dogs can't learn new tricks but you can. Education, coupled with a healthy weight, leads to a longer life expectancy, revealed a study out of the University of Edinburgh, with almost a year added to your life for each year spent studying beyond school.

The Rx: Pull a Dangerfield and go back to schooleven if it's just an herbalism course, knitting class or continuing ed program.

RELATED: I'm A Doctor And Warn You Never Take This Supplement

Avoid certain jobs, some of the deadliest out there, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, if you want to stick around longer. On the flip side, find a job you love. You'll be happier, longer, which can impact you positively long-term.

The Rx: Truck driver, farmers and construction laborers are among the most dangerous, mainly owing to vehicular accidents.

Country life is serene, but the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging found that living in a major city can also support longer life spans because of stronger health systems, and more access to learning, arts, culture, and other healthy stimulants.

The Rx: Eat This, Not That! Health is based in New York City and our editors can attest living here indeed makes you feel young, although struggling to afford it might age you. Weigh the fantasy versus reality before any leaps.

Good relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives, a Harvard study revealed. Another study in Personal Relationships looked at 270,000 people in nearly 100 countries with a strong link to better health in older age among those with strong friend and family connections.

The Rx: Send a "friend request" to someone you'd like to be closer toand meet them in person, not just online.

Compared with persons with a normal body mass index (18.5 to 25), those who are underweight, overweight, and obese have an increased risk of death over a 30-year period. Being too underweight, or at the extreme, obese, can impact health significantly over time, show studies.

The Rx: A book like Zero Belly Diet can help you cut dairy, reduce bloat, stay plant-based and be leaner for life.

Stay away from men. That's what centenarian Jessie Gallan, at one time Scotland's oldest woman, credited for her longevity. "They're more trouble than they're worth," she said in an interview before her death in 2015. Granted, Gallan was a tough woman without or without a man. She started working at the age of 13 and spent her 109 years staying fit and having good people in her life but never walked down the aisle.

The Rx: There's no definitive research supporting a link between marriage and longevity one way or the other, although one study found that "current marriage is associated with longer survival. Among the not married categories, having never been married was the strongest predictor of premature mortality." Our advice: Marry the person you want to spend your life with, and give one another room to grow.

If you want to live longer, make sure you and your spouse are happy. A study published by the Association for Psychological Science found that a happy marriage can lead to a longer life.

The Rx: A good marriage is linked to a more active life and healthier habits, overall. How's your relationship?

RELATED: The #1 Cause of Obesity, According to Science

As stressful as parenthood gets at times, having kids can actually keep you around longer since it encourages a healthier lifestyleyou're more likely to give up smoking and stay active, shows one study.

The Rx: Don't have children just to live longer. But if you do have or want kids, remember that your habits become theirs. Set the example.

Keep a good pace. Brisk walking will keep your heart healthy and add some years to your life, according to a recent Mayo Clinic study. Researchers reported that women who walked more quickly had a life span of about 87 years compared to 72 years for women who walked slowly. Meanwhile, men who walked quickly had a life span of about 86 years compared to 65 years for men who walked more slowly.

The Rx: "Walking is man's best medicine," said Hippocrates. Get steppin'.

A handful of nuts a day may keep the doctor away, according to Harvard University research, which found that people who crunch some nuts daily lived 20 percent longer than those who didn't.

The Rx: Our favorite is almonds. Besides being an easy go-to snack that you can whip out of your bag during a good ol' 9-5 shift, almonds are also chock-full of essential vitamins and minerals, with vitamin E and biotin being the most predominant. Those nutrients enable your skin to remain smooth and gives your lush hair and strong nails the nutrition they need to flourish.

Don't stopever! The moment you become stagnant, things may go downhill. Stay active. A 2016 study found that elderly people who exercised for just 15 minutes a day, at an intensity level of a brisk walk, had a 22 percent lower risk of early death compared to people who don't exercise.

The Rx: "For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines: Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity," reports the Mayo Clinic.

To quote Dr. Nelly of Nellyville: It's getting hot in here. Frequent spicy food consumption is linked to a longer life. Those who eat spicy foods nearly every day have a 14 percent chance of living longer, according to a Harvard study. Capsaicin and other compounds in chili peppers have been linked to fighting cancer, obesity, and more.

The Rx: Sprinkle some cayenne pepper into your eggs every morning, for a one-two punch of protein and spice.

RELATED: Signs You're Getting One of the "Most Deadly" Cancers.

Researchers at the Carleton University in Canada say that having a sense of purpose may add more years to your life, because of positive relations and emotions and overall well-being.

The Rx: Start small. Rather than ask yourself, "Why am I here? What is my place in the Universe" ask yourself, "What can I do today that will make me feel like I've enriched my life, or the lives of others?"

Yoga can help improve digestion, calm the nervous system, lower blood sugar, and so many other tangible benefits. It's no wonder researchers say it will help increase your overall life span.

The Rx: Get your chaturanga on! There's no doubt a yoga studio near you, with teachers who will welcome first-timers. For long-timers, consider a retreat.

Taking care of your teeth and gums isn't just about preventing cavities or bad breath. The mouth is the gateway to the body's overall health. Not flossing allows plaque to build up, which then turns into tartar that can eventually irritate the gums, which can lead to various infections and disease over time. Researchers followed more than 5,400 people for 18 years and found that those who did not brush their teeth daily had a 22 to 65 percent greater risk of dementia than those who brushed three times a day.

The Rx: The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth twice a day. Use fluoride toothpaste, and brush for two minutes.

Coffee is packed with tons of healthy compounds, including antioxidants, which can protect the body against cellular damage that can lead to disease, studies show.

The Rx: Drinking four to five cups daily is also associated with a reduced risk of early death.

This one is pretty self explanatory. An active lifestyle will keep you around longer. Exercising at a moderate level for at least 150 minutes can add on 3.4 years to your life, according to the National Institute of Health.

The Rx: Try one of these 25 Easy Exercises That Boost Your Health Fast. They really work.

Helping others can only make you feel good, and it helps boost overall mental health throughout time, which impacts the body's immunity to fight disease, according to a study published in BMC Public Health.

The Rx: Animal rescue shelters, national parks, Habitat for Humanity, local libraries, political campaigns and the YMCA are a few places that rarely say no to help.

RELATED: Sure Signs You Had COVID and Didn't Know It

Studies show sex releases endorphins and hormones in the body, which can help combat feelings of loneliness and depression, keep you physically active, reduce stress relieving, and boost mental wellness.

The Rx: Take this advice seriously. Having sex is one of theSimplest Ways to Avoid a Heart Attack, Say Doctors.

Are there stairs nearby? Good. Use them. The European Society of Cardiology released a study showing how brisk movement, particularly being able to climb three flights quickly, can reduce your risk of early death from cardiovascular and oncologic, and other diseases.

The Rx: Skip the elevators and escalators, and track your steps with a fitness watch, if you need more motivation.

The sweet stuff won't get you far in lifeliterally. Too much sugar is linked to shorter life spans, according to one study. Sugar has even been linked to reprogramming how our genes function. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that about 14% of the daily calories the average Ameican consumes comes from added sugars. And it shows. According to a Population Health Management publication, the number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes increased more than three times between 1990 and 2010. This just so happens to be the same years sugar starting becoming more prevalent in our food.

The Rx: A book like Sugar Free 3 can teach you how to identify added sugarsand how to give them up.

Get in touch with your spiritual side. People who attend religious services, or have some spiritual connection, typically experience lower levels of anxiety, depression, have lower blood pressure, and are generally in better health. An 18-year study published in PLOS One found that regular service attendance was linked to reductions in the body's stress responses, and worshippers were 55 percent less likely to die.

The Rx: You read that right: 55 percent less likely to die. Start by defining what spirituality means to you, and then see if there's a community that supports that common interest.

If you're not connected to a particular religion, you can still find your spiritual balance through meditation. Not only does it improve mental health, but meditating has been linked to a lower risk of cancer and other diseases, according to a study from the University of California-Davis, which found that regular meditation produces higher levels of telomerase, an enzyme that helps lengthen the telomeres in our chromosomes, which impact aging.

The Rx: Apps like Insight Timer, Headspace and Calm have taken meditating mainstream; try one. One of our favorite apps is 10% Happier, from ABC News man-turned-meditator Dan Harris.

If you know how to laugh at things, you'll live longer. A 15-year study out of Norway assessed the link between a sense of humor and mortality rates among 53,556 men and women and found that women who had a good sense of humor lived longer, despite illnesses, including cardiovascular disease; cheerful men faired just as well with laughter protecting them from infection.

The Rx: We've been obsessed with the funniest lines from HBO's Successionand aren't even sure it's a comedy!

RELATED: Everyday Habits That Make You Look Older, According to Science

Want to live to 85 or longer? Optimistic thinking can add years on to your life, say researchers at Boston University School of Medicine. Optimistic people can better regulate emotions so we can bounce back from stressors and difficulties more effectively.

The Rx: Technically, the glass is always half full. The other half is air.

Creativity keeps the brain healthy and may decrease mortality rates. Researchers agree. Creative people just tend to live longer.

The Rx: Remember this, if something's blocking you: You don't have to be "creative" to create.

Be good to yourself. Self compassion goes a long way, say researchers. It's associated with better moods, can improve body image, and is linked to happiness, optimism, wisdom, personal initiative, and more. Overall, it improves our entire mental health, which keeps our body more resilient to stress and illnesses.

The Rx: Did we mention we love that thing you said today? So smart! So funny! So wise.

People who eat fiber-rich foods, including some good 'ole oatmeal or porridge, cut their risk of dying from cardiovascular, infectious, and respiratory diseases by 24 to 56 percent in men and by 34 percent to 59 percent in women, shows one study.

The Rx: Buy "regular" oatmeal and add berries for sweetness. Anything else may be loaded with dangerous added sugars.

Owning a dog is linked to a longer life, according to researchers out of Uppsala University in Sweden, who reviewed national registry records of 3.4. million men and women, ages 40 to 80.

If you're a cat person, you'll get some extra years from kitties as well. A study by the Minnesota Stroke Institute found that people who owned cats were 30 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack.

The Rx: We mentioned volunteering at the ASPCA. If you feel truly capable of caring for a pet, discuss taking one home. We like these questions from Nylabone:

Get back to basics with food. Those who incorporate more whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and fish and limiting too much sodium, unhealthy fats, excess red meat, sugar, and processed foods, improved their overall health and life expectancy.

The Rx: For the web's #1 nutrition resource, and to make the right food choice every time, head to Eat This, Not That!

Does longevity run in your family? Dig deeper into your family history, including lifestyle habits, illnesses, deaths, and beyond. It may help us tap into how long we ultimately have here.

The Rx: Put together a family treewith dates of birth, death, and causes.

Tea contains flavonoids, a compound that works to boost health. One study found that 88 percent of women were 40 percent more likely to live longer because they drank two cups of tea per day.

The Rx: Go green. The most potent catechin in green tea is EGCG, the powerhouse compound that's responsible for most of green tea's weight loss properties. In addition to revving your metabolism and boosting the breakdown of fat, EGCG can also block the formation of new fat cells.

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Simple Ways to Never Age, According to Experts | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

DURHAM, N.C. A Duke-led team of scientists has developed a bio-compatible surgical patch that releases non-opioid painkillers directly to the site of a wound for days and then dissolves away.

The polymer patch provides a controlled release of a drug that blocks the enzyme COX-2 (cyclooxygenase-2,) which drives pain and inflammation. The study appears Jan. 10, 2021 in the Journal of Controlled Release.

When they started We were making hernia meshes and different antimicrobial films, said Matthew Becker, the Hugo L. Blomquist professor chemistry at Duke, and last author on the paper. We thought you could potentially put pain drugs or anesthetics in the film if you just sew it in as you're stitching the person up, then you wouldn't necessarily have to prescribe any opioids, Becker said.

The work grew out of a $2 million grant Becker received from the state of Ohio at his previous institution to investigate non-opioid pain management , one measure toward fighting a nationwide epidemic of opioid drug abuse. Since arriving at Duke in 2019, Beckers team has partnered with Duke pain control expert Dr. Ru-Rong Ji and his team to refine the idea.

The polymer itself, comprised of poly(ester urea) homopolymers and co-polymers, is also special, said Becker, who is also a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science in Duke's Pratt School of Engineering.

Most polymers that are used in medicine swell, and everything comes out at once, Becker said. But this polymer erodes slowly, and its painkiller dose and longevity can be controlled simply by varying the surface area and thicknesses. The film is about like a piece of paper.

If you can get four or five days of pain control out of the patch and not have to take those other pain drugs, not only do you avoid some of the side effects and risks of addiction, youre concentrating therapy where you need it, Becker said.

Rat studies also showed that the painkiller stayed in tissues close to the patch site, rather than dissolving into circulating plasma.

Becker said the patch should be able to provide three or four days of wound-pain management, which is the critical period for post-surgical pain. The implantable film would be particularly useful in endoscopic procedures and instances where the physicians and patients would like to avoid opioid exposure such as Cesarean births and pediatric surgeries. In studies with mice that mimic the neuropathic pain of diabetes, the pain patch was placed against a nerve and provided a four-day nerve block.

This research was sponsored by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp, 21st Century Medical Technologies and the Ohio Third Frontier Opioid Challenge. Becker and co-author Natasha Brigham have filed provisional patent applications with the University of Akron Research Foundation. Becker also is a board member and equity holder in 21st Century Medical Technologies.

CITATION: Controlled Release of Etoricoxib from Poly(ester urea) Films for Post-Operative Pain Management, Natasha Brigham, Rebecca Nofsinger, Xin Luo, Nathan Dreger, Alexandra Abel, Tiffany Gustafson, Seth Forster, Andre Hermans, Ru-Rong Ji, Matthew Becker. Journal of Controlled Release, Jan. 10, 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.11.052

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Post-Surgical Patch Releases Non-Opioid Painkiller Directly to the Wound - Duke Today

I replied, Well, they showed that individuals who received the active vaccine injection were much less likely to get the infection than those who got a placebo or dummy injection without active vaccine.

She listened intently with a slightly worried expression.

But to make the study completely objective, it was double-blind, I said.

Whats that? she asked.

Double-blind means that both sides are blind or not given information about who got the real vaccine or placebo, I replied. Not the clinical team with the doctor, nurse, and other research staff on one side, and the patient and family and friends on the other side. No one directly involved with the patient in the study is allowed to know.

Her reaction was spontaneous and swift: But thats against human nature! How can we prevented from knowing if we are getting the real vaccine?

As a researcher, I have conducted many clinical trials with patients who express concern about the possibility of receiving a placebo, or find it hard to comprehend the restrictive rules of a double-blind design. These are counterintuitive methods, though required by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and other agencies worldwide. They are intended to increase objectivity because there is ample evidence that a positive bias naturally occurs in most patients and clinicians involved in a study.They expect the vaccine to be safe and effective, and their expectation often has a healing power of its own.

A long history confirms the need for research objectivity. Until the 18th century, average human longevity ranged from 30 to 50 years; it barely budged despite the thousands of new therapies pursued across the world, some based on ancient texts from a variety of cultures. But scientific proof was gradually replacing beliefs. Revolutionary advances like the discovery of antibiotics in the mid-20th century transformed human survival. Experimental methods to improve the accuracy of research findings, including the objective methods used routinely nowadays in clinical studies, were codified by scientists in the 20th century. During the last 2 centuries, the average human lifespan nearly doubledto over 75 years. The FDA adopted scientific methods by requiring that research studies in humans be conducted in phases. Phase 1 involves small-scale studies to determine safety, and at different doses, phase 2 involves mid-sized, double-blind studies with a placebo group to obtain initial information on efficacy and safety of the optimal doses identified in phase 1, and phase 3 requires large-scale, double-blind clinical trials with placebo built upon results from phases 1 and 2. If phase 3 results are positive, with sufficient safety and efficacy, the vaccine or drug is approved. But the work is not done. Phase 4 then begins with post-approval monitoring of side and adverse effects in those receiving the approved treatment or vaccine in standard clinical care.

Why are there so many hurdles to cross before approval, and more afterwards? Less than 1 in every 100 potential treatments makes it all the way from the basic science laboratory through clinical trials and finally regulatory approval for patient care. In other words, if we did not have the current regulatory system, tens of thousands of new vaccines, drugs and medical devices would be used widely, despite over 99% of them not meeting necessary standards of safety and efficacy. That would be like throwing us back to the healthcare standards of medieval and even earlier times.

My experience during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the struggle to balance scientific knowledge with private beliefs and intrinsic daily habits. In late February 2020, I acquired N-95 masks and face-shields from our hospitals central supply and instructed all my clinical research staff to wear the mask and face-shield when seeing patients. In March 2020, just before the lockdown, we saw our last outpatient, who subsequently was hospitalized a few days later with COVID-19. I did not become ill but a few of my research staff members did, fortunately only with moderate symptoms that resolved in several weeks. Judging by when they became ill, they probably got the infection from that patient. When I asked, they told me that they had not worn the mask and face-shield continuously, as I had instructed. These team members routinely follow my instructions in carrying out their daily work but wearing a mask and face-shield went against their usual habits and beliefs.

If this was happening in a healthcare setting, the problems that we have seen with the publics response to the pandemic should not come as a surprise. To ensure a robust pandemic response in 2021, we all will need to better understand why so many people do not act in their own interest, and that of others. Public education about the science and the studies that produced FDA approval is essential, as is modeling by trustworthy, influential and diverse people doing the right thing.

But will that be enough? What do we need to know about those individuals (and groups) who demonstrate vaccine hesitancy, as has been abundant in refusals of flu and even measles vaccinations? The beliefs that underlie vaccine hesitancy may seem counter-intuitive, but they are prevalent and constitute a danger to that individuals health and to that of others. These actions may seem to go against the self-protective and social compact in human nature, except that it is other aspects of human nature, instinctive fear of the new and unknown as well as entrenched beliefs and habits, that are driving them. Let us hope it does not take centuries to understand what is going on and what works to alter vaccine hesitancy. We do not have the time for that.

Dr Devanand is professor of Psychiatry and Neurology and Director of Geriatric Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

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Vaccines at the Dinner Table - Psychiatric Times