#4 Healthy Habit

The importance of family was demonstrated in a study of centenarians in the US. People who had a brother or sister who lived to be 100 were more likely to live to be 100 than others who were born in the same year. There is longevity in families.

There also seems to be a link between longevity and having a sibling. So you may want to think about having 2 children instead of one.

#3 Healthy Habit

Getting fresh air. This may be a little more difficult if you are a city dweller. There is some good news even for those who live in metropolitan area. Pollution has decreased in cities over the last 30 years. Life span for individuals living in cities has increased by about 10 months. I know this is not very much, but at least it is something. And it also speaks to the fact that getting out of the city is a good thing now and then so you can breathe some fresh air.

The other piece here is to cut pollution in your area in any way that you can. It's not just he environmental impact, but it's good for you and your loved ones as well.

#2 Healthy Habit

I have said this multiple times before, but the eating health is essential to produce a longer life. A British study showed that inidividuals who eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day live longer healthier lives. This should be no surprise.

Also included in those studies was the fact that drinking alcohol in moderation, exercise and not smoking contributed to an extra 14 years of healthy life.

So there is more than just eating right.

7 Healthy Habits

For the next 7 days, I'll be giving you a habit that will help you stay healthy. The first one is getting the right amount of sleep. Adequate amounts of sleep are required for you to stay healthy. The question most people have is how much sleep should I be getting?

Studies have shown that 7-8 hours produces the best longevity and healthiest individuals. If you sleep less than this you are likely to have more disease and a shorter life span. One thing that is good, if you don't get 7 straight hours, but you get a chance to take a nap during the day, this is OK. Taking that time to rest will help your body to stay healthy.

Increasing Obesity

I feel the need to caution everyone against obesity during these hard economic times. The tendency to buy cheaper foods may result in an increase in weight gain. As you know, the increase in weight gain leads to more illness.

This isn't the only problem with increasing obesity during tough economic times. There is an increase in stress during these times which will cause the release of cortisol which causes an increase of the fat stores especially around the abdomen.

The word here is to be cautious about not only what you are eating but what your children are eating as well.

Fasting Helps Prevent Disease

While I'm on the subject of fasting, there is research that tells us that fasting can help with several common diseases. I mention a couple of those yesterday in terms of cognitive function.

But other diseases which fasting may help protect you from are heart disease, diabetes, and asthma to name a few where research is being conducted. With intermittent fasting, researchers found a 40% reduction in the risk for heart disease. This can be very significant if you are one of the 65% of Americans who are overweight.

The incidence of diabetes has been shown to decrease which is not a huge surprise is you are eating less. In Asthmatics, the number of attacks was decreased and the overall symptoms from Asthma were less.

The greatest thing about fasting is how good you feel and how much more energy you will have. This combined with the decrease in disease means you'll live a longer, happier life.

More on Fasting

A little more on fasting here. Fasting can help your bodies systems to take you toward disease prevention. One of the things that occurs during fasting for a couple of days is that your body begins to detoxify and get rid of the toxins that have built up within.

The other thing that occurs after fasting that researchers don't understand is that the seems to require fewer calories. They think this occurs because the cells are stressed just enough, not too much. This mild stress helps them produce proteins that are actually protective of more severe stress. This is a case of a little is good, but more is not better.

Research has also shown that reduced calories with intermittent fasting helps reduce the decline of cognitive function in diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. If you have ever fasted in an appropriate manner, you were probably aware of your own cognitive ability being sharpened.