Goanetters...check on this advice by Dr. Mehmet Oz's (famous on TV) Longevity Plan for the OverFifties. C
Dr. Oz's Longevity Plan For the 50-Plus Posted on May 3rd 2010 3:00PM by Vanessa Voltolina Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment, Fit After 40 Print [Unable to display image] EmailMore Dr. Oz is certainly not lacking in enthusiastic followers of his healthy living and lifestyle advice. But recently, the favorite physician focused on a new market by teaming up with AARP Magazine and creating a six-month plan for increasing longevity. Oz, who himself is on the verge of turning the big 5-0, provided the publication, which focuses on the 50-year-old-plus population, with a regimen that features 18 stretching, strength and balance exercises, most of which can be done at home, according to Reuters. Oz also provided dietary guidelines and checklists to the magazine. The staple of the plan is a daily, 30-minute walk. "This six month plan is designed to be a gradual process that will put you on the road to a longer, healthier life," Dr. Oz told AARP. "Consider it as a long journey in a car with a friendly GPS system. You might make a wrong turn along the way, but you simply take the next available U-turn to correct your course. It is meant to allow you to 'recalibrate' without judgment." Here's a preview of a few of Dr. Oz's exercise tips from the May/June 2010 issue of AARP (these steps are found in month three of the plan): Week 1: Boost your aerobic activity by stepping up the pace of your walking -- you should be breathing fairly hard -- and by adding 3,000 more steps each day. Week 2: Add a short, 10-minute strength-training program to your routine. Start with scissor legs, then add exercises to strengthen your shoulders, arms and legs. Week 3: This week, start each day with a 10-minute stretching session. Flexibility is key to ensuring that you don't injure yourself as you increase your physical activity. You'll want to stretch your chest, back, abdominals, hips and hamstrings. Week 4: Our sense of balance is coordinated by three things -- our proprioception (which is our brain telling us where we are in space), our vision and our hearing. As we age, our ability to integrate the signals from these three systems declines. But it takes only a few minutes a day to fine-tune it. The magazine also includes 6-Month Plan Daily Checklist: Walk 30 minutes: Working out has benefits for your heart, weight, even your sex life. It may also help stave off Alzheimer's, new research finds. Brush and floss: Brushing removes only about 60 percent of the germs from between your teeth. Drink two cups of green tea: Green tea may lessen the risk of some cancers, plus it lowers cholesterol levels. Take 400mg of DHA omega-3s, 1,000 IU vitamin D, and 1,000mg calcium: Omega-3s diminish cognitive decline; calcium and vitamin D boost bone density. Sleep seven to eight hours a night: Our bodies use downtime to repair cells, process information, and raise growth hormone levels, which can up bone density and decrease body fat. Meditate for five minutes: Yoga, prayer, meditation -- they're all key to reducing stress and finding purpose (more on these in Months 4 and 5).
