Regular Exercise Linked to Longer Life

What’s the secret to longer life… never smoking, avoiding alcohol, a nutritious diet?

While those healthy habits certainly contribute to healthy aging, a recent study suggests walking, swimming, playing golf or other forms of regular physical exercise could be the key to living longer.

According to Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, older adults should engage in 150 – 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise (walking, weight-lifting and other low-intensity activities) or 75-150 minutes a week of vigorous physical activity (jogging, running, swimming, biking and other high-intensity activities). The study found that adults who followed the minimum guidelines lowered their risk of death by as much as 21%. The findings also suggest that those who exercised two to four times the minimum requirement could lower their mortality risk by as much as 31%.

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Another Reason to Get a Flu Shot

Could a yearly flu vaccine help prevent Alzheimer’s disease? According to a new study… the answer is, yes.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 936,000 patients age 65 and older who received a flu vaccine and an equal number of individuals who did not. They found that, over a four-year period, those who had at least one flu shot were 40 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who were unvaccinated.

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