4 Easy Ways to Live Longer

Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to go today. Here are four easy ways to increase your longevity by almost 20 years.

1. A Salad a Day
 Italian researchers have pinpointed an easy habit you can adopt which will yield two additional years to your life span. A new study suggests that the simple practice of eating a salad a day is enough to make your life longer. The antioxidants found in vegetables such as broccoli, dark leafy greens, bell peppers and tomatoes have been shown in studies to ward off everything from major diseases to the common cold.

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2. Oh Nuts!
The crack team at Loma Linda University noticed something funny about Seventh Day Adventists in California; they were living longer than everyone else. Seventh Day Adventists are known for their healthy lifestyles and the avoidance of things such as caffeine, alcohol and pork. Scientists were able to pinpoint their practice of eating nuts as being particularly beneficial. After compiling all of the data, the research team asserted that snacking on nuts at least five times a week can add almost three extra years to your life.

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3. You Get By With a Little Help From Your Friends
In Australia, researchers found that the individuals with the largest networks of friends lived the longest. Whether just having someone to check in on you from time to time does the trick or perhaps it is the physiological benefits of companionship, having a good solid gang of buddies tacks on an additional seven years.

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4. You Gotta Ac-cen-tuate The Positive
Yale University researchers help us understand that not everything regarding longevity can be quantified as easily as a bowl of leafy greens. Older adults who enter the golden years of retirement with a general sense of doom and gloom are not likely to last very long. The mind is a powerful thing and can create health realities either positively or negatively. Individuals who approach the next chapter of their lives with a sense of optimism and purpose have been shown to live more than seven years longer. Programs like our Salute to Senior Service promote and recognize the contributions that older adults make for just that reason.

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A Fresh Perspective From The Lady in Number 6

A few weeks ago, I watched the Academy Awards with my wife. Truth be told, we were both asleep by 9:30 and missed most of the major awards. We were, however, awake to see the award given to this year's Best Documentary Short, The Lady in Number 6.

The film is the inspiring story of the world's oldest living holocaust survivor, Alice Herz-Sommer,  and the optimism with which she lived her life in spite of having endured one of the most horrific ordeals imaginable. Not a traditional holocaust movie, this documentary focuses on Alice's committed belief in the power of music to uplift and transport us to a higher plane.

When asked about her experience during the holocaust, Alice posits a surprising response. "Sometimes it happens that I am thankful to have been there because this gave me..eh...I am richer than other people. My reaction on life is quite another one. All complain 'this is terrible.' It's not so terrible."

She describes meeting German soldiers after the holocaust and their shock at her amiability towards them. "They would ask: 'Don't you hate us?' I would never hate. Hatred only brings hatred."

When asked how she can look at so many horrible things to which she was a victim with such a positive outlook she says: "It depends on me. Everything is good and bad. I look at the good side."

Regarding her status as the world's oldest living holocaust survivor she states: "Only when we are so old, we are aware of the beauty of life."

Sadly, Alice passed away only a few short days before the film documenting her remarkable journey was honored before the world. I think receiving that award would have made her smile.

I would highly recommend spending $5 and taking 30 minutes out of your life to view The Lady in Number 6.  It is available  for both rental and purchase at www.nickreedent.com.