Inilah Kebiasaan Yang Bikin Anda Cepat Tua

Tahukah Anda bahwa makanan yang Anda makan dan bahkan cara Anda tidur dapat membuat Anda terlihat lebih tua dan tidak sehat? Inilah kebiasaan yang menurut para ahli sebaiknya dihilangkan dari rutinitas harian Anda.

Anda multitasking.

“Orang-orang berpikir bahwa multitasking itu baik. Jika Anda bicara mengenai kecepatan bekerja, mungkin saja hal itu benar. Tapi, multitasking bisa membuat Anda stres,” kata Raymond Casciari, MD, kepala medis dari St Joseph Hospital di Orange, California.

Beberapa studi menunjukkan bahwa stres kronis dapat memicu pelepasan radikal bebas, yang merusak sel dan bertanggung jawab untuk penuaan dini. Alih-alih mencoba untuk melakukan banyak hal sekaligus, Dr. Casciari menyarankan berkonsentrasi pada satu tugas pada satu waktu dan hanya berpindah tugas setelah Anda menyelesaikan tugas yang pertama.

Anda jarang melewatkan makanan penutup

Selain bisa menambah berat badan, makanan manis juga dapat membuat wajah Anda terlihat lebih tua.

“Secara internal, molekul gula menempel pada serat protein di setiap sel tubuh kita,” kata Susan Stuart, MD, dokter kulit di San Diego, California. Proses ini dikenal dengan sebutan glikasi, dan dapat mengakibatkan hilangnya cahaya dari wajah Anda, menyebabkan lingkaran hitam di bawah mata, membuat wajah terlihat bengkak, menimbulkan garis-garis halus dan kerutan di kulit, menyebabkan hilangnya kontur wajah dan meningkatkan ukuran pori-pori.

Anda tidur kurang dari lima jam setiap malam

Melewatkan waktu tidur tidak hanya menyebabkan kantung hitam di bawah mata, tapi juga dikaitkan dengan umur lebih pendek, kata Dr Casciari, yang pendiri klinik tidur di Rumah Sakit St Joseph. “Tidur dalam rentang tujuh jam adalah waktu yang ideal,” katanya.

Anda hobi duduk di depan TV

British Journal of Sports Medicine, menyebutkan bahwa untuk setiap jam menonton televisi, orang dewasa menjadi lebih pendek umur selama rata-rata 22 menit untuk setiap jam yang mereka habiskan di depan TV.

Terlebih lagi orang yang menghabiskan rata-rata enam jam sehari untuk menonton TV. Harapan hidup mereka menjadi lebih pendek sekitar lima tahun dibanding rekan-rekannya yang kurang hobi menonton TV. Ketika Anda duduk selama lebih dari 30 menit, tubuh Anda mulai mendeposit gula ke dalam sel-sel tubuh, yang membuat risiko kenaikan berat badan meningkat. Hal yang sama berlaku untuk kegiatan duduk-duduk santai, meski Anda tidak menonton TV.

Anda tidak menggunakan krim mata

Kulit di sekitar mata lebih tipis dibandingkan kulit di seluruh wajah Anda sehingga lebih mudah untuk keriput, kata Dr Stuart. Jaga kelembaban area mata dengan rutin memakai pelembap khusus mata. “Krim mata yang paling efektif adalah yang mengandung Retin A,” kata Dr Stuart. Faktor penting lainnya adalah kandungan emolien, antioksidan, asam hyaluronic dan vitamin C. “Semuanya itu dapat mempromosikan pembentukan kolagen dan elastin untuk mengencangkan kulit dan mengurangi garis-garis halus di sekitar mata,” kata Dr Stuart.

Anda menggunakan tabir surya, tetapi hanya pada saat liburan

Pergi ke kantor, mengemudi dan berjalan bolak-balik ke kotak surat dapat menyebabkan lebih banyak kerusakan pada kulit dibanding Anda bermain di pantai saat liburan, kata Sarah L. Taylor, MD, profesor dermatologi di Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Wake Forest. “Penyebab nomor satu penuaan dini pada wajah adalah paparan ultraviolet,” kata Dr Taylor. “Sinar UV hadir bahkan ketika hari mendung atau hujan.”

Lindungi kulit Anda dengan memakai sunblock setiap pagi hingga matahari terbenam, tidak peduli Anda ada di dalam atau luar ruangan. Dr Taylor merekomendasikan SPF antara 30 dan 50 untuk penggunaan sehari-hari.

Memakai terlalu banyak make-up

“Mengenakan riasan berlebihan, terutama produk makeup berbasis minyak , dapat menyumbat pori-pori kulit dan menyebabkan wabah jerawat.” Selain itu, terlalu sering menggunakan produk kulit dengan wewangian, bahan kimia dan alkohol dapat menghapus minyak alami penjaga kelembapan kulit. Walhasil, muncul garis-garis prematur dan keriput.

Tidur dengan wajah Anda di bantal

Tidur telungkup dengan wajah bertumpu pada bantal di perut dapat menyebabkan kerutan dan mempercepat penuaan. “Jaringan ikat dan kolagen pada wajah menjadi lemah,” kata James C. Marotta, MD, seorang ahli bedah plastik wajah dan perawatan kulit. Jika posisi ini tetap dipertahankan dalam waktu lama, garis lipatan dari bantal Anda bisa menjadi permanen. Posisi terlentang adalah posisi tidur yang terbaik, apalagi jika sarung bantal Anda terbuat dari bahan satin. Bahan satin lebih berisiko mencetak kerutan di wajah dibanding dengan bahan lainnya seperti katun.

Menyeruput minuman melalui sedotan

Minum minuman berwarna gelap melalui sedotan dapat mencegah noda pada gigi Anda. Tetapi biasanya, minum melalui sedotan membuat Anda tanpa sadar menyipitkan mata akhirnya dapat menyebabkan kerutan terbentuk di sekitar mata Anda. Mengerucutkan bibir juga dapat menyebabkan keriput dini di sekitar mulut. “Ini juga terjadi ketika Anda merokok,” kata Janet Prystowsky, MD, dermatolog bersertifikat di New York.

Anda memusuhi semua jenis lemak

Beberapa lemak diperlukan untuk menjaga Anda tetap sehat dan muda, kata Franci Cohen, ahli gizi dan fisiologi olahraga dari Brooklyn, NY. Asam lemak Omega-3 yang banyak ditemukan dalam minyak ikan (seperti salmon dan mackerel) dan kacang-kacangan tertentu (seperti kenari dan biji rami) dapat menjaga kulit tetap lentur dan lembab, sehingga mencegah keriput selain menjaga kesehatan jantung dan otak. Cohen merekomendasikan agar Anda makan setidaknya dua porsi ikan setiap minggu.

Anda membungkuk

Mengetik selama berjam-jam dapat menyebabkan tulang belakang Anda membentuk postur membungkuk seperti orang lanjut usia, kata Jeremy Smith, MD, ahli ortopedi tulang belakang di Hoag Orthopedic Institute di Irvine, California. “Tulang belakang memiliki bentuk seperti huruf S yang seimbang.

Postur tubuh yang buruk akan menghilangkan keselarasan ini dan sebagai hasilnya, otot, lempeng dan tulang menjadi stres.” Gejala stres tulang dan sendiri adalah rasa sakit atau nyeri dan lelah atau pegal. Jika postur tubuh yang buruk tidak segera diperbaiki, maka bisa menyebabkan degenerasi atau cacat tulang permanen.

Praktikkan postur tubuh yang baik yaitu telinga, bahu, dan pinggul harus membentuk garis lurus ketika Anda duduk atau berdiri. (health/kompas)

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The Privacy of Auto Navigation Systems

There is a great amount of concern about the privacy aspect of GPS and auto navigation systems and devices. Many people are strict guardians of their privacy as it has become so sacred and so easily invaded. I for one, certainly understand that desire to maintain one's privacy and do not endorse on any level using these types of devices in order to invade the privacy of total strangers or bending the law and legal protections we have in place in order to protect people from actions such as this.

On the other hand, it is great to know that if I make a 911 call from my GPS enabled cell phone, I can be found even if I have no clue as to where I am actually located. The same holds true for On Star. You can be located by the GPS information that the company has access to. The really good news is that you are not completely sacrificing your privacy or your right to that privacy for the sake of security. There are very strict laws in place to protect your privacy from invasive eyes, even during a legal preceding and there is also case law and precedence to support the understanding that your GPS coordinates cannot be given out even if there is credible evidence or reasonable suspicion.

Privacy is so important in America that it has been guaranteed to our citizens. In this day and age of big brother and with the fear of the horrible things that could happen being sensationalized in Hollywood, the idea of privacy isn't as foreign of a concept as we thought it was.

The idea of privacy and invading privacy is another reason that many parents are more than a little hesitant about utilizing the GPS tracking capabilities of their children's cell phones. While we struggle with the notion of invading the privacy of our children we also know without a doubt that we want to protect our children from potential harm with every fiber of our beings. That protection includes protecting them from themselves on occasion no matter how distasteful that process may be.

Knowing where our children are at all times is one of many ways that we can help protect them from the evils of the world while also being available at a moments notice. The flip side of course is that our children can find us whenever they need us also so we are essentially sacrificing some degree of our privacy in order to be available to our children at all times and to know where they are. Be sure to remind your teen or preteen of this whenever they grumble that you are checking up on them.

The price to pay for these services is marginal when compared to the wonderful benefits they offer families with children, teens, or even elderly who may need to be monitored for whatever reason. Protecting our loved ones is one of the many benefits of auto navigation systems and GPS technology that can't be measured with a price tag or a certain weight in gold. Whether you decide to make use of this technology for you and your family you should rest assured in the knowledge that you aren't exposing your day-to-day travels to any passerby. Your privacy is still safe from strangers, while your family may be a different subject all together.

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This is a tremendously important study in the control of heart disease

Strict changes in diet and lifestyle can not only prevent heart attacks, but can reverse the clogging of the arteries, according to a small but pioneering study.

The study showed that a vegetarian diet, moderate exercise and an hour a day of yoga and meditation could produce a reversal of atherosclerosis, a blockage of the arteries that can lead to a heart attack, in men and women who were strict in following the daily regimen.

Experts say this is the first study to report that such blockage can be reversed without using cholesterol-lowering drugs or surgery.

The study, which was conducted by Dr. Dean Ornish, director of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif., was presented at the meeting of the American Heart Association in New Orleans. 

This is a tremendously important study in the control of heart disease. It's the very first study indicating regression of coronary heart disease without pharmaceutical intervention. The results also suggest that the current medical guidelines for changes in the habits of people with severe heart disease do not go far enough.

Previous studies have shown that exercise and diet changes can slow the progression of heart disease, but not reverse it.

While the study did not determine what percentage of improvement could be attributed to the lifestyle changes alone, the researchers noted that stress-control methods have been shown to ease recovery from a variety of disorders, including hypertension.

But some experts are skeptical of the need for stress-management methods, which are not currently among standard recommendations for those with severe heart disease.

Some experts on cardiac rehabilitation question whether most people with heart disease could follow such strict changes in their habits.

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Blood type can affect brain function

Blood type can affect brain function — A new study finds that people with AB blood type are at higher risk for age-related cognitive decline 

Blood type may affect brain function as we age, according to a new large, long-term study. People with the rare AB blood type, present in less than 10 percent of the population, have a higher than usual risk of cognitive problems as they age.

 (Credit: Axente Vlad via Shutterstock)

University of Vermont hematologist Mary Cushman and her colleagues used data from a national study called REGARDS, which has been following 30,239 African-American and Caucasian individuals older than 45 since 2007. The aim of the study is to understand the heavy stroke toll seen in the southeastern U.S., particularly among African-Americans. Cushman’s team focused on information collected twice yearly via phone surveys that evaluate cognitive skills such as learning, short-term memory and executive function. The researchers zeroed in on 495 individuals who showed significant declines on at least two of the three phone survey tests.

When they compared that cognitively declining group with 587 participants whose mental muster remained robust, researchers found that impairment in thinking was roughly 82 percent more likely in individuals with AB blood type than in those with A, B or O blood types, even after taking their race, sex and geography into account. The finding was published online last September in Neurology.

The seemingly surprising result has some precedent: past studies suggest non-O blood types are linked to elevated incidence of heart disease, stroke and blood clots—vascular conditions that could affect brain function. Yet these cardiovascular consequences are believed to be linked to the way non-O blood types coagulate, which did not seem to contribute to the cognitive effects described in the new study. The researchers speculate that other blood-group differences, such as how likely cells are to stick to one another or to blood vessel walls, might affect brain function.

Cushman emphasizes the need for follow-up studies not only to verify the blood type/brain function association but also to untangle mechanisms for it. In the meantime, those with AB blood need not panic about their future cognitive wherewithal, she says, noting that all our brains are apt to benefit from a healthy diet, awareness of our risk factors for heart disease and stroke, and regular exercise for the body and brain. — Andrea Anderson

From Blood to Brain

Blood type has been linked with a variety of mental disorders, but the associations are weak—many other factors are more important in determining who ends up with an illness. Still, the fact that a connection may exist intrigues some scientists, who hope one day to uncover the biological processes that link blood molecules to mental health, possibly improving our understanding and treatment of these illnesses. 

People with O blood type may be more likely to have depression and intense anxiety; children may be at a greater risk of attention-deficit disorder. 

People with A blood type may be more prone to obsessive-compulsive disorder; children may be at a greater risk of attention-deficit disorder. 

Children with B blood type may have a lower risk of attention-deficit disorder. — Victoria Stern

This article was originally published by Scientific American.

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