Time and again research has proven that exercising regularly translates into long-lasting health benefits.

Researchers have found that jogging regularly, or any consistent aerobic exercise, in middle and late age may reduce people’s risk of disabilities and help them live longer and healthier, according to a Stanford study two decades in the making.

The study published in Archives of Internal Medicine says that two groups of people— runners and not runners— were tracked to prove Compression of Morbidity, which holds that healthy lifestyles will not

  
 

only prolong survival, but will also decrease the number of years with disability.

The study started with around 1,000 people over the age of 50. Half of the participants were members of a runner’s club, and the other half were people from Stanford. Aside from their exercise habits, the two groups were demographically matched, similar in lifestyle habits, ethnicity and physical characteristics like weight. Each volunteer was asked to complete an annual questionnaire from 1985 through 2005 that traced their health status, including body mass index, levels of disability and how much exercise they got.

“Everybody reported increasing disability as they get older, especially since we’re talking about people who were around 60 when they started,” said Prof. of Medicine Eliza Chakravarty. “However, we found that over time, the runners group had very low levels of disability that increased very slowly. The controls, on the other hand, had disability that increased much more quickly. At the end of the study, the difference between the disability levels was very dramatic.”

Over the years, compared with those that never exercised, people who exercised regularly showed improved aerobic capacity, better cardiovascular fitness, increased bone mass, fewer inflammatory markers, less physical disability, better response to vaccinations and even improved thinking, learning and memory.

Participants who were runner’s also enjoyed lower mortality rates — about half that of the non-running participants.

“People shouldn’t be discouraged from exercising because they’re older,” Chakravarty said. “Adopting an exercising program — even in the 50s or 60s will be beneficial down the road. We’re just really excited that we’re able to show benefits of exercise, not only in living longer, but living healthier up into the 80s.”

No worries, though; the benefits produced by the study aren’t only in runners. Other forms of cardiovascular exercise served a similar purpose to participants.

“We think it’s probably vigorous exercise in general,” Chakravarty said. “Even though we chose the groups for running and non-running, we don’t necessarily think that there is anything specific to running — that running is better than cycling or swimming or any other form of regular aerobic exercise. The idea is to be active.”

Consult your physician before starting a new exercise regimen. Discuss the benefits and a workload that may function for you. And remember that diet goes hand-in-hand with exercise for better results.

 

 

People are always looking for a way to look younger. Creams, treatments, even surgery, but the answer really is quite simple: hit the produce aisle.

New research by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that after conducting a survey asking people to quantify how often they ate various foods, researchers linked consuming plenty of vitamin C-rich foods with youthful skin.

“Our findings suggest that a higher intake of vitamin C from foods is associated with a lower risk of having wrinkled skin and age-related skin

dryness in [middle-aged] women,” says the doctor leading the research.

Vitamin C has youthful effects on skin and it may be due to its antioxidant properties. These properties help protect against ultraviolet rays and have a significant role in keeping skin firm via collagen synthesis, the researchers say.

Moreover, a study published by the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal says vitamin C helps promote a healthy immune system and boosts the efficacy of any sunscreen one uses. This in turn, helps protect the skin from aging rapidly because of the effects of UV rays.

The research done showed that topical vitamin C can be absorbed beneath the skin’s outer layer, disarming sunlight-created free radicals. This is great news because free radicals can damage and even destroy collagen and elastin— two necessary substances for maintaining elasticity and fine, evenly-toned texture in the skin.

Experts suggest one looks for foods rich in vitamin C such as oranges, strawberries, grapefruit, tomatoes and broccoli. Also, apply a topical kind of vitamin C every other night because once it’s absorbed, it continues to exert healing effects for up to three days. Try it; this may be the secret to smoother, younger looking skin!