Topic: longevity

Global Disease Report: The World Is Fat (And You Need More Fruit)

Global Disease Report: The World Is Fat (And You Need More Fruit)

Well, shit — it’s not just Americans who are living longer but sicker lives, and it’s not just Western nations, either. The new Global Burden of Disease Report – a massive undertaking compiled by the World Health Organization using data from 50 countries over 20 years — found “a massive shift in global health trends,” at the root of which lies widespread obesity. And maybe lack of fruit. More »

We’re Living Longer, Sicker, As Unhealthy Lifestyles Trump Medical Advances

We're Living Longer, Sicker, As Unhealthy Lifestyles Trump Medical Advances

Everyone’s been writing about the new state-by-state health rankings released yesterday by the United Health Foundation. The best 5-word summary of the 2012 American Health Rankings might be “Americans are living longer, sicker.” It seems Gen X, Gen Y and the next few generations will be the first to grow up with both an expectation of obscene longevity and habits/unhealthy lifestyles that make us sicker, earlier, than any previous generation*. More »

Don’t Skip Your Morning Coffee–It May Help You Live Longer

Don't Skip Your Morning Coffee--It May Help You Live Longer

Though Miley Cyrus seems pretty sold on the stuff, health advocates are always waffling about coffee–is it a miracle drug? Is it going to kill you? What does it all mean? But in a new (and giant) study published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, it seems that your morning cup of drip may help you reach retirement age and beyond. According to the study, it’s possible that drinking coffee helps you live longer. Or at least, the habits of being a coffee drinker might. More »

New Study Shows Why Calorie Restriction Slows Aging

New Study Shows Why Calorie Restriction Slows Aging

Can cutting way back on calories for the rest of your life help make that life longer and healthier? Researchers have suspected so since the 1930; studies in animals, fungi and humans have shown promising results; and books like The Longevity Diet: Discover Calorie Restriction have become bestsellers. Now, a team of Swedish researchers has discovered a new reason why this diet might work: Calorie restriction helps stop the deterioration of peroxiredoxin, an enzyme in our bodies that’s essential for preventing age-related health decline. More »

Anti-Aging Drugs Could Have You Seeing 150th Birthday

Anti-Aging Drugs Could Have You Seeing 150th Birthday

The first drugs that will successfully slow the aging process should be available within five to 10 years, Australian researchers say. Between these drugs and stem cell therapies, the ability to extend human life to at least 150 years old isn’t far off. But medical technology could outpace the social and economic systems needed to support old old age—or even outpace other health developments necessary to make living longer short of miserable for most people. More »

Why Royal Jelly Should Be In Your Medicine Cabinet

Why Royal Jelly Should Be In Your Medicine Cabinet

Scientists have discovered the active component in royal jelly, a substance secreted by honey bees that’s sold as a human supplement or used in beauty products (it’s said to keep skin smooth, toned and elastic). This stuff is like the caviar of the honeybee world: Secreted by worker bees, it’s given only to the Queen and larvae that have been selected to potentially become queen. The jelly—or, scientists now know, a single protein in it called royalactin—causes otherwise normal young honeybees to get bigger, develop ovaries and live longer. More »