Live Long and Prosper!

"Live Long and Prosper" is no longer something you once heard on Star Trek; it’s becoming the motto for many aging adults who are trying to lead healthier, longer lives.  So, how can you add years to your life?  The answer isn’t a big one; it’s a small one.  That’s right, the simple choices (the ones you often overlook) are the ones that can make the most significant impact on your life and will have the greatest impact on your health.  For example, we all know that smoking is bad for us; but did you know that not smoking can turn back the clock by four to five years?  Even doing something as simple as increasing the amount of exercise you do each day, whether it’s parking your car a few spaces farther away so that you have to walk a couple extra steps, can add healthy years to your life.  A study done in 2006 at Cambridge University looked at over 25,000 people and found that merely stopping smoking, exercising more and eating better could give you the life expectancy of a person 11-12 years younger.  Now, who doesn’t want that?!