The Best Health Tips in Life are Free

Jan 6
14:53

2009

Sandra Prior

Sandra Prior

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Even without a big, fat trust fund, you're still entitled to good health, and it turns out that some of the stuff that can keep you healthy is free for the taking.

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Boys Night Out

Worried about having heart attacks as you get on in years? Then keep having (no-stakes) poker night with the guys,The Best Health Tips in Life are Free Articles even if you can't play as you used to. A Harvard school of public health study found that men in their seventies who had full social calendars also had less than half the blood levels of heart-damage markers compared to less socially integrated peers.

A Deep Breath

A study in Health Psychology found that healthy young adults with higher levels of hostility had lower lung function. The researchers think that the impairment accumulates gradually over the years to take its, toll on health. Take a deep breath and count to 10 the next time the copier jams, and you’ll breathe easier – and a lot longer.

Sunshine

A recent study led by researchers from the Harvard school of public health found that men who had low levels of vitamin D were twice as likely to have heart attacks as those who received higher levels of the ‘sunshine vitamin’.

Masturbation

A 2004 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that men who ejaculated 21 or more times a month were 33% less likely to develop prostate cancer. It appears that regularly evacuating your system may keep cancer causing chemicals from building up in your prostate.

Sex

You don’t have to take matters into your own hands to reap the benefits of ejaculation. Researches from Wilkes University links having sex once or twice a week with higher levels of immunoglobulin A, an antibody that protects against colds and other infections.

Sleep

Stanford researchers found that, in people who sleep less than eight hours a day, body mass index was inversely proportional to sleep duration. In other words, short sleepers were more likely to be fat guys. Short sleep was also associated with lower levels of leptin (a hormone that suppresses appetite) and higher levels of ghrelin (a chemical that stimulates it). It’s not like being a werewolf, but stinting on your sleep could turn you into a ravenous beast.

Jumping Jacks

If you’re now worried about raiding the fridge during your sleepless nights, here’s a free solution. A session of aerobic exercise increases total sleep by 21% over people who do heavy aerobics and moderate strength exercises.

Love Handles

Visceral fat wrapped around your organs poses health risks, but subcutaneous fat may have more use than, just a little something to grab on to. In a Harvard study, subcutaneous fat transplanted into the abdominal cavities of mice decreased their body weight, fat mass and insulin and blood sugar levels. The researchers suggest that, certain hormones produced by subcutaneous fat may improve metabolism.