Healthy aging and longevity Archive

Eating these selections often will pack more nutrients into your diet for better overall health.

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You don't need a whole-life overhaul to improve your health. Sometimes it's small changes that make the biggest difference. This is definitely the case when it comes to your diet. Eating better shouldn't require you to purge your refrigerator and subsist on kale shakes. Simply adding a few nutrient-rich foods to your regular rotation can give your body a boost without making you miserable in the process.

We asked Teresa Fung, adjunct professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, what foods you should try to squeeze in every day — or at least every week — for better health.

A good moisturizer is one of the foundations of an effective skin care regimen for dry, older skin. Moisturizers can soothe dry skin and make wrinkles less noticeable, even though the effect is temporary. But with so many to choose from, how do you decide?

Petroleum jelly is one of the most effective moisturizers, especially when used right after bathing to seal in moisture. It is also one of the least expensive. But many people dislike using it on their faces because it looks and feels greasy. Instead, creams and lotions that contain some water are a better choice for a facial moisturizer. Many of these creams and lotions are humectants, an oil-free class of moisturizer that binds water to skin, so the smoothing, softening effects may last longer.

Q. I am a healthy, active 39-year-old guy. I enjoy a beer with dinner most nights, and a six-pack most weekends. Over the past year or two, I've had to let my belt out, and now I'm letting out my pants. So here's my question: is beer really responsible for my "beer belly"?

A. Whether it's called a beer belly, a spare tire, the apple shape, or the middle-age spread, abdominal obesity is the shape of risk. Abdominal obesity is a health hazard, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, and other woes. Risk begins to mount at a waist size above 37 inches for men, and a measurement above 40 inches would put you in the danger zone. For women, the corresponding waist sizes are 31 and 35 inches, respectively.

Q: A friend recently recommended that I take the herb ginkgo biloba to protect against getting dementia. Is it effective, and is it safe?

A: The first thing you should consider is that the FDA doesn't regulate the manufacture of any herbal remedy, so the purity and potency of the ginkgo biloba you buy hasn't been checked.

Q: A friend recently recommended that I take the herb ginkgo biloba to protect against getting dementia. Is it effective, and is it safe?

A: The first thing you should consider is that the FDA doesn't regulate the manufacture of any herbal remedy, so the purity and potency of the ginkgo biloba you buy hasn't been checked.

Ask the doctor

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Q. I'm an 87-year-old man. Over the past year I've lost considerable weight, and I didn't have that much to lose. My doctor can't find any reason for my weight loss and is advising me to eat ice cream. But isn't that risky for my heart?

A. I smiled when I read your letter, because I've occasionally said that if I were to develop a terminal condition, the silver lining on that cloud would be that I could finally eat all the hot fudge sundaes I wanted.