Healthy aging and longevity Archive

High-intensity interval training may be more enjoyable than moderate continuous exercise and may help sedentary adults stay motivated when doing new workouts. 

Terms like "healthy" or "natural" can be meaningless or misleading.

Image: Dragon Images/iStock

If you're like most nutrition-minded shoppers, the word "healthy" on the front of a package can be a big draw. "When you're stuck in a situation where processed foods are the only thing available to you, it can be helpful to know which foods are healthier than others," says Dr. Walter Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Yet these days you're on shaky nutritional ground if you rely on front-of-package claims like "healthy" to determine which soup, sauce, cereal—or other canned, bottled, boxed, or bagged food—is the best choice. A food marked "healthy" may be loaded with sugar or refined carbohydrates.

Published: March 1, 2017

Figuring out the exercise style that best suits your needs will help you stick to a plan.

 Image: © iStock

Making a plan to get regular exercise can be challenging. There are many options, and you may not be sure how to narrow them down. "The result may be that you put off exercising," says Madhuri Kale, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

It helps to know the basic categories of activity you can choose from: exercise classes, gym workouts, home workouts, and vigorous work or recreational activity. Here are some pros and cons to consider for each.

Take control by using helpful gadgets and talking to your doctor about reducing your medications.

 Image: © Wavebreakmedia/Thinkstock

There are many reasons why people are unable to stick to a medication regimen prescribed by a doctor, such as high costs or drug side effects. Often, those issues can be resolved by asking your doctor if a switch to another drug will help.

Another reason for what doctors call "non-adherence": too many pills and confusion about taking them. "It is a bigger problem than organization, and not always the patient's fault. Often providers write too many prescriptions without explaining them, or create a complicated schedule," says Dr. Sarah Berry, a geriatrician and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

It appears that the risk of an early death falls with each additional healthy lifestyle behavior that is maintained, even in people who are overweight.

It appears that health anxiety may be associated with a greater risk for developing heart disease.

This list describes your priorities in an emergency situation. Follow these steps:

1. Evaluate the scene to protect yourself and others from injury or danger.
2. Be calm and reassuring.
3. Do not move the person unless he or she is in imminent danger or unless you cannot provide assistance without moving the person.
4. Get help. Call out for someone to phone 911 or, if the person does not need immediate assistance, make the call yourself.
5. If the situation is a choking emergency, perform the Heimlich maneuver (see Choking).
6. Look, listen, and feel for breathing (see Breathing Difficulties).
7. Feel for a pulse to determine if the heart is beating.
8. Control bleeding with direct pressure.
9. Treat for shock.
10. If the person is unconscious, move him or her into the recovery position.

Removing a Fishhook

Never remove a fishhook that is embedded in the eye or face; seek medical attention immediately to have it removed. A fishhook embedded in skin should be removed by a doctor. If you are in a remote area and a doctor is not available, remove the fishhook following the directions in the illustration below. If the fishhook is embedded deeply in tissue, follow the instructions below for a multibarbed fishhook.

A multibarbed fishhook should ideally be removed by a physician. If this is not possible, cut the eye off the shank of the hook, and then push the shank of the hook through the wound, following the path of the hook until the barbs exit and can be grasped with pliers. Flush the area well with running water, clean it with soap and water, and cover it with a bandage.

Adult Recovery Position

This position helps a semiconscious or unconscious person breathe and permits fluids to drain from the nose and throat so they are not breathed in. If the person is unconscious or semiconscious after you have done everything on the Emergency Checklist, move the person into the recovery position while waiting for help to arrive.

Do not use the recovery position if the person has a major injury, such as a back or neck injury

Removing a Speck From the Eye

Occasionally, an eyelash or speck of dirt gets into the eye and causes irritation. If tears that form do not wash out the object, it can sometimes be removed by pulling the upper eyelid down over the lower eyelid. The lashes of the lower eyelid may brush out any foreign object that is caught under the upper lid.

If this does not work, try either of the procedures described below.