Staying Healthy Archive

Boosting your muscle mass may trigger changes that enhance heart health.

Munching a small handful every day may protect your heart.

Green vegetables and citrus fruits are good natural sources of folate.

If you're among the one in three American adults with high blood pressure, be sure you're getting enough of the B vitamin known as folate. Doing so may lower your odds of having a stroke, a new study suggests.

Cocoa flavanols in chocolate are linked to improved thinking skills and better heart health.

Work with a physical therapist to learn how to use a walker to best advantage so you can take back your independence.

Walkers can put you back in action if you're recovering from an injury or surgery, or if you're struggling with balance and gait problems, fatigue, or muscle weakness. "Walkers help give people their independence back. They improve daily function, and they reduce the risk of falling," says Dr. Clare Safran-Norton, a physical therapist and clinical supervisor of rehabilitation services at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Supplements can plug dietary gaps, but nutrients from food are most important.

The fresh food you eat is loaded with nutrients necessary for good health, such as magnesium, calcium, and vitamins A and C. But many older adults aren't getting enough nutrients from their diets.

If you stay physically active in your older years, you're preserving your ability to keep moving. That's not just because you're exercising your heart and lungs and keeping your muscles and bones strong, but possibly also because you are warding off the effects of common age-related brain abnormalities called white matter hyperintensities (WMH)—small areas of damage in connections in the brain that are often related to long-term changes in the small blood vessels feeding the brain. High levels of WMH are associated with difficulty walking, but a study published in Neurology March 11, 2015, observed that older adults with WMH who were more physically active suffered less movement problems.

Researchers measured physical activity among 167 older adults with WMH. For the people who were the most active—in the top 10%—greater amounts of brain damage did not affect their scores on the movement tests. But for people who were half as active or less, more brain damage was associated with much lower scores on movement tests.

Strengthening your core offers big payoffs, including sports successes, a stronger lower back, independent living, and all-around fitness. Sounds great, right?

Even so, finding the time and will to do these exercises may not be easy. But experts say you're more likely to be successful if you set goals that are SMART — that is, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based. So when you set a goal for your core workouts, make sure it passes the SMART test:

Balance can't be taken for granted past a certain age; it must be maintained — both in mind and body.

General physical fitness and targeted exercises to improve balance can prevent falls. But so can staying mentally active to maintain brain health. A sharp mind helps you to think — and stay — on your feet.

Your bone strength and size peaks by age 30. After that, bones tend to become less dense, making them more fragile and subject to breaks. Bone strength in later life depends upon your peak bone mass in youth. An active lifestyle in youth can increase maximum bone density.

Even if you're older, exercise is still a great way to protect your bones. The physical stress placed on bones during exercise stimulates the growth of new bone tissue. The type of exercise you do matters. To bolster your bones, you need to get regular weight-bearing exercise. This includes weight lifting and resistance training, as well as any type of activity that forces you to work against gravity by standing or carrying your body's weight, including running, walking, dancing, and stair climbing. Activities such as swimming or biking aren't weight-bearing and thus don't build bone. Generally, higher-impact activities (such as running) or resistance exercises (such as strength training) have a more pronounced effect on bone than lower-impact exercises, such as walking.