The Real Age Makeover

I just finished watching a DVD copy of a PBS special called The Real Age Makeover. Netflix recommended it to me after watching You: On A Diet. I thought the title sounded a little embarrassing, but I thought I'd give it a try. Somewhere in the recesses of my consciousness I had heard of a book by the same name and thought it might help shed some light on making the right kinds of healthy choices for living.

The DVD is a bit dry and boring, but I highly recommend it. There is so much I don't know about the body, about physiology and about what our body really needs to function well and this DVD talks about the 30 most important decisions we can make. It's amazing my body functions as well as it does, considering I don't do a fraction of what the doctor recommends.

The most important tip: walk 30 minutes a day. This extends our life, helps our immune system and helps our general outlook and disposition. They don't understand why walking just 30 minutes a day makes such a difference, but it seems this is the biggest choice we can all start doing right now to make our lives better. Here's just one example of how powerful walking can be: in women who've suffered breast cancer, walking a half hour a day will give them a 50% chance of living five more years than they would without it. That's remarkable to me--that's with making no other changes in their lives.

I learned a lot about supplements as well, something that I don't pay much attention to usually. For your immune system, the most important vitamin is vitamin D. And after that, having sufficient folate in your diet is the next most important supplement to boost your immunity. Apparently the "T cells" in our genetic makeup are the chief architecture of gene duplication. Without enough folate, T cells will more readily mutate into potential cancers. I've never heard this before, and believe me, I'm going to start a regimen of supplements now.

Here are a few more tidbits that stick out in my mind: Tomato sauce is a must. This is good news for someone who likes Italian food! Apparently a serving of just 10 tablespoons of tomato sauce per week dramatically lowers the risk of prostate and breast cancer. Dark chocolate is a great source of flavonoids, which are also essential for preventing cancer. We all know about the benefits of red wine as well, but apparently even coffee is good for you and is helpful in preventing cancer. Maybe I'll have to learn to drink it after all.

If you're a Netflix user, I suggest checking it out sometime. I'm going to be buying the book as well, since the author includes much more information in the book than could be contained on the DVD.