Good life...A way to live!

If you want to add many quality days to your life, you should gradually start adopting healthy habits at any age. Studies show that the Mediterranean diet, daily exercise, stress management, and avoiding smoking and alcohol contribute to slowing down aging.

With a few simple guidelines, we can grow up with dignity, remaining ageless even in advanced age. The goal is to be healthy physically and mentally, to have good years, and to be able to live independently and with dignity until our old age.

Simple steps we can follow if we want to live longer!

• Move, move, move! It is the first thing that doctors have recommended for decades, as our bodies are made to move and not to sit for endless hours on the couch or at the computer. People who exercise regularly live longer on average than inactive people. Regular physical exercise prevents many diseases that affect the body and mind, reduces the chances of heart disease, stroke, type two diabetes, certain types of cancer and depression. It also helps to strengthen and maintain brain function as we age. It reduces the chances of premature death, as it helps to keep the heart and circulatory system healthy. The best exercise is anything that we enjoy doing often. Even 20 minutes of walking a day is enough to improve our health. The more we exercise and maintain our muscle mass over time, the more we strengthen our health and extend our life expectancy.

• Show me your friends and I'll tell you how many years you'll live! Our participation in social activities improves our mood and boosts our self-confidence. Recent studies support the positive effect that interpersonal relationships, social contacts and family ties have on our longevity. On the contrary, loneliness, social isolation and lack of a partner hide risks for our mental health. "Loneliness and isolation have the same effect on our health as smoking", says Dr. Anna Chang from the University of California at San Francisco. So let's make sure to find time for our friends, have a good time together, while promoting our mental health.

• Positive thinking and optimism! Research has shown that optimistic people live 5%-15% longer than pessimists. So let's choose to face life with optimism and calmly manage the stressful, negative situations that we may encounter in our daily lives.

• Let's make quality sleep our priority! A sleep of seven to nine hours – preferably at night – strengthens our immune system. Quality sleep has been associated with a reduced risk of dementia, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and depression. Let's not neglect the midday 'siesta', as scientists believe that this sleep helps the heart keep stress hormone levels low.

• We follow the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, olive oil and fish. A careful diet can significantly reduce the chances of metabolic syndrome, which puts us at risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. At least five different fruits or vegetables a day contribute to improving digestion and reducing the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia. Let's not forget that food is our medicine! We eat right to protect our body and protect it from diseases.

• We lose weight or maintain our ideal weight. If we are overweight, losing weight will protect us from diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other diseases that reduce life expectancy. Abdominal fat poses risks to our health and our lives. We aim to include more fiber in our diet and include exercise in our program to achieve the desired result.

• Limit alcohol. Excessive alcohol consumption increases belly fat, blood pressure, and causes many health problems. More than one drink a day for women and two for men is definitely harmful to the liver, skin, heart, and increases the chances of developing cancer.

• Say no to smoking. “There is no amount of tobacco that is good for you,” says Dr. John Rowe of Columbia University. A 50-year British study shows that quitting smoking at 30 can give you an extra decade of life. Quitting at 40, 50 or 60 can add 9, 6 or 3 years to your life, respectively.

• Forgiveness for ourselves and not for others. When we do not poison our soul with negative thoughts, we reduce stress and blood pressure. Let us free ourselves from anger and breathe freely, preserving our mental health.

• Drive carefully. Wearing a seat belt and helmet reduces the chance of death from a serious accident by 50%.

• Manage stress properly. We will never be able to avoid stress, but we can find ways to manage it. Yoga, meditation, or even simple deep breathing can help.

• Have goals. Hobbies and activities that are meaningful to us help us live longer. A conscious sense of what we do and why may also reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's.

• If we have chronic conditions, it is very important to take even more care of our health by following the instructions of our treating physician in order to avoid relapse and to eliminate as much as possible the possibility of complications.

Let's start today, slowly adopting a healthy lifestyle! With love for ourselves and respect for the priceless gift of life!