Power 9

Happy February!  Just the other day in the mail, I received the annual Winter catalog from Blue Cross Blue Shield.  It's full of keeping well in the colder months, wholestic well being and even a healthy recipe or two.  I usually just thumb through and it eventually ends up in the recycling bin.  This issue however, really caught my eye.  It laid on the nightstand for a while and I thought what I had just read must be shared. 

Power 9 Are Key to Longevity

1.) Just Move - we can get more physical activity naturally if we live in walkable communities, de-convenience our homes and grow gardens.
2.) Know Your Purpose - people who know why they wake up in the morning live up to seven years longer than those who don't.
3.) Down Shift - to reverse inflammation related to every major age-related disease, find time each day to meditate, nap, pray or enjoy a happy hour.
4.) 80% Rule - it takes your stomach 20 minutes to tell your brain it is full, causing most people to accidentally overeat.  Stop when you feel 80% full.
5.) Plant Slant - eat mostly beans, nuts and green plants.  This is consistent with the USDA's MyPlate recommendations to make fruit, vegetables and grains the majority of your intake.
6.) Wine At 5 - if you have a healthy relationship with alcohol, one to two glasses of wine daily could help add years to your life, especially when consumed with a healthy diet.
7.) Family First - living in a thriving family is worth six extra years of life expectancy.  Invest time in your kids, nurture a monogamous relationship and make your aging parents a regular part of your life.
8.) Belong - recommit or reconnect to your faith community, or explore a new one.  No matter which faith, studies found that people who devote time to their faith community four times a month live an extra 4-14 years.
9.) Right Tribe - your friends have a long-term impact on your health and longevity.  Take stock in who your friends are and expand your social circle to include healthy-minded, supportive people.  This might be the most powerful thing you can do to add years to your life.

There are so many facts listed, take away from it what you wish.  We all know that eating well and exercising is right, blah blah blah, BUT the time spent with those who bring positive and joy into our lives are those people we need to take care of!  It is often Brandon acknowledge how lucky we are to have amazing family along with our closest friends who feel just like family.  At times we do not discriminate, we care for them all the same!

Let me also add laughter...if we didn't have that in our house it would be way too boring, even if its at the expense of others!