Stop cigarettes, consume alcohol in moderation, exercise regularly, eat healthily and correctly, maintain a healthy weight. According to a recent study by the American Heart Association , these are the five golden rules to follow to live long and healthy.
Observing them all, in fact, earns an average of over 10 years of life. Let’s look at them in detail, remembering that all these rules belong to the primary prevention that Assidai, for some time, supports and disseminates, promptly informing its clients .
No to cigarettes
Getting rid of the habit of cigarettes is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition to extend one’s life by the average 10 years estimated by the American Heart Association. Smoking, it must be remembered, is a global emergency, with a growing dynamic especially in the so-called Emerging Countries. According to the latest statistics from the World Health Organization, cigarettes claim 6 million deaths a year (10% for secondhand smoke), exponentially increasing the chances of smokers to develop cancer: this means one death every six seconds. Not to mention the dramatic trail of incapacitating diseases related to the consumption of cigarettes itself.
No to alcohol
Consuming alcohol in moderation means for women not to exceed 5-15 grams of alcohol per day and for men 5-30 grams . In simpler terms: she can drink at most one glass of wine and he can drink two. An acceptable “compromise” for those who like to taste, perhaps combined with a good dish, the so-called nectar of Bacchus and which, according to the American Heart Association, allows you to get the best in terms of life expectancy. Better still, the association also suggests, if cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure are always kept under control. Also with regard to alcohol, here are some numbers to better explain the concept: every year its abuse causes 3.3 million deaths worldwide and is responsible for the onset of over 230 diseases, which cost society at least 17 million. years of life.
Doing sports
Especially for those who work at a desk or move mainly by car, the risk is that of laziness and a sedentary lifestyle. Instead, it is very important to always maintain a good level of physical activity, even of low or medium intensity. In short, there is no need to run marathons or grind miles of swimming: 150 minutes a week of brisk walking represent the minimum level of physical activity required to comply with the dictates of the American Heart Association and increase one’s life expectancy. For the 38% of Italians who, according to the latest Istat statistics, declared that they do not play any sport, it should be remembered that moderate physical activity also means virtuous behavior(and absolutely feasible in everyday life), such as getting around by bicycle or on foot to go to work or shopping, thus avoiding the car for every move, take a walk in the park, prefer the stairs to the elevator, dedicate yourself to housework or, perhaps, get off at the first stop if you travel by bus.
Check the power supply
Food is the best ally to keep certain diseases and physical problems away. A correct eating style , which avoids excessive fats and sugars, ensuring the correct intake of fruit and vegetables, allows women who respect all five rules of the American Heart Association to extend their expected life by 14 years. It should also be said that, in terms of nutrition, Italians start off with an advantage thanks to the so-called Mediterranean diet, recognized by Unesco as a World Heritage Site. A recent Italian study, conducted on the population of Molise and published in the British Journal of Nutrition, showed that following this diet reduces mortality by 25% for those over 65.
Check the weight
The secret lies in the body mass index , which is calculated by dividing the weight in kilos by the square of the height in meters and must be between 18 and 25 meters . If you fall within these parameters and follow the other four rules of the American Heart Association, the risk of death from cardiovascular causes decreases by as much as 82% and the probability of getting fatal cancers by 65%.
Here are the five rules, dictated by the American Heart Association, for a long and healthy life: “striving” towards this excellence, which in an ideal world should become normality, would also be an excellent basis for guaranteeing the sustainability of the Service over time National Health.
