Most people are aware that negative lifestyle habits like smoking and excessive alcohol can lead to rapid aging. But what about the repeated stress and poor nutrition that are so often a part of a high-pressure style of living today? Read on to see what could be causing rapid aging in your life.

    1. Poor Diet

    What you eat probably affects your health more than anything else you do. When you eat a poor diet-fatty, processed, or fried foods and simple sugars-you invite rapid aging by burdening your body with chemical additives and trans-fats and depriving your body of essential nutrients. On the other hand, when you eat the life-giving foods, you prevent disease and improve organ functioning.

    In general, your diet should consist of a wide array of colors and balance of organic sources of lean protein, complex carbohydrates, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Numerous studies show that the different pigments in the skins of fruits and vegetables are powerful antioxidants that are crucial for maintaining health, preventing cancer, and protecting against environmental toxins.

    Avoid fatty foods, processed or fried foods. Keep dairy to a minimum because most dairy products are high in saturated fat. Take candy, sugar, soda, and all simple sugars out of your diet. Excess sugar gets stored as fat in your body, which spells in weight gain-a sure path to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes. You truly are what you eat, so eat well!

    2. Unhappiness

    Unhappiness does not only depress your mood, it also negatively affects your health. In fact, depressed, unhappy people are twice as likely to develop heart disease. And it has been confirmed that personality profile Type C-people that tend towards melancholy, depression, and excessive worry-are prone to develop cancer. Do not underestimate the power of your mind. Your experience is determined by the energy you embody, and in the end, it is your choice to have a negative perception or a positive attitude in reaction to life's breakdowns.

    Years ago, I had the pleasure of working with the late Norman Cousins. His research showed that the mind has a powerful influence on many physiological functions, including the immune system. He found that an increase in immune killer cells that attack cancer occurred in cancer patients who experienced 30 minutes of deep belly laughter every day for twelve weeks. Laughter also increases the release of endorphins, compounds that give you a sense of well-being. Undoubtedly, joyful people liver longer and healthier lives.

    3. Lack of Exercise

    I have never met a healthy person or centenarian that lived a physically inactive life. Exercise is essential for a healthy metabolism, proper energy circulation, and the expelling of cellular wastes. Being overweight and inactive is a surefire path to rapid aging and a host of diseases. Cardiovascular exercise is the key to speeding up your metabolism, burning excess calories, and fighting body fat. Brisk walking, hiking, jogging, swimming, bicycling, stair climbing-the options are endless for cardio health! Exercise for 30 minutes at 60-80% of your MHR （You can find this number by subtracting your age from 220.） Regular exercise is also the key to preventing non-insulin-dependent diabetes, which is the fastest growing disease in industrialized countries throughout the world.

    You can stave off rapid aging to your muscles, joints, and tendons by practicing exercises that extend your range of motion; some options include tai chi, qigong and yoga. Check out simple tai chi moves that you can learn easily in my book, Harmony Tai Chi by clicking here. Also, moderate load-bearing exercises are essential for bone density and muscle strength. Don't forget when you are exercising to always warm up and cool down properly to avoid injury.

    4. Stress

    Stress is a huge byproduct of our busy lives and it takes a tremendous toll on our health. Our body's "survival mode" gets turned on all too often these days. When you are experiencing stress, your body is programmed to go into fight-or-flight mode, a state that requires a lot of energy. Adrenaline is released from the adrenal gland, and it tells the body to convert stored sugar from the liver to glucose because the energy needs of the body increase substantially during the supposed fight-or-flight scenario.

    Unfortnately, this scenario almost never plays out and the excess blood sugar that never got used ends up being stored as fat-inevitably resulting in weight gain. What's more, all of this stress continually depletes your body of its energy resources until it crumples under the overload, leading to adrenal exhaustion, a nervous breakdown, or a broken-down immune system.

    To stay stress-free, remember to breathe deeply all day. And give yourself a break! You are a human, not a machine. Try taking a 15-minute powernap during your lunch break. If you only have 5 minutes to spare, just closing your eyes will release tension. Better still, consider taking up meditation, a great way to dissolve stress. To learn more about how to use meditation to decrease stress, click here.

    5. Lack of Sleep

    There's no way around it: the average adult needs seven to eight hours of quality sleep every night to maintain health. Consider that your immune system drops by an average of 60% after just three nights of poor sleep. Without sufficient "recovery time" each night, you will run your body down and wear out your life force, paving the way for disharmony and disease.

    I hope you find the ways to live long and live strong! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

    May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

    -Dr. Mao

    许多人意识到不良的生活习惯如吸烟和酗酒能导致加速衰老。但是现代社会高强度生活节奏中不时出现的反复压力和营养不良会带来什么呢？读下去吧，看看在你一生中什么原因能导致你加速衰老。

    1、糟糕的饮食

    你吃什么可能比你做的其它任何事情对你健康的影响都大。当你吃那些糟糕的食品--油腻的、加工的或油炸食品和单糖类食品--的时候，你正用化学添加剂和反式脂肪*及通过剥夺身体必须的营养成分来给身体加压，进而加速你身体的衰老。相反，当你吃那些"生命活力"食品的时候，你可以预防疾病和增强身体器官的功能。

    一般来说，你的饮食内容应当包含各种各样颜色（食品）和各种有机精益蛋白质来源的平衡，混合型碳水化合物，全谷类，豆类，水果和蔬菜。许多研究表明水果和蔬菜表皮中各式各样的天然色素是强效抗氧化剂，那是保持健康、防癌和使身体免受环境毒素侵害的重要营养成份。

    避免摄入油腻食品，加工和油炸食品。保持最低的牛奶摄入量，因为大部分牛奶都含有大量的饱和脂肪。把糖果、糖、苏大和所有的单糖食品从你的菜单中拿走。过量的糖会转化为你体内的脂肪而使你体重增加--必然导致心血管疾病、高血压和糖尿病。种瓜得瓜种豆得豆，所以吃得科学点吧！

    2、忧虑

    忧虑不仅让你心情沮丧，也损害你的健康。实际上，抑郁和不快的人得心脏病的几率是正常人的两倍。有证据显示C型个性特征的人--那些有忧郁、消沉和过分担心的人--更容易得癌症。千万不要低估你情绪的影响力。你的经历是由你表现出来的能力决定的，但最终，在人生低谷的时候拥有消极看法还是积极态度是你自己的选择。

    几年前，我有幸同已故的Norman Cousins一起工作。他的研究表明情绪对许多生理机能有重大的影响，包括免疫系统。他发现，在经历20天每天半小时捧腹大笑后，癌症患者体内攻击癌细胞的免疫K细胞数量有所增长。笑也会释放体内的安多芬，这是一种能给你幸福感的化学物质。毋庸置疑，快乐的人活得更久更健康。

    3、缺乏锻炼

    我从没遇到过一个不积极锻炼的健康人或者百岁老人。锻炼对健康的新陈代谢、恰当的能量循环和体内废物的排除是必不可少的。超重和缺乏运动是加速衰老和满身疾病的必然原因。心肺功能运动是加速新陈代谢、燃烧多余卡路里和减肥的关键。快走、徒步旅行、慢跑、游泳、自行车和爬楼梯-这么多保持健康方法的选择！以最大心率（MHR,可以通过220减去你的年龄得到）的60-80%心率水平锻炼半小时。经常性的锻炼也可以防止"非胰岛素依赖性"糖尿病，这是全球工业化国家增长最快的疾病。

    你能通过扩展你的关节活动度锻炼来避免肌肉、关节和肌腱的加速衰老；一些包括太极、气功和瑜伽的选择。利用在我书里可以轻松学会的简单太极拳吧，"和谐太极"点这儿。同样，适当的负重锻炼对骨密度和肌肉力量也是必须的。别忘了锻炼时必须进行合理的热身和冷却以避免受伤。

    4、压力

    压力是我们忙碌生活的巨大副产品而且它导致我们的健康遭受极大损害。这时期（承受压力期间）我们身体的"生存方式"时常变得兴奋。当你遭受压力时，你的身体进入了"战斗或逃跑"模式，这种状态需要大量的能量。肾上腺素被从肾上腺释放出来，它告诉身体把储存的糖通过肝脏转化成葡萄糖，因为在假定的"战斗或逃跑"剧本中身体的能量需求显着增强了。

    不幸的是，这样的剧本几乎从来不会演完而且那些永远不会被消耗的血糖最终作为脂肪存储在体内--不可避免地造成体重增加。更为严重的是，所有这些压力会持续消耗你身体的能量资源直到身体由于负荷过重而垮掉，这将导致肾上腺疲劳，神经失常或免疫系统故障。

    为了保持轻松，别忘了每天不断深呼吸。给自己一点空闲吧！你是个人，不是机器。试着在你午休期间小睡15分钟。如果你只有5分钟的多余时间，就只好闭上眼睛来缓解压力了。冥想或许是更好的选择，这是个消解压力的好方法。想知道更多如何用冥想来减轻压力，点这儿。

    5、缺少睡眠

    这是个无法回避的事实：成年人平均每个晚上需要7到8个小时的高质量睡眠来保持健康。记住只要3个晚上睡眠不足免疫系统就平均降低60%的功效。没有每晚足够的"恢复时间",你的身体将每况愈下而精疲力竭，走向身体失衡和患病的道路。

    我希望你们找到活得长寿活得康健的方法！我欢迎你们经常光顾（我的空间）并且和我分享你们自己的健康和长寿秘诀。

    希望你们活得长寿、康健和快乐！

    -毛博士