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You can have more purpose and greater happiness in the second half of your life.

Thats certainly reassuring, especially if youve spent the first part of your life getting through school, getting a job, possibly getting married, starting a family and, generally, living on autopilot.

This quote comes from author Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones of Happiness and The Blue Zones: Nine Lessons for Living Longer. Buettner is a National Geographic fellow who has produced an Emmy-winning documentary and holds three world records for endurance cycling.

Working with the National Geographic, Buettner has studied regions of the world in which people live longer and are happier. He refers to these as blue zones.

If happiness were a cake recipe, Buettner says, the ingredients would include: food, shelter, health care, education, mobility/movement, having a partner in life, sleep, faith, a pet, a positive attitude and a sense of purpose.

Research also shows four common characteristics of those who live long, healthy lives:

n Something to look forward to

And the No. 1 factor of the happiest and healthiest populations might surprise you: deep friendships.

Friendships and loneliness

How you curate your immediate social network is probably the biggest lasting thing you can do to improve your life, Buettner explains. You need three to five good friends, he says. People with whom you can have a meaningful conversation not just about current events or sports. Its safe to be vulnerable with them and cry on their shoulders. They listen without judgment.

This dovetails with the work of hospice nurse Bronnie Ware, who chronicled insights from those on their death beds in her book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. One of the regrets mentioned most often: I wish Id stayed in closer touch with friends.

Loneliness is a huge factor in both unhappiness and longevity.

Its as dangerous as a smoking habit, Buettner says, shaving six to eight years off your life expectancy age.

Lonely people are more susceptible to stress, depression and dementia. And theyre more likely to commit suicide.

Social media can fill this void to some extent. However, theres a big caution flag. Its healthy to engage for about a half-hour to an hour a day, to stay in touch and learn a few things. After 1 hours of social media exposure, though, things start to go downhill dramatically. And those who spend eight hours a day are the least happy. So, you may want to do the math on your usage.

The blue zones of longevity

The following areas have been identified as having the greatest number of people who lead long, healthy lives, well into their 90s and 100s:

1. Loma Linda, California

2. Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

The United States ranks No. 19 on the longevity scale with a grade of B. The average American loses about 12 years of life due to a toxic food environment, inadequate social relationships and a lack of physical activity.

So, what is it about blue zones that produces happier people who live longer? They dont have greater discipline, Buettner says.

Theyre just in environments where the healthiest choice is either the easiest choice or the unavoidable one, he explains.

Simple foods are plentiful around them nuts, beans and greens. And the option of loneliness doesnt exist. If theyre not showing up for church or the village festival, someone is knocking on their door and getting them out. The option of being sedentary is not there, either. Theyre being nudged moving more, eating less and eating more plant-based foods.

They also have purpose. They dont wake up every day asking, What should I be doing today? Whats my life meaning? Theres no existential stress because their lives revolve around family, faith and community.

Its all about connection.

Happiness factors

One of the biggest barriers to longevity is unhappiness. This condition could take eight years off ones life expectancy.

National Geographic and Buettner conducted a survey of 150,000 people, entitled the True Happiness Test.

According to Buettner, 40% of what makes us happy is genetic. Fifteen percent is chance. However, that leaves nearly half the equation up to the individual. Following are some research results on common health practices.

n Vitamins: Interestingly, Buettner says their studies found that taking vitamins doesnt make much of an impact on greater longevity. He notes there are situational cases where this might make a difference. Overall, though, he says were too prone to calling an 800 number to get the latest and greatest supplement. Theres no silver bullet.

n Sleep: Forgoing sleep in pursuit of goals is harmful. Sleep is when our bodies do cellular repair.

If youre only sleeping six hours a day, youre going to be about 30% less happy, says Buettner. Tired feelings make you feel crappy. Youre also less proficient at work and more likely to be obese. Buettner says we need eight to nine-and-a-half hours of sleep a night.

n Movement and exercise: Forty-five minutes of daily exercise is recommended. This can be broken up into segments.

n Pets: Bonding with a pet has been shown to raise levels of oxytocin, one of the happy hormones. And going for walks also could release endorphins, more feel good brain chemicals.

Daily rituals to reduce stressMeditation and prayer time, taking naps and engaging in a happy hour have all been shown to be effective at reducing stress. Again, the best medicine for unhappiness is a social network. Volunteer. Find a spiritual community, a group of walkers or a bridge group. Admittedly, this is more challenging during our pandemic period.

Set up things up in your environment so you dont have to think about them. Keep the fruit bowl full so you wont be as tempted to go to the junk food drawer.

The true happiness test

You can take the True Happiness Test by doing an online search of true happiness test. Its a free five-minute survey.

Its never too late to start snatching back some good years, says John Day, co-author of The Longevity Plan. The best time is to start from childhood. The second best time is today.

2020 Linda Arnold Live Life Fully, all rights reserved. Linda Arnold, M.A., M.B.A., is a syndicated columnist, psychological counselor and founder of a multistate marketing company. Reader comments are welcome at linda@lindaarnold.org For information on her books, go to http://www.lindaarnold.org or Amazon.com.

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LIve Life Fully: Keys to happiness and longevity - Charleston Gazette-Mail

Many of the failures of GDP as a measure of economic performance are well known. Policymakers in search of an alternative should recognize the far-reaching power of healthy life expectancy as a measure not only of individual wellbeing, but of broader macroeconomic conditions as well.

LONDON Dissatisfaction about GDP is growing. Many economists, policymakers, and other critics question the ability of this central measure of government and social success to recognize the welfare gains from technology, account for environmental degradation, or capture rising inequality. With developments in artificial intelligence and robotics poised to produce considerable labor-market churn while also boosting GDP a process likely to be accelerated by the ongoing pandemic these complaints will soon grow louder.

Numerous alternative indicators have long been on offer, but one especially promising option is healthy life expectancy (HLE), a metric that is easily understood and that has obvious importance to each of us individually. Moreover, HLE is already being measured, and happens to address many of the factors that GDP might omit.

Poor environmental conditions, for example, are not conducive to long, healthy lives. And there is plenty of evidence to suggest that individuals who are happy and fulfilled also tend to live longer and remain healthy for longer. Even more to the point, longer healthier lives connect back to GDP itself. Just as rising GDP helps to provide the resources needed to support health, healthy populations support stronger GDP.

Moreover, by targeting HLE specifically, governments could shine a brighter light on the issue of economic inequality. Because the incomes of the very richest households may be several thousand times greater than those of the poorest households, average GDP is invariably larger than typical (median) income. But when it comes to life expectancy in the richest countries, the opposite is true. The outliers tend to be those who die young, so that typical (median) life expectancy is higher than average life expectancy.

This means that raising the average HLE can be achieved by raising the HLE of those at the bottom of the health distribution to that of the typical (median) person. This not only makes targeting inequality more attractive, but does not require path-breaking medical innovations to achieve longer lifespans just the achievement of typical outcomes for more people. With this in mind, it is urgent to close the sizeable rich-poor life-expectancy gap around 15 years in the United States.

As a metric for economic and social progress, targeting HLE implicitly acknowledges that aging is malleable (if it wasnt, it wouldnt be a viable target). It turns out that a range of behaviors and policies, as well as the environment we inhabit, influence how we age and how long we live. It is estimated that our genetics account for only one-quarter of the factors contributing to how we age. Given this malleability, it is crucial that governments focus on HLE for the maximum number of people.

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Such a focus would also help governments confront one of the biggest challenges of the future: societal aging. Given that every country in the world is expected to experience societal aging, focusing on how well we age becomes paramount. This age malleability requires drawing a distinction between chronological and biological measures of age and focusing on the latter.

Yet, because so much government policy currently focuses on the non-malleable chronological metric, too many governments are unprepared for future demographic challenges such as overburdened health and pension systems. Rather than exploring ways to influence how we age, policymakers are focused almost entirely on the number of old people. But by targeting healthy longevity, they could help more people lead longer, more productive lives, thereby minimizing the economic costs of societal aging.

After the 2008 financial crisis, policymakers committed to doing whatever it takes to stabilize the financial system and restore GDP growth. A subsequent slowdown in trend productivity growth and the devastating global economic fallout from the current pandemic have produced numerous policy suggestions and unprecedented spending aimed at reversing trend slowdowns in GDP growth.

By contrast, news of declining life expectancy in many OECD countries has not produced a similar outpouring of proposed solutions. How can we commit trillions of dollars to ensure that GDP is supported while doing so little to avoid declining life expectancy? Certainly, the response to COVID-19, where GDP has plummeted as a result of life-saving measures, suggests that substantial policy measures to boost HLE are worthwhile.

To operationalize HLE targeting, governments should follow Japan in establishing longevity councils. Once policymakers start focusing on the issue, they will realize three things. First, preventive health care is key. Around the world, health systems tend to be geared primarily toward medical intervention and disease response, rather than toward general health promotion. Second, and relatedly, many of the determinants of long, healthy lives fall outside the health system, and are connected to work, education, and community, as economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton have shown in their work documenting deaths of despair. A policy focus on HLE therefore requires a cross-departmental government approach.

The fact that todays deaths of despair disproportionately affect middle-aged individuals points to the third realization: longevity is about all-of-life and not just end-of-life outcomes. With the British government estimating that a newborn girl now has a one-in-five chance of living to 100, it is critical that we expand our view of longevity to the entire life course. Measures targeting HLE must be inclusive across all age cohorts and focus on longevity, not just on the old. After all, todays young people are tomorrows elderly, and all of ones time on this planet matters.

There are many metrics that governments could use to judge the success of their policies and the health of society. But whatever other measures they use, HLE deserves a central position in the policy mix. Few other variables are both as important for us individually and as effective in capturing broader macroeconomic benefits.

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A Healthy Improvement on GDP by Andrew Scott - Project Syndicate

Instead of tea leaves or Tarot Cards, Lapetus Solutions uses proprietary algorithms and AI to predict your future by reading your face.

Has Covid-19 impacted Lapetus? Karl Ricanek, Jr., PhD, co-founder and chief AI scientist, says its an interesting time for the company. Applications for life settlements and life insurance have slowed with consumers resisting the in-person contact required for medical exams. Individuals are reluctant to sell life insurance policies with the uncertain trajectory of the pandemic. Still, the need for data to support decisions on these policies continues to grow; Lapetus had one life estimate client 18 months ago and has a dozen today.

Increasingly, insurance carriers want to expedite health assessments for rapid underwriting. With the Lapetus medical selfie and answers to a set of questions, new policies can be underwritten in minutes instead of weeks. Historically, blood and urine samples were collected during an in-person paramed exam. The pandemic has made scheduling these difficult. In South Africa, for instance, paramed exams were prohibited this spring, leading a carrier there to turn to Lapetus for a better solution.

The need for longevity data for large-scale annuity programs is ramping up. Lapetus recently inked a deal to provide individual longevity estimates for an Asian country to determine risk profiles for new Social Security-like government-backed annuities for its citizens. Accurate data will assure the program is adequately funded.

How about a personal assessment? Lapetus offers a genetic test developed by their scientists to determine whether you have the genes for exceptional longevity. Start with a 23 and Me report on your ancestry, then share the data with Lapetus to gain additional health information, including your potential for early onset Alzheimers and other chronic diseases.

Lapetus got its start with a phone call seven years ago when cofounder, S. Jay Olshansky, PhD, chief science officer, said Hey, I have this crazy idea and youre the only person that can build this technology. At the time, Ricanek was working on a U.S. Government sponsored project and questioning why chronological age algorithm accurately predicted age using facial analytics for 80% of test subjects, but not the other 20%. It turns out he was accurately measuring something else biological age. Senescencing is the rate at which subjects biologically age. Some people senescence faster due to genetic contributors and extrinsic factors (including alcohol use, depression, and smoking) and die sooner.

Whats the future of Lapetus? Building out the platform, taking the company public, and exiting? Or setting up a life insurance company for certain products? Growing to be the next largest insurance company in the U.S.? There are multiple paths to a $1B valuation over the next two years.

Fortunately, as Lapetus faces new opportunities, Ricanek continues with research and promoting innovation at UNCW and the CIE. The face of InsurTech in Wilmington is here to stay.

Diane Durance, MPA, is director of UNC Wilmington's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). The CIE is a resource for the start-up and early-stage business community to help diversify the local economy with innovative solutions. For more information, visit http://www.uncw.edu/cie

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Lapetus Solutions: The Face Of InsurTech by Diane Durance | Sponsored Insights - Greater Wilmington Business Journal

New images show thousands of people crammed shoulder to shoulder at a massive pool party over the weekend in Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus is thought to have first emerged late last year.

Large crowds packed the Wuhan Playa Maya Water Park for an electronic music festival on Saturday, according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

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Partygoers can be seen standing and swimming in close quarters to one another without the usual mask and social distancing measures meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus as they watched the performance.

The images stand in stark contrast to the strict lockdown that was once imposed on the central Hubei province city in January when the coronavirus outbreak first began spiraling out of control, which locked down Wuhans 11 million residents.

All public transport was suspended and movement outside homes was restricted. The lockdown was lifted in April, around the time the virus began tearing through western Europe and the U.S.

There have been no new domestically transmitted cases officially reported in Hubei province, where Wuhan is the capital, since May according to AFP. More than 68,000 cases have been confirmed in Hubei province with more than 4,500 deaths.

But some have cast doubt on the actual number of coronavirus cases and deaths in China due to the authoritarian nature of the country. China has tallied more than 84,000 cases with a total of 4,634 deaths.

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Thousands pack water park in Wuhan, China, the once-epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic | TheHill - The Hill

A new study reveals the secrets of these prehistoric fishand how they adjust to changing conditions

In the lower Missouri River, a fish with prehistoric ties has learned to live hardand, too often, die young.

Now, a new study by a University of Georgia professor details the ways pallid sturgeon have adapted to less-than-ideal conditions. Fish that live where their habitat has substantially changed have responded by growing faster and reaching sexual maturity at an earlier age, resulting in a shortened lifespan.

Though perhaps not ideal, this typically long-lived fish has found a way to persist while facing extinction due to widespread changes in its river system.

The findings are a first for this type of species and the paper, published this month in the journal Scientific Reports, offers vital insight into an endangered species. It details the fishs plasticity, or the ability to adjustrather than genetically adaptto large-scale changes in the environment.

A pallid sturgeon in the wild. (Submitted photo)

While genetic adaptations take place over generations as a result of natural selection, plasticity represents small shifts in a species life history without a genetic adaptation. The amount of plasticity, or variation, is often difficult to determine and is unknown for many organismsespecially long-lived ones such as sturgeon.

For a traditionally long-lived species, this plasticity hasnt been documented before, said Marty Hamel, an assistant professor of fisheries and ecology at the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. He observed these changes in a portion of the Missouri River that has changed dramatically over the years; now it looks completely different from its historic conditions. So, those environmental influences, they have an impact on age and growth characteristics where they ultimately impact life-history traits like longevity and age and size at sexual maturation.

For example, Hamels research found that adult sturgeon in the lower portion of the river are much smaller in size. This translates to fewer eggs per femalein the order of 15,000 per fish compared with about 121,000 upstream. Because their harsh living conditions require additional energy just to survive, any surplus energy goes toward reproductive activities instead of fish growth, Hamel said.

He also determined that while sturgeon in the upper Missouri could live to be 100 years old, sturgeon in the lower Missouri would live less than half as long, averaging about 39 years. But to do this, Hamel had to mark another first for pallid sturgeon: A way to find their age.

I got all this mark-recapture information and when I came to UGA (in 2019), I started working that up to try and get a formula to estimate the age of these fish, because we had no clue, he said. Mark-recapture refers to a method where an animal is noted over time in different places on the landscape. Theyre an endangered species, so having that age information is really important for understanding the population. Age data are fundamental for many of the metrics we observelike growth and mortality ratesand having that information allows researchers to model or forecast how the species might respond to conservation measures such as habitat improvement projects or restocking strategies.

He added that while there has been a lot of research done on pallid sturgeon in the last decade, there remained this knowledge gap in understanding the complete life history of the fish. Thats something I was interested in, and I found a way to figure it out.

For about 20 years, fish hatcheries have been capturing wild pallid sturgeon, spawning them in captivity and releasing their offspring back into the river. Each fish that is released has a unique PIT tagthe same kind of microchip used to identify household pets if they are lostand when they are caught by researchers later in life, the tags can be scanned to learn how much the fish grew and how far they have traveled from where they were released.

Marty Hamel examining cross sections of fish ear bones. (Submitted photo)

Using this information, Hamel was able to apply known ages of hatchery-raised fish and determine a formula that could be used to estimate age for wild fish. Determining age can be problematic for sturgeonthe age of most fish can be found by examining a cross-section of a pectoral fin or a fishs ear bone. But the reliability of these structures in most sturgeon is poor owing to their slow growth as adults and their environment. So, while they have the potential to live for decades, their age and longevity have largely remained a mystery.

Hamel now plans to build on these analyses by incorporating additional genetic tools and applying this information to sturgeon in the Southeast. Of the nine species found in North America, five can be found in or adjacent to GeorgiaAtlantic, shortnose, Gulf, lake and Alabama sturgeon. Hamel, who has been studying sturgeon for more than a decade, is now pursuing projects that involve all of these fish.

Its all very relatableunderstanding the age structure and longevity of these imperiled sturgeons is vital for management and recovery, he said. For example, up the Northeast coast, Atlantic sturgeon are much larger than those that occupy the coastal rivers of Georgia. If smaller size equates to decreased longevity, these fish will have a reduced number of lifetime reproductive events. That type of information would be really beneficial to aid in recovery efforts.

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In Missouri River, sturgeon dont look their age - University of Georgia

Although it is obvious tht food is vitl to onesn>survivl, mny people re unwren>how single compounds found in foods could impct disesen>nd mortlity.n>Leding helth experts nd reserchers recommend diet which is rich in polyphenols to help boost longevity nd reducen>then>risk of diseses.n>n>

In study published in Alph Glileo, diet high in polyphenols nd its ssocition with longevity ws investigted.

The study noted: It is the first time tht scientific study ssocites high polyphenols intke with 30 percent reduction in mortlity in older dults.n>n>

The reserch, published onJournl of Nutrition, is the first to evlute the totl dietry polyphenol intke by using nutritionl biomrker nd not only food frequency questionnire.n>n>

Reserchers found tht people who took in 650 mg per dy experienced 30 percent lower mortlity rte thn those who took in less thn 500 mg per dy.n>n>n>

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Professor Cristin Andr&ecute;s Lcuev, hed of the Biomrkers nd Nutritionl ∓ Food Metbolomics Reserch Group of the UB nd coordintor of the study sid: The development nd use of nutritionl biomrkers enbles to mke more precise nd, prticulrly, more objective estimtion of intke s it is not only bsed on prticipnts memory when nswering questionnire.n>n>

Nutritionl biomrkers tke into ccount biovilbility nd individul differences.n>n>

This methodology mkes more relible nd ccurte evlution of the ssocition between food intke nd mortlity or disese risk.n>n>

Polyphenolsorpolyphenolrich diets provide significntprotection ginstthe development nd progression of mny chronic pthologicl conditions including cncer, dibetes, crdio-vsculr problems nd ging.n>n>

Polyphenol foods re known to help boost longevity nd fruits with high levels of polyphenols include blck chokeberries, blck elderberries, strwberries, red rspberries, blueberries, plums, ndn>blckcurrnts.n>n>

Coco powder, drk chocolte, coffee, te, nd flxseed re lso high in polyphenols.n>n>

When it comes to herbs nd sesonings withn>highn>levels of polyphenols, the Europen Journl of Clinicl Nutrition recommends cloves, dried peppermint, nd str nise.n>n>

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Just how to live much longer: The foods shown to avoid heart disease and increase longevity - Entertainment Overdose

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equities rose on Tuesday as strong corporate results and accelerating U.S. homebuilding lifted the S&P 500 past highs set before the coronavirus crushed world economies, in a stimulus-fueled rally that has also pushed the dollar to two-year lows.

FILE PHOTO: The Wall Street sign is pictured at the New York Stock exchange (NYSE) in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite set records soon after the opening bell following strong sales growth as reported by major U.S. retailers including Walmart, Kohls and Home Depot.

The benchmark S&P 500 index topped an all-time peak reached in February just before the onset of COVID-19. The tech-heavy Nasdaq hit a record high for the second consecutive day in a session where declining stocks outnumbered rising shares.

(Graphic: S&P 500's bull-to-bear, bear-to-bull journey in 6 months here)

Its a reflection that the pandemic has limited longevity and the economic downtown will also have limited longevity, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York, who acknowledged many investors are skeptical about a rally that confirms a bull market.

We feel in about a year or so most of the population will be immunized with a vaccine and the economy will begin to return to accelerated growth, Ghriskey said.

Historically low interest rates and very accommodative monetary and fiscal policy in the United States and abroad have aided the rally, said William Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Helena, Montana.

The policy responses have been incredibly forceful and provided a necessary bridge through this voluntary economic shutdown as we deal with these conditions created by the pandemic, Northey said.

The near-doubling of online sales in the second quarter helped Walmart Inc trounce Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit and same-store sales.

The S&P slumped to a pandemic low on March 23 and has surged about 55% since then, making the bear market that started in late February the benchmark indexs shortest in history.

The S&P 500 gained 0.23%, led by Amazon.com and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.73%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.24%.

In Europe, the broad FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.52% at 1,424.85. MSCIs world equity index of equity markets in 49 nations rose 1.65 points or 0.29%, to 573.53.

(Graphic: S&P 500 PE revisits dot-com highs here)

Gold rose more than 1% to climb back above the $2,000 level breached earlier this month, as the dollar fell against a basket of major currencies for a fifth consecutive trading day, under pressure from low yields and mostly bleak U.S. economic data.

The Feds intervention in financial markets to maintain liquidity in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic has weakened the dollar, pushed risk assets to all-time highs and reduced demand for safe-havens.

The dollar index fell 0.551%, with the euro up 0.53% to $1.1932. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.60% versus the greenback to 105.38 per dollar.

Spot gold prices rose 0.74% to $2,000.19 an ounce. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.7% at $2,013.10.

U.S. housing starts jumped 22.6% in July in the latest sign homebuilding is emerging as one of the few areas of strength in an economy suffering a record slowdown because of the pandemic.

U.S. Treasury yields slid as the market largely snubbed the strong housing data and looked for signs that a political stalemate in Washington over a round of aid was easing.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 1.8 basis points to yield 0.6655%.

Oil prices settled modestly higher in choppy trade. Brent crude futures rose 9 cents to settle at $45.46 a barrel. U.S. crude futures settled unchanged at $42.89 a barrel.

Reporting by Herbert Lash, additional reporting by Stephen Culp in New York and Medha Singh in Bengaluru.; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Andrea Ricci

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Stocks rally on new U.S. highs, dollar at two-year low - Reuters

Bats have been blamed as a possible source of the new coronavirus pandemic ravaging the globe. But they might also point to possible ways out of it.

Scientists say the winged mammals' immune systems may offer clues on how to fight the new coronavirus and other dangerous viruses in humans.

"Humans have two possible strategies if we want to prevent inflammation, live longer and avoid the deadly effects of diseases like Covid-19," explained study lead author Vera Gorbunova, a professor of biology at the University of Rochester in New York. "One would be to not be exposed to any viruses, but that's not practical. The second would be to regulate our immune system more like a bat."

Resistance and longevity

Many deadly viruses that affect people are believed to have originated in bats, including rabies, Ebola and SARS-CoV-2, the strain that causes Covid-19. But bats have evolved a secret weapon: They're better able to tolerate viruses than humans and other mammals.

"We've been interested in longevity and disease resistance in bats for a while, but we didn't have the time to sit and think about it," Gorbunova said in a university news release.

"Being in quarantine gave us time to discuss this, and we realised there may be a very strong connection between bats' resistance to infectious diseases and their longevity. We also realised that bats can provide clues to human therapies used to fight diseases," she explained.

Typically, a species' lifespan is associated with its body size. The smaller a species, the shorter its lifespan. But many bat species have lifespans of 30 to 40 years, which is impressive for their size, the authors noted in a review article published recently in Cell Metabolism.

Bats' longevity and tolerance to viruses may be due to their ability to control inflammation, which is involved in both ageing and disease. Viruses, including Covid-19, can trigger inflammation.

Our bodies overreact

With Covid-19, this inflammatory response goes "haywire", Gorbunova said. In fact, in many cases it is the inflammatory response that kills the patient, more so than the virus itself.

"The human immune system works like that: Once we get infected, our body sounds an alarm and we develop a fever and inflammation. The goal is to kill the virus and fight infection, but it can also be a detrimental response as our bodies overreact to the threat," Gorbunova said.

In contrast, bats' immune systems control viruses without mounting a strong inflammatory response.

There are several possible reasons why bats evolved to fight viruses and live long lives. Flight may be one of them, the researchers noted.

Constant exposure to viruses

Bats are the only mammals that can fly, which required them to adapt to rapid increases in body temperature, sudden surges in metabolism and molecular damage. These adaptations may also assist in disease resistance, the study authors suggested.

Another factor is that many species of bats live in large, dense colonies, and hang close together on cave ceilings or in trees. Those conditions are ideal for transmitting viruses and other pathogens.

According to Andrei Seluanov, a biology professor at the University of Rochester, "Bats are constantly exposed to viruses. They are always flying out and bringing back something new to the cave or nest, and they transfer the virus because they live in such close proximity to each other."

This means that bats' immune systems are continuously adapting to deal with new viruses. Studying bats' immune systems could lead to new ways to fight aging and diseases in humans, the researchers said.

Image credit: Igam Ogam, Unsplash

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Coronavirus may have come from bats; could they also hold clues to treatments? - Health24

Following the emergence of COVID-19 out of Wuhan, China, late last year, scientists as early as February discovered a slight mutation of the coronavirus that has now become a more predominant variant in Europe and North America andwas recently found in parts of Asia.

While the World Health Organization has said there is no evidence the D614G mutation has led to more harmful cases of COVID-19, theres been some research indicating it may be much more infectious than the strain that first appeared in China.

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A prominent infectious disease expert says a more infectious strain may actually be a good thing.

Maybe thats a good thing to have a virus that is more infectious but less deadly, Paul Tambyah, senior consultant at the National University of Singapore and president-elect of the International Society of Infectious Diseases, told Reuters in an interview.

Tambyah told the news outlet theres evidence the D614G mutation is less lethal as the increase in the strain in some parts of the world has coincided with a drop in death rates. He noted that most viruses tend to become less virulent as they mutate.

It is in the virus interest to infect more people but not to kill them because a virus depends on the host for food and for shelter, Tambyah told Reuters.

The strain was found recently in a Malaysian cluster of 45 cases that stemmed from someone who returned from India and breached a 14-day home quarantine, prompting authorities there to urge people to take greater precautions.

Malaysias Director-General of health Noor Hisham Abdullah on Sunday made the claim the D614G strain detected in the country was 10 times more infectious and may mean existing studies on vaccines may be incomplete or ineffective against the mutation.

Recent research, however, suggests the mutation is unlikely to have a majoreffect on the efficacy of vaccines currently being developed.

Public health experts who spoke with Reuters agreed.

(The) variants are almost identical and did not change areas that our immune system typically [recognize], so there shouldnt be any difference for vaccines being developed, Sebastian Maurer-Stroh of Singapores agency for science, technology and research told Reuters.

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The coronavirus is mutating and that could be a very good thing, says infectious disease expert | TheHill - The Hill

Every so often you think about a moment, and this sounds quite cliched, but its a moment that changed your life, but you didnt realise that it did. For me one of those moments was in year 10. Prior to that year, I was a bit cheeky at school. I was always getting into trouble and I wasnt that interested. And I think it was because I was bored, really.

I had the option to move up into the advanced maths class, but my teacher at the time said all sorts of ridiculous rabble, like people like me dont do maths, so I would struggle if I moved up. Because I am very head strong, I essentially told her to go get stuffed and moved up anyway. And because Im very competitive, I made it my goal to beat everyone in the class and I did that too.

I went to Oxford University and started investigating the evolution of sleep. Sleep as a behaviour, when you think about it from an evolutionary standpoint, makes very little sense. Why would such a vulnerable state evolve?

I submitted a paper, focusing on sleep, and one of the reviewers made a very good point; how do we distinguish sleep from rest? We need to talk about information collection if were to make that distinction. That then led me to thinking about how and when organisms are collecting information about their environment and when theyre not.

Have you heard of the grandmother hypothesis? I went on to look at the evolution of post-menopausal longevity. The grandmother hypothesis posits that post-menopausal grandmothers may increase the reproductive success in their children, and so indirectly their own fitness.

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But significant post-menopausal representation (as opposed to viability) exist only in us humans and the toothed whales. I used a lot of game theory to show that in fact there are some very good reasons why you would expect it to be rare. Now, Im asking other questions, because while I really quite like the grandmother hypothesis I think its very elegant its also very hard to test.

So, for example, if grandmothering is so great, at what point do the benefits of it stop, in terms of increasing life span.

I moved from Oxford to Melbourne to be closer to family. Even just being in the same time zone as my family made a really big difference. Im on a McKenzie Fellowship which gives you an uncommon amount of freedom, for a young academic.

Mathematics can tell us a lot about the world and behaviours. There are famous studies from the 90s investigating the motivations of behaviour around risk. Say you give a bird two options it may be water with different amounts of sugar in it or it may be food. On average, the reward is the same, but the variances are different. If I starve the bird, will the bird go for the more risky option? If I make sure the bird has full energy reserves, will they be more conservative?

We need to reassess the classic studies of behaviour, because they mostly assume that the experimentalists and the experimental subject had the same frame of reference. But I would argue that in most cases, thats not true. I was able to show using some very simple mathematics that we need to be really cautious about the conclusions we draw from those experiments. You can show that, in a finite period of time, they will never agree that the expected rewards are the same.

My work now is looking at traditional Indigenous marriage rules. These are rules for who can marry whom; Im thinking about the mathematics of these rules and the evolutionary consequences of them. One reason Im interested is for very personal reasons, because it is my culture. And I strongly believe we must be keepers of our own knowledge.

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But the other reason is that at the turn of the last century a lot of people were studying these rules, but they were sort of swept aside as cultural artifacts, not having much utility or reasoning behind them.

Indigenous marriage rules are actually quite clever systems to prevent a lot of diseases from spreading. I can show, just with pen-and-paper mathematics, that by following the marriage rules, the entire population of the Gamilaraay Nation (where Im from) which extends from New South Wales to southern Queensland would have to reduce to 24 individuals for people to be as closely related as first cousins when marrying. Thats 24 people, over a landmass that is the size of France.

In the 1850s, the upper crust in England were doing this on purpose. Charles Darwin married his first cousin.

I would argue that this is science. Although Indigenous marriage rules may not be couched in modern scientific terms, to understand these things is to very closely observe, using intense longitudinal studies. This is science.

There are only around five Indigenous mathematicians in the country, and most of them have left academia because of racism. I decided to apply to the ABCs Top 5 Media Residency Program because Im hoping that being a little more visible might encourage other black people to dive into maths.

There are very few of us out here saying Im a black mathematician or Im a black scientist. I think, maybe, thats because we need reminding that not only are we capable, but weve always been capable.

- As told to Dr Daryl Holland

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The mathematics of evolution - Pursuit

CORBIN, Ky. (WTVQ) The Corbin City Commission voted unanimously Monday to hire an attorney in an annexation fight with the City of London, according to a report in The News Journal.

The report says the commission approved a motion to hire lawyer Patrick Hughes.

The area in question is along the West Cumberland Gap Parkway. It is not within the Corbin city limits, but the city installed the water and sewer lines that service that area, according to the report.

The City of London would be required to get permission from the City of Corbin to annex over its existing infrastructure, according to The News Journal.

Corbin cant annex the area because state law only permits a city to annex in a county where it is chartered, according to the report.

Attempts by state lawmakers to amend the existing law that would allow Corbin to annex the area have been unsuccessful, according to The News Journal.

Tom Kenny joined ABC 36 News in June of 2001 as a General Assignment Reporter. A native of Peoria, Illinois, he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Western Illinois University. He currently anchors ABC 36 News at 5pm, 6pm and 11pm.Tom has more than three decades of experience in broadcast journalism. He is the only broadcast journalist in Lexington television history to be honored with a national Edward R. Murrow Award. Tom was recognized for reporting on a story that gave a rare glimpse inside the secretive world of the Federal Witness Protection Program. He has won an Emmy Award for anchoring and another for investigative reporting, exposing the deceit and potential danger of online diploma mills.Tom has ten other Emmy nominations to his credit for investigative and feature reporting. He has won Associated Press Awards for reporting and anchoring. He has won two Addy Awards for excellence in promotional writing. Tom was the first broadcast journalist in Lexington TV history to be awarded the Silver Circle Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is one of the highest honors given by NATAS. It recognizes television professionals who have performed distinguished service within the television industry for 25-years or more. Tom was honored for more than his longevity, he was recognized for making an enduring contribution to the vitality of the television industry and for setting high standards of achievement. He was also recognized for giving back to the community as a mentor, educator and volunteer. Tom also has network broadcast experience in radio and television having worked as a sports reporter for ESPN, Sportschannel, NBC Sports and the Breeders Cup. He was also the studio host and halftime producer for CBS Radio Sports College Football Game of the Week and covered the NFL for One-On-One Radio Sports.Prior to joining WTVQ-TV, Tom was Vice-President of the Houston Astros Minor League baseball team in Lexington. He was part of the original management team that brought professional baseball back to the Bluegrass after a nearly 50-year absence.Tom has lived in Lexington since 1984. In that time, he has been heavily involved with dozens of charity and civic groups, with a special emphasis on helping Veterans. He can be reached at tkenny@wtvq.com. You can also follow Tom on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomKennyABC and Twitter @TomKennyNews. Just click on the links at the top of the page.

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City of Corbin to hire lawyer in annexation fight with London - ABC 36 News - WTVQ

Dear Rusty: It seems like we are always encouraged to wait until our full retirement age or age 70 to claim our Social Security. For me, benefits at age 62 were a good jump start to my retirement. How about listing the many benefits to early (age 62) retirement? And at what age does it become a liability, if ever? Signed: Happily Retired at age 78

Dear Happily Retired:

Youre correct that most financial advisors and Social Security advisors, including me, frequently encourage people to delay claiming Social Security until at least their full retirement age (FRA). And thats because far too many claim their benefits as soon as they are available at age 62 because its there, without evaluating whether thats a smart move for them personally. There are many reasons why its best to wait, but there are also some very good reasons for claiming benefits at age 62. Lets explore those.

Claiming at age 62 is exactly the right move if you are in poor health and dont expect to live a long life. Benefits taken age 62 are 25 percent less for those with a full retirement age (FRA) of 66, and 30 percent less if your FRA is 67. But those reductions become insignificant if you dont expect to live a long, healthy life from that point forward. If you wait until your FRA, it takes about 12 years to collect the same amount in total benefits as if you had claimed at age 62.

Even if you are in decent health now, if your family history and your lifestyle suggest less than average longevity, claiming before your FRA, as early as 62, may be a prudent choice. By lifestyle I mean, for example, whether you exercise regularly, smoke or drink excessively or drive without a seatbelt. There are several life expectancy calculators available which can assist with predicting your life expectancy by evaluating your family history and lifestyle, including those available at this website: https://socialsecurityreport.org/tools/life-expectancy-calculator. Just remember that no one can accurately forecast how long they will live but making an informed decision on when to claim should consider your estimated longevity, among other things.

If collecting your Social Security benefits early is needed to help pay for lifes necessities, such as food, housing, and out-of-pocket medical costs, then claiming as early as age 62, or any other time before your FRA, could be exactly the right choice. In other words, the need for the money now is a driving force in deciding when to claim.

Which brings me to your point that claiming at age 62 was a jump start to your retirement, allowing you to begin enjoying your golden years much earlier than you might have otherwise been able to. Theres a lot to be said for taking benefits early to fulfill your bucket list while youre still young enough to enjoy it. And, from your signature, it looks like youve been putting that extra Social Security money to good use for many years now. Good for you! Now, at age 78, youve reached your breakeven point where, if you had waited until your FRA to claim, your cumulative lifetime benefits would hereafter be more than they will be because you claimed at 62. That may not, however, offset the many years of happy retirement youve been able to enjoy because you took your benefits early.

In the end, deciding when to claim Social Security should be done after carefully evaluating your personal situation. Anyone who claims benefits before their full retirement age must beware of Social Securitys earnings test which limits how much you can earn before your benefits are affected. But those who can afford to wait and who expect to live to a ripe old age would do well to consider delaying until their full retirement age, or even beyond, to claim their Social Security benefits. If their life expectancy is at least average theyll collect much more in cumulative lifetime benefits by doing so.

Russell Gloor is a certified Social Security advisor with the Association of Mature American Citizens.

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RUSSELL GLOOR: Ask Rusty - About the virtues of claiming benefits early - Houston Chronicle

YORK A proposed 9 percent increase in wastewater rates is being proposed for the City of York and the first reading of an ordinance that would enact that increase will be held this coming Thursday.

Earlier, it was proposed that a higher rate increase would be needed, but then later determined that a smaller increase would be sufficient.

The increase is attributed to the citys large project of building a new wastewater treatment plant and installing all the infrastructure that goes a long with it.

The good news is that no rate increases are being proposed this year for water or for the landfill.

Also on Thursday night, during the city councils regular meeting, the following will be discussed:

A second reading of an ordinance addressing longevity pay for employees will be held. Getting rid of or altering the citys longevity pay program has come and gone over the past few years, only to come back again.

The council will consider the sale of a small piece of land to Matt and Lynn Leif, for $1,500.

The council will also hold a discussion about the budget for the new 2020-21 fiscal year. The council, administration and department heads have been discussing budget issues for quite some time now. Approval is nearing. As the budget looks at this time, there will likely not be any increase of the tax levy and reserves are projected to be more than $2 million when the fiscal year ends.

The public is always encouraged to attend the meeting, which will begin at 7 p.m., in the council chambers, on Thursday, Aug. 20.

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Increase in wastewater rates to get first reading - York News-Times

The observation that diet and health are related can be traced back at least to Maimonides a 1,000 years ago and Hippocrates over 2,000 years ago. With advances in public health measures and medical care, the average lifespan has been dramatically extended. Unfortunately, many of the extra years are burdened with chronic diseases, like heart disease and cancer.

More than ever, trying to determine what diet is most related to health is of importance to living a long life without disease. Nutrition science can be difficult, complex, and conflicting at times. What can you do when headlines appear that are in direct conflict with one another? Is the media biased, or even bought?

In the last few months, this situation has exploded, and it pertains to the role of whole food plant diets and heart disease. Research on the contribution of foods rich in saturated fats like cheese, butter, meats, eggs, and pastries to heart disease has been ongoing since the 1950s. In order to evaluate the most current and quality data, a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between saturated fat and heart disease were published by the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR)in May. The CDSR is widely regarded as the leading and most respected of sources for evaluating topics in health care.

The authors analyzed 15 controlled trials involving over 59,000 subjects and concluded that The findings of this updated review suggest that reducing saturated fat intake for at least two years causes a potentially important reduction in combined cardiovascular events (21%). Replacing the energy from saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat or carbohydrate appears to be useful strategies. It would seem clear that reducing or eliminating meats, cheeses, egg yolks, lard, butter, ghee and baked goods would favor better odds of avoiding heart disease. Of note, major media channels did not report on this research and it was buried in the National Library of Medicine.

The clarity on nutrition advice provided by the esteemed CDSR lasted all of 3-4 weeks as a State of the Art Review by 12 authors on the topic of saturated fat and health was published in a major cardiology journal on June 16, 2020. They did not conduct original research but analyzed previously published studies. The 12 authors concluded that Whole-fat dairy, unprocessed meat, eggs and dark chocolate are SFA-rich foods with a complex matrix that are not associated with increased risk of CVD. The totality of available evidence does not support further limiting the intake of such foods. Unlike the esteemed CDSR paper, this review created 100s of headlines worldwide.

How can we reconcile such conflicting conclusions? It is challenging and leaves many confused, feeling that they can eat whatever they want while nutrition scientists duke it out. One major concern not mentioned in the media regarding the 2nd paper promoting saturated fat was that 9 of the 12 authors disclosed research funding by dairy or beef foundations. Lets repeat that: 75% of the authors promoting saturated fat were funded by industry organizations that promote foods rich in saturated fat!

In a second challenge to the findings of the CDSR, 10 authors published a hypothesis that those suffering from a relatively rare genetic disorder causing high cholesterol, familial hyperlipidemia, would benefit more from a low-carbohydrate diet than a low-fat diet. The authors did not conduct original research. Guess what? Five of the 10 authors revealed financial ties that they benefit from relating to low-carb diets. The other 5 are well known low-carb advocates routinely advocating for dietary approaches in conflict with major medical societies and research findings. Would you be surprised that this paper also got worldwide headlines indicating that a new paradigm had been identified?

Are there any ways to approach nutrition research with a system you can digest when new data and conflicting reports appear? I rely on two leading research scientists who have proposed such an approach:One is Valter Longo, Ph.D., author of The Longevity Diet, creator of the plant-based Fasting Mimicking Diet, and internationally known leading academic researcher.

Dr. Longo describes the Five Pillars of Longevity as a format to evaluated nutrition research. These 5 pillars are:1) biochemical research, 2) randomized trials, 3) epidemiology, 4) study of centenarians, and finally, 5) analysis of complex systems (like the environmental impact of diet). For example, Dr. Longo considers the popular keto diet to bea half a pillar at most as it lacks many of the components of this analytical system. In contrast, Dr. Longo teaches a plant-based diet in his book as it encompasses all 5 pillars.

The other leading scientist is Nobel Prize Laureate Michael Brown, MD who was awarded this high honor in 1985 for his research on the LDL cholesterol.Dr. Brown delivered a lecture titled A Century of Cholesterol and Coronaries and described a method of evaluating the scientific literature on the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease. He called the method the Four Lines of Evidence. These 4 lines were remarkably similar to the Pillars described by Dr. Longo. Together they provide a framework to consider new information in a meaningful and big picture way.

What can be concluded regarding saturated fat and heart disease? Should you add butter to your coffee tomorrow? One study was published by an esteemed organization (CDSR). The other two were written by authors with major financial biases, including investments in companies dedicated to promoting diets high in saturated fats.

Using the 5 Pillars or the 4 Lines of Evidence, there exists biochemistry, randomized trials, epidemiology, and Centenarian data that indicate that diets lower in saturated fats (reduced or absent meats, cheeses, butter, pastries, lard, ghee) promote health and reduce the risk of heart disease. No single new study can up-end 70 years of research, even if a new study can get inordinate and inappropriate praise in the media. While nutrition science can be challenging, using the methods here as a guidepost to the research you believe will help you make healthy decisions about your diet. One simple rule: Always favor plant-based selections. Do not believe all media headlines. They can be bought or, at a minimum, influenced, by a flow of dollars that generates clickbait headlines.

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To Live Longer, Healthier, Avoid Saturated Fat in Meat and Dairy - The Beet

Speculation intensified about the future of the fan-centric DC Universe streaming service after DC was hit with massive layoffs on Monday as part of a larger restructuring for its parent company, WarnerMedia. The majority of the DCU staff was laid off, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In an interview with THR addressing the layoffs on Friday, DC publisher and creative chief Jim Lee said that the original content that is on DCU is migrating to HBO Max, confirming that DCUs original TV shows will move to WarnerMedias new flagship streaming platform that launched in May.

Truthfully, thats the best platform for that content, Lee told THR. The amount of content you get, not just DC, but generally from WarnerMedia, is huge and its the best value proposition if Im allowed to use that marketing term. We feel that is the place for that.

DCUs Doom Patrol and Harley Quinn are already streaming on Max. Another DC Universe original, Stargirl, was renewed last month for a second season exclusively on The CW network.

But the writing has been on the wall for months regarding DCUs originals. Last year, DCU abruptly cancelled its original series Swamp Thing after one season, shocking crewmembers. In May, ahead of Maxs launch, Business Insider reported that WarnerMedia wasnt prioritising DCU. People close to the service questioned its longevity.

Everything is about HBO Max now, said a former employee of Warner Bros. Digital Labs, a product unit that works with the companys streaming services.

And in an interview in May, Maxs former content chief Kevin Reilly who was fired this month as part of the WarnerMedia shakeup told Business Insider that there had been extensive discussions around DCU because DC is such a valuable entity to us and the depth of fandom is so important.

DCU shows wont be the only original DC content on Max. The streamer is developing its own DC originals, including a Green Lantern spinoff of next years The Batman movie about the Gotham City police. Reilly told Business Insider that fans should expect the highest level of cinematic production values on the shows.

While DCUs original content will be leaving the service, Lee told THR that its definitely not going away. The service also serves as a community hub for fans and offers a library of digital comics.

In regards to the community and experience that DCU created, and all the backlist content, something like 20,000 to 25,000 different titles, and the way it connected with fans 24-7, there is always going to be a need for that, Lee said. So were excited to transform it and well have more news on what that will look like.

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DC Universe original TV shows will move to HBO Max - Business Insider Australia

Vegans and vegetarians are still pretty rare in the U.S. In a Gallup poll from 2018, only about 8% of 30- to 49-year-olds said they were vegetarians and 4% said they were vegans. Surprisingly, fewer young folks, 18 to 29, were off meat: 7% were vegetarian and 3% were vegan. Go figure.

Well, thats what researchers did in a study in JAMA Internal Medicine that looked at the life-extending properties of a plant-based diet.

They reviewed data on 400,000 U.S. adults 50 and older over a 16-year period and figured out that the risk of death fell 12% for men and 14% for women for every 3 ounces of plant protein they ate per 1,000 calories consumed.

But even a smaller bump in consumption of plant protein made a difference: Swapping 3% of calories from animal to plant protein was enough to reduce the risk of death for both sexes by 10%.

The most damaging animal proteins were red meat and eggs and the best benefits came from cutting them out entirely. Thats what weve said in this column for the past 12 years, based on the data of Stan Hazen at the Cleveland Clinic. That duo (plus processed meat) is so damaging because they encourage certain intestinal bacteria to produce inflammatory mediators that promote cancer, dementia, arthritis, heart disease and stroke. So gobble, gobble not turkey, but tofu, beans, nuts, seeds, 100% whole grains and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of The Dr. Oz Show, and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into The Dr. Oz Show or visit http://www.sharecare.com.

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Drs. Oz & Roizen: Planting the seeds of longevity - The Union Leader

One of the world's Blue Zones is in Nicoya, Costa Rica.

Throughout the world, the average life expectancy is 71 years of age (70 for males and 72 for females). It remains to be seen if the COVID pandemic will affect that average. Whether this pandemic impacts the average lifespan of people around the world or not, a lot can be gained by studying five specific regions in the world where people seemingly effortlessly live to over 90 years in age. These regions are considered Blue Zones.

There are five regions around the world called the Blue Zones: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California. Each region has its own diet, types of exercise, and community structure, but each has specific elements in common - all starting with a sense of purpose. Lets explore the Blue Zone in Nicoya, Costa Rica and what the Nicoyan lifestyle can teach us about humanity and what we could do better in the future.

Nicoya was introduced as a Blue Zone in a 2004 National Geographic article by Dan Buettner. Nicoya is a small, rural beach community located on the Guanacaste peninsula on the northwest coast of Costa Rica. According to researchers, most inhabitants live to at least the age of 90. Nicoyans often live more than 100 years and Nicoya boasts of the highest number of centenarians in the world.

The most amazing part about people who live in Nicoya, Costa Rica is that many of them live without medication or disability. The way Nicoyans choose to live their lives gives us a template from which we can learn to improve our health and find our sense of purpose.

While we may not increase the average life expectancy throughout the world we can use Nicoya as a template for healthier living. The Nicoyan way of life can enlighten people to make choices that will help to increase their life expectancy. People often consider the impact of global decisions on future generations through legislation. But we must also consider the impact of our individual health and lifestyle choices on future generations.

Every morning, at dawn, before the men of Nicoya ride their horses through the mountains of the Costa Rican peninsula, they eat a healthy breakfast. The daily breakfast consists of gallo pinto (rice and beans) with a basket of homemade corn tortillas and hot coffee. This healthy breakfast gives them the nutrients they need for a day of tending crops and livestock.

While starting the day off with rice and beans may not be an ideal breakfast for most people, the key to a healthy breakfast is one rich with protein, complex carbs, and antioxidants (minus the preservatives). Protein helps to rebuild and repair tissue, as well as it helps a person to feel full. Complex carbs provide the energy a person needs to get through the day. And a breakfast rich with antioxidants helps to protect a persons cells from disease.

Rice and black beans, gallo pinto, served with eggs and tropical fruit

Along with starting every morning with a healthy breakfast, Nicoyans also eat nutritious food throughout the day. They eat many fruits and vegetables often grown on their own lands, and they tend not to consume much meat.

For those who might need some meal ideas, Dan Buettner, wrote the Blue Zones Kitchen cookbook. It consists of 100 recipes with ingredients used by those who live in Nicoya, Costa Rica and the other four Blue Zones.

While Nicoyans start their day by eating a healthy breakfast, their diet is not the only secret to living long lives. They also practice good physical and mental health. Many Nicoyans choose to walk from one destination to another instead of driving. Oftentimes, this helps maintain healthy and supportive relationships within their communities, and develop a strong sense of faith and purpose along the way.

While walking gives Nicoyans a chance to exercise and get fresh air, it also gives them time to enjoy the natural beauty for which Nicoya is known. Healthy and supportive relationships with friends and family are another one of their keys to longevity. Maintaining close ties with family and friends helps reduce stress.

One Nicoyan, a centenarian, said he knew death would eventually come for him but it is the love for his children that motivates him to keep going every day. The proper mindset about longevity is not about aspiring to live to a very old age, but to enjoy the best quality of life possible during the last ten years we live, says Alvaro Cedeno-Molinari, a former Costa Rican diplomat and ambassador who works intensely promoting bioliteracy, regeneration, and well-being as holistic healthy mindsets.

When Dan Buettner introduced the concept of Blue Zones, he formed the Blue Zones Project. It is a template outlining the lifestyles of people who live in places like Nicoya, Costa Rica. Cities throughout the world can use this template to encourage people to live healthier lives.

Though Chicago is not one of those cities that uses the template outlined in the Blue Zones Project, the city could adapt to the Blue Zones principals. In an article in the Chicagoan, Marc J. Lane reasons why Chicago should use the Blue Zones template to improve the lives of people who live there.

Lane cites the impact of COVID-19 on minorities like Blacks and Hispanics throughout Chicago. While the Blue Zones project Lane discusses isnt a cure for COVID-19, the principals lived by the people in those zones could increase the chance of livelihood for people of other cultures. Lane reported isolation, alienation, and high rates of depression in Chicagos poorest neighborhoods as some of the reasons behind the high rates of COVID cases. By encouraging Nicoyans belief community and sense of purpose through work, family, or nature, cities could help their poorest thrive.

Poor communities are notorious for living in food deserts. Access to natural foods and organic fruits and vegetables (stables of the Nicoyans) is difficult to come by. If youre eating a standard American diet, its probably shaving about six to 10 years off of your life expectancy, Buettner says. People who have diabetes, heart conditions, or are overweight tend to have a more difficult time if they are infected by COVID-19. Changing the American diet and culture around the food we eat can help save lives.

Although the Blue Zone Project isnt all about diet, and its certainly about more than food for the people of Nicoya it is a big difference from the typical American diet (no matter what type of community). For most Americans, an entrance ramp for a new lifestyle change is through their mouth, Buettner says.

"Looking beyond Costa Ricas Blue Zone in Nicoya, elements that make our population stand out and that describe our focus on well-being can be found in every corner of our territory. This is due to key decisions the country has taken through its history that have positively affected its performance in social progress, environment, society and overall peace indicators, explains Daniel Valverde, Essential Costa Rica country brand director.

Over the last several months, the world has mourned the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. The best way we can mourn those lives lost is to honor them by creating a better future for our children, their children, and their childrens children by making healthier choices now.

Now is the time for cities like Chicago to learn from the five Blue Zones throughout the world like Nicoya, Costa Rica. The template laid out in the Blue Zones Project: natural foods, daily movement, community, and sense of purpose, can help anyone develop stronger immune systems, so they can live healthier and longer lives.

We do not need to wait for our cities of residence to adopt the principles for healthier living outlined in the Blue Zones Project. We can start making healthier choices today, thus living more enriching lives and encouraging others to adopt similar healthy ways of living.

We can no longer afford to allow the COVID pandemic to cause us to live in or out of a place of fear. We must make the health of future generations our responsibility by implementing the lifestyles of the Blue Zones people now.

"The sense of community, shared purpose and celebration and appreciation for life in all its forms allows for a way of thriving that can even be seen today to have a connection to vitality and mitochondrial health." Pablo Jenkins, a regenerative investor and futurist explains that it is a great time to take on that wisdom from the local ancestors and combine it with new regenerative ways of living. It is the reason why the founder of Omega Institute set up Blue Spirit in Nosara and a Longevity center. Having worked with the pioneers in mind-body research and psychoneuroimmunology.

Many of us in Western countries know we need to eat less junk and add more natural food to our diets. We know we should include exercise into all parts of our lives (not just an hour at the gym). Its difficult to maintain family bonds and friendships when school and work take us far from home, into strange communities. Speaking of work, finding work/life balance is a constant challenge for many. What we can incorporate about Nicoya into our culture is the sense of purpose Nicoyans enjoy. That sense of purpose drives them in all aspects of their lives. If we can harness that, we can hopefully improve the health of future generations.

Adapting our lifestyles wherever we live to healthier practices such as intermittent fasting, walkability, exploring plant-based gastronomy, and low glycemic index food intake sound like your everyday doctors recipe for a healthy life, says Cedeno-Molinari.

But the simplest truth is that what one needs is to sleep eight hours every night, eat a nutritious, plant-based diet during a six-hour period to give your pancreas an 18-hour break until your next meal, and be at peace with everything and everyone all of the time, he adds.

Nicoya, Costa Rica

For Priscila Chaves, a Costa Rican social tech-entrepreneur and ethics thought leader, the question that still stands is, how can we translate these apparent otherworldly effects, to the rest of us? Many believe it will be through the cutting-edge innovations of regenerative medicine that the privileges of the Blue Zones can be democratized, so that anyone, anywhere, and at any time has access to the technology that allows us to replenish, replace and rejuvenate our physical bodies.

What weve witnessed during 2020 are healthcare systems around the world that are reactive, bureaucratic, inefficient, and saturated. Theyre focused on sick care, and so the actual healthcare is often neglected, says Chaves. Imagine yourself in a future not-so-distant, where more conscious lifestyle decisions you make at an individual level, are supported by a branch of medicine that attempts to change the course of diseases and regenerates failing parts of our bodies. Longevity then would not be a luxury only reserved for a few living in Blue Zones, but a reality for billions.

In the future, when we do emerge from the current pandemic, many cities and companies will revisit well-being as a main topic for their citizens and employees. There will be a lot to learn and a lot to do to get back to a healthier normal. That is when brands, businesses and cities will be able to look at Blue Zones like the one in Nicoya and find a model to follow.

When that day comes, Nicoyas Blue Zone will continue to be an example of the resiliency of the human body and spirit. For many the hope is that the lessons that these centenarians can teach us and the secrets of well-being and longevity that live in this extraordinary part of the world, will be able benefit all of humanity in the future.

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What Costa Ricas Blue Zone Can Teach Us About The Future Of Well-Being And Longevity - Forbes

Business ventures are never easy, but being built in 1926, it was a definite turbulent and uncertain chapter in American economic history. This particular Olney, Illinois business was however built on ethical practice and honesty as its foundation by Clyde H. King. As in those times money was scarce, King found a way to build bridges and community bonds, to assist families and keep his business open. By this practice, his legacy has lasted on the word he built on the relationships he made that have now carried on for generations in the local communities surrounding them. We often think of larger companies that have withstood the perils of economic and our countries ebbs and flows of recessions, such as railroads, NBC, and Northwest Airlines to name a few. Majority of smaller rural business owners were not quite as fortunate to make it out of the gates as King. The main street store was acquired from Bert H. Cooksey, then renamed as Kings Furniture. It seems unseemingly rare for an expansion, but the new enteranputenier was able to have an expansion on what is now Ivys Cottage in 1928. In the 80s, the Kings acquired the adjacent property built by D.A. Piper, which had been in the past a Ford dealership and garage and even a Montgomery Ward Store. The family had all worked in the business with Richard and John sons of Clyde running the business, and now henceforth each one of their families heirs taking on the role, Mike and Eric, as cousins being in co-leadership.

When asking Mike King, of the family struggles they have known of in their approaching centennial mark, he shared the early beginnings his grandfathers first steps were treacherous in itself as they were during the depression era. The ability to have creative business strategies is what helped him withstand the storms during those early years especially, Mike King shared. During World War II, it was also a difficult period with new furniture being hard to acquire and certain materials due to the war in itself. King shared the most recent hurdle has been quite harsh, in the COVID-19 sanctions, in that not knowing when as an non-essential business they might have been able to open up, or how long or to what capacity has been a definite challenge. To overcome obstacles, he said inlight of this new twist, "even knowing times are tough now, there are better days ahead."

When asked what the rewards of being a small town business owner were, King quickly responded with "seeing the people come back, confident they were treated well. "Thus the Kings strong backbone in customer service has served well with them for

now over nine decades and the generations that have dedicated themselves to it. By making key element changes in using suppliers that offer a good marketing base has helped them as well, such as expansion of their "Lazy Boy" line, King added. When asked what advice might give to anyone thinking of going into a small town business, he suggested the following, "Get lots of advice, talk to a lot of people, find out if there is a need for it and feel out the community." The future looks bright for the King family business, as they have a good foundation, a dedication to their long standing customer base, as well as their very positive attitude. King shared by being willing to change business practices, keeping up with how people are also changing and being willing to listen, the future looks promising for growth.

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Small town business gives highlights on their longevity and success for 94 years - Kewanee Star Courier

Everyone wants to know the secret to longevity and whilst knowingit, many want to still be able to enjoy their lives without food restrictions. Spicy food lovers rejoice as health experts and studies prove that eating more spicy foods will help to boost your longevity.

A study from the Harvard School of Public Health published Aug. 4, 2015, inBMJfound that people who ate spicy foods almost every day had a 14percentlower risk of death than people who ate spicy foods once a week.

Researchers evaluated the health and diet information of almost 500,000 people in China from 2004 to 2008, then followed up with them a few years later.

"Some evidence from other studies suggests the bioactive ingredients in spicy foods such as capsaicin may lower 'bad' cholesterol and triglycerides and improve inflammation," says study author Dr. Lu Qi.

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Capsaicin is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum.

There is a lot of research out there finding strong connections between capsaicin, a major bioactive ingredient in chili powder, and a lower cancer risk, decreased gastro-intestinal complications, and better cardiovascular health.

These studies credit the far-reaching anti-inflammatory properties of capsaicin as one of the reasons behind the remarkable benefits spicy food can offer the body.

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In a study published in the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, capsaicin and its potential for promoting vascular and metabolic health was analysed.

The study noted: Capsaicin, the phytochemical responsible for the spiciness of peppers, has the potential to modulate metabolism via activation of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptors, which are found not only on nociceptive sensory neurons, but also in a range of other tissues.

A subsequent study showed that dietary capsaicin had a beneficial metabolic impact on genetically diabetic micereducing plasma levels of glucose, insulin and triglycerides, boosting those of adiponectin, and exerting the same anti-inflammatory effects on adipose tissue as reported in the previous study.

This brief overview should make it clear that dietary capsaicinand, likely to a more limited degree, non-pungent capsiatehas intriguing potential for health promotion.

A study published in the journal PLoS ONE also linked red hot chilli peppers with a 13 percent lower risk of death.

Using data from the National Health and Examination Survey, scientists from the University of Vermont analysed the diets of over 16,000 American adults.

They asked the question, How often do you have red hot chilli peppers?

Those who ate any hot peppers in the past month had a lower mortality rate over a period of 18 years, after adjusting for other factors.

It has also been found that spicy foods may keep the heart healthy.

Recent research found that consuming spicy peppers was associated with a 13 percent lower incidence of deaths from heart disease and stroke.

Licia Lacoviello, director of the department of epidemiology and prevention at the IRCCS, added: "Chilli pepper is a fundamental component of our food culture. We see it hanging on Italian balconies, and even depicted in jewels.

"Over the centuries, beneficial properties of all kinds have been associated with its consumption, mostly on the basis of anecdotes or traditions, if not magic.

"And now, as already observed in China and in the United States, we know that the various plants of the capsicum species, although consumed in different ways throughout the world, can exert a protective action towards our health."

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How to live longer: Eating more of this food helps with heart health and boosts longevity - Express

Western Cape South Africa. Specialist physician Dr. Gary Hudson says were facing a pandemic on top of an obesity epidemic. Startling research has now emerged showing that being obese or even slightly overweight can worsen the effect of COVID-193.

People living with pre-existing conditions such as atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension, conditions are also common in people with obesity4. Initial data pointed towards the older population being particularly vulnerable, as well as those with these comorbidities. That said, an increasing number of reports have now also linked obesity to more severe COVID-19 illness as well as death5.

What has been termed the elephant in the room when it comes to this pandemic is the fact that being overweight and obese are already major global healthcare problems. This is now making a really serious global health situation that much worse1. In fact, data from the first 2 204 patients admitted to 286 National Health Service Intensive Care Units with COVID- 19 in the United Kingdom reveal that 72.7% of them were overweight or obese1.

Hudson says that COVID-19 is spreading amongst a global obese population that numbers 2.4 billion people, which means that more than 30% of the worlds population is at risk of severe disease and even death7,8. This is creating the perfect storm6,7., he says.

He cites an example that in France, the highest death rate due to COVID-19 was in North-Eastern France. Ironically, this is a region with statistically the largest overweight and obese population.

In fact, BMI was found to be the most important independent risk factor. As a result, a special guideline was introduced for anyone with a BMI of over 27.9 to be tested and isolated7,8.

Similar patterns were found in Italy. Once again the map of severe disease and obesity completely overlap he says. Conversely, Singapore and South Korea had comparatively low death rates but also have populations with a general low BMI7,8.

Research has found that patients with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome might have to up to 10 times greater risk of death when they contract COVID-191. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. These conditions include:

A high percentage of the population who will contract coronavirus are also expected to have a BMI over 253.

BMI is calculated by using a persons height and weight. BMI = kg/m2.

Although this is not the most accurate measurement, it is the widely accepted global definition of obesity as per the World Health Organisation, which defines a BMI of over 25 as overweight and over 30 or more as obese7,8.

It is a very important clinical measurement, says Dr. Hudson, who says that even a BMI of over 25, which is literally just above the normal weight range, seems to correlate with a higher incidence of serious disease, particularly when combined with a comorbidity such as hypertension7,8.

Dr. Hudson says that it is important to stress that the presence of abdominal fat is associated with a high risk of severe complications due to COVID-19. This is relevant for people with a mild increase in weight, and not only for the extremely obese7,8.

Furthermore, in a French study, the risk for invasive mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 infection admitted to Intensive Treatment Units was more than seven-fold higher for obese patients with a BMI over 355.

To add fuel to a growing fire, for many people staying at home, consumption of more sugar and refined flour, along with less mobility and physical activity, has put even many people at an increased risk of metabolic disease3. An additional health challenge during the coronavirus crisis seems to be the consumption of a varied, nutrient-rich diet and keeping calorie intake under control2.

Lockdown restrictions have forced more people to stay home. As a result, people are now more reliant on processed food, as they have a longer shelf life and canned food which is generally higher in salt. We might well see an increase in weight if this persists for a longer period of time3. The causefor even more concern is that the resultant economic downturn caused by this pandemic might well worsen obesity, especially amongst the most vulnerable5.

The bottom line is that lifestyle can have a major impact on a persons immune system. The basic weapons against many diseases, including COVID-19, is diet and exercise. These are weapons available to most of us but not nearly enough of us take advantage of them2.

Therapeutic interventions such as proven weight loss medication and low-calorie diets might well be some tools that could potentially reduce the risk of developing severe COVID-19 illness as well as other lifestyle-related diseases5.

More than ever before, eating real food and exercising might help save lives. This pandemic has highlighted that we need to do more in order to tackle and prevent obesity in our societies. Its important for the prevention of chronic disease and to decrease adverse reactions to these types of viral pandemics5.

Dr. Gary Hudson is a Specialist Physician practicing in Bettys Bay in the Western Cape. He has expertise in immune-related diseases and therapies, including arthritis and inflammation, infectious diseases, and metabolic disorders. Dr. Hudson has a special interest in weight management. Dr. Hudson says we are facing a pandemic on top of an obesity epidemic. He, therefore, reiterates that there is a definite link between the more obese areas of the world and those battling COVID-19 complications7,8.

The content in this editorial is for general information only. There is no intent to provide medical or other professional advice. For more information on your medical condition and treatment options, speak to your healthcare professional.

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The Startling Link Between Being Overweight and COVID-19 - Longevity LIVE