Well, an interesting link between the more financially affluent and secure amongst us and a lesser risk of stroke, the many times diabling and deadly occurrence where a vessel breaks in the brain and oxygen is temporarily cut off.  I’m not really sure how exactly this link was determined, and I do sometimes wonder how reliable these “studies” and surveys are, or whether they can really truly capture a snapshot of what’s really going on here in the US or the world for that matter.

And here’s where this study also gets a little trickier, the link between wealth and lower risk of stroke doesn’t apply if you’re 65 years or older.  So, this study really only says that you benefit from being in the upper echelon of the financial population if you’re in the age range of 50 to 64, when the risk of stroke tends to increase anyways.  65 and older your risk gets even bigger, and during this time the correlation seems to have disappeared.

So, why is it that the risk of stroke is less in this time period, with only the more affluent of the population?  Well, perhaps it may be that the more affluent have more health benefits at their disposal and can afford better, more thorough health care as well as take care of themselves better through better and hence more expensive diets, exercise regimes and preventive medicines that help stave off strokes and other health problems.

But why then, would the association between finances and strokes disappear after the age of 65?  Well, they have no good answer for that one, except that maybe the increased risk in the age itself is too overwhelming for the other financial factors to make a difference, or that maybe after this age, diet and other factors don’t make as big a difference. 

If you want to help increase the health of your heart and overall circulatory system, you may want to look into taking one of the best omega 3 dietary supplements to help prevent issues with the vessels and other methods of transport for the blood around the body, which also inherently helps the heart maintain it’s health and “free flow” of blood. 

After reading Dr. NV Perricone’s book for the second time “The Wrinkle Cure”, I’ve decided that I would buy a lot of the supplements he recommends for anti inflammation and anti aging, both for the skin and overall health since the supplements are designed for cell protection. 

This means that they are supposed to protect the cells from free radical damage at both the entrance of the cell (the membrane), and on the inside of the cell.  Because they protect these cells from free radical damage, he concludes that this will help your skin look younger and more radiant, and stave off future wrinkles. 

Dr. Perricone does sell his own line of natural topical anti aging and wrinkles creams as well as natural skin care products designed to help fight rosacea and acne, but they do cost quite a bit and are a small investment for your skin, so I decided to go online and try to find comparable supplements with simliar ratios of the vitamins and compounds he suggests, such as DMAE, a substance found in the skin of fish, Alpha Lipoic acid, an antioxidant, and Vitamin C Ester, a form of vitamin C that is supposed to absorb better and be more stable than regular ascorbic acid.

I also purchased a natural anti aging serum with similar ingredients as well, for topical use, so I’m hoping that my little experiment will result in better looking, less wrinkles and more radiant skin within about one month of use, since it is a fairly intense regimen.  I will report the results back to you.  Dr. Perricone’s products are excellent though, I can say that. 

I purchased one of his starter kits a few years ago, and the product’s abilities to absorb into the skin are really good, plus they seem as though they are pure and do make your skin look better, but I figured buying all the products he recommends separately through his website, in his brand, would end up costing me a small fortune, so I insstead decided to go with reputable brand names that are different.  We’ll see if the results are worth it! 

When you spread out several different skin care products, and compare which ones have the most viable, effective ingredients in them, you will inevitably find that herbal skin care products, and those that contain ingredients of either an herbal or naturally-derived nature, are the superior performers.  They may just contain ingredients that are derived from a basic natural vitamin or mineral, and be in a super charged form, but nonetheless most of these ingredients are definitely found in nature to begin with.

Take the Revitol natural anti aging and anti wrinkle skin care line.  It has some of the most potent natural ingredients in their most powerful form, like DMAE, one of the most recommended, heavy duty anti aging and firming agents which is derived from the skin of fish, and vitamin C in it’s most concentrated form, which dramatically improves skin tone and brightness.  Or how about Vitamin E, or the all too popular now CoQ10 complex? 

These are ALL derived from nature, and extracted for maximum efficacy on the skin when used topically.  These ingredients have been written about numerous times by dermatologists and beauty and skin care specialists who tout them as the ultimate in age and wrinkle fighting ingredients. 

In addition, natural and herbal skin care products also tend to be more gentle to the skin, and to also be better able to penetrate the skin due to their natural abilities to be absorbed by living tissue (think about it, we absorb these when they are eaten and our body utilizes them internally as well, so our body knows how to use this stuff already.)

At any rate, I’m sure you can tell I’m pretty passionate about natural ingredients being utilized in skincare today.  And there is a reason natural and herbal skin care products are enjoying such a boom in popularity today - because they actually really work! 

Joint health and arthritis become serious concerns for us as we age, and arthritis is probably one of the scariest things to develop as we get older, since it can severely limit our range of movement, and therefore the activities we take part in.  In short, having severe or even moderate arthritis can be so painful at times that it takes away our ability to move freely and to enjoy activities that we once relished in our youth - activities that make us “feel alive”.

Well, a new study that’s actually quite surprising has come out saying that if you have a ring finger that is longer than your index finger it almost doubles your risk of developing arthritis, especially if you are a woman.  This has been dubbed the “type 3″ finger size discrepancy, and has been found to be an extremely predominant factor in women who have developed osteoarthritis and other joint health issues. 

What’s interesting to note is that women are statistically more likely to have osteoarthritis if their ring finger is longer than their index finger, because of the simple fact that there are many more men with this trait to begin with, so it seems that it’s really only a correlation for women to watch out for.  Reading this made me look at my ring and index finger, and I was relieved to see that my ring finger is indeed a tad shorter than my index finger. Phew….

If you are looking for some information about your health habits and how they may effect your longevity, try taking a quiz on the site online by keying in livingto100.com.  They present you with a 10 minute long survey that is detailed about your lifestyle as it relates to your health.  You must be honest in your answers so that you don’t skew the results.
To take this survey, you must register on Eons.com first.  After answering all of the questions in the survey, they come up with an age you would be expected to live until barring any unusual accidents or unforeseen circumstances.
The questionnaire starts with birth date, living arrangements and how you manage stress and what you feel your sources of stress are.  The next set of questions are concerning your life habits such as drinking or smoking and exposure to second hand smoke. 
In this survey, you are asked your height and weight and what your eating habits consist of.   In the nutrition section, you are asked if you eat processed meats and red meats and how many times a week.  What percentage of your diet is carbohydrates is addressed and also if you eat snacks and if they are healthy or unhealthy in nature.
Supplementations are covered in the survey such as iron with a multivitamin and calcium supplements with vitamin D.
Questions are asked about exercise routines of 30 minutes per day and how many times a week you partake in this.  The next area the survey covers is your blood pressure and cholesterol levels if you know them.  The survey asks you if you’ve had a heart attack or have diabetes.
The next area covered is your family history with the average age that your relatives passed away and includes questions about any family history of cancer.
Reproductive health questions are covered next with questions about children you’ve had and at what age. Also covered for women over 50 was the age at which you stopped menstruating.
Information was collected about your level of brain exercise activities such as sudoku puzzles or crosswords and how often you engaged in this type of activity.
When you are done with the survey, they calculate how many years you would be expected to live based on your answers.  They also give you suggestions on ways you could add years to your life.  I could add 1 year to my life expectancy by better managing my stress and getting more sleep. Another year could be added if I reduced my red meat consumption and reduced my sun exposure.
The survey was interesting and it makes you think about your lifestyle choices more. I liked my results as they thought I’d make it to 91 years old.