Healthy Living

One of my favorite pastimes is visiting bookstores, especially used bookstores. All sorts of literary gems are just waiting to be discovered. One treasure I found recently was entitled, "100 Simple Secrets of Healthy People." Author David Niven, Ph.D. is a psychologist and social scientist. He has amassed 100 essential ways that we can become healthier and happier, gleaned from research conducted on average Americans.

A few of the secrets really caught my eye. For example, No. 2 is "The quest for a perfect body is doomed." I couldn't agree more. Seeking a healthier lifestyle is inherently good, but trying to achieve the perfect body only sets us up for failure. Niven advises, "Seek a healthy body that functions, not a perfect body fit for a display case."

"Hostility hurts you" is No. 71. It seems obvious that positive connections between people contribute to mental and physical well-being, while negative feelings are a source of mental and physical strain. Philosophy professor Sam Keen suggests, “Maybe real men should eat quiche — they might live longer.” He argues for a male makeover that replaces violence, materialism, and power with peace, spirituality and cooperation. Brown Medical School researchers found that people with high levels of hostility were 6 percent more likely to suffer from heart disease. When I told my husband that statistic, he said, "Only 6 percent? I'll just stay hostile."

No. 98 is interesting: “Vegetables Will Taste Better in the Future.” Plants protect themselves from being eaten by secreting bitter-tasting toxins like phenols, flavonoids and isoflavones, which are good for us in small amounts. According to a University of Washington study, our taste buds change with age, including a declining sensitivity to bitterness, making many healthy foods more appealing as we get older. Eight in ten older people reported an increased preference for green vegetables, whole-grains, and bitter fruits like grapefruits and lemons.

That’s good news about aging as we all head in that direction.