ANDREW WEIL'S 12-POINT PROGRAM FOR HEALTHY AGING

1.Eat an anti-inflammatory diet. Olive oil, nuts, avocados. Avoid margarine, vegetable shortening, transfats, etc. Eat fish 3-5 times a week. If you don't like fish, take omega 3 fish oil supplements. The best salmon is wild. Try sockeye salmon; it's the least carnivorous, feeding on insects and algae. This accounts for its red color.
2.Use dietary supplements wisely. It's best to get your nutrients from food. Make sure you get enough vitamin C -1,000 units daily. Remember that sunscreen blocks Vitamin D absorption. It's good to go without sunscreen 15-30 minutes a daily to activate Vitamin D from the sun.
3.Use preventive medicine wisely -- screenings, tests, etc.
4.Regular physical exercise is 3-pronged: Aerobic is best if you speed walk and get the heart beat up to 60 percent of capacity. Vigorous walking takes no equipment and you can do it in a mall. (2) Weight training for strength. If you maintain muscle mass, obviously you burn more calories. (3) Flexibility/balance training. Remember that falls in old age are greatest cause of disability and even death.
5.Adequate rest and sleep. Napping is good. 20 minutes in the afternoon is delightful. As a side note, mild sleep deprivation elevates mood and combats depression.
6.Practice stress management. Stress is a toxin to memory and it is my educated guess that cortisol has negative effects on memory.
7.Exercise mind. Learn another language, musical instrument.
8.Maintain social and intellectual connectedness. Look to the Okinawans who have a low calorie diet, exercise a lot and do not consume a lot of sugar and fat like Americans. The old people there look radiant because the culture values aging.
9.Remain flexible and mind and body. Immerse yourself in the culture; don't isolate yourself as you age.
10.Focus on the benefits of aging gained through wisdom and experience.
11.Don't deny aging by going in for Botox or verbal deceits like "you're getting younger". No one is getting younger. Embrace process of aging.
12.Legacy. Think about what you have learned and want to pass on. What are the life experiences and how to pass on to younger generations. Maturity is when you become involved in the next generation.