Aging and Your Body and Mind
By Mark Stibich, Ph.D., About.com Guide to Longevity
Some aspects of aging are natural, others are a result of the choices we make. Learn how to stay healthy your whole life and understand what choices can make you age more slowly. Understand differences in life expectancy around the world and learn what you can do to feel great now and at 110.
The Science of Aging

Aging itself is a complex process. Researchers only understand parts of the biology of aging. What we have discovered, though, is fascinating. Some of the most recent aging research is surprisingly practical. Make your own anti-aging plan based on the biology of aging -- what happens to our hearts, lungs, brains, immune system and more as time goes by.
- Aging 101 - All About Aging and Your Body and Brain
- Hormones and Aging
- Live 14 Years Longer - Simple and Easy
- Studies Say: Eat Your Vegetables
- Antioxidants and Slowing Aging
- Free Radicals and Aging
- Senescence - Cellular Decline
- How Sugar Speeds Aging
- Telomeres and How Cells Age
- Why We Age - Theories of Aging
- DNA and Disability - Measure Aging
- Risk Factors for Poor Aging
Longevity Concepts

What the difference between life expectancy and life span? Do you know the life expectancy today for a 60-year-old? (It's good news.) Learn the basics behind longevity and healthy aging and whether or not chronic illness has to be a part of the aging process.
- Understanding Life Expectancy
- Healthy Life Expectancy - What Is It?
- Longevity Terms You Should Know
- Defining Longevity
Longevity and Illness

From high blood pressure to diabetes, illnesses can decrease your life expectancy -- but not always. Learn the effects of various chronic illnesses on longevity and ways to reduce, and sometimes reverse, those effects. Prevent illnesses from happening in the first place, catch illness early, and make changes in your lifestyle to keep illnesses from growing worse.
- Your Heart and Aging
- Check Yourself for Skin Cancer
- Exercise to Prevent Stroke
- Transfats and Heart Disease
- Top Ways to Live Longer With Heart Disease
- Low-Carb and Diabetes
- Three Ways to Reduce Cholesterol
- Alzheimer's Disease and Life Expectancy
- People Who Question Thier Doctor Live Longer
- Live Longer with Prostate Cancer
- Reverse Metabolic Syndrome to Live Longer
- Hearing Loss Tips
- Your Hearing and Aging
- Vision and Aging Tips
- Your Vision and Aging
- Aging and Eye Diseases
Memory, Your Brain and Mental Fitness

Keeping your body healthy is only part of the goal of longevity. You also need to keep your brain and memory sharp. Take action to maintain and even improve your memory and mental functioning. Find out the latest about Alzheimer's disease and other conditions that effect the aging brain.
- Top Ways to Improve Your Mental Fitness
- Learn to Meditate
- Exercise for Brain Health
- 10 Tricks to Exercise Your Brain
- Can Statins Prevent Alzheimer's Disease?
- Best Websites for Brain Games
- Learn New Skills for Brain Health
Aging Research

Anti-aging medicine and research is a new frontier. There is progress, but there is also a great deal of quackery. Learn the science behind claims about hormones, supplements and other therapies. Dig into where the research is heading and what we can expect over the next few decades.
- SENS - Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence
- Gastric Bypass Surgery Adds Years of Life
- 5 Anti-Aging Strategies
- Religion and Living Longer
- Calorie Restriction and Longevity
- Make More Money, Live Longer
- Most Popular Anti-Aging Hormones
- L-Carnitine and Quality of Life
- Lifestyle Changes Add 11 Years
Global and US Longevity Statistics

We are all people, and our genetic differences are small. Still, global life expectancy ranges from the 30s to the 80s. Understanding the reasons for these differences is like a road map for healthy aging. What do people in the longest-lived countries and places do right? Why are there differences in life expectancy between men and women? Why does life expectancy change between countries and races?
- Longest Lived Countries
- Shortest Lived Countries
- Healthy Working Life Expectancy
- Black-White Longevity Gap
- Healthy Life Expectancy
- Life Expectancy 101
- Disability Adjusted Life Years
- The Human Life Span
- Years of Potential Life Lost
- Top Ten Causes of Death - All Ages
- Top Ten causes of Death - 15-24
- Top Ten Causes of Death - 25-44
- Top Ten Causes of Death - 44-65
Longevity Myths and Legends

There are places in the world called "Blue Zones" where people seem to live longer, healthier lives. These places have much to teach us about the ingredients of staying healthy and living long. So do the people who live past 100 and even past 110. Pick up tips on what these individuals do to keep active, healthy and strong into their 90s and beyond.
- Okinawans - The Longest Lived People
- Methuselah - The World's Oldest Person Ever
- Jeanne Calment, Oldest Person Ever
- Hara Hachi Bu - Japanese Longevity Secret
- Blue Zones - Places with Longer Life Expectancy
- Top Longevity Myths and Legends
- The Hunza Valley - Shangri La?
- The Fountain of Youth
- Where is Shangri La?
- Vilcambamba - Central American Longevity
- The Abkhasia - Russian Longevity Secrets
Book Reviews

Books are a great way to get an in-depth understanding of how to stay healthy and live long -- but there are so many to choose from. Some bookstores even have whole shelves for healthy aging. Read some reviews of the most popular healthy aging books here to help you decide which books are worth your time and money.

