StemCell Therapy

Longevity has played a part in the selections of some of our top 10 Bruins of all-time, but had nothing to do with us choosing Phil Esposito at No. 3 on our list.

He arrived via a trade in 1967 and left the same way in 1975 both deals whoppers for the ages that would have major impacts on the organization. In between he played just 625 games in Black and Gold, the fewest of any modern era skater other than Cam Neely on our list.

But in those eight-plus seasons in Boston, Esposito was the catalyst for the most explosive offensive juggernaut the league had seen to that point and was one of the great characters of arguably the most beloved team in Bostons rich sports history.

In the spring of 1967, the Bs already had a kid in Bobby Orr who would become the greatest defenseman in NHL history and, yes, here in Boston still the greatest player ever but hockey is all about depth. That was provided when the Bs incoming GM Milt Schmidt pulled off a heist, sending forward Pit Martin, defenseman Gilles Marotte and goalie prospect Jack Norris to Chicago for Esposito, Fred Stanfield and Ken Hodge.

Martin would be a mainstay on a very good Blackhawks team, Marotte bounced around the NHL for 10 more years and Norris played 35 more NHL games.

Esposito made the Bruins a cultural phenomenon.

In Chicago, the Blackhawks had the top goal-scorer in the league at that time in Bobby Hull. His centerman Esposito was primarily Hulls playmaker, but that perception would be irrevocably shattered in short order when he arrived in Boston.

Esposito became the first player to break the 100-point mark in a season, posting 49-77-126 totals in 1968-69. As a team, they would finally break through the next year, winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in 29 years.

The next regular season was not only his finest, but the best the league had ever seen from a forward to that point. On March 11, 1971, Esposito, parked in his usual spot in the slot, redirected a Ted Green shot for his 59th goal of the season in a rout of the Los Angeles Kings in the then-Great Western Forum, breaking his former linemate Hulls record of 58.

But he didnt stop there. Esposito potted 76 goals that year, along with 76 assists for 152 points (another record at the time) in 78 games. With linemates Wayne Cashman and Ken Hodge comprising a first line that was impossible to contain, Esposito would hold the records for most goals and points for another decade until Wayne Gretzky came along and rewrote the book. Esposito captured the Art Ross Trophy five times in his eight full seasons with the Bs while Orr won it twice in that time, keeping the award in Boston seven straight seasons (Chicagos Stan Mikita won the award in 1967-68).

While Orr won the Conn Smythe Award as playoff MVP in the Cup seasons of 70 and 72, Esposito was no slouch in the postseason. In the first Cup season he posted 13-14-27 totals in 14 games and in the second Cup run he had 9-15-24 in 15 games. In 71 playoff games with the Bruins, Esposito notched 46-56-102 totals. His 1.437 points per playoff game average is second only to Barry Pedersons 1.529 (20-32-52 in 34 games).

Through all those wild times, Esposito seemed like the life of the party and apparently he was. In a story that epitomized the togetherness of those Big, Bad Bruins, Esposito had once been playfully kidnapped from Mass General Hospital by his teammates. He suffered torn knee ligaments in the second game of a first round series against the Rangers in 1973, thus contributing to an early exit by the Bs. As the story goes, the team decided it could not hold its break-up dinner at the Branding Iron bar without Esposito so dressed in hospital gear, his teammates surreptitiously wheeled him out of the hospital, still in his johnny, and took him straight to the bar.

Good times like that cant last forever, and they didnt.

On Nov. 7, 1975, GM Harry Sinden traded Esposito and defenseman Carol Vadnais to the New York Rangers in exchange for Brad Park the best defenseman in the league not named Orr and classy centerman Jean Ratelle.

The move kept the Bruins among the elite teams in the league and is widely regarded as a big win for the team, but the trade could not quite lift the Bs back to the heights that it achieved with Esposito roaming the slot.

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Phil Esposito owned the slot like no other Bruin - Boston Herald

Life expectancy in the United States is about 78 years, though longevity is not without medical concerns. As many as one in three Americans will develop malignant cells in their lifetime. While the scientific community has significantly increased their understanding of cancer in recent years and applied that knowledge to treatment, prevention research remains a top priority; however, since cancer is a series of diseases, the exact cause is not always known. Genetics plays an important role, yet so does diet and lifestyle.

Dr. Kevin Dalby, professor of chemical biology and medicinal chemistry, is studying the mechanisms of cancer cells and currently working on cancer drug discovery. His research primarily focuses on developing targeted therapeutics, but he does acknowledge that specific behavioral changes can help lower a persons risk for cancer. The Harvard School of Public Health estimates that 75% of American cancer deaths could be prevented if tactics are adopted on a mass scale.

Below, Dr. Kevin Dalby reviews practical behavioral choices that anyone can take up to help prevent cancer, thus reducing the risk of the emotional and the financial burden inflicted by this crippling disease.

Avoid Tobacco

The correlation between tobacco use and cancer is staggering. In the United States, one out of every five deaths is related to tobacco. Moreover, cigarette smoking accounts for 85-90% of lung cancer deaths and 70% of oral and laryngeal cancer deaths.

Tobacco use (smoking or chewing) is a difficult habit to quit. Still, it could help you as well as those around you (secondhand smoke kills) avoid a future collision with the following cancers: lung, mouth, throat, larynx, pancreas, bladder, cervix, and kidney.

Limit Alcohol

Research has yet to pinpoint exactly how alcohol influences your susceptibility for cancer, but excess use does increase the risk for mouth, throat, liver, colon, rectal, and breast cancer. Men should limit their acholic beverages to two a day and women to one. For context, one drink equates to approximately twelve ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or one and a half ounces of liquor.

Eat A Healthy Diet

40% of cancers are associated with dietary factors: habits, foods, and nutrients all play a role. The American Cancer Society suggests a daily nutritional regimen consisting of whole grains, fish or poultry, and a variety of vegetables and fruits to lower your risk for cancer. Try to limit red and processed meats, eat fewer sweets, and reduce your intake of saturated fats.

Exercise

Regular physical activity helps you maintain a healthy weight, control blood pressure, and may lower the risk for several types of cancer such as colon, prostate, and even breast cancer. Obesity is especially of paramount importance since it has been linked to 20% of all cancer-related deaths.

Adults should strive to exercise moderately for 150 minutes each week. Alternatively, you can aim for 75 minutes of vigorous activity if that suits your lifestyle better.

Sun Protection

Skin cancer is common but also preventable. To reduce your risk, proportionately apply sunscreen, avoid the sun at midday if possible when its rays are most reliable, cover exposed skin and forgo tanning beds and sunlamps, which are just as dangerous as actual sunlight.

Regular Medical Care

Cancer may not be entirely preventable, but if caught early, your chances of survival improve drastically. Schedule regular checkups with your doctor, be transparent, and ask what tests make sense for you. Depending on your sex, age, and medical history, your doctor may recommend screenings for breast, cervical, colon, lung, or prostate cancer.

About Dr. Kevin Dalby:

Dr. Kevin Dalby has been interested in the why of chemical reactions since he was a student at the University of Cambridge, where he graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Organic Chemistry. This curiosity has led to his interest in the processes of cell signaling, and ultimately to cancer research. Dr. Dalbys research areas include biochemistry, cancer, cell biology, chemical biology, drug discovery & diagnostics, and enzymology.

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Dr. Kevin Dalby on How to Decrease Your Risk of Developing Cancer - Thrive Global

Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts (QLACs) are future pension strategies that can be used in your Traditional IRA and some select employer sponsored plans. QLACs were first introduced in 2014 by the IRS and the Treasury Department as a way for people to used their qualified (i.e. IRA) assets to plan for future lifetime income guarantees. Social Security payments were never put in place to be the sole source of income in retirement. Our government (i.e. IRS & Treasury Department) want QLACs to be that additional source as part of your overall income floor guarantees.

QLAC funding rules for 2020 is the lesser of 25% of your total IRA assets or $135,000. If you and your spouse/partner have an Traditional IRA, each of you can own a QLAC and add the other spouse/partner for "Joint Life" income.

QLAC income has to be turned on by age 85. You don't have to defer that long for income to start. It can begin as soon as age 72, and the lifetime income stream can be contractually structured so that 100% of any unused money goes to your listed beneficiaries on the policy when you die. The annuity company is on the hook to pay regardless of how long you live.

Contact Stan The Annuity Man for the best and highest QLAC quotes with all carriers using Stan's proprietary annuity calculators. You can also receive Stan's QLAC Owner's Manual for free and under no obligation, and see a live feed of the best fixed rates for your specific state of residence.

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Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract Pros and Cons - TheStreet

Updated: May 25, 2018:

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Labor Department Issues Guidance on Calculating FLSA Regular Rate - JD Supra

The coronavirus pandemic has forced governments to face excruciating trade-offs. Benefit-cost analysis is a standard framework for making policy trade-offs, and some have suggested that it be used to make policy trade-offs in this pandemic. But benefit-cost analysis is flawed. We can do better.

The spread of this horrific virus has put front and center two types of trade-offs: Risk-income and risk-risk (risk here meaning fatality risk).

Shutting down businesses to enforce social distancing helps to flatten the curve, reducing individuals risks of dying from COVID-19. A flatter curve gives more time for the development of antivirals, the production of needed protective gear and medical devices and ultimately a vaccine. But a shutdown lowers individuals incomes. Income is reduced dramatically during the shutdown itself, and then later too if the shutdown causes a recession. How much should we as a society pay in lower incomes for a given flattening of the curve? This is a risk-income trade-off.

Looming shortages of gloves, masks and ventilators force us to think about rationing. Protective gear reduces fatality risk by lowering infection risk. Should police officers take priority over grocery store clerks in receiving N95 masks? This is a risk-risk trade-off. Medical devices cut down fatality risk among the infected. Which seriously ill patients should be put on ventilators if there arent enough ventilators for all? Should younger patients take priority over older ones? Again, a risk-risk trade-off.

Benefit-cost analysis is widely used by economists, and is now the dominant policy-analysis methodology in the federal government. It works as follows. Each positive or negative impact of a policy is converted into a monetary equivalent by asking how much individuals are willing to pay (for a positive impact) or willing to accept (in exchange for a negative one). The social value of a policy is calculated as the sum of the monetary equivalents for its positive impacts minus the sum of the monetary equivalents for its negative ones.

Valuing fatality risk reduction is nothing new for benefit-cost analysis. The linchpin is the so-called value per statistical life (VSL). An individuals willingness to pay for a risk reduction is just the risk reduction multiplied by VSL. Imagine that Felicias VSL is $6 million. This means that Felicia is willing to pay $6 for a 1-in-1 million risk reduction, $60 for a 1-in-100,000 risk reduction and $600 for a 1-in-10,000 risk reduction.

In principle, VSL varies among individuals. Felicias willingness to pay for risk reduction need not be the same as Victors. Textbook benefit-cost analysis says to convert individuals risk reductions into monetary equivalents using individual-specific VSLs. But this approach has dramatically counterintuitive implications when it comes to risk-risk trade-offs. Because richer individuals tend to have higher VSLs, textbook benefit-cost analysis gives them priority in risk reduction. It implies that richer patients should get priority in receiving ventilators.

The U.S. government in practice deviates from textbook benefit-cost analysis by using a single VSL for everyone (a population average). The number used is generally around $10 million. Benefit-cost analysis with a single VSL avoids giving priority to the rich in risk-risk trade-offs, but it has other difficulties.

First, it fails to give priority to the young in risk-risk tradeoffs. Do we really think that a rationing scheme for ventilators should not differentiate between 30 year-olds and 70 year-olds?

Second, benefit-cost analysis (whether we use individual-specific VSLs or a population average) is completely insensitive to the distribution of income. It surely matters how the costs of a shutdown are distributed across economic groups which in turn depends on the details of the fiscal policies that government puts in place to mitigate those costs. But benefit-cost analysis ignores income distribution; it says that society should be indifferent to whether the costs of a shutdown are borne by the poor, the middle class or the rich.

We can do better. A different methodology is sometimes used in economics, especially for tax policy and climate change. This methodology is called the social welfare function. Rather than translate policy impacts into monetary equivalents, this framework translates them into utilities. An individuals utility is a measure of her strength of preference for various goods (longevity, income, health and so forth). If Abigail prefers one bundle of goods to a second, the first bundle gets a higher utility.

Weve written about how the social-welfare-function approach can be applied to risk policies. In a nutshell, each cohort of similarly situated individuals (for example, age groups subdivided by income) can be seen as facing a lottery over longevity-income bundles. A given governmental policy shifts the lottery that each cohort faces. The simplest, utilitarian, version of this framework assigns a social value to a policy by summing expected utilities across cohorts. A different version, prioritarianism, gives extra weight to the worse off. As weve demonstrated, this methodology has important advantages over benefit-cost analysis when it comes to risk-income and risk-risk trade-offs. It gives preference to the young in risk-risk tradeoffs, but either mitigates (utilitarian) or eliminates (prioritarian) the preference for the rich. Moreover, it is sensitive to the distribution of costs preferring that income losses be borne by those higher up the socioeconomic ladder.

Benefit-cost analysis is a serviceable tool for grappling with trade-offs, but it can be improved on and the social-welfare-function framework shows how.

Matthew Adler is a professor of law at Duke Law School. James Hammitt is a professor of economics and decision sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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A better way to grapple with benefit-cost trade-offs in a pandemic | TheHill - The Hill

USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis breaks down the grades of some NFL teams after an eventful free agency period. USA TODAY

Bill Belichick still isn't in any mood to talk about Tom Brady.

Monday, the New England Patriots coach held a pre-draft conference call, the first time he'd spoken to reporters since Jan. 5 the day after the perennial AFC East champs' wild-card loss to the Tennessee Titans.

That playoff ouster also will represent the final time Brady, now a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, suited up for the team that he led to nine Super Bowls and six Lombardi Trophies after New England drafted him in 2000.

"It would be of course impossible to sum up everything Tom did in 20 years into a comment, then or now," Belichick said Monday, according to The Boston Globe.

"Right now we're moving forward and focused on the draft here on this call."

For the first time since 2000, Tom Brady (12) and Patriots coach Bill Belichick won't be on the same sideline.(Photo: Greg M. Cooper, USA TODAY Sports)

Back in January, Belichick Mr. "We're on to Cincinnati," his mantra intended to keep the Patriots always looking ahead wanted to talk about the loss to the Titans, not Brady's future. Nowit's all about the draft, not reflecting on Brady's contributions over two stellar decades in Foxborough.

In between, on March 17, Belichick did say this of Brady, after he announced his intention to leave the Patriots: "Tom and I will always have a great relationship built on love, admiration, respect and appreciation.Toms success as a player and his character as a person are exceptional.Nothing about the end of Toms Patriots career changes how unfathomably spectacular it was.With his relentless competitiveness and longevity, he earned everyones adoration and will be celebrated forever.It has been a privilege to coach Tom Brady for 20 years.

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"Sometimes in life, it takes some time to pass before truly appreciating something or someone but that has not been the case with Tom.He is a special person and the greatest quarterback of all-time."

Yet now, Belichick is unsurprisingly planning for life after Brady, second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham currently the only quarterback listed on the team's roster. Veteran Brian Hoyer has agreed to return to the team in 2020, however his signing has yet to be officially announced.

Stidham threw only four passes in three brief appearances as a rookie but seems likely to get first crack at taking over for TB12.

The Patriots hold the 23rd pick of next week's NFL draft but don't pick again until No. 87, deep in the third round. Among this year's top passing prospects, Oregon'sJustin Herbert and Utah State'sJordan Love are the most realistic targets, but either might require a move up in Round 1.

Predictably, Belichick spoke in generalities about this year's incoming crop of passers, which also includesincludes LSU's Joe Burrow, Alabama'sTua Tagovailoa, Oklahoma'sJalen Hurts, Georgia'sJake Fromm and Washington'sJacob Eason.

Burrow is expected to be the first pick off the board to the Bengals, whileTagovailoa is widely projected as a top-five selection.

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis

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Bill Belichick on Tom Brady: Patriots 'moving forward and focused on the draft' - USA TODAY

The quality of a romantic comedy depends almost entirely on how much we root for the central couple. But sometimes, even in a good film, the couple falls short. Below, I have given scientifically calculated percentages for the likelihood that these couples stayed (happily!) together after the events of the film. Sony Pictures Releasing

Don't ask me how I got these numbers. Let's just say I crunched them. That sounds legitimate.

They definitely had a hot fling for a bit, but no WAY did they end up together. He was SUCH a dick to her and she didn't deserve that.

Cady and Aaron barely had one real conversation the whole movie. She only liked him because he was hot, and it was unclear why he liked her. Plus, he went off to college the next year! I doubt they stayed together past a few months of college.

Sandy totally changed herself for Danny!!! Even if they did last, Sandy would've grown to resent him for this. She probably sang an epic breakup ballad and dumped his ass.

Oh boy, I'm going to get a lot of hate for this one, but...Jake sucked. Their relationship sucked. There was way too much fighting and there was a REASON they were getting divorced. If it did last, it was a very unhappy marriage.

They might have stayed together, but I don't think they were happy. Their relationship started with an inherent power imbalance, and I don't think that would ever really change.

Like Mean Girls, this is another one where the characters really didn't know each other. AT ALL. Did they even have a conversation? I find it unlikely they stayed together, but since we really know nothing about them as a couple, it's hard to say.

They shared an emotional bond, but Austin was kind of a fuckboy and Sam deserved better. But they did go to the same college, so maybe they made it work there. I'm doubtful, though.

I don't know how they fell in love, because neither of them were themselves for pretty much the entirety of the movie. I feel like they just got caught up in the drama and passion, but who knows. Maybe they made it work once they revealed their true selves.

I'm actually a little unsure about both couples in this movie, but especially Amanda and Graham. They clearly had great chemistry and a good connection, but all the reasons they decided not to be together (before Amanda changed her mind) were really valid. I'm just not sure they would've been able to work out the logistics. I feel like the passion would start to fade.

This is such a fun movie, and I love Margaret and Andrew together, but I'm not sure they went the distance. I'm sure it put a strain on their relationship to get married before they really started dating, and I'm just not sure they were able to get over the power dynamic of their past. However, I do believe Andrew made Margaret better, and I rooted for them for sure!

I love Amy and Aaron together, and by the end of the film Amy had really stepped up and fought for that relationship. But I can't be sure she didn't fall back into old habits. I hope they ended up together forever, but it's hard to tell!

Look, this love story spanned DECADES! Even Will's daughter rooted for them!! He was so enamored with her and still thought of her so many years later. I truly believe their love could go the distance!! However, April was scared of commitment, so I can't say with certainty.

I don't believe in them quite as much as Allegra and Albert, because I feel like there were more lies here. But I also loved them together and I loved that Sara was really strong and independent and said what she felt. I think they were good for each other, and I'm hoping they made it work!!

First of all, Jamie and Dylan were really upfront with each other and had really great communication about sex, which we don't usually see in rom-coms. So we know that aspect of the relationship was good! PLUS, their relationship was built on an already strong friendship! I could see them as partners forever for sure.

I TOTALLY got why Scarlet wanted a divorce. But after turning into a teenager and discovering that even if he could go back, he'd make the same decisions, he learned to truly appreciate his wife again. I'm pretty sure they lived happily ever after!

Look, I know their whole relationship was sort of built on a lie since Albert hired Hitch to help him, but in the end it was revealed Allegra was just as dorky as him and loved all the things about him that Hitch told him to hide. They were SO CUTE together and I was so happy to see them get married at the end. I feel like they could entertain each other for decades.

Nick was willing to leave his family behind for Rachel, but Rachel wouldn't let him because she didn't want to tear apart his family. She truly fought for him, but in the end she wanted what was best. I was so glad they ended up together and I believe they stayed together for sure!

This movie tore my heart out!!! I was SO happy Jenna was able to go back and make things right with Matty so that they ended up together in the end. Jenna really truly loved Matty and just wanted him to be happy so much so that she was able to let him go!!! And Matty was amazing from the start. They were perfect for each other!!

Tell me that Hannah and Jacob were not MEANT FOR EACH OTHER!!!!! They are my fave rom-com couple EVER because they knew how to laugh together, and I truly believe they made each other better.

Apr. 10, 2020, at 19:02 PM

We referred to Albert from Hitch as Alfred a couple times. Oops!

Originally posted here:
I Have Some Strong Opinions On The Longevity Of These Rom-Com Couples So I Ranked Them - BuzzFeed

In two weeks, Larryand Mary Centolawill celebrate their marriage of 74 years, marking a joyous occasion amidst a worsening pandemic that has upended American life.

Its so sad. So many people have died, Mary, 94, said. I always count our blessings. I wake up in the morning, and I say: Thank you, God, for blessing us with another day of good health.

Like millions of otherLong Islanders, the New Hyde Park couple is hunkering down at home to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Neighbors are helping the Centolas, whose ages make them among the most susceptible to COVID-19, get groceries and necessities.

This year, the celebration will be small.

We will just toast to each other and wish each other another happy year, Mary said. I dont think I have any champagne left. So it will have to be wine.

As the nations annual divorce rate hovers between 40%and 50%, the Centolas nearly three-quarter-century marriage has left many wondering about the secret to their longevity, including North Hempstead Town Clerk Wayne Wink,who asked the coupleabout it during a Valentines Day celebration.

Mary, a devoutCatholic, attributed it to a lot of patience, love, understanding and faith.

Larry, 95, recounted the day they met in 1945, at a department store in Jamaica, Queens, where his future wife worked. He fought in World War IIand was on convalescent furlough when he accompanieda friend visiting his girlfriend at work.

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I was very lucky to meet Mary by mistake, Larry told dozens of couples at the North Hempstead Town celebration. When I talked to herI said to myself: Shes a nice girl. So I said: Would you like to go for coffee? So from coffee, we were married.

The couple wed in a Queens church on April 28, 1946. Three years later, they moved into their home. Mary worked for the New York Telephone Company for 25 years, and Larry wasa jeweler in Manhattan for 45 years. They have no children.

They are not transient,said Denise Siciliano, Marys niece, whom the Centolas regard as their daughter.Im in my third house. They dont want to upset their applecart. Its their routine.

Siciliano, 70, of Westlake Village, California, went through a divorce in her 20s and said she believes her aunt and uncle are well-suited for each other.

When you know its right, its right, said Siciliano, who remarried and has been wed tohusbandArthurfor 45 years. Each of them are everything to each other. And its been like that since they got married.

The Centolas said they dont know thatthey have a secret to the longevity of their union. Larry said they enjoy each others company. Mary said she loves his carefree attitude and humor, and recalled a joke he told about hishospital stay after being bombed out of a foxhole in Germany.

He was knocked out unconscious for six days, Mary said.He woke up on Christmas Day and heard people singing. He thought he was in heaven.

Lasting love

See original here:
Larry & Mary + love and marriage = 74 - Newsday

As the facts surrounding the global coronavirus pandemic continue to change at a moments notice, its important to stay informed on the latest news. Doing so can help us make informed decisions to better protect our health. However, as important as it is to stay up to date with the latest news, could we also be harming our mental health?

Its understandable that we all want to spend our free time reading everything about the coronavirus as it helps to provide us with a sense of control, which is what we need during these uncertain times. However, its clear that absorbing too much bad news can be harmful to both our mental and physical health.

According to a survey from the American Psychological Association, most adults admitted to following the news regularly, but 56 % shared that doing so causes them stress. Now with that said, why do we still find ourselves glued to our screens, enamored with every sensational headline?

The fact is being informed allows us to develop tools that we can use to better protect ourselves. Unfortunately, being informed can often come as a cost to our mental health. For instance, research published in the British Journal of Psychology found that after just 14 minutes of watching bad news, participants began to experience negative effects on their mental health. Whats more, heightened stress levels can weaken your immune system, which is the last thing you need especially now.

However, this doesnt mean that you should give up on staying informed and engaged. In fact, there are ways for you to stay informed without compromising your mental health.

Similar to how you establish screen time limits for your kids, you should also set your own time limits when it comes to reading the news. Clicking on a link with a sensational headline can catapult you down a rabbit hole of never-ending information. However, by setting an alarm, you can pull yourself out before you get in too deep and compromise your mental health.

Try to figure out how much time youll need to read the news, and set an actual timer on your phone, be it for 5, 15, or 30 minutes or even an hour. You should then decide how many times a day youll do it for say reading the news for 15 minutes three times per day. Once the time is up, close all your apps or tabs related to the news, and dont open it up again until the next time, or day.

In addition to timing yourself when it comes to reading the news, you should also remember to allocate time to other activities that are good for your mental health. This includes exercising, reading, or any other healthy hobbies.

Different news sources help to provide you with more perspective when it comes to current affairs. However, the constant and multiple news alerts and notifications on your phone can get overwhelming, raising your stress levels.

As such, it would be advisable to limit your notifications and only allow news alerts from sites that you deem necessary. In fact, more information is not necessarily the best way to stay informed. Instead of allowing a barrage of notifications to fill up your phone, rather choose just two or three of the most credible sources and ignore the rest. Sites such as the CDC and the WHO organization are the best sources as they provide the latest, and the most credible information surrounding the coronavirus.

When a news story breaks, were all glued to CNN or refreshing our Twitter timelines in an effort to get the latest updates. While normal, this action can affect your mental health. This is because when a news story breaks, it takes a while to get all the facts straight and oftener than not, the information we see online is more so based on half-truths, speculations, and even conspiracy theories. As a result, these stories may serve to get our attention, but they also serve to increase anxiety and stress levels.

As it takes some time for journalists to collect all the facts, it would be advisable to wait for them to provide a more accurate and well-rounded report.

The last thing you want is to be going to bed with news anxiety, as this will disrupt your sleep, and this is the last thing you need. In addition to weakening your immune system, lack of quality sleep can also affect your mental health by increasing the risk of depression.

Its important to never check the news before bed. This is because you want enough time during the day to process the information. During the day, if you read something that raises your stress levels, youll be able to engage in stress-relieving techniques such as yoga or meditation. Its also advisable to not sleep with your phone too close to you as you may be tempted to read the news as soon as you wake up.

With the constant influx of infection rates and death tolls, the news can get quite depressing. However, its important to remember that there are good things happening in the world. The bad news does not provide a full picture of the days events.

Reading good news can help to relieve some stress accumulated by bad news. So, try to read up on some human interest stories or you can also follow sites like the Good News Network, Positive News, and Optimist Daily.

In addition to getting some good news, you should also try focusing on issues that you can help solve. As the coronavirus pandemic has affected various people in different ways, why dont you go out of your way to research how you can help them? For ways to get involved, or help make a change, check out Global Givings Coronavirus Relief Fund.

Starting your day reading bad news can affect your mood. So, its important to start your day on a more positive note.

Try starting your day by listening to a relaxing podcast that boosts your mood, exercising, meditating, or by even enjoying a cup of coffee on your porch, enjoying the tranquil silence.

If youve been consuming the news, and youre feeling overwhelmed, its important not to suppress your feelings. Doing so can make things worse.

Instead, try reaching out to a friend or family member and talk about your feelings. Additionally, your area may be on lockdown, but psychologists and counselors are still operating online. Therefore, dont shy away from contacting your nearest mental health counseling group.

Yes, you should reach out if you are feeling overwhelmed with crippling coronavirus anxiety. However, you can also make the conscious decision not to discuss the coronavirus if you believe that doing so affects your mental health.

When it comes to the coronavirus, everyone has an opinion, and theyre each looking to share it. As a result, we often feel forced into a conversation. However, youre allowed to not engage if you feel that doing so can bring your mood down. Feel free to change the subject to something more positive.

If all else fails, feel free to simply step back and unplug.

Youre allowed to protect your mental health. If you feel that you need to disconnect from time to time, feel free to do so. Uninstall all your social media apps and disconnect from all news outlets for a period of time. Ask a close friend or family member to only alert you if something is going on that you need to know about.

Yes, its important to stay up to date with the news as this can help us to make more informed decisions. Unfortunately, too much news can affect our health, and thats the last thing we need right now.

Thankfully, there are ways to protect our health and stay informed.

Johnston, W.M. and Davey, G.C.L. (1997), The psychological impact of negative TV news bulletins: The catastrophizing of personal worries. British Journal of Psychology, 88: 85-91. DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1997.tb02622.x

See the rest here:
Here Are 9 Ways To Stay Informed and Protect Your Mental Health - Longevity LIVE

Without checking, do you know who has fought the most bouts in professional sumo history?

Hakuho has the most wins (by some distance) but the yokozuna has stepped into the ring over 500 times fewer than former komusubi Oshio.

Even if Hakuho continued fighting for another 5 years without missing a single match, he still wouldnt equal Oshios total number of bouts.

While the Kyushu native didnt have anywhere close to the same winning percentage as Hakuho when he retired in 1981, his 964 wins were the most all time, and to date only Hakuho, Kaio and Chiyonofuji have surpassed that number.

Oshio was still 13 when he decided to join sumo. He made his debut just after turning 14 and, during his first year as a professional, also attended Ryogoku Junior High School in order to complete his compulsory education.

Despite the fact that in his 26-year career he spent 51 tournaments in the top division and reached sumos fourth-highest rank, Oshio didnt have a lot of success.

The Tokitsukaze stable man won the second-tier juryo title on three occasions, but two special prizes and three gold stars for wins over yokozuna are all he had to show for his efforts in the makuuchi division.

For comparison, thats less than another komusubi, Hokutofuji, managed in his first year in the top flight.

After retirement, Oshio established Shikihide stable and remained as master there until handing it over to the present incumbent in 2012.

As a stablemaster it took him 19 years to produce a sekitori-level wrestler. That was a modern-day record.

Oshios son also joined zum but he only managed to make it as far as the fourth-highest sandanme division and retired after just 12 years in the sport less than half the length of his fathers career.

See the original post here:
Oshio's career in ring had longevity, but limited success - The Japan Times

Fast food is a hallmark of modern living, and while it may be convenient, it's not doing us any favors.

A new study from Penn State, West Virginia and Michigan State universities suggests it's one of several factors contributing to a decline in American life expectancy.

The research, published this week in the journal Social Science & Medicine, found that people living in communities with more fast-food restaurants are living shorter lives. Another major factor found to negatively impact life expectancy was the number of people in a community with jobs in the extraction industry, which includes mining, quarrying and natural gas production. A third key factor was a community's population density, with people living in rural areas having a longevity edge over those in more urban environments. In this case, more people is not necessarily merrier.

Life expectancy defined as the length of time a person born in a specific year can expect to live is one of the most critical ways to gauge a society's overall health. But, after making steady gains over the previous decades, American life expectancy flat-lined in 2014 and then began reversing. From 2014 to 2017, the average years in an American life rolled back from 78.9 to 78.6 years.

"American life expectancy recently declined for the first time in decades, and we wanted to explore the factors contributing to this decline," lead author Elizabeth Dobis of the Penn State-based Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development explained in a press release. "Because of regional variation in life expectancy, we knew community-level factors must matter."

For the study, the team looked at how life expectancy in 2014 has changed from a 1980 baseline on a county-by-county basis. They ended up combing through data from more than 3,000 counties enough to build a comprehensive statistical model that weighed the impact of 12 community variables. They were also able to control for personal variables that are already established as factors on lifespan, including sex, race, education and alcohol use.

"By analyzing place-based factors alongside personal factors, we were able to draw several conclusions about which community characteristics contribute most strongly to this variation in life expectancy."

Their findings? People who lived near fast-food restaurants are having time shaved from their lives.

But that factor wasn't the only thief of time. People who worked in "extraction industries" i.e. mining and oil and gas extraction were also dying younger than those who did not. The population density of a community also had an adverse impact on lifespan. Indeed, the researchers found people living in less dense, rural communities lived longer lives, on average.

It seems at least a few of the reasons why people move to the city conveniences, jobs, and simply to be around more people are also bad for their health.

How bad, exactly?

"For example, for every one percentage point increase in the number of fast-food restaurants in a county, life expectancy declined by .004 years for men and .006 years for women."

Expanding on that grim arithmetic, for each 10 percentage point increase in the number of fast-food restaurants took a 15- to 20-day hit on life expectancy. Researchers found a similar relationship between oil and gas jobs and how long people lived.

"Another interesting finding was that lower population density, or living in more rural areas, is associated with higher life expectancy," study co-author Stephan Goetz adds. "This suggests that living in large, densely-settled metropolitan areas, with all of their amenities and other advantages, comes at the expense of lower life expectancy, at least in a statistical sense."

One thing that stood out to researchers, regardless of a community's density, was how strongly people living there acted like an actual community. Factors like access to doctors and how well people supported each other were seen as having a positive impact on life expectancy.

"We were surprised by the strong positive contribution of social capital to life expectancy within communities," says coauthor Goetz. "Places with residents who stick together more on a community or social level also appear to do a better of job of helping people in general live longer."

What does proximity to fast food have to do with longevity?

A new study looks at the community factors behind the dip in American life expectancy.

View post:
What does proximity to fast food have to do with longevity? - Mother Nature Network

We talk a lot about avoiding a threat like COVID-19. You likely know avoiding gatherings, social distancing, washing hands, not shaking hands, not touching your face and wearing masks and personal protective gear are important.

But your body is designed to protect you from outside threats. Your immune system is a highly organized and mobile unit, designed to fight to protect you.

Unlike other parts of the body, the immune system is difficult to visualize. After all, you know what the heart looks like and where it beats. But your immune system is just that: a system. It involves a variety of cells and messages between them. Plus, its something that patrols your entire body.

Think about it as any kind of protect-and-defend system it just happens at a microscopic level. It goes through a very similar process as societal defense mechanisms.

And like the city police, state police, FBI, etc., there is a lot of redundancy built into the system, designed to help you. Your skin serves as the first, outer shield to your insides. Even protection for your ears thats what wax is for nose and lungs have filters and cilia that act like brooms, trying to make sure bad stuff from the outside stays outside.

Once inside, or against an inside renegade like a cancer cell, this defense system goes into action. Its what rushes in when you scrape yourself. When you have a cold or are sick from a virus, your immune cells recognize some nasty stuff causing problems and send in other immune cells to fight them. The result of that fight is what you see or feel coughing, runny nose, inflammation, fever and things of that sort.

You also might see it when you cut yourself or twist an ankle. Redness or swelling are a result of those immune cells identifying a problem and sending in cells to heal the area. Ultimately, its what heals you.

Yet when we talk about vibrant longevity, its not just about how your body handles the flu or a bum joint. Its much more about how your immune system handles the major threats that if not defeated, will kill you, like MERS, SARS, COVID-19 or a cancer. Strengthening your immune system is key for keeping you young inside.

It should be noted your immune system, after you turn about 50, loses some of its juice. It is less able to identify and attack invaders, which is the reason self-engineering your immune system is vital and you should do all you can to keep it in top shape.

Tips for self-engineering your immune system

Quality sleep: Poor sleep is associated with decreased immune function and decreased rate of vaccines working, for that very reason. That means not only getting at least 7 hours of sleep, but also making sure its quality sleep. Good sleep hygiene, meaning no screens in the bedroom and not eating for a few hours before sleep, is crucial to making sure you get rest. Getting great sleep for several days prior to a flu shot boosts its success in protecting for influenza viruses.

Manage stress: One of the major threats to your immune system is chronic stress, which causes a cascade of hormonal responses that weakens your immune function over time. And while were of the belief theres no such thing as total stress relief stress is simply a byproduct of living a fulfilling life we believe there are ways to self-engineer the effects that negative and chronic stress can have on the body. Of course stress management can take many shapes and forms, and you should engage in those activities that work for you, as long as theyre healthy a nightly assembly line of martinis does not qualify. Meditation, deep breathing, social connections by phone or video chat in this time of social distancing, and at least 10 other techniques have been shown to increase immune function.

Enjoy healthy food: Vegetables are natures best protective medicine theyre fortified with so many good-for-you compounds and nutrients. When it comes to preventing or fighting enemies of longevity, if theres one thing you can do to help reduce your risk, its to make a conscious effort to cover more of your plate with veggies and fruits. Make them great-tasting, and it helps to avoid red and processed meat, simple sugar, syrups and carbs that are not 100% whole grain. The best approach is to diversify your portfolio of fruits and vegetables think leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, berries and citrus fruits.

This will help improve the chances that all your micronutrients vitamins A, B, C and D, and minerals like zinc and selenium are covered. Its also a good idea to supplement with half a multivitamin-multimineral supplement twice a day (morning and night) to ensure all of your bases are covered. Taking it for several weeks prior to a flu shot is another way to boost the flu shots success in protecting you for influenza viruses.

Move, move, move: Any movement is great, but increasing progressively over time can boost immune functioning. Note, though, that over-exercising is associated with decreased immune function. Training by running continuously for more than two hours, or biking more than two hours continuously, would classify as over-exercising, as doing more than two hours of exercises continuously causes inflammation and depresses your immune system.

Cut out toxins: This includes vaping, smoking cigarettes and consuming too much alcohol.

Cover your cough.

Get vaccines.

Wash your hands.

Yes, you get to engineer your immune system so it can help you ward off the current headline threat, as well as the big longevity stopper cancer. Take the opportunity.

Dr. Michael Roizen writes about wellness for the Cleveland Jewish News. He is chief wellness officer and chair of the Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic.

See original here:
The immune system another contributor to increasing longevity, staying young inside - Cleveland Jewish News

The industry often bemoans the impact of transient crew those who want to work on superyachts for a few years to make some money and then leave. A simple way to increase crew longevity in the industry would be to present the sector as a fruitful career pathway to retain crew for longer as well as attract those with longer-term career prospects. By offering long-term career paths, the industrycan attract the most professional candidates.

A big part of this would mean introducing more professional employment packages. The industry can find it difficult to retain talented crew and often this is due to a lack of balance between crew work and personal life, says Lien Eggermont, senior yacht placement consultant at Viking Crew. Especially within junior roles, where rotation packages are non-existent, working on superyachts can make someones personal life challenging, so it is not seen as a long-term career. Unfortunately, because the industry is so rigid with giving crew time off, it is often not possible for some to maintain it as a long-term career.

Another factor that would help to encourage longer careers in the industry is ensuring crew have access to continual professional development. We sell a lot of mandatory training, but we really struggle to sell non-mandatory training, said John Wyborn, co-founder and director Bluewater, who was speaking during a panel discussion at The Superyacht Forum 2019. The industry should be setting out the standard of the skill sets that we want our crew to have and we should be training for them. It shouldnt matter what the MCA says; it should be us who actually determines the skills that we want our crew to have, especially with entry-level crew.

The industry should be setting out the standard of the skill sets that we want our crew to have and we should be training for them...

This includes having a better culture of on-board mentoring throughout the industry, something that is often found lacking. We run the Officer of the Watch navigation and radar course, which is supposed to be a fairly advanced level of navigation, but it isnt because the students have all forgotten [what] they have ever learnt on their Yachtmaster course, added Wyborn. Crew are not prepared for the courses and it is because there is no support for learning on board. Whether its mandatory or non-mandatory training, the culture of learning in our sector is rubbish and we have to change that as a matter of urgency.

Chloe McFarnell, yacht placement consultant at Viking Crew, agrees there would be an improvement in crew retention if owners invested more in training. You have to keep crew interested by showing professional development. If you feel disposable, you are not going to be giving your best, she explains. Yachts should encourage career development by sponsoring courses or even hiring trainers to come on board. If the yachts programme allows it, the chef should be encouraged to go to a local farm and taste the local produce, or the stews to visit a local vineyard to learn about local wines.

The industry should also enable easier transitions into shoreside roles so that crew would not see their time in the industry as a gap year but rather as a potential stepping stone to a fulfilling career that includes time at sea and time ashore. For example, a broader acceptance of GUEST the training and assessment standards available for interior superyacht crew would act as recognition of the high level of service achieved by interior crew.

It is about time that managers, recruitment companies and captains started recognising and asking for GUEST, added Wyborn. This would mean that crew could make an easier transition to a boutique hotel group, private jet or many other organisations where a high standard is employed.

Superyachts can create the right on-board environment forfostering longevity through training, employment packages and on-board working conditions. While there will always be a need for transient crew to some extent, the industry should be looking to attract more career-minded crew into yachting to professionalise the industry and, consequently, enhance the experience for owners and clients on board.

Profile links

Viking Crew

Bluewater

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Crew - Issues of longevity - Superyacht News - The Superyacht Report

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Sanlams actuarial tables show that on average, someone born in 1967 could live to age 95. Increased longevity means we could be retired for as long as weve worked. Say you start working at age 25 and retire at 60, thats 35 working years. If you live to age 95, thats another 35 years a 1:1 ratio! Sounds amazing in theory, but is it feasible in practice, financially? Thats where a long-term strategy of investing in growth assets is key.

With increased longevity comes the urgent need to invest in growth assets. Fred White, head of Balanced Funds at Sanlam Investment Management (SIM), co-manages the SIM Balanced Fund along with Ralph Thomas. White believes that investors are choosing balanced funds as a long-term return oriented solution.

We believe investors do not choose balanced funds for volatility management; such solutions are more likely to be found among the absolute return funds. They come to a balanced fund because they want growth, White says. Thats why we will, on average, have a bias to growth assets.

White points out that over the 20 years since the turn of the century, despite Y2K, the burst of the DotCom bubble, the Global Financial Crisis and pressure on growth assets in recent years, local equities have still significantly outperformed bonds. R1 invested in SA Bonds at the start of 2000 would have grown to R7.30 at the end of 2019, but to R12.40 if it was invested in the All Share index.

Growth assets do come with the complication of larger drawdowns, though. The most important thing that investors need to remember is that drawdowns recover again and over the very long term the outperformance of growth assets over bonds has been consistent. White warns that investors need to prepare themselves for interim periods when growth assets do underperform, but the timing of such events is nearly impossible to predict. Therefore, if you have a bias towards growth assets you need a supplementary protective strategy that reduces drawdown risk.

White and Thomas spend the bulk of their time either looking for ways to enhance returns or finding protective strategies that supplement their growth bias.

An example of how the managers enhance the returns of the Sanlam Investment Management Balanced Fund is the funds exposure to a unique basket of international real assets a carve-out from one of the Sanlam UK-based absolute return funds. White says: These real assets tend to have long-term rental contracts in place with built-in inflation-linked escalations. The real assets include property, infrastructure and renewable energy, but also interesting assets such as music rights and aircraft leasing.

White and Thomas understand the longevity challenge that investors face and they manage the SIM Balanced Fund so as to maximise long-term growth without taking on undue risks. Even our share options have been folded into units in the fund we manage, and they only start vesting on the day we retire, White says. We are fully invested alongside our clients for many years to come.

For additional information and disclosure please refer to the MDD (Factsheet) on the fund webpage: https://www.sanlaminvestments.com/corefunds/Pages/simbalanced.aspx

Read more from the original source:
Smart investing to beat longevity risk - Mail and Guardian

Four things are at the very top of the list in most studies of health & longevity. The four take turns being #1. They are, in varying order: exercise, sleep, meditation (stress reduction), and diet / nutrition.

You can learn the basics of the first three in a few hours each, using tips here. Then if you simply do them, many of your life problems will be solved!

The last, diet/nutrition, you can spend the rest of your life on. You can learn and definitely get better at it, which I encourage. However, no one will never understand it fully. The scientific knowledge and the studies conflict, the rules change, each person is unique, and even when you find something that works for you, sooner or later, it wont. You have to learn, and adapt. Its worth it. (Oh, obviously get rid of bad habits like smoking, excess alcohol, etc, which are more or less in this category.)

However, there is a fair amount of agreement on eating habits to be found. As a scientist, I have spent decades researching this topic. Rather than go into detail on diet here, lets move on to the easy things.

Re exercise,Yoga, Tai Chi and older traditional forms appear to be better, but most anyexercise that keeps you moving, especially with complete range of motion and tonear exhaustion, will work if you do it regularly. Simple walking is ofbenefit too, as found in studies of people who sit at a desk for variouslengths of time. Longer sitters die younger, so get up occasionally and move.In fact, even passive motion confers significant benefits, by increasinglymphatic circulation.

Sleep is vastly underrated in modern society. Some people even brag about getting by with little sleep. Dont fall for it. Our ancestors got a LOT of it; they slept while it was dark, so they averaged around 9 hours, and certainly more than 6 hours. People who sleep well are statistically much healthier and live longer than other people. They are happier, they do better at work, and in their relationships. While studying nutrition, the more complicated topic, I kept finding these sleep studies. For just one example (of many), a study found that 6 hour sleepers are 4 times more likely to catch a virus than 8 hour sleepers. In these times, that is a stark warning.

There is more to learn about sleep, but it still isnt that complicated. I will post more in future articles.

I can mention one interesting thing here that you probably do not know; studies find that sleeping in motion produces the best quality sleep you can get, regardless of how many hours you have to sleep. Gentle motion produces faster sleep onset, more stage 3 sleep (the most desirable stage), and more sleep spindles (a measure of cellular repair). It produces better EEG (thus deeper relaxation while asleep, or even when awake), and has other benefits. Its far more enjoyable too. Of course as your own mother would tell you, it already worked for you.

There are several ways to benefit from motion during sleep. You can get a boat, a hammock, or other devices, if you can live with the drawbacks. Another technology to provide the most relaxing motion is a Floating Bed http://www.floatingbed.com There is a lot of science on this. It doesnt cost you precious time either, since falling asleep more easily and faster actually saves you time.

Meditation is the unsung hero here, butmost people wont take the time to do it, which is too bad. I encourage you tofind a simple technique that works for you. It works wonders for stress,health, and peace of mind. It feels nice, and it helps break the habit ofworrying so much.

Thats the basics of what you need to know to be healthy, happier, and have a long life. My hope for you is that you are happy and well, that you dont have any bad luck, and that you can do these things and that you enjoy a more beautiful life! Stay tuned for more.

View post:
How to achieve super health. - Thrive Global

Life expectancy in the U.S. rose slightly in 2018, after a few years of flagging. Add to that the frightening number of Americans who underestimate the average life expectancy. Then roll in what the U.S. Census says that 2030 will mark a tipping point at which older Americans will outnumber children and 1 in 5 people will be retirement age.

This recipe of numbers may present an opportunity for well-positioned marketers and entrepreneurs, but most importantly, it should serve as a wake-up call for people whose nest eggs might not be in the best shape. The takeaway for most Americans who are lucky enough to be able to save and invest is to ensure life expectancy is a facet of your financial and retirement planning and that it is accurate or even a bit overestimated. And in the case of aspects of your nest egg for which you personally dont determine life expectancy, find out what life-expectancy figure is used and how it was determined.

Behind The Slow Rise

In a wealthy and industrialized nation like the U.S., you might be surprised that life expectancy does not just steadily rise. But when you look at the big-picture numbers, youll see things like the opioid epidemic dinging life expectancy. The early 1990s even saw an actual decline in life expectancy in the U.S. due to the AIDS epidemic.

Bringing it home to a personal level, you of course might be part of a larger trend, but should more likely be focused on family health history and lifestyle factors when asking, Just how long will I probably live? For the most part, your genetics and family health are what they are, but you can affect changes in your health and longevity when it comes to lifestyle.

There are plenty of resources out there to help you assess and improve the factors you can. Apart from that, be prepared to take a clear-eyed look at your likely life expectancy and plan accordingly.

Estimating Expectancy

So, what are the right age expectancy numbers to work with? U.S. life expectancy (at birth) is 78.7. At age 65, a man can expect to live to 84 and a woman to 86.5. Again, there are many individual and environmental factors in play, but this gives you a ballpark idea of the real averages.

Retirement and financial planning sites tend to use life expectancy figures above those estimated by unbiased sources like the Social Security Administration. Again, its better to skew high on the expectancy, which in the best case means you have a nest egg cushion. Youll be ready to beat the odds with the third of Americans who make it past age 90 and even the one out of seven who make it to 95.

Seeing Silver

Lets focus now on the so-called Silver Economy: the aging U.S. population often touted for its spending power. On the flip side, the hope which for now seems to be warranted is that businesses are not just eager to serve seniors, but are adapting, growing and innovating to do so. This at first may just take the form of businesses managing marketing and messaging so that seniors feel well served. Next, those businesses are going to need the bandwidth to serve the larger volume of older Americans.

But where business and seniors both win is the nexus at which companies develop new ways of doing business, new products and even new industries to serve the onslaught of older customers. The accompanying shift in thinking should not be, What do seniors need? but What do people need? and then viewing that through a lens of the graying of America.

That broader perspective helps ensure seniors have not only more traditional senior services, but any and every other product and service they need and want. So, this would include not just skilled nursing care, for instance, but also day-to-day services and technology tailored to seniors.

Focusing This All On You

Make it a point to get at least a ballpark idea of your own life expectancy for retirement and planning purposes and find out how those handling things for you are making the same determination. Again, the idea is not to fixate on the inevitable, but to ensure your retirement and financial planning includes this important question: How long are you going to need your money to last?

For your own calculation, consider using a variety of longevity tools and then working with an average. You might choose one no-cost life expectancy calculator from a major life insurance provider, another from the Social Security Administrationand another thats very lifestyle oriented.

Keep your eye on the horizon to create or be served by opportunities that are evolving to serve the countrys aging population. From Gen Alpha and Gen Z up to and through boomers, who knows what products and services will be improved or invented as we roll to our newfound life expectancy?

The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.

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Know Your Life Expectancy And The Larger Implications - Forbes

Last week, in this space, I made reference to an Internet site that claims to predict longevity.

Its a reminder of the many breakthroughs the World Wide Web has provided.

Today, with a simple touch of the keyboard, you can find out what your credit score is, make reservations to fly to Paris, or pay your utility bill.

Or determine if your fiance has an arrest record, or discover you inherited a fortune from a Nigerian uncle you never knew you had.

And, now, even determine how many years you have left.

According to such longevity sites (there are numerous), all you have to do is provide some personal data and answer a number of lifestyle questions, and up pops your expiration date.

The best part of the exercise is that you can tweak your answers to buy additional time.

Most of the responses, such as your age, your parents longevity, or your health history, cant be altered. But there are a number of areas where adjustments can be applied.

Like diet.

If you stated, for example, that you tend to eat red meat and high-calorie foods, but replace those answers with high-fiber plant-based choices, the longevity numbers climb. Its actually a great tool to find areas where lifestyle changes can pay dividends.

In my case, after only a few modifications, I was able to add five years before the need to consider any sort of excavation.

And I can add two more by simply checking a particular box instead of the one I had originally selected.

Thats the one about gender.

Now Im wondering if I checked the right box, since, according to the site, women automatically get a two-year extension.

So its something I have to give some serious thought to. Its not that Im unhappy with my gender, but two years is two years, so Im not prepared to simply dismiss the idea of gender modification. Not if it means becoming the beneficiary of such a huge windfall. It just depends on whether its sufficient to simply declare the transformation or if surgery is involved.

But besides lifestyle changes, I have discovered another virtually foolproof way of prolonging life. It has to do with name selection. That may sound implausible, but the facts dont lie.

Take the name Bertha. I once saw it in an obituary, and it stated that the deceased had reached the age of 99.

Then I saw another such notice with the same name, only this time Bertha had passed at the age of 104.

At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but since then, every time I see a Bertha in an obituary, shes either near or beyond the century mark.

I had mentioned that to my wife when we were expecting our first child.

We hadnt selected a name yet, so I tried to convince her that if we named our child Bertha, there was an excellent chance the kid would live to be 100 or more.

But my wife is stubborn. She insisted we call him Christopher.

Contact humor columnist Irv Erdos at IrvErdos@aol.com.

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Column: The real secrets to living longer - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Rocking a bejeweled crown and a fashionably-oversized pair of hot pink rhinestone-studded glasses, Pearle Williams held court Friday at Cornerstone Assisted Living in Vacaville.

Twas an early celebration of her 107th birthday, which is Saturday.

As an exuberant chorus of Happy Birthday swelled around her, the queen of the hour lounged in her wheelchair throne. All around her blush pink balloons waved, a memory board filled with photos served as a backdrop, a lushly frosted cake ringed with colorful roses beckoned and a huge roomful of friends, fellow residents and staff applauded.

I dont know what I owe my longevity too, Williams mused moments before she blew out her birthday candles and the singing started. Im not used to this.

Lourdes Dunham, Cornerstones activity director, fussed over her.

I had to bribe her, she admitted, about getting the spunky Williams to don the fanciful accessories, with this chocolate cake. She loves anything chocolate.

Seems the birthday girl was born in 1913 and grew up in Chicago. She was the oldest of three girls and outlived her sisters, Lillian and Sylvia.

She remembers the cold, living through a multitude of wars and the Depression, and the name of every American president. There were also weekend movies for a nickel and bags of popcorn for the same price.

Williams also told of fun Saturdays that involved dancing and a drink or two.

I liked a little bit of bourbon, she confided.

She married her sweetheart, who later joined the Navy. They would later have a son and a daughter, both of whom would give her her beloved grandchildren.

Williams told a wild tale of being pregnant with her son.

I was in labor, she recalled. Two women and a cousin took me (to the hospital). The bridge was out.

The other women were frightened and holding their breath, she continued, but everything turned out for the best.

These days, the youngster-at-heart enjoys simple pleasures.

I like to sleep, she said. Getting her hair done is also on her priority list.

Dunham shared that Williams is also a gamer.

Shes still playing bingo, still playing poker, the activity director said.

Her secret to longevity?

I inherited some good genes, she offered, adding that she also eats lots of fruits and vegetables.

Fellow residents and friends said her outlook is special.

Even when shes having a bad day, eventually she smiles and comes around, shared Betty Corison.

Shes always in good spirits, chimed in Rita McCain.

Louise Lester has known Williams for about seven years and said they formed a tight bond.

Pearle is just a great person. Shes a sweetheart, she said. Im proud to know her and be a friend of hers.

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With sparkle and glam, Vaca birthday girl toasts 107 - Vacaville Reporter

Michael Doyle achieved an incredible career milestone this month when he hit the 800 game mark - almost half of those in a Sky Blues shirt.

He admits it doesnt seem five minutes since he was on trial at Coventry City as a fresh-faced 21-year-old, unable to break through at Scottish giants Celtic in 2003.

Recommended by then Sky Blues assistant Eric Black, whod coached at Celtic Park, he caught the eye of then manager Gary McAllister in a couple of reserve team games at Highfield Road before being handed a contract and starting a long and affectionate relationship with the club.

He enjoyed eight years first time round and then made a triumphant return in 2017 to lead the club hed grown to love to promotion out of League Two.

I know when I got to 700 career games it was when I was at Coventry and the year we got promoted and I wasnt really aware of it, said Doyle , speaking to CoventryLive.

The 38-year-old is still going strong at Notts County where hes played over 30 games this term and showing no signs of slowing down with the club sixth in the National League and pushing for a return to League Two.

I always knew I was in high numbers but it wasnt until I hit 700 and a few of the lads were joking about it. So to be a year and a half or whatever it is down the line to get to 800, Im delighted but its not something that I really look at for myself.

I think its more other people picking up on it.

This is your round up of all things Coventry City; the one-stop shop that will keep you updated on the latest goings on at the club and beyond.

Transfers, injuries, match-days and managers, weve got you covered.

Well be bringing the very latest on the Sky Blues throughout the week and around the clock.

And you can get the latest sent to you through the CoventryLive WhatsApp service too.

Make sure you keep yourself updated with our handy daily catch up...

For all your latest CCFC news, opinion, analysis and transfer gossip, click here

You can follow our Sky Blues reporter Andy Turner on Twitter, and his email address is Andy.Turner@reachplc.com

Its a big achievement and its had a bit of publicity on the back of that, and Im really pleased but just enjoying playing.

Thats the most important thing, that I still enjoy playing and its not a struggle. My body isnt breaking down on me and thats the enjoyable part about it.

Theres clearly an element of natural fitness but whats the secret of longevity in football from a player who has managed to avoid serious injury for 20-odd years?

I have always looked after myself and enjoyed doing that in the summers and things like that, he said.

I have always trained hard when other people werent and I have always enjoyed keeping myself fit.

I enjoy getting out for a run in the close season. I wouldnt say its been easy for me but thats what I enjoy doing when I am away from the football. So that obviously helps, the fact that I enjoy doing it.

Theres one other secret that Doyle was adhering to meticulously years before it became the norm.

From when I first signed for Coventry some 18 years ago I was always big on hydrating, he said.

I was always drinking three or four litres of water a day and it obviously helps. I will be really hydrated most days and I have been for most of my career.

Its part of the job. You need to hydrate before and after training, and it helps your body recover, so its something I have always been massive on over the last 20 years.

Its rare youll see me without a bottle of water but thats the same for most players now. But I was doing that 18 years ago, always walking around with my big bottle of water.

If you want to be a footballer or any sort of sports person you have to look after yourself, make sure your diet is right and what youre eating and drinking is a given, you know. Because if you dont make the sacrifices you wont be able to do it at any level.

In his second season at Meadow Lane, the Irishman is showing no signs of hanging up his boots any time soon.

So is he good to go for another season?

Yeah, of course I am, he said confidently.

I have only missed ten games through suspension this season so thats down to myself. I havent missed any training and Im enjoying it.

I dont think Ill be retiring through my body letting me down. Its a case of so far so good and unless I am unfortunate to pick up a heavy injury which means I cant play and its long term then I will probably think, right, next stage of my life.

But at the minute I am just enjoying every minute.

I do consider myself very fortunate to still be playing regularly because I have a lot of friends whose bodies have let them down a long time ago and had to retire. So I feel very lucky.

Asked if his fondest memories of his Sky Blues career, which spanned 371 appearances and 26 goals, are getting promoted at Wembley in 2018, he said: Without doubt.

Listen, I probably took the first eight or nine years, not for granted, but we were a mid-table Championship club often fighting relegation and never had a run of the play-offs or anything like that.

The Championship is a big division and full of fantastic teams with big followings, and Coventry were as well, so it was an amazing time.

But going back is something I never really expected when I left Coventry but when I did, with the situation they were in, it was an amazing time to top it off by getting a promotion.

And that kind of cemented the bond I have with the club because I went back and achieved something, so that was nice and made the bond a lot stronger.

When he left for a second time, in January 2019, Mark Robins left the door open for him to return to the club in the future in a coaching capacity.

But thats certainly not on the agenda at this moment in time for the evergreen midfielder.

Listen, of course when I stop playing I certainly want to stay in the game, he said.

Thats what I want to do, be a coach or whatever and work in football.

Theres no doubt thats what I am going to do when I finish playing but right at the minute were trying to get ourselves promoted at Notts County.

We are in a good position and I am just fully focused on that to be honest with you.

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Cemented the bond - Legendary Coventry City skipper on amazing times, longevity and life after playing days - Coventry Telegraph

For the first time in the UK, there are more women aged 60 to 64 in work than not, according to an analysis of data from the Office for National Statistics.

The number of older women in work has increased by 51% since changes to the state pension age were introduced in 2010, the data reveals. This contrasts with an increase of 13% in the number of working men aged between 60 and 64 over the same period.

Experts have described the increase as seismic, with profound implications for the economy and for women in later life.

Supporting people aged 50 and over to remain in the workforce could add an additional 1.3% to GDP a year by 2040. But while it is an opportunity for some women, for others it is the culmination of inequalities that have built up over a lifetime, remaining in low-paid, insecure or poor quality work and delaying retirement through financial necessity,said Patrick Thomson, programme manager at the Centre for Ageing Better.

For many other women this will be a positive choice, with work providing financial independence, an opportunity to save for retirement, meaning and purpose, he added. The rising state pension age has clearly had an impact on womens working lives. But while longer lives and changing patterns of work mean many of us can expect to work for longer, its vital that people are able to be in work that improves their current and later lives.

Because of the delays to womens state pension, Julie Kumalinga is only able to retire because she can rely on her husbands pension. Aged 60, she is on a zero-hours contract as a passenger assistant for children with special needs. Before that, she spent a decade working for a care company that did not have a pension scheme.

If I was single, I wouldnt be able to afford to retire at all, she said. Its grossly unfair: no women should be forced into poverty in retirement.

Kathryn Morgan, a corporate business trainer aged 61, is keen to continue working. Morgan divides her time between the UK and teaching in Slovakia. I dont think I will ever retire as long as Im healthy, she said.

Stuart Lewis, founder of Rest Less, a jobs and volunteering site for over-50s, said: The rapid increase in the womens state pension age since 2010 has had a profound impact on women in their 60s: the employment rate of women aged between 60 and 64 has increased from 34% to 51% in just 10 years.

But as well as adjusting to the financial implications of the new state pension age, the added frustration for many comes from the continued challenge to find meaningful work in their 60s when age discrimination in the workplace remains all too prevalent, he added.

Patrick Thompson of the Centre for Ageing Better said: This is a seismic shift, with profound implications for the economy and for women in later life.

David Sinclair, the director of the UK International Longevity Centre, warned that while in recent decades there have been increases in employment levels of older people, we shouldnt get too excited.

The employment rates of men, for example, were actually higher in the 1960s. Weve got a long way to go if we want to maximise the longevity dividend, he said.

Too many older people are forced out of the workforce too early, whether that is due to ageism or poor health. Too many people want to work longer but cant, he added. Good work can be good for us. But if the additional jobs are not good jobs, we could be simply storing up problems for the future.

Caroline Abrahams, the charity director at Age UK, said: We are calling on the government to make sure they factor in the reality of life for middle-aged people before making any decisions about further raising the state pension age.

Age UK is firmly of the view that the triple-lock needs to stay in place, because it is not yet job done when it comes to eradicating pensioner poverty which is now on the rise yet again with 2 million older people living below the poverty line.

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More women aged 60-64 in work than not for first time in UK ONS - The Guardian