EARLY MENOPAUSE
According to a study by Massachusetts General Hospital, smoking can lead to premature ovarian failure (early menopause). The authors of the study were able to trace the cause to the exposure of a class of chemicals present in tobacco smoke that accelerate the death of egg cells in the ovaries (Massachusetts General Hospital (2001, […]

HEART DISEASE
The American Heart Association lists smoking as one of the six major independent risk factors for coronary heart disease, the others being diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, and obesity.
DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE
Researchers who followed 1337 doctors who graduated from John Hopkins University between 1948 and 1964, found out that smokers, as well […]

SLOWER WOUND HEALING
A review of the existing studies on the relationship between smoking and wound healing done by the University Medical Center Utrecht show that, should smokers experience a bone fracture, they will need a significantly longer time to heal than non-smokers.
If surgery involving a network of blood vessels in which the blood vessels […]

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Drinking coffee increases both diastolic and systolic blood pressure. These effects can sometimes last until the next day (Caffeine consumption and blood pressure: an epidemiological study. International Journal of Epidemiology. 17(1):90-7). Such a situation could be especially harmful for those who suffer from hypertension. High blood pressure is also a contributing factor in […]

MEMORY PROBLEMS
Excessive cortisol secretion, which is caused by coffee drinking, is linked to neural degeneration and interference with memory formation (Extra-adrenal production of corticosteroids. Clinical Experiments in Pharmacological Physiology, 30(7):437-45).
HIGH CHOLESTEROL
Coffee drinking raises serum cholesterol levels, which of course are linked to heart disease (The Tromsø heart study. Does coffee raise serum cholesterol? New England […]

Avoidance of High Risk Behaviors and Substances
It should go without saying that drinking alcohol (other than a glass of red wine now and then — by the way, the health benefits of red wine are due to the antioxidant effects of the flavonoids present in the seeds and skin of grapes, not the alcohol itself), […]

Exercise
It’s well known that aerobic exercise is beneficial for stress reduction and weight control, and decreases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and some forms of cancer. What is somewhat less well known is the benefits of muscle building exercises.
Building muscle increases metabolic rate, which aids in weight control and prevents the […]

LIFESTYLE
Living a healthy lifestyle will give you the best bang for the buck, no question.
Diet
Eating the proper foods, in the proper amount, will go a long way towards getting adequate nutrition and maintaining a healthy weight (see my post Secrets of the Paleolithic Diet for more information on diet). These two things all by themselves […]

When it comes to the subject of anti-aging, there is so much to learn that it can be overwhelming sometimes. Where the heck do you start?
One way is to look at the subject is to examine where the emphasis should be on how to maintain the highest possible quality of life. Should it be on […]

HELPFUL TIPS FOR QUITTING SMOKING
Whatever method you decide on, there are a number of tips that may help:
1. Schedule a specific day to start quitting and tell your friends. That will make it harder for you to back out.
2. Make a list of all the reasons you want to quit and review them when things […]