Sleep provides more than a chance to dream. Scientists are waking up to the fact that the right amount of shut-eye restores bones, gives the brain a much-needed break from the daily grind, and prevents a whole host of maladies, including heart disease. In 2007, British researchers reported that snoozing five hours or less every night doubles a person's risk of developing a cardiovascular illness. Here are a few other reasons more quality sack time should be priority No. 1 for the 68 percent of Americans who get less than eight hours of sleep each night:
A lack of Z's can clog your arteries.
An article in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association claimed that study subjects who slept five hours or less were more likely than their better-rested peers to accumulate calcium deposits in their coronary arteries, a condition that can make the arteries less flexible and lead to heart disease. Researchers concluded that those who got less than the recommended eight hours every night could cut their calcification risk by a third and enjoy a blood-pressure drop as great as 16.5 points if they added just one hour of sleep to their nightly routine.
One group that knows all too well sugar's ravaging effects: people with diabetes, who—because they can suffer from years of undetected high blood sugar—often show early signs of skin aging. "Depending on how well their disease is controlled, diabetics can have up to 50 times the number of AGEs in their skin as those who don't have diabetes," says Karyn Grossman, MD, a dermatologist in New York City and Santa Monica, CA, and chief of the division of dermatology at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. It's never too late to turn back.
Cut back on the sweet stuff in your diet
It's not easy to eliminate sugar completely. Even whole grains, fruits, and vegetables turn to glucose— the type of sugar that fuels glycation—when digested. But limiting added sugar can help. Some guidelines:
Keep added sugar to no more than 10% of total calories
If you're a 40-year-old woman of average height (5-foot-5), that's 160 calories (or 10 teaspoons)from added sugar—about the number in one 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola or six Hershey's Kisses. By comparison, the average American consumes 31 teaspoons per day of added sugar, or the equivalent of 465 calories. (To find out how many calories total you should eat every day, log on to prevention.com/caloriecalculator.)
Watch for hidden sugar in food
Many prepared foods contain hefty amounts of sugar—but it's hidden under aliases—including barley malt, corn syrup, dextrose, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, maple syrup, molasses, and turbinado—on ingredient panels. The key is determining how many teaspoons of sugar each serving contains. Doing this is easy: Check the nutrition label for sugars, which are listed in grams under total carbohydrates, and then divide that number by 4 (each teaspoon of sugar is equal to 4 g) to convert it to teaspoons. For example, if sugars are listed as 12 g, you're getting 3 teaspoons of sugar per serving.
Avoid high fructose corn syrup
This type of sweetener, which is made by changing the sugar in cornstarch to fructose (another form of sugar), is believed to produce more AGEs than other types. Because HFCS extends the shelf life of foods and is sweeter and cheaper than other sugars, it's a popular ingredient in soda, fruit- flavored drinks, and packaged foods such as breads, crackers, and other snacks. You can spot it in ingredient lists on nutrition labels.
Supplement Your Diet
with at least 1 mg of vitamins B1 and B6 a day. These vitamins proved to be potent AGE inhibitors in a number of published studies, says David J. Goldberg, MD, a New York City–based dermatologist and a clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. B1 and B6 are plentiful in food, but taking a multivitamin—most of which deliver at least 1 mg of both Bs—ensures you're getting the daily value of 1.1 mg for B1 and 1.3 mg for B6 (1.5 mg after age 50).
Recent research has uncovered some "eggs-traordinary" findings about eggs. The once frowned upon breakfast food is actually quite nutritious. In the past, eggs got a bad rap for being a cholesterol-rich food. However, the latest research suggests eating whole eggs may actually result in significant improvement in one's blood lipids. Eggs contain a wide array of essential vitamins and minerals and supply high-quality protein, carbohydrates and fat. A single egg provides approximately 5.5 grams of protein. In addition to their wonderful nutritional content, eggs have been shown to aid in weight loss.
Mary Joseph Foundation a non-profit international organization Alzheimer's.
