Where I find health info, Where do you find health info?

 

I subscribe to the Epoch Times newspaper which arrives once a week in a paper edition. One section I like is the Mind and Body section. November 19-24 2025 has so many health articles. "Dehydration Spikes Stress Levels" and a favorite for me "9 Lessons from the Longest-Living Among Us." See above photo.

These long lived people share tips from their own lives. One of the women is an example of "Tap Into Forgiveness." 25 years ago when she was 79 at a prayer service she forgave the Communists who killed her parents and 5 of her six siblings. It lifted a load from her shoulders and she became more content. She is 104 today. Another tip is "Don't Dwell on Your Age."  

Another article is on preventing Pickleball injuries. Pickleball is very popular in my town, I live near a Pickleball court. "Eye Injuries Among Pickleball Players on the Rise: Study". Another article is "How Gut Microbes Influence Cancer Risk." I take a probiotic about 5 times a week and eat a healthy yogurt every day. 

Do you have favored sources for health info? I also subscribe to the Mayo Clinic Health Newsletter which arrives once a month. I have the Grok app and ask it health questions. Any tips you care to share for keeping healthy?

Several of you friends reminded us in your comments to stay hydrated. A great reminder. Sometimes we don't feel thirsty but I try to drink anyway, to stay hydrated. 

Worship with Others Leads to Longer Life, Studies Show

 

Being part of a faith based based community and attending services four times a month has been found to increase longevity. Above is a photo of Saint Coloman Church in Schwangau, Germany. The church is named after the Irish monk, Coloman. I think it fits this subject of my post today.

In my AARP bulletin a while ago an article lists 99 tips for longer life. Tip number 99 states: "Pray for longer life. A 2016 study followed 74,534 women for 20 years; those who attended religious services more than once a week enjoyed a 33 percent lower mortality rate than those who skipped church."
That  lower mortality rate of 33 percent is huge!

The AARP list was written by Mike Zimmerman who has written a dozen books on health. Though the title of the tip says "pray" the tip itself says attend religious services.

Dan Buettner's new book "The Blue Zones: Secrets for Living Longer from the Healthiest Places on Earth" lists in his Power of 9 "Belong. Being part of some type of faith-based community and attending services four times a month adds to the longevity of the Blue Zones populations."

The above photo is a synagogue in Romania.

I am also in what we call a "small group" in my church, where the 25 members meet once a week in fellowship and I agree with the leader who says we are family. We help each other in every way needed. We are supporting a refugee family from the Ukraine and found them housing here. Then a wildfire here forced them to move and we found them another home. Imagine the anguish of worry about the war, and having to move repeated times. At church we create families.

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20.

Above is a photo of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, my beautiful lady. Yes, I do feel she is mine and of course she belongs to the world. I visited her a dozen times when I lived in Paris for two summers, listened to several free organ recitals and felt uplifted whenever I entered this Cathedral. My husband and I were also in Paris for one Christmas and he went to a midnight service in the vaults below the church. He told me it was very dark and cold and he sipped from a small bottle of Grand Marnier to keep him warm. I hope Notre Dame will be beautifully restored to its original design.

Remember, gather together in church, temple or synagogue, the rewards are great in this life and the next.

Dust off that library card for a longer life

The above photo is taken by Nightsabre at Morguefile. That dog looks like a thoughtful guy and a reader!

I read a notice about a health study recently: "Dust off that library card."
Studies show that readers live longer than non-readers. If you already love to read, like
me, that is good news, and more good news is that you non-readers can start reading books at any time.
My current AARP news letter includes this in a list of 99 health ideas.
In their tip 98 I quote "Dust off that library card. A study of 3,635 older adults found that book readers had a 23 month survival advantage and 20 percent lower mortality risk compared with non-readers. Reading was protective regardless of gender, education or health."
This next photo is taken by DianneHope at Morguefile.

I chose the profession of librarian so you can see this tip about how healthy readers are is music to my ears. Plus I am a writer with thousands of articles and two books published so you can imagine that I like to read.
So in addition to an apple a day keeps the doctor away the study concludes that we can live longer by reading books.