Lifelong Health: Achieving Optimum Well-Being at Any Age

Finish up your study of exercise by investigating two appealing options you might not have considered: martial arts and yoga. The different styles of these two workouts can be practiced at all ages and stages of life, with multiple benefits for enhancing the health of your joints, muscles, and mind.

Start taking control of the stress in your life with this lecture, which introduces you to the profound benefits of mental well-being on all aspects of your life and teaches you how to realistically reduce stress through three powerful techniques: relaxation, meditation, and mindfulness.

Peer inside the physiology of the human brain and uncover ways to increase cognitive function and slow its decline. Then, move on to look at the challenges, warning signs, and myths behind Alzheimer's disease, which accounts for about 60% to 80% of all dementias in the United States.

Explore the three pillars for optimizing your mental edge as you age: frequently exercising; maintaining strong interactions with family and friends; and stimulating your brain through learning. The lecture concludes with a brief discussion of the invaluable power of laughter on your mental health.

In the first of two lectures on women's health, focus on the risk factors, symptoms, effects, and possible preventive measures of three critical health issues for women: osteoporosis, depression, and heart disease.

Take a close look at the three major kinds of menopause, as well as the contentious debate over using hormone replacement therapy to lessen the unpleasant symptoms of this normal part of the aging process.

Examine some of the health issues common to men, including prostate health (and the importance of testing for prostate-specific antigens), central obesity (or "belly fat"), erectile dysfunction, and andropause (the gradual decline in testosterone sometimes referred to as "male menopause").

Childhood eating habits tend to stay with people throughout their lives; these habits are also very hard to change later. Using his insight as a doctor, a parent, and a grandparent, Dr. Goodman gives you advice on establishing and maintaining healthy eating habits in children and adolescents.

This lecture emphasizes the importance of choices you make every day that affect your health and well-being. Get invaluable tips on sleeping adequately, staying well hydrated, and controlling your consumption of alcohol—especially during periods of high stress.

Maximize the effectiveness of your relationship with your healthcare professional by learning how to ask the right questions, what to bring to a doctor's appointment, and more. Also, delve deeper into ways to balance conventional and proven alternative medical therapies while keeping your best interests at heart.

Conclude with a review of the ground you covered, a look at a compelling 72-year study on human longevity that cements the benefits of healthy living, and some powerful words of practical advice that will help guide you through the dynamic world of optimum well-being.