I\u2019m busy\u2014really busy. I\u2019m also quite lazy. So although I want to live a long, healthy life, I\u2019m secretly hoping I can pull it off without having to make any drastic changes to my diet or lifestyle. That\u2019s why I\u2019m always on the look-out for \u201ccheats\u201d\u2014simple health tricks with massive health payoffs. I\u2019m assuming you\u2019re as lazy as me (at least I hope<\/em> you are\u2014I\u2019d hate to think I\u2019m the only flawed human online), so I\u2019ll be passing these nuggets along as I find them. Here are the first three:<\/p>\n *Give your mushrooms some sun<\/strong><\/p>\n Bizarre, but true: According to a Scandinavian research team, if you leave store-bought mushrooms on a sunny windowsill for two days, their vitamin D levels shoot up as much as four-fold.<\/p>\n Mushrooms\u2014like human skin\u2014have the freakish ability to manufacture this nutrient if they\u2019re exposed to UV light. And turning these edible fungi into vitamin D bombs could save your life. Dozens of Boston University studies show that vitamin D is a powerful anticancer hormone\u2014so powerful, in fact, that just keeping your blood levels high cuts your cancer risk in half.<\/p>\n *Pretend dark chocolate is a vitamin<\/strong><\/p>\n Seriously! Stock up on the bars that say \u201c70% cocoa\u201d\u2014or higher, if your taste buds are already dead\u2014and eat two ounces daily.<\/p>\n Harvard University researchers have been studying dark chocolate for years (I keep sending them my resume, but they haven\u2019t called). Turns out eating the stuff daily can knock six points off your blood pressure, plus dial down your liver\u2019s production of LDL cholesterol (the type that really clogs up arteries)\u2014all-told, cutting your risk of heart disease by as much as 35%.<\/p>\n *Notice your own good deeds<\/strong><\/p>\n At least 12 different studies suggest just paying attention to your own acts of kindness can add up to eight years to your life. The key: The good buzz that comes from helping others cuts your production of tissue-aging stress hormones in half.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to turn into Mother Teresa to benefit, either. Holding the door for a stranger, sending a supportive e-mail to a frazzled friend, smiling at someone who looks weary\u2014even speaking calmly to a person you\u2019d secretly love to smack\u2014all count.<\/p>\n So, that\u2019s it. Eat dark chocolate, sun your mushrooms, and pat yourself on the back when you\u2019re kind to others. You\u2019ll live longer, plus lower your risk of heart disease and cancer\u2014without choking down a single Brussels sprout.<\/p>\n Next week\u2019s post: The Dead Cat Incident<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re enjoying my blog, please consider subscribing (just scroll up to find the button). I\u2019ll never share your contact information. That will be my good deed for the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m busy\u2014really busy. I\u2019m also quite lazy. So although I want to live a long, healthy life, I\u2019m secretly hoping I can pull it off without having to make any drastic changes to my diet or lifestyle. That\u2019s why I\u2019m always on the look-out for \u201ccheats\u201d\u2014simple health tricks with massive health payoffs. I\u2019m assuming you\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/brendakearns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/brendakearns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/brendakearns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/brendakearns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/brendakearns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/brendakearns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41,"href":"http:\/\/brendakearns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions\/41"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/brendakearns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/brendakearns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/brendakearns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}