Rejuvalife Vitality Institute
Beverly Hills CA

It’s a New Year—Will it Also Be a New You?

It’s a New Year—Will it Also Be a New You?

Welcome to 2012! What will you do this year to make yourself healthy and beautiful inside and out?

Resolutions are notoriously difficult to make and keep. This year make a resolution you’ll never regret – resolve to achieve and maintain self-confidence through keeping good health and beauty routines. Feelings about ourselves determine how we perceive our lives, and in turn, determine how others see us. Caring for yourself properly, from the outside in, and from the inside out, can make huge changes in your overall well-being. This year resolve to increase your self-confidence by taking care of YOU. You’re worth it.

Don’t go through 2012 feeling less than your best! We are experts, and we’re eager to help you take a holistic approach to your well-being. We believe in a multifaceted approach that includes looking at a person’s mind, body, and spirit for areas of improvement. You can also make small changes every day in your current habits to get going. This includes getting better quality sleep, exercising more, and making changes in your diet to kick start weight loss. When you’ve given attention to the inside, you’re ready to get started on the outside. Rejuvalife can help you with both. We’re proud to offer a variety of services to help you meet your goals, whether they be stress managment, weight loss, facial rejuvenation, or non-surgical body contouring, the experts at Rejuvalife are ready to help.

What’s New at Rejuvalife for 2012

Natural Breast Augmentation + BodyJet™ Liposuction
Getting the breast shape you desire without invasive surgery or using saline or silicone implants is now a viable option. Natural Breast Augmentation uses your own fat cells to create natural looking breasts with increased volume. The process is two-fold. Using a gentle saline solution, fat cells are harvested from the thighs, hips, or abdomen then used to sculpt breasts. You’ll be able to go up one to two cup sizes! Call our office for more details on this exciting new procedure, 310.276.4494.

Xeomin®
We are proud to announce the addition of FDA approved Xeomin®, a new additive-free formulation of Botulinum Toxin Type A, the same active ingredient found in Botox® and Dysport®.  As an elite office, Rejuvalife is offering special introductory pricing for Xeomin at $7.50 per unit all through the month of January. Cost-effective and FDA-approved, Xeomin® is a natural and equally effective BOTOX® alternative.

Stay in the Know
Follow Rejuvalife on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates and tips on health and beauty topics and the Youtube channel for in-depth answers to your health questions by Dr. Berger.

Join Dr. Berger on his BlogTalk Radio show for instant answers to your questions. The next radio show is January 24 at 4:30pm and the theme is Low Testosterone Levels. Call the Rejuvalife office at 310.276.4494 to reserve your spot on the show to get answers.

All of us at Rejuvalife would like to wish you a happy and healthy New Year!

Finding the Motivation to Work Out

How many of you have started a new gym membership, went every other day the first couple weeks, then soon lost motivation and now you’re lucky to make it a few times a month. Finding your motivation is key to staying with an exercise plan, and making it a regular part of your anti-aging lifestyle. Certain simple lifestyle changes, techniques and mindsets can help to keep motivation steadily high.

Use a scale every day – Weigh yourself first thing every morning without heavy clothes, before breakfast, and after using the bathroom.  Studies have shown that people who weigh themselves regularly lose more weight and keep the pounds off more effectively than those who don’t. Being aware of your weight can put you more in tune with the factors that cause it to go up and down, to track your progress on a diet or fitness plan, and to allow you to adjust accordingly as weight fluctuates.

It’s all in the mind – Studies of elite athletes have shown that the ideal ratio of pre-event visualization to physical training is 70-30. That’s seventy percent visualization. Just psyching yourself up while strength training can increase up to 8%. Visualizing doing perfect benchpresses can add about 12% more power than being distracted. Repeating affirmations or mantras during endurance exercises can help increase stamina and performance.

Plan ahead – Chances are, if you are not planning your workouts in advance and scheduling around them, something will come up or you will find an excuse to skip workouts. The morning is the best time to work out. Not only can early morning workouts have beneficial effects on your mental and physical health throughout the day, but people’s days tend to get busier as the day moves on, and they are less likely to be interrupted by things coming up before the start of the work day.

Consistency is Key – “Well, maybe I wont work all week, but I’ll take a really long run on Sunday.” That’s the equivalent of saying “well, maybe I wont brush my teeth all week, but I’ll brush them extra long on Sunday.” Your body will begin to lose conditioning only three days after stopping working out. Adults should work out at least 30 minutes, 5 times per week. There are significant additional health benefits for working out an hour a day, 5 times per week. Recent studies have found that even 15 minutes of exercise a day have incredible health benefits.

With a little help from my friends – Studies have shown that having an exercise partner or group can help you stay with an exercise routine. Not only are you committing to yourself, but you’re making a commitment to someone else, which makes it that much harder to break. You can also help each other track progress, keep things fun, and support and motivate each other. Running with a partner, in a group, or in a public event can increase performance, because of an aspect of social comparison and often competition.

Set your sights – Signing up for a specific event or having a very specific fitness or health goal in mind can dramatically improve your motivation and help you stay on track. If you know you have to be in shape for a marathon in 3 months, you will be able to figure out better how much you need to be running to accomplish the goal. If  your goal is unclear or nebulous, it is hard to track progress and to stay on course.

Do what you love – Working out should not be tedious! If you hate the elliptical machine, it’s going to be hard to committing 2 hours a week to using it. And why would you? There are so many fun, challenging, and unique ways to stay in shape. Whether it’s basketball, kayaking, hiking, skiing, surfing, jumping on a trampoline, martial arts, or even gardening, there are so many activities to choose from that burn major calories and that you can actually look forward to doing. It’s much easier to stay motivated when your workout isn’t a chore you feel you have to do, but something you genuinely enjoy. And if you really don’t like any other physical activity, at least can sex burn 85 calories or more in a half an hour.

The wave of the future – Modern technology has made incredible innovations geared to make exercise more fun, effective, and accessible. You can now where a sensor on your wrist that’s linked to an app that can keep track of your heart rate, calories burned, steps, workouts, and diet, while GPS tracking the distance of your runs. One app even let’s you take a picture of your meal, and it will tell you how many calories and carbs it has. Recent have studies have found that personal mobile exercise management apps improve weight loss. Certain exercise related and physically active video games have been shown to be effective for weight loss and fitness. Investing a little bit in engaging gadgetry and gear can motivate you to put it to use more. After all, you want to get your money’s worth.

Staying on a fitness plan isn’t always easy, but making your health a priority can help you grit your teeth and workout even when it’s tough. Making these simple lifestyle changes can help you stay on track. Rejuvalife Vitality Institute is here to support your health and wellbeing goals. We offer comprehensive Fitness and Nutrition Plans, Nutritional Supplements, Lifestyle Management, and Medically Supervised Weight Loss.

For Your Health!

The Unexpected Benefits of Exercise

As if being able to fit into your jeans from college isn’t enough of a reason, sufficient exercise can bring a wide variety of serious health benefits. Besides the obvious weight loss, improved muscle and cardiovascular function, as well as increased longevity, exercise brings with it a host of unexpected benefits. In general, those who exercise regularly are actually “biologically younger” than those who do not exercise regularly, therefore, they are at lower risk for age-related disease and physical decline.

A new study suggests a strong link between exercise and eye health. The study suggests that regular exercise can lower the risk of macular degeneration resulting from age by up to 70%. Physical activity reduces inflammation in the blood vessel walls the results from the disease.

Exercise can significantly increase how quickly you fall asleep, and improve the overall quality of your sleep. As your metabolism becomes more efficient, your body is able to make the downgrade from awake to asleep faster. In other words, your body does not to remain active as long to maintain your metabolic balance. Not only that, but exercise allows you to wake up faster and feel more rested, even if you got a little less sleep than normal.

Exercise is also great for your skin. Healthy skin requires sufficient water and oxygen to look and feel it’s best. The heavy breathing and increased heart rate associated with exercise increase your circulation, which carries oxygen throughout the body, including the skin. Increased muscle mass and reduces fatty deposits can also result in tighter, smoother feeling skin, as the skin is literally being pulled more tightly over the muscle.

Sports involving small, fast moving objects like tennis can improve your general ability to focus. In addition to improved concentration, your eyes will actually physically focus faster. A strong link has also been shown between exercise and memory and other cognitive functions. Exercise also significantly improves balance, which can have positive effects in many different areas.

Don’t sweat! People who exercise often tend to sweat less when not working out than those who don’t exercise regularly. The body uses the exercise time to sweat out toxins and excess water. In addition, regular exercisers have lower resting heart rate, which keeps their bodies from heating up and sweating during regular tasks, like climbing stairs.

If taking care of yourself isn’t enough, then do it for your kids. Studies show that parent who have healthy exercise routines and diet are more likely to raise kids with the same habits. Not to mention if you live significantly longer, you will have more time with your loved ones.

So how much do you need to exercise? Adults should do a minimum of 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity. Health benefits increase significantly at 5 hours per week. Adults should also do exercise to strengthen their muscles using all major muscle groups at least 2 days per week.  While it’s less than ideal, recent studies have found significant health benefits from exercising only 15 minutes a day.

Exercise is one of the most important components of an anti-aging lifestyle, along with nutrition, sleep, and stress reduction. In addition to looking and feeling great, exercise provides an incredible amount of health benefits. Rejuvalife Vitality Institute offers comprehensive fitness and nutrition programs, as well as medically supervised weight loss, to support your overall health, beauty, and well-being.

The Risks of Mid-Section Fat (Besides the Muffintop)

Let’s be honest. Most of us would love to lose an extra inch or two around our midsections. How nice it would be to fit into those jeans from college without having to suck in, or show off a slim, sexy body at the beach. But there may be an even more compelling reason to get rid of that stubborn belly fat once and for all. Research is now showing that fat specifically around the midsection or waist is a major risk factor for Type II Diabetes, Heart Disease, Hypertension, Stroke, some forms of cancer, and even Dementia. We all know that obesity can dramatically increases risk factors for these diseases and more, but excess belly fat may also be a warning sign for mildly overweight people, or even people of an otherwise healthy physique and appropriate weight.

Studies have shown that excess midsection fat is strongly associated with greater resistance to insulin.  In insulin resistant people, muscle, fat and liver cells do not use the insulin effectively, so the pancreas tries to compensate by producing more insulin. If the pancreas cannot keep up with the body’s need for insulin, excess levels of glucose will build up, leading to Diabetes. Insulin resistant people also have excessively high levels of insulin in their bloodstream, which leads to inflammation. Inflammation itself has recently gained attention as a direct cause of a staggering number of diseases and health conditions.

The obvious contributor to excess stomach fat is poor lifestyle choices. A diet consisting of high fat, high sugar, processed and otherwise nutritionally lacking food, combined with a lack of exercise, and excessive drinking will all help you pack on those pounds.

Research is supporting the idea that greater life stress may be the other major contributor to excess stomach fat. In particular, chronic stress that is associated with hopelessness, helplessness, or a feeling of defeat is associated with excess production of the stress hormone cortisol. When you have chronically high cortisol levels, the body craves carbohydrates and fats, and the extra calories tend to head right for the midsection. A recent study has also show that lean women in particular may be more prone to develop stomach fat in response to stress.

Another major factor for retaining midsection fat is change in hormonal balance, due to aging or as a result of other conditions. For women, changes in estrogen levels have a particularly strong impact on retaining stomach fat. As estrogen levels change with age, fat goes to the abdominals instead of to the hips and thighs, where it was previously needed for reproductive support.

Rejuvalife is here to help support the total health and wellbeing of our patients, and assist them in acheiving their health, weight loss and aesthetic goals. We offer comprehensive fitness and nutrition programs to promote overall healthy lifestyle, as well as medically supervised weight loss programs. Rejuvalife is on the cutting edge of non-surgical advanced liposuction procedures, to remove excess body fat in the abdominals and other problem areas directly. We also offer Hormone Replacement Therapy to return your hormonal levels to their optimal concentration and fight the effects of aging.

Food and Lifestyle Changes Linked to Long-Term Weight Gain

You really are what you eat! A study from Harvard School of Public Health suggests that the types of food you eat, not just the calories they contain, may be crucial to avoiding age-related weight gain.  The study, led by Dr. Dariush Mazaffarian and Dr. Frank Hu, collected data from more than 120,000 people, over a period of 12 to 20 years. Participants filled out a survey every 2 years, providing specific information on changes to their physical activity, television watching patterns, sleep habits and diet. Their weight was recorded every 4 years.

Increasing consumption of the following foods led to major average weight gains over the 4 year period:

• Sugary drinks and soda – A pound or more
• Refined grains and sweets – A half a pound
• Processed meats and unprocessed red meat – A pound or more
• Potato chips – A pound or more
• French Fries – Over 3 pounds!

In contrast, increasing consumption of vegetables, whole grains and nuts led to significant average weight reductions. Eating yogurt produced the most dramatic effects, resulting in an average of .82 pounds of weight loss.

The study identified several general lifestyle changes also linked to long-term weight gain. Increases in physical activity during the 4 year period were associated with gaining less weight, while absolute levels of physical activity were not associated with change in weight. Sleeping less than 6 hours or more than 8 hours was associated with weight gain. Being a couch potato (not just eating them) also led to major weight gains. Increases in the time people spent watching TV led to an average of a third of a pound for every hour of TV watching per day.

The researchers believe that highly processed foods may lead to an overall greater total intake of calories, because they do not satisfy hunger as well as unprocessed and higher fiber foods. Dr. Hu says that “the idea that there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods is a myth that needs to be debunked.”

Rejuvalife Vitality Institute is here to help you achieve your weight management goals, whether you want to shed those extra few pesky pounds or need help with serious weight loss. We offer personalized nutrition and fitness plans, cutting edge anti-aging medicine, and comprehensive medical weight loss programs.

And don’t forget to check out our simple nutritious and delicious Sho-Stopper Recipes!

Boost Your Metabolism with Avocado

Avocado can aid in weight-loss if eaten in moderate amounts. While it is higher in calories—about 48 calories per ounce, avocados help fight obesity because they boost satiety. Satiety is the feeling of fullness that signals us to stop eating and thus helps us control our calorie intake.  You will also be delighted to hear that research suggests that exercise burns monounsaturated fat more rapidly than saturated fat. Meaning that even though an avocado is high in monounsaturated fat, this fat will be burned more quickly than saturated fat found in meat.

 Avocado is also a rich source of L-carnitine, which can boost your fat burning metabolism.  L-carnitine is an amino acid found in your body in the liver. It helps to facilitate fat metabolism, and promotes fat loss. Additionally, it is known to increase energy production in muscle cells and increases blood circulation in the brain.

Cool and velvety smooth, cold avocado soup is the perfect way to start a refreshing summer dinner.

Ingredients

• 1/2 seedless cucumber, chopped
• 1 medium avocado, peeled and pitted
• 1 shallot , chopped
• 2 tablespoon(s) plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoon(s) fresh mint
• 1 sprig(s) fresh mint
• 4 teaspoon(s) fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground cumin
• 1 radish, chopped

Directions

1. Place the cucumber, avocado, shallot, yogurt, 2 tablespoons mint, lime juice, salt, pepper, cumin, and 1 cup cold water in a blender, and process until smooth.
2. Chill for at least 1 hour. Serve garnished with the radish and remaining mint leaves.

From Country Living

How to pick the perfect Avocado

A ripe, ready-to-eat avocado is slightly soft but should have no dark sunken spots or cracks. If the avocado has a slight neck, rather than being rounded on top, it was probably tree ripened and will have better flavor. A firmer, less mature fruit can be ripened at home and will be less likely to have bruises.

Visit our website for more information on Nutrition and Fitness.  Summer is around the corner, and we would love to help boost your confidence in a bikini!

Controlled by your cravings?

How often do you get a craving that you just can’t seem to get out of your mind until you indulge in it.  You know your body doesn’t need it, you’re not even hungry, but you just can’t kick the craving.  You may not be the only one.

There is a new small study that suggests food lovers, wheather craving or indulging in their fixes, appear to have brain activity similar to that of substance abusers.

The study of observed 48 young women, all around the age of twenty, and ranging from lean to obese.  Each woman had fMRI as they were exposed to two conditions — anticipation of a rich chocolate milkshake versus a tasteless control solution, and consumption of the milkshake versus the tasteless control.

Ashley Gearhardt, MS, of Yale, and colleagues reported that while the women were anticipating drinking the chocolate milkshake, those with higher food addiction scores showed a greater amount of activation in brain regions associated with reward.

The woman had reduced activation of inhibitory brain regions seen on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) when the women actually got to drink the milkshake.  ”Similar patterns of neural activation are implicated in addictive-like eating behavior and substance abuse and dependence,” Gearhardt and colleagues wrote.

The researchers have also noted that prior research has shown that there’s an addictive process in the development of obesity.

Food and drug use both result in dopamine release in the brain’s mesolimbic regions, and the degree of release correlates with subjective reward from both food and drug use.

Gearhardt’s group concluded that the study “supports the theory that compulsive food consumption may be driven in part by an enhanced anticipation of the rewarding properties of food,” and that eating “may override desires to limit caloric food consumption … resulting in disinhibited food consumption.”

If your cravings have taken control of your eating habits, and you are now experienceing the negative effects of weight gain you may want to consider our medical weight loss program.

Dr. Berger carefully considers several factors when tailoring a flexible, convenient weight loss program whether you just want to lose weight or need to fight obesity. These include your unique genetic, medical, social, metabolic and emotional situations. Furthermore, our team of weight loss experts is able to provide you with the steadfast medical, behavioral and emotional support needed to help you achieve and maintain your weight loss goals.

Information gathered from MedPage Today http://www.medpagetoday.com/Psychiatry/Addictions/25713

Is Gluten-Free For Me?

Gluten-free is popping up everywhere these days.  From bakeries to items that line the shelves in your food store.  It even seems to be the new diet for weight-loss.  With all the hype, you have to wonder, does gluten affect me?

What is it?Gluten is a protien found in whole wheat, rye, and barley products. In today’s world many of us indulge in something Specifically, gluten is found in all forms of wheat, including spelt, farina, semolina, triticale and kamut, as well as barley, rye and possibly oats. Gluten also is used as a thickener in a host of food products and some medications. It  is even used in the glue on the back of stamps, in some toothpastes and as a powdery coating on some chewing gum.  Therefore, it’s in our cereal, pastries, bagels, bread, crackers, pasta, and the list goes on.   Back in the day, we used to eat different types of grains daily, not just whole wheat products, so most of us unknowingly have developed low levels of gluten intolerance.

So how does gluten affects your body? In your body there are microscopic finger-like projections that line the inner wall of the small intestine.  After food passes from the stomach into the small intestine, nutrients in the food are absorbed into the body through the villi and injected into your blood stream. Without healthy villi, a person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food one eats.

With continued ingestion of gluten over time, the villi of your stomach become more flat, rounded, no longer finger-like and therefore minimizing   of nutrients.  The impacts of this aren’t as quick as those with a food allergy, but if you have a an intolerance the malabsorption affects can take time to notice, reactions could be put to other tributary factors therefore disguising the true food intolerance and condition.

The good news is that the damage to the villi is not permanent and improvement in health usually begins immediately after adopting a gluten-free diet. No medication is required, but the diet does require a serious lifelong commitment.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

Why should we eat at least an apple a day? Not only because it is so refreshing and delicious, but also because it is laden with vitamins and nutrients that preserve our health and help our body

fight and prevent multiple disorders and diseases.
There are people that give away the skin of the apple, eating only the flesh, but this is a wrong thing to do, as specialists claim that the yellow, green or red skin is definitely the most nutritious.

4 milligrams of quercetin are usually found in an apple’s skin and this is the major curative substance in these fruits. Quercetin is a very strong antioxidant of the flavonoids group that, besides apples, is also present in onions, wine, teas, raspberries, red grapes, oranges, lemons, cherries, green vegetables, blue-green algae and many other foods. It does not only protect against free radicals that oxidize the cells, but also block carcinogen agents in the environment, slows the development and spreading of cancer cells in our body etc.

By inhibiting the producing and releasing of histamine and other allergic or inflammatory agents, quercetin is one of the main anti-inflammatory substances in the body, preventing and curing even very severe allergies or inflammations.

Along with polyphenol antioxidants ( lutein, lycopene, carotene, anthocyanin), flavonoids are also known as phytonutrients, as they enhance the good functioning of the immune system, fighting directly against and removing bacteria and viruses from the environment and the body.

The apples also contain two types of fibers, the insoluble fiber and the soluble one, both very beneficial for our health.

The insoluble fiber is known as roughage or dietary fiber, as it cannot be digested by the enzymes in our bodies and helps us lose weight by giving the sensation of having a full stomach, of having eaten enough. Also found in the skin of the apple, the insoluble fiber is a great remedy against constipation because it helps digestion and prevents other related disorders like irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis disease that may lead to colon cancer, appendicitis, hemorrhoids, hiatus hernia, gallstones etc.

The soluble fibers in the apples have opposite effects as compared to the insoluble ones, as they are very helpful in treating diarrhea. These fibers are gel-like natural substances that help reduce cholesterol and therefore prevent the risk of heart and vascular diseases.

One of the most known and beneficial soluble fibers in apples is pectin. Besides lowering cholesterol levels in the blood, pectin is a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial agent.

Eating apples is also beneficial for eyes and visual ability, preventing and curing cataracts, for lung function and respiratory disorders like asthma or bronchitis, for prostates and almost any type pf cancer.
Reported Health Benefits of Apple :
Apple is a rich source of flavonoid and polyphenols both are powerful antioxidant.
Study shown that by eating 100g of apple can give an antioxidant effect that equal to taking about 1,500mg of vitamin C.
Apple contain a large amount of minerals and vitamins that can strengthen the blood.
Apple contain malic acid and tartaric acid, that can help prevent disturbances of the liver and digestion.
Apple cider vinegar when used as beverage can help to prevent the formation of kidney stone.
The skin of Apple contain pectin that can help remove toxic substances from the system by supplying galacturonic acid. Pectin helps prevent protein matter in the intestine from spoiling.
Eating an apple daily can lower cholesterol and reduce skin diseases.
Apples have been recommended for : Obesity, Headache, Arthritis, Bronchial asthma, Inflammation of the bladder, Gonorrhea, Anemia, Tuberculosis, Neuritis, Insomnia, Catarrh, Gallbladder stones, Worms, Halithosis, Pyorrhea
Nutritive Values : Per 100 grams
Vitamin A : 900 I.U.
Vitamin B : Thiamine .07 mg.;
Vitamin C : 5 mg.
Vitamin G : Amount uncertain
Calcium : 6 mg.
Iron : 3 mg.
Phosphorus : 10 mg.
Potassium : 130 mg.
Carbohydrates : 14.9 gm.
Calories : 58
Apples could protect against Alzheimer’s, Parkinsonism, Cornell studies find
A group of chemicals in apples could protect the brain from the type of damage that triggers such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s and Parkinsonism, according to two new studies from Cornell University food scientists. The studies show that the chemical quercetin, a so-called phytonutrient, appears to be largely responsible for protecting rat brain cells when assaulted by oxidative stress in laboratory tests.
Phytonutrients, such as phenolic acids and flavanoids, protect the apple against bacteria, viruses and fungi and provide the fruit’s anti-oxidant and anti-cancer benefits.
Quercetin is a major flavanoid in apples. Antioxidants help prevent cancer by mopping up cell-damaging free radicals and inhibiting the production of reactive substances that could damage normal cells.

So eat an apple a day, it’s good for you!

Being good is great

The biblical aphorism that it is better to give than to receive seems particularly apt this time of year, though the truest gift of all – the gift of one’s self – is all the more challenging as the holiday season places more demands on our time. But it is worth considering volunteerism in a broader context, and as with the subject of gratitude (see my post from November 12), there is a body of research literature documenting health benefits to those who volunteer in their communities, especially in later life. The notion of greater benefits to the giver than the receiver is indeed supported by scientific research.

Data from a project known as the Health and Retirement Study at the University of Massachusetts indicate that older adults who volunteer have lower rates of hypertension, a contributing factor to cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline. The threshold for this effect appeared to be fairly low, so that even a small time commitment to giving time in community volunteerism conferred the benefit. It was not clear however what mediated the effect, though the researchers found it was not tied to known psychosocial and behavioral risk factors; simply the act of participating was enough.

Benefits from volunteerism are not limited to blood pressure moderation. A recent review found positives in terms of both physical and mental health, leading to lower overall mortality, lower rates of depression, and higher self-rated health scores across the board.

What’s more, even older people with functional limitations experience improvements in several measures by volunteer activities, according to a study from Arizona State University. Looking at more than 900 non-institutionalized individuals with functional disabilities over age 65, the researchers found that volunteering significantly correlated with longevity, with the highest risk of dying in the non-volunteers. They interpreted this to mean that “volunteering buffers the association between functional limitations and mortality.” In other words, it’s more than just feeling useful, though exactly how it translates to physical health improvement remains to be fully defined.

Is volunteering really a matter of life and death? Maybe so.  But most people do so out of a sense of altruism, and a desire to remain engaged in their communities, not out of an expectation of personal gain. What is especially encouraging I think is that even the smallest efforts can reap big gains, including – and perhaps especially – for those with limitations. Oscar Wilde had it right when he wrote “The smallest act of kindness is worth than the grandest intention