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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Guest Blogger

Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Mehmet Oz, professor of surgery at Columbia University, teamed up yesterday to present a great show, “Dr. Oz on Aging: How to Turn Back Time.”

One hundred audience members were preselected to take an aging test. They filled out a quiz at home and had a physical exam, which included push-ups and sit-ups.

The results weren’t good. The 100 people were ranked as follows:

• 1 – outstanding

• 0 – aging well

• 18 – average

• 81 – not aging well

The woman with the outstanding score said she runs, lifts weights, swims, cooks most of what she eats, and has a happy home life. The woman with the lowest score said she smokes, drinks, eats poorly, and doesn’t exercise.

People in America are making subtle mistakes in lifestyle choices, Oz told Winfrey’s audience.

Oz said his book, “You: Staying Young: The Owner’s Manual for Extending Your Warranty (You),” with co-author Michael F. Roizen, offers information on how to make changes that will give you vitality as you age.

The brain begins to shift and think about the world differently in 14 days, he said.

In three months, people can start to affect their life expectancy. In three years, nearly any negative past behavior can be reversed, Oz added. “Remember you can’t get rid of your bad habits. You’ve got to replace them with good ones.”

The No. 1 major ager is stress, he said.

Ways to reduce stress include:

• Breathing deeply and practicing meditation, yoga, and chi-gong, which is a method of working with energy within the body.

• Licking the lips then sucking in air with the lips slightly open.

• Placing a cork vertically between your teeth.

Other major agers are a diet high in fat and sugar, not getting enough exercise, lack of sleep, and too much exposure to sun.

On what to eat, Oz said whole grains, beets, and raisins contain magnesium and are major antioxidants that help to reduce stress. Oranges, grapefruit, bananas, avocados, and yogurt help lower blood pressure. Tomatoes, blueberries, carrots, and broccoli can boost your immune system.

Click on Major Agers on Oz’s Web page “Health: You Staying Young” for details on what ages you.

Oz and Winfrey discussed telomeres, which I’d never heard of before. They’re like shoelaces at the tip of the chromosomes, Oz said. When the caps of telomeres begin to wear off, due to stress and other factors, the telomeres become frayed and cells can’t be replaced.

The telomeres in people who are old and frail have worn off, he said, adding all organs can be replaced if telomeres aren’t damaged.

“Aging is about replacing what’s broken,” Oz told Winfrey’s audience.

If you can’t walk a quarter of a mile in six minutes, it’s an indication you’re not aging well, he said.

A cutting-edge blood test – the Biophysical250 – also gives a health assessment on how you’re aging. It costs $1,500 to $3,400.

Other options, Oz said, are to use the 14-day plan in his book and ask your doctor for certain tests. The tests are blood pressure, blood sugar, thyroid, and red blood cell count.

Good sex – meaning in a loving, committed relationship – helps keep you young, and it adds three years to your life, he said.

On brain health, Oz offered a Brain Test worksheet to the audience. If you can cross out the Hs in 40 seconds, you have good brain agility.

However, he told the audience they didn’t need to worry if they missed too many Hs. The aging process can be turned around.

See Oz’s 15 Ways to Maintain Your Memory slide show.

Winfrey offers a series of 16 short Web pages on the show on her Web site. It’s worth looking through if you’re a boomer consumer interested in living a vital life for years to come.

For more information for boomer consumers, see my blog The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide.