According to the nation’s top doctors, these are the things to avoid if you want to live longer:

EATING HABITS

• Eating several meals at a fast food restaurant every week
• Eating two or fewer servings of vegetables each day
• Binging on “social foods” like hot wings, pizza, nachos, potato skins, etc., a few times per week
• Consuming ice cream, donuts, cake, or other sweets daily

LIFESTYLE HABITS

• Smoking cigarettes
• Not exercising
• Feeling lonely or socially isolated
• Feeling stressed more often than feeling happy
• Taking painkillers daily

Obviously, if you’re on painkillers, consult your doctor before doing anything!

Of all the albums we’ve designated as “essential,” the Velvet Underground’s first album, known officially as The Velvet Underground & Nico, is the only one that was a commercial failure when it was first released.

The album introduced the world to a guy who would go on to become a major influence on the music scene in the 1970s, Lou Reed. Reed wrote all of the songs on the LP, 9 by himself and 2 in collaboration with other band members, including John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and female drummer Mo Tucker.

The sound was both minimalistic and experimental. Cale played a viola on several tracks (not a staple of most rock bands). Instruments were deliberately detuned to create an eerie and sometimes unsettling sound. Reed’s lyrics dealt with topics that were a far cry from the Beatles’ love songs and the Rolling Stones’ faux bad boy posturing. The topics included heroin addiction, sadomasochism, prostitution, and sexual deviancy.

Released in 1967, just as “psychedelic rock” was taking off, 3 months before the “Summer of Love,” no one was ready this strange, gritty slice of New York street life that was a far cry from the flower power energy that was beginning to emanate from San Francisco on America’s other coast.

Indeed, record buyers might have thought pop artist extraordinaire, Andy Warhol, had decided to embark on a recording career as his was the only name to appear on the front cover. In truth, while he was listed as the album’s producer, Warhol’s contributions were limited to putting up the money for the album’s recording sessions and providing the artwork for the disc’s front cover.

And what a front cover it was! It featured a silk-screen-style illustration of a banana peel that could be peeled back, revealing another silk-screen-style print of a banana.

Flipping that cover over revealed that the actual artists were the Velvet Underground, accompanied on several of the LP’s tracks by the German singer Nico. Warhol had discovered the band and was serving as their manager in those days. He had assembled a traveling show that combined the music of the Velvets with an experimental light show that he named “The Exploding Plastic Inevitable.” Warhol had also inserted Nico into that traveling show, and she had accompanied the band on occasional tunes.

The group recorded most of the album before they had a record deal. They tried shopping it to Columbia Records. They passed, as did Atlantic and Elektra Records. The only taker was M-G-M’s Verve label. M-G-M was notoriously bad at promoting rock music. When that ineptitude was combined with the out-there lyrical content of the album, the result was a commercial disaster. “Underground radio” (the migration of rock from AM Top 40 stations to album-oriented FM stations) was just getting started, and most markets didn’t have any FM stations playing rock at that time.

So, the album sank like a stone (only reaching #185 on Billboard’s album charts). However, the album still found its way into the hands of many kids just getting their start in the music business, people like David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Mott the Hoople, and it had a profound effect on them.

Since its release, the Velvet Underground & Nico has been credited with touching off the indie band movement, the punk movement, the art rock movement, and serving as major inspiration for bands like the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Roxy Music, and others.

The Velvet Underground would soon break away from Warhol and record three more albums before Reed took off for a very successful solo career. Since its initial release, their debut album has consistently been cited as one of the greatest rock albums ever released and, despite bombing in 1967, has gone on to sell over a million copies.

If you’ve never heard this album, do yourself a favor. Track down The Velvet Underground & Nico and rediscover the exact moment when rock & roll grew up.

Sad news for those of us with a sweet tooth – sugar actually accelerates the aging process. There is one glimmer of hope in this news. The natural sugar found in fresh fruit does not contribute to aging. The sugar that’s bad for you is the added sugars found in many of the things we eat. Generally, it’s anything in the ingredients list that ends in “ose” – like “sucrose” and “fructose.”

Studies have found that diets rich in these added sugars not only can lead to diabetes, but they also speed up the body’s aging process. Those with a diet low in added sugars may actually find themselves biologically younger than their actual age, while those with a high sugar intake can speed up the aging process as much as seven times its natural rate!

Where can you find some of these “added sugars?” Glad you asked:

• Condiments – Such as Ketchup or salad dressing
• Nut Butters – Peanut butter and others (sorry, Nutella fans)
• Flavored Yogurt – Especially low-fat yogurt
• Prepared Grains – Such as granola, instant oatmeal, and breakfast cereals
• Sauces – Like barbecue sauce and pasta sauces

Beware if you’re offered a “free gift” or “free trial” to sign up for some service that will require regular payments moving forward. Even if they stress how easy it is to cancel. Many times, the “free” item will come with shipping costs or there will be something hidden in those lengthy “terms & conditions” you have to click to agree to when signing-up that allow them to penalize you or back-charge you for the free gift,” should you cancel before the promotional period ends.

Similarly, many of those "zero-interest” deals actually start calculating interest from the day you make the purchase. Should you fail to completely pay off the debt before the end of the promotional period, you will pay interest on the entire purchase amount from the day you made the purchase, no matter how much of the original amount you’ve paid off.

There’s a reason why the cliché, “There is no such thing as free lunch,” was created.

1. Get Enough (But Not Too Much) Vitamin D – Often called “the sunshine vitamin because we can receive it by being out in sunlight, vitamin D is linked to longevity. But too much can increase your risk of dying. Consult your physician to make sure you’re getting the right amount.
2. Cut Back on Pain Pills – Studies show that taking daily doses of painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen (marketed under brand names like Advil, Motrin, and Aleve) may rise your risk of heart attack and stroke. Reserve these drugs for when pain is the most severe, and then use the lowest possible dosage.
3. Get Plenty of Sleep – Make sure you're getting at least six hours of sleep. Anything less can double your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Just in case you were wondering, whatever happened to Pebbles when she grew up…

Unfortunately, a promising film career was curtailed because the motion picture camera hadn’t been invented yet.

Want to stay brain sharp as you age? Beware of those games that claim to boost brain activity. Play them if you find them fun, but know there is no scientific research that shows that actually do anything boost brain activity.

But here are some things the experts say will actually help you preserve your brain health:

1. A Healthy Diet:  No specific diet has been found to improve cognitive abilities. However, studies have shown that diets with less meat and more nuts, beans, whole grains, veggies, and olive oil can improve brain health.
2. A Good Night’s Sleep:  Studies have shown that poor sleep quality and even sleep apnea can lead to cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s.
3. A Healthy Heart:  The medical profession says that a healthy heart contributes to a healthy mind. This is especially true with blood pressure, so do what you can to keep that low.
4. Exercise: Getting at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise daily can be good for your mind as well as your body. And studies show it’s never too late to start.
5. Staying Socially and Intellectually Active:  Staying socially active doesn’t necessarily mean participating in group activities every night of the week. It can be as simple as talking to friends on a regular basis. While games may not have any proven effect on maintaining brain health, activities such as reading books, writing letters, or learning a new language can help you stay sharp as you age!

When an artist wants to honor the kind of music that helped shape their own artistic endeavors, they often record what’s known as a “roots album.” The roots album can take two forms. It can either contain cover versions of those early songs or the artist can create new songs, but in the style of the artists they admired growing up.

The first roots album actually came along when rock was still in its infancy. The Everly Brothers released “Songs Our Daddy Taught Us” in 1958. It was actually only their second LP. On it, they played the kind of country and folk music they heard while growing up with a mom and dad who played and sang on the Grand Ole Opry and the early country music circuit. The album is filled with their unmistakable close harmony and remains one of the duo’s very best efforts. A word of warning: most of these tunes came from people who experienced hard lives and personal tragedy. Many of the tracks will genuinely tug at your heartstrings.

When the British Invasion hit American shores in 1964, most of those bands simply included covers of the songs that inspired them as random tracks on their early albums. You’ll find plenty of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, and more on those first albums from the Beatles, the Stones, and others.

With those kinds of covers popping up throughout the 60s, we have to move to 1977 for the second roots album on our list, “This Time It’s for Real” by Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. Bruce Springsteen had his big breakthrough the year before. He and bandmate Steve Van Zandt (aka “Little Steven”) worked on this album with their fellow Jersey rockers. This is the second type of roots LP, one that features original tunes done in the style of the artists they admired growing up. Whenever possible, they also pulled some of those seminal artists into the studio to collaborate with them. That’s why you’ll hear the Drifters joining in on the Springsteen-written tribute “Little Girl So Fine,” the Coasters providing backing vocals to “Check Mister Popeye,” and the Satins harmonizing on “First Night.”

Five years later, Billy Joel would release a similar type of roots album, “An Innocent Man” (1983). Newly divorced and dating supermodels (most famously, Christie Brinkley), Joel has said he felt like a teenager all over again and recorded the album to reflect his exuberance. Unlike the previous two albums mentioned, “An Innocent Man” became a huge hit, spawning 3 Top 10 singles and 3 more that landed in the Top 40. “Uptown Girl” is an unmistakable tribute to the Four Seasons, while “The Longest Time” is Joel’s tribute to the kind of acapella R&B groups like the Tymes were cranking out during his Wonder Years.

Meanwhile, that same year, Linda Ronstadt shocked fans, music lovers, and her record label when she recorded an album of songs from the big band era. “What’s New” hit the record bins the same year as Joel’s “Innocent Man.” But Joel’s songs still fit in the format for rock radio. Ronstadt’s did not. The smart money bet the album would be a stiff. The smart money was wrong. “What’s New” roared up the charts, only being held out of the #1 slot by a little LP from Michael Jackson named “Thriller.” When the dust settled, “What’s New” was certified triple-platinum, and Ronstadt went on to release two more LPs in the same vein, widening her audience (if that were even possible) and touching off a trend that saw other artists like Rod Stewart record music from the pre-rock era.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Ronstadt then went on to release another, totally different kind of roots album with “Canciones de Mi Padre” in 1987. Shades of the Everly Brothers, this one was a collection of songs Linda heard at her father’s knee. By this time, her record label was willing to let her do whatever she wanted. Smart move, as this collection of mariachi style Mexican music went on to sell more than 2 million copies and is the best-selling non-English language album in American recording history.  

When the Soviet Union fell in the 1980s, many rock stars were anxious to finally tour and release their music in the parts of eastern Europe that had been closed to them (except via bootlegs) during the Cold War. Paul McCartney went a step further and actually recorded an album that was only available in Russia for many years. To make it even more special, McCartney made “Choba B CCCP” (translated “Back in the U.S.S.R.” – 1988) a roots album, featuring mainly covers of early rock and roll songs, but also sneaking in a tune from Duke Ellington and the old country standard, “The Midnight Special.” When McCartney finally released the album worldwide in 1991, he also added a George Gershwin tune.

Speaking of George Gershwin, Brian Wilson, the leading creative light of the Beach Boys, released a roots album of nothing but Gershwin tunes in 2010. “Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin” contains Wilson’s covers of 11 Gershwin tunes and something extra special. Two of the tracks feature song fragments left by Gershwin that Wilson and collaborator Scott Bennett tuned into full songs!

Linda Ronstadt deserves some sort of award for making this list three times. Oh wait, she actually won Grammys for all of these albums. Her final roots album is “Dedicated to the One I Love.” Released in 1996, this is an album of early rock classics (and one classic lullaby). The selections range from the Ronettes' “Baby, I Love You” to the Beatles' “Goodnight,” all arranged as children’s lullabies. And that’s the reason this particular LP received the Grammy for best children’s recording the year it came out.

Last but certainly not least, Irish rocker Van Morrison paid tribute to his early roots in the UK music scene with the release of “Moving on Skiffle” in 2023. As any serious student of British rock knows, skiffle was a type of folk music that was briefly popular in the United Kingdom just before American rock and blues took over the music scene. The Beatles started out as a skiffle band called the Quarrymen. Van Morrison was no different, and this LP pays tribute to the type of music that was played on homemade instruments for the most part, allowing poor working class kids all over the British Isles to get their first taste of the joy of live performances.

This list is not comprehensive. There are other roots albums out there, but it does give you an overview and, hopefully, will send you looking for any of these LPs that you may have missed.