Four common bad habits combined — smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet — can age you by 12 years, sobering new research suggests. The findings are from a study that tracked nearly 5,000 British adults for 20 years, and they highlight yet another reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

The risky behaviors were: smoking tobacco; downing more than three alcoholic drinks per day for men and more than two daily for women; getting less than two hours of physical activity per week; and eating fruits and vegetables fewer than three times daily.

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Apparently, it’s not as bad as you may think.. I found an article today over at abc where they write about a new study that claims that popcorn isn’t all that bad for you if you eat it right. Apparently popcorn can be very good for you if you drop all the salt and butter because it’s a good source of fiber and antioxidants.

In addition to the finding that cold, oat-based cereals provide the best source of morning milk-bowl-spoon-based antioxidants, the researchers found that popcorn provides more of the dietary fiber and antioxidants than any other snack food, according to findings presented at the meeting of the American Chemical Society.

“It’s a whole grain, people don’t think of it that way but it is,” said Keith-Thomas Ayoob, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in response to the study’s findings. “It’s a different form of corn, but it’s definitely a whole grain.”

I don’t know about you all, but I hardly ever eat popcorn. If I ever happen to find a bowl with popcorn in front of me, I prefer to eat it without all the butter and salt anyways.

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