Swim yourself young, says exercise physiologist

• The fountain of youth actually a swimming pool?
• An exercise specialist believes it's possible to swim yourself young.
• Joel Stager, an Indiana University exercise physiologist, studied the blood pressure, muscle mass, blood chemistry and lung function of 200 over-50 swimmers at a U.S. Masters Swimming championship.
• The swimmers' bodies were functioning at levels comparable to much younger people, he found.
• Stager says any amount of swimming is beneficial, but swimming about two to three miles - about 3,500 to 5,000 yards - three to five times a week could actually postpone the aging process by decades.
• "We're starting to find out that a lot of the decline is probably related to a decline in activity rather than aging per se," Stager says.
• When it comes to energy drinks, proceed with caution.
• That's the message from Dr. Maher Karam-Hage, a University of Michigan addiction specialist.
• and Monster shouldn't be mixed with alcohol, used by kids or consumed before strenuous exercise, he says.
• Most energy drinks contain caffeine, about the same as a cup of coffee or two cans of Coke, and taurine, a sulphur-containing amino acid often marketed as an antioxidant, anti-anxiety treatment and heartbeat regulator.
• Some European countries have restricted or banned the drinks.
• Energy drinks are different from sports drinks, which tend not to have caffeine or taurine.
• Karam-Hage says its a myth that caffeine can make someone alert after drinking.
• Energy drinks can cause children to be hyperactive, and they can cause dehydration or even collapse if consumed before exercising, he says.