blogger Sally Squires says that new research suggests seniors who engage in healthy habits have fewer听health problems听than听seniors who don’t, even if they have only recently started to.

“As all of us age, we all wonder, ‘can we get back some of the things we had in our youth, even if we’ve let ourselves grow a little bit?'” Squires said in an interview with WTOP. “The fact is yes you can.”

Squires said a 15-year study shows there is growing evidence to suggest seniors can build muscle mass even with light exercise.

“People who did weight training [in the study] actually had lower all-cause mortality, so it seems like this is a really crucial thing,” Squires said.

She added听that low-impact exercises can have the same benefits of weight training for seniors who aren’t in the best condition to do intense workouts.

“You want to think about Tai Chi, maybe yoga. You want to stretch. Maybe you want to swim; it’s another good way to be active even if you’re maybe not able to run.”

Squires also says that increasing protein intake can help maintain muscle mass.

“After age 60 we start to lose muscle mass, and we start to lose it at accelerating speeds,” Squires said.听“[Seniors] may actually need double the amount of protein that we thought.”

Proteins shouldn’t be eaten all in one shot, however, and seniors should stick to leaner meats, fish and dairy proteins such as听yogurt.

“You don’t want to eat one huge protein meal, one huge steak,” said Squires.听“What you want to do is, each meal, add a little bit more protein.”

Exercise provides听other benefits for seniors. Squires said it has the ability to maintain cognitive function and boost moods.

“Let’s face it: If you go for a run, or you go for a bike ride, or you just get out and walk around the block, don’t you already feel better?”

Overall, Squires says, keeping in shape and eating well are the best things seniors can do for themselves going forward.

“Exercise and physical activity is good no matter what your condition, no matter what your age. We just need to do more of it.”

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From face painters to Air Force flyovers, here’s what to expect for Opening Day:

WEATHER

GAME TIME

First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. All gates will be open by 2:35; the scoreboard walk area and the Center Field Gate will open at 1:35, but you’ll only be able to walk around those areas, not sit in your seat, until all the gates are open.

EVENTS

Emmy Award-winning sports broadcaster and CBS 太子探花 special correspondent James Brown will emcee the Opening Day pregame ceremony.

The Family Picnic Area will feature caricature artists, face painters and a balloon artist.

Music will abound: White Ford Bronco will play at the Budweiser Terrace; the United States Army Band Downrange, in the Center Field Plaza, and the George Mason green Machine and Drumline on the timeline walk outside the Home Plate Gate.

The Budweiser Clydesdales will travel around the Navy Yard neighborhood starting at 2:15 p.m., making their way from First Street to the Center Field Gate at 2:55 p.m. with the Clydesdales delivering the game ball. Prince William County police officers听Jesse Hempen and David McKeown, who were wounded in the Woodbridge shooting that killed Officer Ashley Guindon, will throw out the first pitch.听

PROMOS

The Nationals are set to hit a milestone on Opening Day听when the walks through the gates of听Nationals Park. To celebrate the occasion, the team will present the lucky fan with a听pair of Nationals Opening Day tickets for the next 25 years along with other prizes.

Nationals Stadium will also give the first 25,000 fans to enter the ballpark a pair of Nationals sunglasses presented by GEICO.

GETTING TO THE BALLPARK

Expect travel delays as crowds of fans make their way to Nationals Stadium and the pregame events scheduled throughout the day.

Metrorail’s Capitol South Station (on the听Blue and Orange Lines) and Navy Yard Station (Green Line) near the Half Street exit are likely to be crowded.

Six Metrobus routes serve stops near the ballpark, and听DC Circulator buses run every 10 minutes from Union Station.

Fans听traveling from Alexandria can take the Potomac Riverboat Company water taxi service, which听departs about听one hour before听the first pitch.

Fans can also听bike to the stadium and听valet their bike in Garage C at the corner of First and N
Streets SE, and bike racks around the ballpark.

Drivers can valet park their cars at stadium parking lots for $20 or $33 with an advance听, but space is limited. Expect strict traffic and parking enforcement along the streets near the stadium.

BALLPARK SAFETY

The safety net protecting fans from balls and bats has been extended to the听far ends of each team’s dugout this season.

Metal detectors are now at every entrance to Nationals Park.听Fans听will need to re-screen through the metal detectors and show their tickets to park staff if they leave and try re-entering the stadium.

WHAT CAN AND CAN’T I BRING?

The only kind of container you can bring in is one听clear plastic, factory-sealed water bottle of a liter or less. Any food you bring has to be in single-serving bags in听a soft-sided container or cooler that does not exceed 16″x16″x8″ (which is also the maximum size for any bag of backpack you bring to the park).

You can bring a camera, but听the lens has听to be less than听eight inches, and no tripods or听monopods are allowed.

You can’t bring:

• Hard coolers or ice chests
• Non-collapsible umbrellas
• Brooms, poles or听staffs
• Weapons, fireworks or any听other illegal substance
• Animals (except service animals)
• Beach balls and other inflatable items
• Laser pens and laser pointers
• Your own听bat
• Your own alcohol
• Your own noisemakers
• Skateboards and wheeled footwear

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To celebrate the occasion,听the team will present the lucky fan with a听pair of Nationals Opening Day tickets for the next 25 years.

The winner will also receive 听a special Nationals听jersey and jacket, Nats Bucks credit, an in-game acknowledgment on Nats HD and a visit to the Ownership Box.

Other Opening Day festivities will also include a flyover by听the 71st Fighter Training Squadron 鈥淚ronmen鈥� from Langley Air Force Base, a performance by the George Mason Green Machine and Drumline and a procession by the Budweiser Clydesdales to deliver the game ball at the Center Field Gate.

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The Montgomery County police say they received a call at about 10:30 p.m. about a carjacking in Silver Spring.

Officers followed the car into the area of Benning Road and Minnesota Avenue, in Northeast, where it crashed into a light pole.

The suspects were then taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police Department听which has听not yet released the names of the suspects or confirmed how many there were.

Repair crews are still at the scene of the crash fixing the light pole.

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With the demand for organic food growing, there’s confusion about what exactly makes the food in produce aisles organic and how to tell whether听you’re getting what you pay for.

To use the听term “organic,” food companies are supposed to follow guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, blogger Sally Squires said in an interview with WTOP.

“‘Certified organic’ is what you should see on the label,” Squires says. “This is grown and processed according to federal guidelines that address things like soil quality, animal raising practices, pest and weed control and use of additives. A lot of times you’ll see this ‘organic’ label kind of just pop up, and if it’s not certified organic, it’s probably not really organic.”

Squires says听a number听of common-knowledge misconceptions around such questions as the use of pesticides are keeping consumers in the dark about what goes into organic food products as well.

“If you’re buying [organic food] because you think you’re getting pesticide-free [food], you’re wrong,” she says. “There are still at least 20 or more pesticides that are can be used on organic.”

While synthetic pesticides aren’t used in organic food, Squires says natural pesticides can have the same effects.

“We used to think that the so-called ‘natural’ pesticides would have no adverse effects, but actually research has shown they can have just as many, and sometimes even more, than the other pesticides,” she says.

Squires also notes that organic food isn’t inherently healthier, despite popular belief.

“There’s this perception that organic, for some people, might have fewer calories, and that’s also not听true,” she says.

Those who eat organic may be making other poor health choices, she adds.

“There’s a recent study out just this month that said if you eat organic, you somehow take on a ‘health halo’ and feel like ‘I’ve done something good so now I can do anything I want.’ They actually looked at dieters who ate an organic meal and they found that, as a result, they didn’t exercise and they ate dessert.”

Squires says the biggest take-away she can give is听all foods are part of a spectrum that needs consideration when it comes to paying the bill at the grocery store.

“If you want to eat organic, great. If you want to eat conventional, great. The one thing you should know is that you’re going to pay more to eat organic, generally, than if you eat conventionally grown food.”

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Even with all of the anticipation, Alex Ovechkin, the听Capitals’ captain and left wing, told WTOP on Monday morning that听the team knows what to expect as they go into the playoffs.

“You have to have luck on your side; you have to be healthy, and you have to be focusing one hundred percent, because the playoffs are totally different hockey,”听Ovechkin said. “Every game is like the last game. You have to give one hundred percent effort and be ready for that.”

The Caps play at home against the Islanders on Tuesday night, but Ovechkin says excitement for the playoffs is the main emotion in the locker room right now.

“One more week and the exciting part begins,” Ovechkin says.听“We kind of can’t wait until we start, because we already clinched the playoffs.听We’re just excited we have a home ice advantage. It’s very important for us — winning.”

With a 29-7-2 record at the Verizon Center, Ovechkin and the Caps don’t plan on disappointing听fans. “[When] it’s Game Seven and we’re going to play at home,” he says, “the crowd and the atmosphere is going to push us forward.”

Ovechkin added that听Caps fans听can do some good when they pick their food fare for game day:听The听Papa John’s pizza chain’s听听offers two medium one topping pizzas for $8 each, with $1 from each order going to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

“I remember when some hockey players would help me or help my team when I was growing up. I remembered this all my life,” he said. “I think it’s great when somebody helps different people people who need it.”

The deal is in effect now, and runs听through the playoffs.

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Police say a Toyota Avalon was driving northbound on Crain Highway听(Md. Rt. 3) around 4 a.m. when it struck the pedestrian standing in the roadway just north of Crossgate Drive. Police say the pedestrian was not in a crosswalk.

The pedestrian, identified as 21-year-old听Niccolo Teobaldo Canning of Gambrills, Maryland, died at the scene.

The driver听of the car, identified as Dave Brown of Bowie, Maryland was taken听to Baltimore Washington Medical Center with minor injuries.

Police say听speed and听alcohol does not appear听to be听a contributing factor for the driver, however alcohol does appear to have been a contributing factor for the pedestrian.

Crain Highway was shut down for several hours while police investigated.

WTOP’s Meg Hasken contributed to this report.

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Police received a call at 10:12 a.m. Friday听from a passer-by who saw what looked like a person lying in the grass along the highway.

State police and Fairfax County EMS responded to the call, where they found the man dead at the scene.

The victim’s remains have been sent to the Manassas Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy and identification.

The incident remains under investigation.

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Aafaq Manejwala, 36, has been charged with solicitation of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder after police say he approached an undercover detective posing as a hit man to kill her for money.

Manejwala paid the officer $15,000 to make the hit look like a botched home invasion robbery, according to police.

The undercover detective met with Manejwala three times in听March, where he guided the officer听through his neighborhood to his house.

Also, police say听Manejwala showed the fake hit man a picture of his wife and video footage of the interior of his home during these meetings.

On March 29, Manejwala met with the officer and made an initial payment for the hit with听promises of another听payment on April 1. That’s when he was taken into custody and charged.

Manejwala is being held at the Howard County Detention Center without bond.

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Researchers at De Montfort University’s School of Psychology and other U.K. universities found that people turn to sad-sounding music more often than happy music when coping with negative situations.

The report, which covers two separate studies based on participants’ everyday listening habits, found that those who listened to sad music did so 鈥渢o be in touch with or express feelings of听sadness鈥澨齛fter dealing with a difficult situation.

Turning to sad-sounding music is part of acceptance-based coping, or coming to terms, according to lead researcher for the two studies, Annemieke Van den Tol.

鈥淪adness often involves emotional loss, which is not a problem which can be solved or reversed,” Van den Tol says in an interview on De Montfort University’s . “The only real way to move on and feel better is by accepting the situation and we found that people were able to do this by listening to sad music, but not so much by listening to happy music.鈥�

Although study participants have a strong preference for happy music, findings show that preference flips听when people are seeking solace听in hard times.

Nathan Heflick, another researcher on the study, says people want to re-experience sad emotions previously felt in sad situations through music rather than try to cheer themselves up with songs off the Top 40.

“In contrast to denial of these emotions, or emotional suppression, sad music listening allows people to feel these emotions (while they are ‘shared’ with the musician) and, in turn, reflect on their situation and ultimately come to a greater acceptance of it,” Heflick writes in a post on .

Yet, Heflick writes听it won’t do a person much good if they listen to sad music all the time.

“Of course, doing things that make you feel good are essential to mental health,” Heflick notes. “But, this work does reveal that allowing oneself to experience negative emotions (in this case shared negative emotions) can help people cope with difficult life situations and emotions, and ultimately, accept them.”

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