I was taking the Real Age Body Smarts Quiz this weekend and came across a pretty scary piece of trivia while answering the following question:

Which of the following ages you the least?

a) Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day
b) An HDL (good) cholestoral level of 29 mg/DL
c) Consistently avoiding 'clean tile grout' on your to-do-list
d) Eating steak twice a week

You'll find the shocking answer after the jump.

Answer: Eating steak twice a week makes you less than 1 year older compared with smoking a pack of cigarettes (8 years older), an inadequate healthy HDL cholesterol of 29 (about 4 years older), and the stress of avoiding a nagging task (8 years older).

Since I've taken on the Healthy Body beat for www.thatsfit.ca, I've heard over and over from experts just how much of a negative impact stress can have on your health. Learning that it can age you as much as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day really spells it out in neon lights though, doesn't it?

Statistics Canada estimates that the annual cost of work time loss to stress is $12 billion per year. A study done in 2000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation reported that 40% of Canadians over the age of 30 say they often or always feel overwhelmed by stress on the job or with family or finances. It also showed that only 26% of Canadians feel that they know how to handle their stress well.

In my personal quest to learn effective ways of coping with stress (I have a two-year-old son and a busy freelance career), I recently discovered "The Little Book of Stress Relief" by David Posen, a family physician who counsels patients on stress and lifestyle management. The book has 52 prescriptions for a calmer life, which I personally am excited to put into practice.

In the book, Posen says that unlike the stress reaction, which is involuntary and triggers automatically, the relaxation response has to be brought forth voluntarily and by intention. He advocates meditation, yoga, self-hypnosis or visualization to make this relaxation occur. His website is a great reference point for tips on work-life balance and working smarter, dealing with deadlines and learning to say 'No.'

Have you found positive ways to alleviate stress in your life? Share them with readers and add years to their life!