Enjoying good senior health and longevity means paying attention now…it means making the right choices early on and eliminating any bad habits you are practicing now that could effect and threaten your future physical well-being.
How you look and feel when you are older is dependent on how you treat yourself now. It also has everything to do with whether you are speeding up the aging process or slowing it down.
Let’s look at some habits that will definitely age you:
Crash Dieting: Any kind of dieting “quick fix” is never a good solution. All it does is add long-term threat to the equation. Crash dieting causes sagging and wrinkled skin…a sure sign of aging. It reduces energy levels, messes with your mental capabilities and concentration and causes depression and irritability. Weight management is important but it’s not wise to lose more than a few pounds a week if you really want to keep it off.
Lack of Sleep: Lack of sleep is silently behind stressing our immune system and messing with our metabolic balance. Many people falsely believe that older people require less sleep but even seniors require a healthy 7-8 hours nightly to function optimally. Lack of sleep not only affects our mental state but it causes weight gain…both conditions that age us. Many times lack of sleep or trouble sleeping is caused by lack of activity during the day. Your body needs to feel tired at night and that’s hard to do when you lead a sedentary lifestyle. Which brings us to the next aging factor. Burning the candle late at night was fun when younger but “beauty sleep” is what counts now.
Lack of Exercise: Sedentary lifestyles open the door to disease and fast track you’re aging. Regular challenging exercise helps eliminate stress and helps keep heart disease at bay. Studies prove that those who spend the majority of their day sitting in a chair are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer, kidney disease and obesity. The body is a “move it or lose it machine.”
Poor Diet: Even though as you age you may require fewer calories, you still need those calories to come from nutrient dense sources. Colorful fruits and vegetables should be your focus with fresh fish (to get those Omega3 fatty acids, and plenty of fiber from whole grains. And, let’s not forget the protein that should be included with every meal. Without it our skin is subject to tears and wrinkles.
Sugar consumption needs to be curtailed to avoid the damaging process of glycation. Glycation occurs internally “when sugar molecules attach themselves to protein fibers in each of our cells” states Dr. Susan Stuart Board Certified dermatologist.
Stress and Negativity: Learning to let go of any kind of energy that is lowering health levels is a serious anti-aging strategy. These include any type of grudges you may hold as well as any thoughts that are of a negative nature. All negative thoughts do is create more negative thoughts! You can’t reap beans if you plant asparagus. You must plant healthy, happy thoughts in order to feel and reap these things yourself. The best way to “smooth” those wrinkles on your face is to stop frowning and start smiling! Entertaining less stress means adding years to your life…you’ll reap the benefits of lower blood pressure, less anxiety and less depression. Both exercise and meditation are excellent stress relievers.
Chronic stress releases free radicals/unstable molecules that cause cell damage and lead to pre-mature aging.
Alcohol consumption: Excessive alcohol has been proven to cause cognitive decline. It can severely interfere with medications and contributes to many dangerous fall.
Taking care of you falls squarely in your lap. What you are doing now is directly related to how healthy and vital you are in the future. Isn’t it wonderful to have such control?
The only thing is…it doesn’t work unless you do it!
It’s never too late to change when it comes to your health.
If you are serious about achieving a truly healthy lifestyle that will take care of you long into your senior years visit “Reclaim Your Longevity” . Everything you need to live a long healthy life…dancing well into your senior years is included in my new program that is geared towards helping you to find the “fountain of youth.”
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