Following This Advice Can Make You Look Like Age Doesn’t Matter!

It’s never too late to make changes that give you lifelong health and that can even reverse the signs of aging that may have shown up!  I have a magazine article that I saved many years ago because it reveals what those changes are, exactly.  The article is “Aging Gracefully, It’s No Mystery:  We Now Know How” by Kathleen Barnes from Natural Awakenings magazine, Detroit.  Today I want to share the key points made within that article.  They are:  Rules to Live By, Preventing Dementia, Weight Control and Good Posture.  Following this advice can make you look like age doesn’t matter!

Rules to Live By:

Barnes says that whether the goal is disease prevention, retaining a sharp mind, weight control, balancing hormones, maintaining good posture or supporting glowing skin, all the experts she asked agree on a core strategy. Doing these things can extend life and improve its quality in later years so that age doesn’t matter.

• Take a walk or partake in another enjoyable form of outdoor exercise for about 30 minutes a day.
• Get your vitamin D, either from the sun or supplements.  Exposing bare skin to sunlight for 15 minutes three times a week will give you the amount of vitamin D you need.  If that’s not possible, doctors recommend at least 400–800 IU/day, or 10–20 micrograms.  Sufficient vitamin D helps prevent cancer, heart disease, diabetes, depression, obesity, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis; relieves menopausal symptoms; and supports longevity.
• Maintain a healthy diet.  Make sure you are including fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains and legumes.  Watch your intake of sugars, simple carbohydrates and processed foods.  Watch out for wheat and wheat gluten as well, especially if you have excess abdominal fat.
• Get enough sleep.  Regular bedtimes and wake-up times and sleeping in a dark room optimize melatonin production for better sleep quality.
• Take the supplements you need.  A high-quality multivitamin is essential everyday.  Other supplements helpful for a healthy, long life are fish oil, curcumin and vitamin D, as mentioned above.

Preventing Dementia:

When your mind is sharp, you look and feel youthful so age doesn’t matter.

• Reduce Stress.  Some things that help to relieve stress are deep breathing and practicing yoga.
• Keep blood sugars and blood pressure under control.
• Caffeine may improve memory and focus, according to Barnes’ sources.
• Stay physically and mentally active.  Maintain brain health with puzzles, language courses and social activities. Research shows that getting regular exercise is also good for the brain.

Preventing Disease:

When you do the following things, your good health makes you look and feel as if age doesn’t matter.

• Eat a proper diet.  The best is a plant-based diet like the Mediterranean.
• Avoid sugar.  Dozens of studies directly link sugar and aging.
• Take magnesium and potassium.  Barnes quotes Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, an integrative medical authority from Kona, Hawaii, and author of Real Cause, Real Cure:  “Research shows that people that follow the national guidelines for salt intake tend to die younger.  Instead, it’s important to keep magnesium and potassium levels up by adding 200 milligrams of magnesium and 500 milligrams of potassium to your supplement regimen every day.”
• Take curcumin.  Taken as a dietary supplement (400 mg a day or more) can kill cancer cells.
• Limit exposure to environmental toxins.  Choose organic garden and household products over chemicals and agricultural spraying.

Control Your Weight:

Maintaining a healthy weight looks so good that age doesn’t matter.

• Weight control is important to longevity and lifelong health.  Barnes says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that people with a body mass index (BMI) over 35 are at an 18 percent higher risk of earlier death from all causes than those that maintain a normal BMI of 25 or under.
• Get hormone levels tested.  They can be a factor in weight gain for perimenopausal and menopausal women.
• Strength training is recommended.  Two 20-minute sessions a week with moderate weights are sufficient to create toned arms and to increase fat burning metabolism.

Maintain Good Posture:

When you’re bent over, you look older. So doing the following things help you to look like age doesn’t matter.

• Bending, stretching and strength training strengthen the shoulder and back muscles that help us stay upright despite the deteriorating effects of driving, working on computers and other activities that require our arms to stay in front of us and pull us forward.

• A “walking desk” is helpful.  Moving instead of sitting is important.  If you can’t do this, at least set an alarm to get you up and moving for five minutes or more for every hour of sitting.
• Yoga postures like the cobra and the bow are also helpful.
• Also helpful are visits to a chiropractor or other structural therapist.

Maintain Healthy Skin:

The following things help your skin look like age doesn’t matter.

• Internal hydration, nutrition and moisturizers restore deflated skin caused by loss of volume and moisture.  Barnes quotes Dr. Rick Noodleman, a dermatologist who practices anti-aging medicine in California’s Silicon Valley with his wife.  He has good news:  “People can make new collagen well into their 80’s and even 90’s.”
• A healthy diet, exercise and stress reduction can prevent and restore a loss of skin tone and elasticity.
• Regular facial exfoliation and dry brushing the whole body Is recommended by Noodleman.
• New laser treatments, acupressure facelifts and other spa treatments can help temporarily minimize wrinkles and bring back a youthful glow, according to Noodleman.

And How About Coffee?

• A moderate amount can improve lifelong health.  Research from the Harvard School of Public Health confirms that coffee is a healthy choice for most people.  Their latest reports find that drinking two to five cups of coffee a day can help alleviate the following risks later in life:  Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes, heart attack, stroke and more.  Excessive amounts of caffeine can cause health issues down the line.

I think this information is fantastic!  I want to keep this list and try to keep track of these things.  It does seem like a lot to keep in mind, though, so I will share a much simpler approach to lifelong health and vitality with you in the near future.

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Angie

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