Age? A mere number. What counts is health and brain activity. Keep yourself on the go these five ways and you won’t likely have to sit in a doctor’s office day after day.
Plastic surgery, hair color and ultra-white teeth may make you appear younger, but working to stay active and eat healthy will age you younger.
Family genetics can cause about 25 per cent of aging, but environment and progressive lifestyle will urge bodies to be active and attitudes focusing on a younger age. Above all, don’t neglect yourself.
The Mayo Clinic sums it up: “You can’t stop the aging process, but you can make choices that improve your ability to maintain an active life, to do the things you enjoy and to spend time with loved ones.”
Five efforts can make an important difference.
- Eat with good choices and ways to consume.
2. Exercise through physical activities to ease stress.
3. Social Communications can encourage your life to be positive.
4. Mental Activities will help you learn information and keep your brain energetic.
5. No Smoking, plus less alcohol and no or limited drugs, will make life more filling and rewarding.
The secret? Common Sense.
Eating? Wait, how can eating be controlled? Two important ways will create better eating habits.
Decide on the popular, successful diet suggestions including fruit, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, less fat, sugar and salt. Using DASH and/or Mediterranean diets will offer healthy, tasty foods you can choose. The rate you eat can also make your stomach and taste buds happy.
America has more overweight people than many other countries with 70 million adults and 13 million children in that situation. They deal with extra weight and emotional effects of obesity by eating too much, too often.
Our country also tends to serve more food than necessary, but why eat all of it? Other countries such as Europe and Asia serve smaller amounts and have far fewer overweight or obese people.
Remember: It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to sense food coming in no matter how much you eat, or don’t. Eating less can lead to a healthy diet that pleases our systems because most of us are not starving. Your stomach and taste buds will end up less hungry while creating a healthier body.
The second major effort: smaller bites and chewing slowly rather than absorbing big amounts can make a difference.
Put the food in your mouth, lower your hand and savor until ready for the next bite. Results? If you eat less in those 20 minutes, you will be satisfied and leaner without munching too much.
Plan ahead with snacks such as nuts, fruit or many others. But my sweet mouth prefers something sugary. How to deal with it?
Take just half the cookie and chew slowly. Then wait. Taste buds will continue holding flavors but less food will improve and enhance health.
Exercises? Try daily examples such as walks and hikes, or attend exercise programs to keep your body on the move. These activities will help you avoid over-aging, feeling heavy and unable to move much.
Exercises also ease stress such as taking a walk every day, often with friends. Exercise then becomes more pleasing, important, and adds good body shape with a positive sense.
Social Communication? Time spent in touch with encouraging, cheerful friends and positive people can give you new ideas and add active times in daily life. Try to talk less, listen more and include humor when possible. Such enriched thinking will help ease depression and add positive activities to regular life.
If people repeatedly talk or think about you in unfair ways, do not pay attention. They often do not know about your history and the kind of life you have lived. Focus on your own pride for what you’ve done and achieved by staying on track.
Another way to add improvement and pleasure? Stay close to important friends and do what pleases and betters you. Perhaps add a dog or cat to your days as a furry family member could make life more interesting? Just a thought …
Mental activities? Get your minds moving forward so good health and life pleasure can follow. Pursuing areas such as academic, art, creativity, sports, taking on new projects or writing will expand a positive life to you.
Read books, newspapers, and listen to people’s discussions offering important news and thoughts in our communities. All this could keep the brain active while leading you forward.
Playing games also keeps your brain and thoughts stronger. I prefer Sudoku, crosswords, bridge, solitaire on cards and Rummikub. They give me energy and make feelings look forward, even if I don’t always win. Choices are endless.
No smoking, less alcohol and drugs? Smoking is a detriment to overall health as can be drugs and alcohol if not used in moderation. These are something we all know about but should avoid or ease these if possible.
Follow these five ways to age you younger with a daily, active current life.
“Laugh at everything,” author Marilyn Murray Willison wrote. “Remember, you are one of the lucky ones. You managed to have life, a long one. Many never get to this age, never get to experience full life. But you did … Find the humor of your situation.”
