age is really just a number

A recent survey by AARP revealed that only 48% of Americans 65 years and older rate their health as a very good or excellent. These are not good odds. All of us are working towards retirement and will like to be happy, healthy and active into our 90s.

So how can we beat the odds and be part of the population that rates their health as excellent after the age of 65?

It turns out that there is no magic pill that’ll stop the aging process. There is no true fountain of youth; but here are just a few tips have been shown to help you age more gracefully. It is true that we often get in our own way with habits and behaviors that are contradictory to wanting to age gracefully. We really do sabotage our future with behaviors that we often don’t even think about. We should be treating our bodies like they belong to someone that we love, but most of us don’t. Let’s face it we only get one turn on this rock. So, let’s talk about bad habits that we can curtail and start treating our bodies better so that we live longer, healthier and hopefully happier lives.

What is been shown to slow down aging?

1. Eating fruits and vegetables. It turns out that your mother was right, you should eat your fruits and vegetables. There are more than 20,000 different phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables that have unique roles in fighting age-related damage to our bodies. A good rule is that half of your plate should be green or multi-colored.
2. Lean protein. You will hold onto muscle better if you eat more lean protein. Muscle mass helps you stay more active and upright. Every meal should have 25-30g of lean protein.
3. Strength training. Especially for women, this improves metabolism and mobility by maintaining those muscles that you’re eating more protein to keep. Throw in a little stretching and balance training too! Falls are one of the great enemies of staying active as we age.
4. Aerobic exercise. Yes, I know I sound like I’m preaching, but run, walk, bike, hike or just do something to move and increase your heart rate for at least 30 minutes, five times a week. Exercise is great medicine!
5. Sunscreen! This is a biggie. Sunscreen helps reduce sun exposure that activates free radicals and damages your DNA. Our generation has a ton of sun damage. You can help yourself not only look younger but stay younger if you habitually use sunscreen.
6. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Here’s a link to my article on hydration. You should be drinking half of your body weight in ounces or a minimum of eight glasses of 8 ounces of water each day.
7. Stop smoking. Enough said. Yes, marijuana and vaping count.
8. Decrease your drinking. Here is a link to my article on over drinking habits. Reality is that a glass or two of red wine may be helpful, but the whole bottle daily is not a great idea.
9. Maintain your BMI. Most people could benefit from losing a few pounds. Decreasing your weight and then maintaining a healthy body weight decreases inflammation and therefore slows the aging process. You’re BMI should be 18-25 to be considered in the healthy range. Less than 18 is underweight and over 30 is considered obese. Click here to calculate your BMI.
10. Vacation. Here is a link to my article on why you need a vacation. Seriously folks, taking a break and unplugging can offset chronic stress. Stress increases inflammation and inflammation is our enemy in the aging process.

One thing that has been shown to definitely increase the aging process is inflammation. This is a natural defense against infection, but often get stuck high gear as we age, boosting our risk for diabetes, cancer and more. Inflammation is greatly increased with chronic stress, increased BMI and poor diet with lots of processed foods.

I’m not saying that I want to live forever or that I have all the answers to living longer, but these tips will help you to combat that lovely aging process that is inevitable but can be mitigated. Let’s change the paradigm and be part of the healthy, happy aging population! Let’s be fit, fifty-plus and fabulous together! Who’s in?