Aging gracefully

10 Ways to Help Yourself Age Slowly and Gracefully

This is a great article. We’re all suckers for lists; it appeals to our left brain to have everything neat and organized. Especially information. A lot of this is common sense, but some of it is surprising.

1. Keep away from smoking. The most important general tip. We have all heard the many reasons not to smoke and to stay away from others’ smoke.

2. Keep the weight down. Leanness is high on the list because fat cells have several bad effects - weight, hardening of the arteries and a propensity to cause type 2 diabetes.

3. Take supplements. Particularly alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine. These boost the energy output.

4. Skip a meal each day or fast a day each week. Eating less food appears to reduce tissue wear and tear from excess blood sugar, inflammation and free radicals. Drink plenty of water to replace the meal.

5. Get a pet. Pet owners tend to visit the doctor less, survive longer even after a heart attack, and suffer less from depression and high blood pressure.

6. Get medical help for chronic pain. If you are in pain, get it seen to. Chronic pain dampens the immune system, can cause depression and tends to elevate levels of the noxious stress hormone cortisol.

7. Get walking. Through age, blood vessel walls tend to harden and exercise keeps blood vessels pliable. Light exercise also reduces the likelihood of diabetes, cancer, depression, dementia and even aging of the skin.

8. Reduce arguments. Arguments and bickering increase the risk of clogged arteries. Rather than allow arguments to simmer, agree that it is OK to have differing points of view.

9. Live around plants. Having a garden or greenhouse to grow plants in is a wonderful way to decrease stress or recuperate from illness. Just being able to see plants in a room or through windows has been proven to be beneficial to bed-ridden patients.

10. Do some weight-training. Strength training is almost as important as cardio exercise to the aging body. This is because from 40 on the body can lose a quarter-pound of muscle each year which is replaced with fat. Lifting weights 3 times a week for a half-hour can easily replace that lost through natural aging.

I’ve also found that most things like this are similiar to investing. The sooner you start, the better off you are, and the late-comers, while reaping some benefits, will never catch up to the early-adopters of advice like this. So no matter what age you are this is good stuff to know.

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