The quest for eternal youth is more popular today than ever before. People spend thousands of dollars on various hormone therapies, surgeries, and skin interventions to delay the onset of the inevitable – aging.
Today, a woman’s life expectancy is estimated to be 80.1 years. Men live an average of 74.8 years. Interestingly though, scientists have found that genes influence only about 30% of a person’s ability to live longer than the current norm. That leaves 70% up to factors we can control like lifestyle habits.
We can’t deny the fact that every one of us will get older. However, recent anti-aging research has shown that the effects of aging are largely preventable. In its simplest terms, the key to tapping into the eternal wellspring of life is balance. Extreme lifestyle habits and behavior create stress in the body - stress being one of the leading causes of lifestyle diseases. Managing your stress by living a balanced lifestyle will quiet your mind and your body, thus giving your body's systems the opportunity to heal themselves.
Research has also proven that cells deprived of oxygen over time will die or become dormant. Increasing the availability of usable oxygen in the body is critical to a person’s longevity. Balanced exercise, meditation, and dietary habits will support the body systems as they age better than extreme lifestyle habits which oftentimes create imbalance.
Exercise: A balanced exercise program will support the uptake of oxygen in the body and can maintain the stamina, muscle strength, balance, and bone density that increases with age. Daily cardiovascular activity like walking, jogging, swimming, hiking, biking or dancing for 30-60 minutes coupled with strength training 2-3 days a week is a great way to keep the body youthful and strong. Inactivity and over-exercising can each tax the body and create imbalances which may lead to lifestyle diseases.
Meditation: If a high-paced lifestyle is unavoidable for you, it is even more important that you make time to balance that stress with a very calming activity. Developing a practice of meditation quiets the mind, which quiets the body and allows for the body's systems to heal themselves naturally. Deep breathing during meditation also circulates the oxygen we need throughout the body. Many people go through an entire day without breathing deeply, a practice that limits our oxygenating capacity. Find 20-30 minutes each day when you can sit or lie down in a quiet, dimly lit room that is free from distractions. Play some gentle music, light a few candles or burn some incense, close your eyes and let yourself relax. Visualize yourself in a place or time that you felt the most comfortable and relaxed. Sit with that image and let the memory of that feeling sweep over you. Meditative states can also be reached during activities like gentle yoga, massage, acupuncture or time spent in nature. The key is to reach that place of calm where the body feels free to let go and heal itself.
Diet: The dietary anti-aging buzz word is antioxidants, or nutrients that neutralize free radicals and slow down basal skeletal muscle oxidation (or muscle tissue break-down). Dietary habits that support anti-aging and antioxidants in the body include eating a diet rich in carotenoids (dark-colored vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, squash, and spinach), flavonoids (blue and purple berries), zinc (oysters, clams, poultry, whole grains, lean beef), vitamin B6 (bananas, potatoes, kidney and pinto beans, clams), and vitamins C and E and water. Moderating your consumption of alcohol and caffeine to one to two cups of each a day is highly suggested. Alcohol and caffeine contribute to unhealthy cell regeneration which will speed up the aging process. Avoiding tobacco and other smoking products is also a necessity. Smoking impedes the circulation of oxygen within the body and also creates deep wrinkling of the skin and premature age spots.
Mind: Last but certainly not least, Deepak Chopra, M.D., suggests that simply changing your perception of aging can slow the process down. He states that intentions are what trigger transformation in the body. The body is constantly converting our experiences into molecules which in turn affect our body. The experience of anxiety stimulates production of cortisol and adrenaline, or stress hormones. The experience of tranquility produces valium. Experiencing exhilaration and joy makes interleukins and interferons, or powerful anti-cancer drugs. It seems that the way we experience life has a direct affect on hormone production and the health of our body. According to Chopra, the way we think, behave and eat can influence the length of our lives by 30-50 years. Intending to live a long, healthy life by adopting and maintaining a balanced lifestyle will help you do the best anyone can hope for – age gracefully.
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