‘ANTI AGING: THE DOS AND DON’TS’
Leave it to the boomer generation
to reinvent things, or should I say rediscover? Not only are we interested in
looking younger, we want to feel younger. Fortunately, the two go together. Go
after one and the other will follow. So if you're interested in looking and
feeling younger, then a simple anti aging program should be at the top of your
list. The right foods, more sleep and the right attitude can literally take
years off your looks while adding years to your longevity.
How does one start?
Read what’s available and incorporate what works for you. And here are four
common sense top tips that will help you achieve your goals.
Tip1: Have a diet that reduces your
LDL cholesterol. Not all fats are bad. That mindset will lead not only to
weight gain it can cause heart problems. Fats are necessary for your body's
proper functioning, and truly effective in an anti-aging diet. Use adequate
amounts of monosaturated and unsaturated fats. Good sources of these fats are:
extra virgin olive oil, flax seed oil, soy, salmon, almonds, pecans and
walnuts.
Tip 2: Increase your protective good
cholesterol, and reduce your triglycerides. Regular aerobic exercise 30-35
minutes daily is helpful to increase good cholesterol levels. Eat more
vegetables, grains, beans and fruits, instead of bread or potatoes. Add onion,
garlic and soy to the diet. These simple foods will reduce bad cholesterol and
raise good. If foods aren’t enough, try adding a supplement of fish oil, garlic
tablets or red yeast rice. Red yeast rice is a naturally occurring statin that
works well to lower total cholesterol.
Tip 3: Don’t skip on sleep. A lack
of sleep may not kill you but it has been proven that it not only shortens life
span but also lessens the quality of life. Those who are chronically sleep
deprived have lower immunity, higher levels of stress hormones, reduced brain
function and are more prone to chronic illness. What has become the norm of six
hours is simply not enough. You really should sleep a third of your life.
Tip 4: Maintain a healthy outlook
on life. Everyone, young as well as old have times when life is a daily curve
ball. Bernie Segal MD, well-known writer speaker on alternative therapies
maintains that he thinks life is totally fair in that everyone complains that
it is unfair. Think about it, when you hear people discuss the topic of life’s
fairness everyone will complain that life is so unfair. The key is to do
something about it instead of just complaining. If you can’t change your
circumstances then work on changing your attitude.
These four simple steps have been
proven to change the biological age markers such as heart and respiration rate,
blood pressure as well as others. Your chronological and biological age don’t
necessarily need to match, the can be reversed and improved upon. Till next
time, Rebecca
3/19/09