Beauty Tips and Secrets:Healthy Anti-Aging Lifestyle
Article Summary:
Article Content:
Aging is happening to everybody, most of the time faster
than we’d like. Still, youth is not a chronological age. It’s good health and
an optimistic spirit. Even though the hourglass tells us we’re older, the
passage of time isn’t really what ages us. It’s the process that reduces the
number of healthy cells in our bodies.
Today, the concept of anti-aging is gaining momentum as more people
realize they can positively affect their own aging process. We can see
anti-aging in today’s elite athletes who perform at world class levels well
into their thirties or even forties. And there are pockets throughout the world
of people living healthy lifestyles past the century mark, proving that the
downward spiral associated with aging may not be necessary.
The good news? The longer you live, the longer your expected
life span becomes!
Life expectancy lengthens as you age. In 1928, life
expectancy in the U.S. was just 57 years, compared to 76 years today. Women’s
life expectancy is expected to rise to between 92.5 and 101.5 by 2070.
Researchers say the human life span is at least 20 to 30 years longer than most
of us actually live today, that we are living only two-thirds of the years our
bodies are capable of. Scientists have gathered a wealth of clear data that
shows living to 100 or even 120 in a disease-free state is entirely possible,
indeed may be a natural state of human life. Right now, people 100 or over are
the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. There are 61,000
centenarians living in the U.S. today. Researchers predict that number will
grow to 214,000 by 2020!
The Fountain of Youth has been available all along. A
balanced life is the key. Good food, pure water, energizing herbs and vitamins,
exercise, proper rest, fresh air, sunshine, and optimism about life, really
keep you young.
Age is not the enemy… illness is. Our cells don’t age;
they’re sloughed off as their efficiency diminishes, to be replaced by new
ones. Given the right nutrients, cell restoration continues—well past current
life expectancy. But in industrialized countries, pollutants, diets full of
chemical-laced, refined foods, and overuse of prescription drugs prevent our
seniority dreams from becoming a reality.
Today, 80% of industrial country people over 65 years old
are chronically ill. The average 75-year-old person has three different chronic
diseases and uses at least five prescription drugs, as well as over-the-counter
drugs.
Yet, loss of vitality and the onset of disease are usually
the result of diet, lifestyle or environment—things we can do something about.
Youthfulness is restored from the inside, by strengthening lean body mass,
boosting metabolism, increasing immune response with good nutrition, regular
exercise and a positive outlook.
Restore your looks and energy by addressing the factors that
affect aging most:
1. Take a look at your prescription drugs: Many drugs lead
to serious body imbalances by impairing nutrient uptake, and they can spur a
free radical assault that accelerates aging. They also tend to interact, especially hormonal drugs, like
Propecia, or HRT drugs, and drugs that affect circulation like Viagra.
2. Take a look at your habits: Smoking for example, greatly
increases the body’s free radical load, is a clear contributor to premature
skin aging, and is by far the #1 cause of preventable deaths in our country.
3. Take another look at your diet: You may have already cut
down on fat and fried foods, but chemicals and additives in foods like lunch
meats, hot dogs and most prepared foods are real culprits for early aging. They
can create an over-acid condition that aggravates arthritis, triggers many
allergies, and like drugs, set up a free-radical cascade favorable to disease.
Research into fake fats like olestra (widely popular in snack foods) shows that
they rob the body of vitamins like A, D, E, and K, and carotenoids. Even if
your diet is good, you may need to take digestive enzymes and HCl with pepsin
if digestion has become sluggish with age.
4. Take a look at your sugar intake: A high sugar diet wipes
out immunity and reduces tissue elasticity. If you eat a lot of sweets or drink
hard alcohol regularly, you’re taking in a lot of sugar. Sugar is also a hidden
ingredient in most processed foods.
5. Watch your stress levels. A little stress helps motivate
us in meeting a goal. But chronic stress can steal your health and your youth.
Over time, high levels of the stress hormone cortisol can cause brain cells to
age prematurely, or even die off! High levels of cortisol are also linked to
middle-aged weight gain around the waist.
6. Interrupted sleep is a major aging trigger. A recent
study links a lack of sleep to premature aging and serious illness. During
sleep, important anti-aging hormones like growth hormone and melatonin are released
which help regulate metabolism, heal tissues and boost immune response.
7. Regular moderate exercise actually reverses the aging
process. A sedentary lifestyle paves the way for obesity and chronic disease. A
1994 JAMA study reveals that the bodies of postmenopausal women become up to 20
years more youthful just by lifting weights twice weekly for one year!