anti-aging

Most of us realize that in many parts of our lives, including the part where we grow older and begin to notice it, there are things over which we have control and things over which we have only some control... or even no control at all.

If we look back, we see many spots where our money, our careers, our relationships were changed by things that happened. While many of these just happened... I once lost a wonderful job because of a typographical error in a government document... many were the result of choices we made.

Choices are the ultimate outcome of decisions. We don't always have the control of the choices available to us, but we do have control over the decisions. Which choice we opt for is ours and are often made without consideration for the ultimate outcomes.

In his book, "7 Habits of Highly Effective People", Stephen Covey puts being proactive at the start of the list.

This is true in many aspects of life whether you are talking about getting into the right college, becoming a millionaire before age 40, or retiring with a comfortable income and in good health.

Even though making the right decisions ahead of time is probably the best strategy for a long and healthy life, deciding to make those decisions even after you are in your older years can still be effective in increasing your odds of living longer and enjoying it more. You can slow down and even perhaps reverse the process.

So, when it comes to the choices you might face, what sorts of anti-aging decisions might be available to you? Keep in mind, by the way, that while many of the decisions may be based on desires and intentions linked to age, many of the choices are the same ones faced by twenty-year-olds, forty-year-olds, and sixty-year-olds.

What should I eat?

What about exercise?

How much sleep should I get?

Here's the kicker. Most of the decisions you make about your health and life in your 60's are often about the same as the ones you should have been making in your 40's. However, the sooner you begin making them, the more they will affect your life in the future.

It's a bit like investing. If you can begin putting aside a given amount of money on a regular schedule in your 20's, you will have a lot more money in your 60's than the person who did not begin putting aside the same amount until their 40's.

Even so, when it comes to health and longevity, beginning late in life is better than not beginning at all.

So, what decisions should you make?

Nutrition: Do not diet. Avoid sugar, products containing sugar, and foods containing empty carbs. Eat foods high in fiber. Keep an eye on calories. Make sure you have good sources of protein in your diet.

Go to the library or book store and learn a bit about the glycemic index.

Exercise: Don't over do. Especially as you age, it becomes easier to injure yourself or just plain get fed up if you try to do too much too soon. While your goal is about 30 minutes of physical activity just about every day, you don't have to do all of that at first. Build up to it. Find different activities that help you get the amount of activity you need. Find at least a few that you really enjoy doing.

Supplements: Really, the only supplement you should need will be a daily multivitamin. While experts will tell you that you can get all the vitamins and minerals you need from a well-balanced diet, how many people do you know who actually eat that way. Also, as we age, our bodies find it harder to access and use the nutrients available in the food we eat, and, for various reasons, we tend to get a little sloppy in our eating habits and schedules.

Sleep: The old recommendation of eight hours a night has been proven a good one by recent research. As we age, sleep gets broken up and we may need a little extra sack time.

Friends and Family: Stay connected. Many people who end up in poor health or sitting in a rocking chair in the corner muttering to themselves get there just because they are not linked up to enough people. Connections keep us in the real world.

Stay Mentally Active: Mental activity is just about as important as an anti-aging strategy as physical activity. Challenging your brain with puzzles is just one way to keep it "young". Learning new skills are an excellent way to keep the brain cells firing on all, or at least most, cylinders. Take a trip. It has been shown that visiting new places, experiencing new customs and activities, learning new languages, and even reading the map can help the brain resist the aging process.

Those are just a few anti-aging decisions you can make. There are many more, more than can be covered in a short article like this one. Go do some research on your own... even that will help keep your brain and body younger.

Donovan Baldwin is a 67-year-old exerciser, freelance writer, certified optician, and Internet marketer currently living in the Dallas - Fort Worth area. A University Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a BA in accounting, he has been a member of Mensa and has been a Program Accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, the Business Manager of a community mental health center, and a multi-county Fiscal Consultant for an educational field office. He has also been a trainer for a major international corporation, and has managed various small businesses, including his own. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, with 21 years of service, he became interested in Internet marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes original articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. He has a blog on Senior Health and Fitness at http://fitness-after-40.blogspot.com/.

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