Living Longer for your Relationships. I read an article by Lisa James on living longer and how people have been looking for the fountain of youth for centuries. This search continues today in genetic labs all over the world. The answer isn’t in a test tube. Psychologist Dennis Kravetz states aging is controlled by telomeres, which are little bits or DNA that get shorter every time a cell replicates. Once they are gone the cell dies. The way to preserve your telomeres is to keep your cells happy. Today that’s a challenge as we purchase our food and are exposed to a toxic environment that we have little control over. Despite these challenges we can break free of this accelerated aging lifestyle which consist of lack of exercise, poor sleep and excessive stress. Our bodies are self-repairing systems but the body will not repair itself if you don’t give it the materials it needs. Here are some ways to run a clean and well functioning machine.
1. Eat a Rainbow – The more colorful fruits and vegetables you eat the better it is for your body. Red tomatoes, green spinach, orange carrots, and purple eggplant. The bright hues in produce comes from phytonutrients that have been linked with benefits protecting heart disease and cancer. Supplementing with whole-food concentrates can help with any nutritional gaps.
2. Lock Up Free Radicals – Produce provides antioxidants, which neutralizes toxins call free radicals. If you are not getting enough antioxidants you can damage or even kill healthy cells. Vitamin C and E are among the best known substances. The phytonutrients in many berries have also shown to have powerful antioxidant properties which can fight various free radicals in the body.
3. Grab Some Shuteye – Sleep is the time your body repairs itself. Going to bed and getting up at regular times can make sleep patterns easier. The hormone, Melotonin controls the sleep cycle, along with 6-MBOA found in corn leaf extract, casein in milk protein, L-dopa in velvet bran and 5-HTP in Griffonia simplicifolia.
4. Keep the Muscle – Aerobic exercise increases heart rate. Adequate muscle strength is needed to maintain activities in older age such as walking up stairs and living more independent lives. Weight training is appropriate when weight levels are adjusted to individual capacities. The body uses amino acids to build proteins found in muscles. Creatine helps optimize muscle growth. Astaxanthin, a marine antioxidant helps reduce muscular discomfort.
5. Cheer Up – Choose to be happy. Thoughts have a biological consequence. Negative thoughts produce changes in neurochemicals and hormones. Depression is also hard on the body. Maizinol is a corn-leaf extract that promotes healthy neurochemical balance. The herb rhodiola fights stress and L-theanine promotes deep relaxation which helps with focus. This can be found in green tea.
6. Cool Off Inflammation – Exercising and eating whole foods help fight the kind of low-level inflammation that fosters chronic disease. Eliminating grain-based foods may help if you react badly to gluten. Omega-3 fatty acids fight inflammation. They can be found in fish, krill oils and olive hydroxytyrosol, oregano extract and enzymes from pineapple also help reduce inflammation.
7. Eat Clean – eat organic whole foods to the fullest extent possible while eliminating all processed and genetically modified (GMO) items from your menu. Invest in high quality water filters as tap water adds to old age.
8. Fight the Flab – When you turn down the dial on inflammation you may see a drop in weight which is good as being overweight can cause hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes and other threats to long life. Using natural weight loss aids such as Syaptose, forskolin and garcinia can help curb hunger. Carb blockers such as extracts from brown seaweed and white beans and fat fighters such as raspberry ketones and green coffee been extract can also help with weight loss.
9. Slow It Down – Stress is stressful as it causes are body an mind to go into overdrive. Meditation can block stress by helping you disengage from your circumstances achieving more balanced perspective on life.
10. Stay Connected – Isolating yourself can be harmful to both your mental and physical well-being. People with active social networks are far less likely to experience cognitive decline than those who keep to themselves. Extend yourself to include new people and groups in your daily life.
11. Engage Your Mind – The brain is the hungriest organ in the body needing fresh nutrients and oxygen. But keeping our minds active is just as important. Mindfulness training, being present in life moment by moment can strengthen cognition and memory, along with reading and learning new skills. Lecithin phospholipids and herbal extracts, such as ginkgo vinpocetine help promote mental processing.
As you move forward this new year think about all the relationships you cherish. Wouldn’t you want to celebrate more New Years to come with your loved ones? For more information about moving forward in healthy ways please give me a call at (858) 735-1139
