Optimal Aging

For most people, aging has negative connotations associated with both physical and mental decline, and the onset of degenerative disease. The stereotype of a frail, confused, sick, elderly person is all pervasive in our culture, and most unfortunate of all, often a self-fulfilling prophecy – when you are 70 and everyone your age is on 15 different prescription drugs and suffering from arthritis, dementia, strokes, heart problems and cancer, somehow that just becomes the norm! But aging badly doesn’t have to be inevitable, and although none of us can avoid the aging process itself, there are a significant number of relatively simple strategies that we can all use to slow down both the external and internal signs and manifestations of getting older, even in some cases being able to ‘turn back the clock’. So, how is this possible?

The Role of Diet

You probably won’t be surprised that a healthy diet is right at the top of my list of optimal aging strategies, preferably one that is also individualized to your unique physiology. However don’t expect to see major transformations if you only change half of what you eat, or if you fall prey to politically correct nutrition - diet is just as much about what you DON’T put into your body as what you do, and the worst culprits are processed foods, refined carbohydrates, sugars, oxidized fats, genetically modified foods and environmental toxins from non-organic foods, personal care products and household cleaners. Work on eliminating these and you will be well on the way to looking and feeling better as you age.

The Antioxidant advantage

Even the mainstream media are now waking up to the fact that vegetables and fruits should be a significant component of a truly healthy diet, which by definition will also be an optimal aging diet. Plant foods, particularly those grown organically, contain many different kinds of antioxidants, and there is absolutely no doubt that antioxidants counter free-radicals, which are molecules that damage cells, including brain cells. Actually, the brain may be particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of free radicals because it is relatively deficient in antioxidants to begin with. Free radical destruction is a contributing factor in all aspects of aging, from wrinkles to heart disease to arthritis to cancer, so minimizing free radical damage is the cornerstone of any optimal aging program.  (For more on how antioxidants can combat free radical damage, see the Inflammation tab).

 One of the best ways that I find to get large amounts of vegetables into my diet is to juice them, and I have taken to having a large glass of fresh vegetable and herb juice with a little fruit and maybe some garlic or ginger added to really punch up the flavor, 30-45 minutes before lunch. I also choose to eat a significant amount of my food raw to preserve all of the food’s nutrition, in particular its enzymes, which are destroyed at temperatures over 118F and which are so important to a well functioning body.  I eat liberal amounts of raw dairy, raw fish, raw nuts, raw seeds, unprocessed oils, unpasteurized miso and of course unjuiced raw fruits and vegetables.

Exercise and a healthy lifestyle

In addition to diet, other strategies that we can all use to age optimally are to regularly exercise (though not too much as excess exercise actually produces large amounts of aging free-radicals) get a good night’s sleep most nights, expose our bodies to lots of sunshine without burning, and develop ways to deal appropriately with stress. Staying happy and optimistic is also important as is the support of either family or friends.

As you can see, there are many things that you can do to continue to look and feel youthful as the years pass. Relatively simple food and lifestyle changes can mean all the difference between staying alert, energetic and free of degenerative disease or succumbing to the ‘ accepted’ idea of old age, which is not for me! I want to be like my friend’s mom, who went paragliding for her 80th birthday, not overweight and crippled with arthritis.

For more on how you can incorporate optimal aging strategies into your diet and lifestyle please contact us.