Seven Smart Habits to Age Well

Strategies To Protect Your Independence

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LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOUR HEALTH

You need to develop some smart habits to help you age well. Here are seven little things you can do to kick-start your anti-aging program, plus links to some smart habits which will help you age well if you practice them over time:-

1. Eat five portions of fruit or vegetable a day

Fresh vegetable and fruit contain the vitamins and minerals we need, especially antioxidants and Vitamin E that can help eliminate the free radicals that cause aging. Make sure you get five portions of fruit or vegetables a day to maintain peak health and age healthily.

2. Make sure you get enough calcium

Drinking a glass of milk a day can help to strengthen your bones and supplement your calcium intake. Taken at night, warm, with pure cacoa it will help you get a good night's sleep. Read the age well pages about calcium to find other ways of increasing your calcium intake and learn why you need calcium in order to age well.

3. Drink at least two litres of water every day

Water is necessary for many reasons. It will keep your skin healthy, help prevent herniated discs, cleanse yours system and keep your urinary tract healthy. Enough water will also help to prevent constipation and keep your intestines and digestive system working well. Read the age well pages about water to learn more about how this essential element can help you age well.

4. Have A Good Breakfast

Eating a healthy breakfast is the very best way to start your day. Doctors, nutritionists, even your Mum - all said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It provides you all the energy and nutrients that lead to increased concentration and more efficiency and studies show that it is also crucial to maintaining a healthy body weight. Read our section on eating well to learn more about how what you eat helps you age well.

5. Get Enough Sleep

Not getting enough sleep can make you age more quickly. It can contribute to memory lapse and increase the risk of having high blood pressure. It is often called beauty sleep because a good night’s sleeps helps eliminate dark circles and puffy eyes, gives us energy and generally helps to keep us looking younger and beautiful.

Read our page on sleep and insomnia to see if you are getting enough sleep to help you stay healthy and age well.

6. Get Enough Exercise

Numerous studies point to exercise as a top way to avoid many age-related diseases with some studies showing that exercise can improve the health of people who have already developed such illnesses. Exercise improves posture and keep your weight down, two excellent ways to look and feel younger. This is one of the most neglected smart habits and adopting this one will make a great difference to your life and to help you be more patient and less grumpy as you age.

7. Stay Positive

There are many aspects to aging well and not all of them are physical. We must nourish our emotional and spiritual welfare. Keeping happy and positive is important as we age. This can mean different things to different people – it might mean not giving up working, for one person or never working another day to another.

Keeping involved in what is going on in the world and continuing to contribute through voluntary work, taking up a new hobby or finally getting the time to do those things you always wanted to do, but never had the time, backpacking around Europe of Asia, going back to university to get the degree we never finished. Each of us may have a different way of “being positive.”

For some their faith can be the positive influence in their lives, in others it is being close to their grandchildren. Staying positive is easier when you have a good support network of family and friends and the biggest gift of all is having your health as you age. Work on it – it is worth it. Here are a list of smart habits you can adopt to keep healthy and happy well into old age.

More Smart Habits to Age-well

The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results......Anthony Robbins

Although aging is inevitable, you can slow down and delay the aging process by adopting healthy habits and dropping practices which are bad for your health and which promote age-related diseases and conditions:-

Eat Healthily
A healthy diet can contribute to living an active life well into old age and to preserving your independence.

Lose Belly Fat
Belly fat is not just unsightly, but makes you more susceptible to various age-related diseases including diabetes, blood pressure heart disease, stroke and certain cancer. Learn how to banish your middle age spread.

Quit Smoking Now
Apart from the fact that it favors the development of wrinkles and makes you look older, smoking can be a real danger to your health. Learn how to beat this unpleasant habit.

Cut Down Your Alcohol IntakeIt is notorious for provoking a whole host of social problems, but drinking to access can also ruin your health, causing high blood pressure, heart problems, cirrhosis of the liver and many cancers of the digestive system. Learn how to moderate or quit drinking.

Cut Down on Salt
Too much salt is one of the main causes of hypertension and can lead to a variety of other conditions and diseases, including oedema, kidney stones, heart attack and stroke. Find out how much salt is too much and how to cut down your salt intake.

Cut Down on Sugar to avoid age-related diseases
Eating too much sugar not only makes you put on weight, but it also depresses your immune system and makes you more vulnerable to disease. Learn why sugar is bad for you and why you should cut down now.

Avoid Trans Fats
Research has shown that consuming a diet high in trans fats puts us at risk of developing atherosclerosis, stroke, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. Trans fats raise LDL (bad cholesterol) levels whilst reducing HDL (good cholesterol) levels.

Follow the DASH Meal Plan
The DASH Diet is a diet based on the eating habits prevalent in Mediterranean countries. It can help lower blood pressure, promote weight loss and prevent cardiac disease and stroke.

Manage Your Stress
As well as effects like sleep deprivation or the breakdown of relationships, too much stress could contribute to heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes and other illnesses. Learn some techniques to help you manage stress.

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