In the bestselling book, The Blue Zone, the author travel to those places where people have lived the longest in an effort to learn their secrets to longevity. An interesting observation about these locales is the lack of a frenetic pace in comparison to our daily North American lifestyles. Villages in Costa Rica, fishing towns in Okinawa, hillside settlements in Sardinia; none of these would be considered hubs of international trade and commerce.
That is lesson one in the quest for longevity, living a wholesome and vigorous life in a surrounding that is hassle free and devoid of controversy. Learning the secrets of well being alone would be enough from these remarkable individuals but the fact they also regularly live beyond the century mark is a marvel beyond words.
There is now scientific evidence that verifies that genetics plays a role in our survivability and prolonged life. Our gene pool aids in establishing our physical characteristics from eye color to body shape and size. It determines our risk of disease as well so we risk a lot by ignoring or assuming that our genes cannot be manipulated, specifically when it applies to aging. On a regular basis, scientists are uncovering ever more critical data about our biological systems and the role they play in managing how and why we get older.
The oldest human ever recorded lived to be one hundred twenty two years of age, a nice benchmark that the rest of us can strive for. A more realistic goal to attain would be reaching the age of one hundred and doing so in a healthy manner with some energy stores so we can do more than simply stare out a window when we reach the century mark. We can live to be a hundred years old; it is not necessarily disease that prevents us from reaching that objective. If we lived disease free, we would probably add another ten years to our regular life expectancy, achieving this milestone but in a fragile condition is not the desired goal of a prolonged life. Our goal should not be to evade illness and disease. It should be to heal from them more rapidly and come out the other end in better health.
Understanding that dilemma is one thing, coming up with curative procedures and solutions to illnesses is a long term process in the area of thirty years of research to find a pill that we take for another twenty years so we can add a further decade to our lives. This is not optimal science. There are other things we can begin doing right now that have proven successful internationally and are backed up by modern scientific study.
It all starts with regular physical motion on a daily basis to keep muscles and bones strong, working the heart to remain fit, but also trains our bodies to be more balanced and agile, so important in later years to thwart dangerous spills, slips and falls. These are very serious and have become a plague on an aging population, becoming a leading cause of mortality, as we get older. From a medical perspective, our ability to exercise becomes the single most vital forecaster of potential longevity. If we cannot manage to walk a quarter of a mile in a five minute time frame, our risk of dying within three years is thirty percent higher than Healthier, more mobile and faster walkers.
The human body was engineered to be physically mobile during its lifetime. We must make an effort to support the body’s evolutionary requirement and exercise for a minimum of thirty minutes – three time each week, busting out a sweat every time. It would be prudent to add to this a half hour weekly of lifting weights, isometrics and stretching exercises. This does not have to be a big deal; Personally, I do a quick fifteen to twenty minute workout each day hitting the required activities.
It would also be good if you could manage fifteen minutes of sunshine every day – short of this, take 1000 IUs of vitamin D and take 1000 mg of calcium. Along with the calcium, take 500 mg of magnesium to thwart constipation. This combination will aid in building bone strength along with the exercise regimen. The natives of Costa Rica for instance are fortunate that they receive these aforementioned benefits naturally from sunshine and customary diet.
North Americans on the other hand must supplement their health due to consistently insufficient vitamin D – a possible factor in cancer rates being so high, auto immune illnesses being so prevalent and the rise in heart disease. Anyone living north of the Mason Dixon line is likely vulnerable to low vitamin D since the winter sun is too weak to assist in gaining the required dose of light, supplements are necessary. Hard water is a naturally occurring source of drinking water in many areas but you should make inquiries as to your situation.
A good rule of thumb to follow when choosing foods is to be sure they look the same when you eat them, as they appeared when they came out of the ground. The nutritional value in potent phytochemicals and nutrients in whole foods – these are the foods that do not come with a label – do so much from an innate perspective to revitalize the body’s systems. Our bodies have over thirteen hundred processes so that is a lot to maintain in order to remain in optimal health.
When people are overweight to the point of being obese, these systems and processes become adversely affected resulting in premature death due to systemic inflammation, a consequence of the weight. Blood sugar becomes raised, poor LDL – cholesterol quantities can mean heart disease and hypertension leading to damaged arteries. Fat will also cause untold damage to the metabolic system that increases the risk of cancer, causes joint trouble and all this combines to lessen the amount of exercise an individual gets.
Do what it takes to make your meals more regulated and routine so you more easily consume the proper foods. If you need to snack, make the snacks healthy and graze on these every couple hours. Doing this will make it easier to evade hunger pangs that can result in “rabid eating” when you get home from work or prior to normal meal times. You must do what it takes to avoid overeating if you want to have a shot at increased health and longevity.
Let us discuss your sleeping habits or lack of them as the case may be. You need to sleep for a minimum of seven hours each twenty four hour period. Too much sleep is not good for you either. Proper sleep raises your quantities of growth hormone, which is vital as an energy enhancer. Fully fifty percent of adult Americans have a problem sleeping; all of these people pay the price for poor sleeping habits in longevity. Try to simplify sleeping by doing things like dimming lights a short time before actually going to bed since this will invigorate melatonin. Get in the habit of sleeping on a schedule and follow that schedule no matter what.
Lastly, live your life with some kind of purpose. Be it your family, your job, your ties to the community, whatever it is it should have true meaning to you. It is a fact that having a specific reason for living will increase your longevity, just wanting to be here is a strong reason to live a long while. With only one life, you should be making the most of it.
Anti Aging, Anti Aging Theories, Health And Aging, Longevity
Thu, Feb 18, 2010
Anti Aging, Anti Aging Theories, Health And Aging, Longevity