Healthy Aging - Another View

A lot of people reach the same destination by a different road.

Here's an article on healthy aging by someone who shares a lot of my views, and a lot of good advice, but who approaches the topic from a slightly different angle.

Why the Old School Method of Diet and Exercise Will Help You Live Longer
By Paul A Bisquera

My 96 year-old Aunt is proof that the "old school method of diet and exercise" will help you live longer. She doesn't exercise but she is active. Her diet borders on being vegetarian, but she eats meat about 7% of the time during the week. She does not smoke or drink. At her advanced age, stress is a non-factor and she uses prayer as her inspiration to live a long, fruitful life.

For many people of advanced age, they have laid the "blueprint" to anti-aging and their experience should be a guide for all younger people to follow.

Diet

My Aunt's diet resembles the eating habits of Okinawan people--complex carbohydrates, 7 daily servings of vegetables, grains (rice, noodles, and bread), and fish. Meat, eggs, and poultry are limited to 3% and fish to 10%. Add 3-4 servings of fruit and tea.

Like the Okinawan diet, she eats until she is about 80-90% full. She does not deny herself some of her favorite foods like cake or cookies, but its an indulgence that is normally limited to once a month.

In a 2001 UC-Berkeley study, the people of Okinawa, which is an island south of Japan, have the most centenarians than anywhere in the world. In addition, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and obesity are rare on the island. The residents have 80% fewer heart attacks when compared to Americans. For the ones that do suffer a heart attack, they are most likely to survive.

Exercise vs Staying Active

For the population that pre-dates the "Baby boomer" generation (born 1949-1964), exercise is not an activity that is practiced by today's senior citizens. My Aunt says that she doesn't have time to exercise because she is too busy to do it.

Her gardening and housekeeping duties keep her much busier than most seniors. Add in her daily walk to her niece's house (200 yards going and returning) and her jaunt to the market (about 300 yards each way) twice a week, she a has busy day of activity.

Most fitness experts agree that 30 minutes of exercise everyday is enough to have a healthy lifestyle. However, there is a great misconception to an individual who exercises 30 minutes but who is largely sedentary throughout the day as opposed to a person who is constantly active while walking, doing chores, gardening, and housekeeping duties. Experts agree that an active person typifies a healthier lifestyle than the individual who does their 30 minutes but is a "couch potato" the rest of the day.

My Aunt does not know a thing about jogging or lifting weights or aerobics but her walk everyday is her primary exercise and she is proof that staying active helps one live longer.

Stress-free Life

Stress is a killer and a contributor to illness, so how does a person live a stress-free life? My Aunt has been a widow for 40 years and has lived most of her life alone in her modest home. She retired 30 years ago and she lives on a fixed-income. However, she credits her faith for helping her live a long and prosperous life.

Studies have shown that people who attend religious services or feel spiritual tend to live longer, are healthier, and have lower rates of depression and anxiety. Add in a social network among friends and family, seniors of faith tend to be happier and healthier. In addition, previous studies show churchgoers are more hopeful and have a better perspective of life. Not surprisingly, they tend to shy away from risky behavior (smoking, drugs, and alcohol). Most important, religion helps a person cope with stress and life's daily problems.

My Aunt credits prayer as her way to cope with life and the reason why she continues to live a long life.

The Future of Aging

With advanced medicine and technology, it won't be long until an increase of centenarians in the U.S. will be evident. Unfortunately, technology is a "two-edge sword" that brings technical advances that makes life easier but at the same time makes people lazy.

Since the invention of the people moving devices (automobile, escalators, elevators, and "people movers") and the creation of "processed foods," the obesity rate and illness has increased. The automobile and other people moving devices has taken away the need to exercise or walk to a nearby market or to a nearby park or to a nearby workplace. "Processed foods" (Commercially made meats made from beef, pork, poultry, and fish) have toxic chemicals that have made people fat and unhealthy.

In order to live long, an individual has to go back to living a lifestyle before technology and processed foods entered the picture.

Live an active lifestyle by doing home improvement projects, housekeeping, and doing chores rather than sitting on a couch watching hours of television. If your destination is nearby, take your bicycle or walk there instead. Make being active FUN. Sure, you can do your 30 minutes of exercise but what are you going to do the rest of the day?

Eat healthy. Whether you choose the Mediterranean diet or the Okinawan diet, eating healthy should be a priority. Don't eat any processed foods and try to cook your own food because you know what's in it.

Lastly, pray or think spiritually or think positively for a happier, healthier life.

Follow these tips and you'll know why the old school method of diet and exercise will help you live longer.

Article Source: Why the Old School Method of Diet and Exercise Will Help You Live Longer
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