If you ask a girl what is her age, then what will be the answer? Maximum girls will give you a number which is less than her actual age. Some will give you the right answer but with a lot of reluctance. Not only girls, most people have this tendency to hide or minimize their age. Ever thought what the reason behind this is.
The answer is simple. All of us are against ageing. In the sub conscious mind of people there is always a thought process that wants to stop ageing. The goal for people is not only to live comfortably but to increase longevity.
Scientists are also trying to search for solutions to solve age problems and are trying to come up with anti-aging therapies. Recent developments in anti-aging medicine and nutraceuticals have progressed to the point where real solutions are finally available. Scientists have divided these anti-aging therapies in two divisions, first are care and second is medication or treatment. We can take care of our body either by various exercises and food supplements or by the various medicines and surgeries.
These days we see some advertisements for management of age by some capsule or pill? What those ads don’t tell you is that those treatments will also empty out your wallet and possibly harm your body using an unproven therapy. The ageing process isn’t fully understood and scientists are yet to discover and invent a ‘magic bullet’ that can reserve the effects of ageing. To maintain a healthy life which in turns helps in anti ageing, we have to follow some small steps in life.
1 Exercise: Regular exercise can keep you fit and slow the ageing process. Experts recommend 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily for most people. Practice of yoga and pranayama is also beneficial for management of age. We always hear that exercise is important to stay healthy. Regular Exercise is the key in anti-ageing. Working up a sweat is a great way to keep skin hydrated and glowing. Exercise stimulates the neuroendocrine system, increases muscle strength and improves posture, reduces blood pressure, improves blood circulation and short term memory, improves vision and quality of sleep, alleviates depression and improves self esteem, helps to retard bone loss, reduces risk of developing breast, colon and prostate cancer, and improves immunue system functions.
2. Sleep 8-9 hours per night: Sleep allows our body to maintain and repair itself. Cell growth and repair takes place while we are asleep. Sleep slows the aging process by helping the body conserve energy and other resources that the immunue system needs to fight infection. Getting enough sleep sharpens concentration, memory and physical performance.
3. Drink 6-8 glasses of pure, filtered water daily. Drinking plenty of water is one of the most important anti-ageing nutrients you can add to your body. It hydrates the skin, flushes out toxins and keeps the internal systems working properly.
4. Don’t smoke – Smoking causes premature wrinkling on the skin. Facial wrinkling increases with the amount of cigarettes and number of years a person has smoked. Smoking causes lines or wrinkles spreading from the upper or lower jaw, hollowness in the checks and a leathery texture and greyish tinge to skin. Smokers tend to get more respiratory infections and often have a chronic cough. Smoking endangers health by contributing to heart disease, circulatory problems and can cause expectancy by about 5 to 8 years. Smoking also affects others around you by increasing their risk for cancer and respiratory disease.
5. Eat proper food: Eat fresh vegetable and fruits, whole grains and avoid saturated fats and fatty meats are beneficial for retarded the ageing process of the body. Eating less saturated fat can lower blood cholesterol levels. Saturated fats can damage the immune system, cause premature aging, clog the arteries and interfere with metabolism. Saturated fats that are bad for your health are mostly from animal sources. In addition to animal fats, dairy products, white sugar and refined flours causes the storage of sticky, saturated fat that increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and arteriosclerosis. Eating fruits and vegetable with bright colours of green, orange, red and yellow are high in anti-oxidant
nutrients such as vitamin C and E and carotenoids. Foods such as broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, cantaloupe and citrus fruits include anti-oxidants that fight the aging effects.
6. Keep your weight in check- Moderation in food intake is the best way to maintain your ideal body weight. Being overweight can contribute to heart disease, diabetes and joint problems. As we get older
we tend to gain weight more easily because we become less active our metabolism slows down, are muscles loose strength. Eating healthy diet, exercising and lifting weight can help maintain a healthy body weight and help you feel better in general.
7. Lower stress – Research result suggest that long term exposure to adrenal stress hormones may boost brain aging in later life. It is impossible to avoid stress but you can avoid the ageing effects by
reacting better to it. We can lower our stress by changing our materialistic view by spiritual knowledge. Exercise, meditation, discussing the problem with others, counselling with psychologist can help us to lower the stress. Always try to minimize your standard of living according to your income.
8. Practice daily skin care and use moisturizers and sunscreen- The best way to avoid aging in the skin is to stay out the sun. Always use sunscreen of atleast 15 SPF or higher. Skin care products formulated for anti-aging can exfoliate dead skin cells and infuse moisture and nutrients into the skin to improve skin texture and maintain a healthy glow.
9. Use alcohol in moderation- Some studies have shown moderate alcohol intake may help to protect against heart disease, but the use of too much alcohol can cause dehydration, liver damage and drug interactions. Alcohol causes dehydration and dry out the skin. Alcohol affects the small blood vessels allowing more water to move from the bloodstream into soft tissues. Alcohol combined with the horizontal position of the body during sleep results in facial puffiness, skin stretching and faster wrinkle formation.
10. Anti-oxidant vitamins and calcium- Certain nutrients, known as antioxidants, can help you look younger and feel healthier, fight free radicals and boost the body’s defences against aging. The main sources of antioxidants are vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Grape seed extract and Green tea. Besides this there are certain Hormone replacement therapies also there. A deficit in the body’s production of hormones is the most probable cause of aging in the general population. In this type of problems doctors are injected the hormone which are deficit in the body. But it is a very costly therapy and not available in all places.
And yes we can raise a toast for happy living.
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