How to Stay Young and Fit No Matter How Old You Get: Anti-Aging Secrets. Sharon J. Scott
Copyright
© 2014 by Sharon J. Scott
ISBN 9781456621230
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photographic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or in any information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission of the author or publisher, except where permitted by copyright law.
Any information provided in this book is through the author’s interpretation. The author has done strenuous work to reassure the accuracy of this subject. If you wish you attempt any of the practices provided in this book, you are doing so with your own responsibility. The author will not be held accountable for any misinterpretations or misrepresentations of the information provided here.
All information provided is done so with every effort to represent the subject, but does not guarantee that your life will change. The author shall not be held liable for any direct or indirect damages that result from reading this book.
Contents
Introduction
What is the Aging Process?
Wellness and Anti-Aging
Staying Spiritually Young
Adjust Your Attitude
Emotional Health
Staying Stress Free
Eat to Stay Young
Exercise to Stay Young
Factors That Make You Older
Staying Mentally Young
Conclusion
Introduction
We age because we must not because we want to. Getting older is not on anybody’s list of things to do but it happens to us all. The question is what can we do to stay younger, longer?
Turn on the TV, pick up a magazine or walk into any drug store and you will be bombarded with products designed to make you look younger. Plastic surgeons offer to trim, tuck and lift so that you look younger and people pay. The quest for youth is indeed a big money maker but who really benefits?
Do expensive creams and lotions really ward off aging? Can a doctor perform miracles with a scalpel? Yes and no. There is no easy answer to that, because some of the ingredients in the lotions and creams can help some and some plastic surgery can have attractive results that make you look younger. However, for many, these are expensive and impractical solutions.
Plastic surgery carries a high degree of risk and you often end up looking worse than you did before surgery. Wrinkles look better than overly tightened skin that has pulled your eyebrows up in a look of constant surprise. The problem with our quest for youth is that we focus too much on the exterior.
We want to look young, but why just in looks. Why should we not feel young and think young at the same time as looking young. It is possible and this book will tell you how.
Aging affects our brains and our bodies, both inside and out. If you want to tackle aging, you need to take a whole body approach to staying young. Wrinkle creams do not help you feel young nor do they help your body work better, just as it did when you were younger.
The secret to youth is that you work on your mind and body at the same time. Youthfulness begins from the inside out.
What is the Aging Process?
The minute we are born, we begin to age. Aging is a predetermined process that is programed into our cells. Our DNA is a blueprint of ourselves, and it has the instructions for aging in its helix. We age because our genes tell us too. This is why some people begin to show signs of aging before others.
As we age, we experience degenerative changes to our organs, tissues, bones and our skin. Telemeres are parts of our DNA, located at the ends of our chromosomes. When a cell divides, the telomere shortens; aging the cell and eventually, the cell dies. What happens to us on a cellular level translates what happens to us as a whole, we age and we die.
We cannot stop the aging process, but we can control some factors that influence it. In order to slow down the aging process, we need to understand it first.
Knowing how your body is changing helps you learn how to slow down the aging process, keeping you younger and healthier for longer.
Cardiovascular System
Aging slows down the heart rate and the heart itself will often enlarge. Arteries and blood vessels, especially those in the heart, stiffen so your heart is forced to work harder. This contributes to high blood pressure and a whole host of age related cardiac problems.
Muscles, Bones, and Joints
Bones lose density and they shrink slightly. As we age, we shorten slightly. Shrinking bones and a loss of bones density increase the probability of breaks and fractures as the bones become brittle. Muscle flexibility declines as does muscle strength causing overall weakness and balance issues. Coordination begins to decline. Joints lose their natural lubrication as cartilage wears down, causing arthritis and inflammation.
Digestive System
Constipation is a common problem as the digestive system begins to slow. Medications can contribute to this, as well as not being hydrated enough, not being active enough or not getting a proper diet. As we age, those are all common factors and it can affect the digestive system.
Urinary Tract
Weakened muscles in the pelvic floor can cause urinary incontinence and partial to full loss of bladder control can happen. For men, as their prostrate enlarges with age, it causes incontinence as well and for women, menopause has the same effect. Kidneys no longer work as efficiently, allowing toxins to build up in the blood.
Memory
As we age, we start to lose our memory. Although some age related illnesses greatly affect the memory, it is normal to begin to lose our memory as we age. Remembering new things becomes difficult and even trying to come of words that we know can be challenging.
Ears and Eyes
Our vision weakens with age and cataracts are common. Focus becomes harder, especially up close and the glare from lights can be more bothersome as you age. We lose our ability to hear higher frequencies and indeed, our hearing as a whole begins to decline.
Skin
Our skin loses its elasticity so it sags and is more fragile. The skin itself is thinner and bruises form easily. We produce less natural oil as we age so it makes our skin drier and skin tags, age spots and wrinkles form.
Teeth
Dry mouth is a side effect of many common medications, especially for high blood pressure and this contributes to gum disease. Gums begin to recede, and infection and decay of the mouth becomes more common.
The above are the basics of how aging takes a toll on the body. Knowing how aging targets the body allows us to fight back, warding off the major signs of aging while keeping our body and mind healthy.
Wellness and Anti-Aging
In order to stay young, you need to be well. Wellness and health is not the same thing, although they are related.
In order to stay young and to fight aging, you need to be well and that means that your wellness is a factor. Health is your bodily health, and that is what you are your doctor work together on; keeping your weight healthy, ensuring that your blood pressure is okay, that you are disease free and feeling good.
Wellness is a broader term and your health is included in wellness. Wellness is your overall health, your fitness, and how your mind and spirit are. Wellness is how your mind, body and spirit are and to stay