By We’re all going to get old, but it doesn’t have to be sooner than expected
As I move into my mid 40’s, keeping up appearances is challenging.
Things that didn’t cause me issues five years ago are now becoming problematic.
Gut health, hormones, body fat, and bloating are challenging and require much more vigilance through proper diet, sleep and exercise.
But a few other sneaky things also become a bad habit to break, further accelerating ageing.
We already have enough to cope with as we age; why add these other detrimental habits to make it hard on ourselves?
The best time is right now
Now is the right time to start thinking about our health and how we want to look and feel.
It’s not accepting the inevitable — more about enhancing our health and reaching our highest potential.
Life expectancy might increase — or maybe it won’t. These days, who know what could happen? Diseases are increasing at a faster rate than ever before.
For all we know, one of us could be next.
No matter what life throws at you, being in good physical and mental health will help you overcome anything coming your way.
The more susceptible you are to disease, the faster you will age. So let’s move toward reversing our age rather than accelerating it.
Eliminating the following bad habits may reverse the signs of ageing, which have come about due to making these poor choices.
One: Sit on your ass for too long
The muscle starts to decrease when we sit down for much longer than moving around, and as we get older, it’s even harder to build any.
As a result, we start to lose muscle mass from age 35, which increases our risk of osteoporosis and injuries such as fractures.
It doesn’t matter if you start building muscle or being active in your youth or as you age — begin putting in place a plan of action to stay as active as possible.
Aim for those 10K steps per day, lift those heavy weights in the gym, or do low-impact exercises like yoga, swimming or cycling.
Investing in a standing desk, where you can transition from one mode to another, helps.
It will keep you moving around a lot more.
Two: Smoking your life away
I do detest smoking of all kinds because it killed my dad almost 20 years ago.
Smoking may not kill you now, but you cannot ignore the damage it does throughout your life, not to mention your skin.
Collagen and the elasticity of our skin are compromised when smoking becomes a habit.
As we age, production of these diminishes, and that’s how wrinkles and skin sagging begins to form.
Unfortunately, smoking does a great job of accelerating this process while causing premature ageing.
Factors that can help prevent most chronic diseases are; Not smoking, keeping healthy, eating a healthy diet, exercising, and having a high intake of fruit, vegetables, whole grain, and low meat consumption.
It sounds like the Mediterranean diet to me! So that’s a big hint.
Three: Habitually eating processed food
A diet containing whole foods, vegetables, fruits, and grains must lengthen your telomeres and improve your lifespan.
If you eat well, nature can take care of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants you need for better health, skin quality and longevity.
In addition, the fibre in fruits and grains provides a means for balancing blood sugar, lowering cholesterol and maintaining better gut health.
These all promote a longer and healthier life whilst maintaining youthfulness.
Four: Burning above the midnight oil too regularly
We all have these little things called telomeres, which shorten when we sleep less.
Sleep deprivation also increases your chances of eating badly, skipping exercising and giving in to sugar cravings.
All of these lead to increasing your risk of obesity and disease.
Getting at least seven to nine hours of good quality sleep is one of the best things you can do for your health. Plus, you combat ageing naturally and improve your quality of life.
If you have insomnia, try a pre-bedtime preparation of exercise three hours beforehand, eating less for dinner, no coffee or caffeinated drinks, and stop screen scrolling.
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