Five Secrets to Staying Young…….

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Secrets to Staying Young

Hi and welcome back to this, “Take Back Your Beauty, Take Back Your Youth” blog – part two.  I hope that you and your significant other have had an opportunity to open up your inhibitions and/or ideas pertaining to your emotional health and sexual relationship “after baby” having read blog one in this series.  If so, you have had a reawakening in your sexual experience with your partner, coupled with a greater understanding of what those deep rooted expressions of love mean to your ongoing relationship.  More Importantly, I hope you had fun while doing it!   A big part of staying young is having a young heart and mind.  Don’t forget to play once in awhile. 

 

In blog one I closed with a statement from Dr. Oz that quote, “If you define aging as the number of years you have left to be vital, you can reverse the aging process.”  Until recently, medical professionals have always looked at the declining features of aging in an attempt to understand the process and perhaps slow down or reverse this process.  However, today there is an increase in the elderly population’s ability to retain vitality and strength, even into the 80′s’.  These individuals are now called the “Superaged” in the medical field, and they have become a great source of research data related to reversal of the aging process itself.   Listed below you will read the most eye opening discoveries related to these exciting age reversal studies to date.

 

Okinawa, Japan is known as the place on the map that is the home to some of the world’s oldest individuals.  These people had a similarity that contributed to their longevity.  These people stopped eating when they were 80% full, unlike many of us that say, “I’m Stuffed!”   Scientists at St. Louis University found that cutting calories, to reduce food intake not only led to weight loss but also lowered the production of T3, a thyroid hormone that slows metabolism.  Research studies pertaining to the T3 hormone reveal that lower T3 levels may also slow the aging process.

 

Dr. Oz, in his book, (YOU: Being Beautiful), says, “Make Love!”  A regularly active sex life can add up to three years to your life, as he states, “Sex gives you the Zen moment you can’t find throughout the day otherwise.”  This is a direct indicator of how physical activity, (increased heart rate and circulation), as well as mental stimulation work with each other to support both life extension and emotional well being…wonderfully amazing!

 

Untangle your brain!  Neuropsychological tests performed on the “Superaged” discovered that they have fewer brain tangles-deposits of protein in the gray matter of the brain which is commonly associated with Alzheimer’s.   These “Superaged” individuals, when participating in intellectual testing performed as would a 50 year old suggesting that their constant mental exercises contributed to their ability to retain mental acuity.   You must keep your synapses firing by doing such things as mathematical problems, learning a new language, or taking up a hobby that causes you to be creative.  Art and music are great venues.

 

One study published last year tracked 6,583 people for more than 30 years to discover that having significant belly fat in midlife can nearly triple your risk of dementia.   There are great exercises you can do to loose that excess while sitting at your desk!   Cross your legs while sitting in your chair and lift your knees up as high as you can in repetitions of 20 at a time.  Do this each day and you begin to firm up/break up the fat in your belly through muscle replacement.  Take a 20 minute walk each day and watch that belly fat melt away.

 

In addition to reducing calorie intake so that you are not “Stuffed” after each meal, reducing the amount of animal fat in your diet, and replacing your protein source with more beans, nuts, and soy products greatly enhances longevity.   I have been a vegetarian for 30+ years.  I run a 10.44 mile, two to three miles and at time; and at an (older than I care to admit age), still ride bike, play basketball, and keep up with my 18 year old son in our exercise program three times a week at the gym.     So get excited!    You can live healthy and have fun while doing it!  

The Undefeated Life