Living It Up the Healthy Way
Life begins at 40. You, the perennially positive thinker start enumerating the successes you have attained so far and the things that you still have to achieve. Everything seems wonderful at this point when all your hard work and sacrifices seem to have already paid off. All of a sudden, though, things literally start spinning and then everything turns pitch black.
You wake up and ask, “Where am I? What happened?” The good doctor comes to your room and explains what has transpired. Patiently, the doctor starts with how your body broke down due to excessive stress and all the beatings it might have taken over the years of working hard, sleeping less and other such abuse. Only then do you begin to understand that all the while, you were being very unkind to your body.
Old Age Decline
When one is young, it is easy to be lax about following healthy habits such as eating the right kinds of food, exercising and staying away from alcohol and tobacco. The body cells could regenerate easily when it is young.
As a person grows older, however, things start slowing down. The body’s metabolism slides; cell regeneration decelerates. The extra pounds that used to go away by themselves starts piling up like so many cars in a crowded freeway. Bad analogy, but you get the gist, right?
The skin which used to be supple and soft starts looking pale, lackluster and – heavens forbid – old!. After a short climb, you have to catch your breath more often and stop more frequently than you had to before. These are all tell-tale signs that your body has grown less resilient and that it needs more active help and care from you.
Begin to Live Healthy: Eat Right and Exercise
Now is a great time to rethink your options. If you want to live longer and better, your body has to be given adequate attention. The basic rule of a healthy life hasn’t changed: eat right and exercise.
The basic food groups have been taught to you when you were young. – the go, grow and glow foods –remain the same. This time, though, you have to cut down on your fatty food intake. Excessive intake of carbohydrates will result in more fat deposits that will not go away as easily as they did. Thus, keep your carbs to a minimum. Never eradicate them entirely from your diet, however, for that’s just as bad as filling up on them. Start filling up on food that is rich in fiber. This food group includes fruits and vegetables.
Exercising can no longer be postponed. The body has to start getting its share of work-out so the muscles can become firmer. This will help you walk faster, move quicker and think better. A healthy body leads to a healthy mind, after all. The heart can pump blood around the body better with proper exercise. The blood carries oxygen to the brain so the brain can work properly.
Lastly, regular executive check-ups can help confirm how healthy you are and if there are impending diseases or complications starting to creep up your definitely older body. An ounce of prevention is still better than a pound of cure, if you know what I mean.
on September 14th, 2008 at 12:25 am
“The basic rule of a healthy life hasn’t changed: eat right and exercise.”
I think that sentence can’t be better.
You should eliminate from your diet foods that are hard on metabolism, such as caffeine, alcohol, processed food (incl. any bread), pre-made or canned food, salt, sugar, wheat, red meat, pork, fried and deep fried food, yellow cheese, cream, butter and margarine, shortening, etc.
While focusing on pure foods such as raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, raw nuts and seeds, fish, vegetable oils, herbs and herbal teas, water, etc.
A healthy diet contains enough fiber and water. Physical activity increases blood flow throughout the body.