The Basic Building Blocks of Healthy Aging

I received this email from TriVita today and thought it was a great one about aging well.

“None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.” - Henry David Thoreau

Healthy aging is an important topic for me as I age, and I am sure it is an important topic for you as well; no one wants to be sick as they enter their “wisdom years.” This article is about living long and maintaining optimum health.

Is that possible? Yes, it is! Even though some of our longevity depends on genetics, even more depends on the choices we make every day. Health only comes from healthy living, based on healthy choices. The best possible choices for healthy living today will give us the best chance for healthy aging – and a life filled with vitality instead of disability.

What is aging?

Look around at the wide variety of people you know. Look at the health status of each of them and you will see people of the same chronological age that are far different in their biological age.

We see seniors such as John Glenn who went into space at age 77 and former President George Herbert Walker Bush who went skydiving at age 75 and then again at age 80. Unfortunately, these remarkable people may be the exception to the rule. All you have to do is look around you and see people your own age (and younger) who are already disabled or suffering. Many chronic health concerns may be prevented with just a little care!

So, chronological aging is about the calendar and has nothing to do with our health and vitality. Biological aging is about how healthy we are and how energetic we feel. Whereas we cannot literally “turn the clock back” on chronology, we can often repair and rejuvenate our biology and reduce the speed at which we age.

Learning life’s lessons

If we are observant we can learn from people around us. For instance, don’t you see that non-smokers live longer and healthier (in general) than people who smoke? And don’t you see that people with a strong sense of community are happier and more engaged than people who tend to isolate themselves? So, it is easy for us to learn some of the lessons we need for healthy aging just through observation and common sense.

Other lessons are a little more challenging and we need to look to science and medicine for a healthy perspective. For instance, after decades of admonishing people to “just eat a balanced diet” (whatever that may be), we are now told that everyone should be taking a multiple vitamin. Why? Because science and medicine have observed that the people following the practice of nutrient supplementation are healthier than those who don’t.

So, be quick to learn the lesson of nutrients and nurturing from people around you and from your own experience. Also, set aside time to keep up on current information concerning health and aging.

Healthy aging nutrients

Multiple vitamin

Let’s start with a good, food-based multiple vitamin and mineral supplement. Everyone needs one! We need it because even if we eat a perfectly balanced diet, the foods we eat are grown in depleted soil. They simply don’t have the nutrients in them that they once did.

Vitamin B-12

We also need Vitamin B-12 in a form that is readily usable by the body. Vitamin B-12 deficiency is the most common vitamin deficiency in people over 50. Vitamin B-12 deficiency may cause everything from fatigue and grumpiness, to mental confusion and mental exhaustion.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C deficiency is the second most common vitamin deficiency among people over 50. It’s also something you should take every day, because your body can’t store Vitamin C. Results of Vitamin C deficiency include a sluggish immune system, poor dental health and easy bruising. Vitamin C helps your skin, bones and blood vessels.

Omega essential fatty acids

The most common cause of death in North America is cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association tells us that Omega essential fatty acids can help delay or prevent many heart and vascular diseases. So, Omega oils round out the basic recommendations for healthy aging.

A body deprived of the proper nutrients and nurturing will be more prone to disease and premature aging. Practicing the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness gives us the healthy habits we need for healthy aging. And supplementing with the right nutrients helps us get what we need to facilitate the replacement of old cells with new healthy cells.

So, the choice is always yours. But remember, the clock is ticking...