How to Stay Young

Why is it that so many people dread getting older? Why does reaching their fortieth birthday turn sensible, educated people into depressed, miserable wrecks?

Getting older is a fact of life. There is nothing we can do about it, so why fight it?

But it’s not usually the actual getting older that causes people concern; it’s what the advancing years does to their body, their face and their appearance.

If we could grow older but look the same as when we were 18, ageing wouldn’t be an issue would it?
The idea that the body ‘ages’ as a matter of course is being replaced by the fact that ‘deterioration’ is the real cause of ageing: neglect through misuse. Lack of proper exercise, stress and poor nutrition are the real culprits for the ageing of the body.
The main way to keep your limbs toned and your body full of endless vitality is of course to exercise. You can and should be able to maintain and even improve your fitness levels across the course of your lifetime. You can be fitter in your forties, fifties, sixties and even seventies than you are/were in your twenties and thirties.

Look at long distance runner and adventure racer Helen Klein. She took up jogging at 55, and progressed to complete over 75 marathons and 100 ultra–distance marathons (these are races over 100 miles in length) during a career that went on well into her mid-seventies.

Or Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who at the age of 59 and just four months after suffering a heart attack and undergoing a triple heart bypass operation, completed seven marathons in seven days on seven continents

Not bad role models eh?

There is no easy way to achieve these fantastic levels of fitness however. They don’t result from fad diets, wonder pills or gadgets. They come from good, old fashioned hard work.

So, what are the steps you should take to reverse the ageing process?

• Try to exercise every day, even if it’s just a brisk walk around the park with your dog. Three times a week isn’t enough to improve your physical performance. In order for exercise to have a rejuvenating effect on the whole body, it must produce a beneficial effect on all systems: cardiovascular, muscular and skeletal. Aerobic exercise (running, aerobics, dance) improves heart and lung capacities and weight training strengthens both muscular and skeletal systems.

• Use strength-based exercises at least three times a week to challenge the muscles and joints and load the bones. A study at a US university amongst forty postmenopausal women proved the benefits of weight training. Half maintained their lifestyle for a year and half lifted weights twice a week. At the end of the year, the sedentary women’s bones and muscles had aged. They had lost bone density and strength. In contrast, the bodies of the women who lifted weights were fifteen to twenty years more youthful. They gained bone density and their strength levels soared to levels typically seen in women in their late thirties. They swapped fat for muscle, looked trimmer and dropped dress sizes. A weight training programme can also prevent osteoporosis, help control weight, improve flexibility, energise, revitalise and lift depression.

• Drink fresh, clean water every day, bottled or filtered tap water is best and it’s best to avoid sparkling water too. Eight to ten glasses is ideal and will keep your organs, your skin, your muscles and even your brain functioning effectively.

• Avoid all processed food. It contains high levels of salt, colourings, flavourings and e numbers which will only cause you harm, whether it’s raising your blood pressure, adding empty calories to your daily intake or toxifying your system. Opt for fresh produce instead; ensuring that 80% of what you eat every day comes from fresh (ideally organic) sources.

• Try to keep your portions down and increase your intake of fruit, vegetables and lean protein. A healthy, nutritional diet should consist of 65% carbohydrates, 20% protein and 15% fat. Avoid saturated fats found in cakes, biscuits, sweets, pastries and junk food.

• Sleep more: The human body requires sleep of both great quality and quantity. Getting eight hours a night is a good start but it’s not really enough. Try to get your sleep patterns worked out so that you are asleep between the hours of 10pm and 2am, which will make the most of your body’s hormonal repair processes.

• Relax and try not to stress too much: It has been proven in many medical studies that stress can make you fat. After the age of 30, many women live their lives in a constant state of stress, dealing with ageing parents and juggling careers and children. Hormones, including stress hormones, begin to flood their body, causing mood swings, muscle fatigue, loss of memory and intense food cravings. So try to relax more. Read a book, listen to music, and take more holidays. Studies show that people who balance their lives between work and relaxation live longer and are less stressed.

So there you go… seven simple steps to give you more energy and vitality and to keep you feeling youthful and fit. It’s not rocket science but it does work. Why not give it a go and you’ll feel better than you have in years!