Aging is not a death sentence nor a guarantee that you will develop a disease or require medications. Today, we are more aware of those factors that damage our biological clock. Therefore we have the power and knowledge to decelerate or even reverse our biological age.
It is never too late to start getting younger!
I am getting old. Pain, disease and drugs are expected. That's just life; it's my DNA.
No longer can we rely on such ignorant statements.
We now know that our habitual nature determines our lifespan and healthspan. Rectifying diet and behaviour can radically change your health potential. Do you want to live your marginal decade pain-free and in good health? Well, that is up to you.
And it's easier than you think. Once you understand that your body is a remarkable
bio-computer, and given the right circumstances, it can produce the miraculous.
Let's look at some of the key factors that determine your health as you age.
Magnesium Deficiency
A lack of this vital mineral contributes to accelerated aging in the cardiovascular system and it can stop normal cell regeneration.
Magnesium deficiency is unbelievably common due to our poor western diet habits. We need it in healthy amounts to keep the cells of the heart working. Magnesium also acts as an antioxidant to reduce the damage of free radicals.
Research shows us that a magnesium deficiency negatively affects a range of different cells in the body. These include your endothelial cells which line the heart and blood vessels, and your fibroblasts, which are essential for proper connective tissue repair and growth 1.
For more information on the dangers of magnesium deficiency, please read this BLOG POST.
Stress
We all know that stress is not healthy for us, but do we understand that most of what causes us to be stressed is deep within our subconscious? Those stressors that drift past our awareness work like computer programs constantly switched on and working in the background.
If we don't become aware of these stressors and begin to allow our nervous system time off from them, then disease will follow. Remember, we are trying to put our body in a position to heal us. This means providing it what it needs, good nutrition, hydration, sleep, movement, etc, and then getting out of its way, it can heal us.
We have many options at our disposal to assist with our stress. Exercise, meditation, yoga, breath work and plant medicine can all help your nervous system switch from Fight or Flight to Rest & Digest.
Yoga is an excellent example that has been studied to have over 100 health benefits 2. It would make sense considering yoga offers improved strength and flexibility. All of these aspects link up to all the research on how movement enhances mood, reduces depression and alleviates anxiety.
Then you have the benefits that come with improved focus and breathwork. These are the keys to allowing your body to shift to the calm, healing properties of the parasympathetic nervous system.
Nutrition
Ancient cultures have always looked at the skin, eyes and tongue through a diagnostic lens. These external parts of the body can tell us so much about the internal state. Skin quality has a special part in the conversation when we discuss aging. This obsession with antiaging and the skin has created a billion-dollar cosmetic industry.
An industry that preys on our fears of looking "old."
To truly change your external appearance, feeding the internal is key. Studies in Asia have shown that eating more fat, in the shape of saturated and monounsaturated, leads to better skin elasticity 3.
The world of nutrition is full of finger-pointing. Fat is causing heart disease, sugar is causing obesity, and the list goes on. Regardless of the validity of these statements, blaming just one thing is unscientific. More attention needs to be placed on the damage caused by vegetable oils. Oils such as soy, corn, canola, safflower and sunflower are dense in disease-producing inflammatory fatty acids.
Avoid these oils at all costs and consume fats such as grass-fed meats, wild-caught salmon, pastured poultry and eggs, avocados, coconut oil, and olive oil.
This blog post offers a few simple fundamental steps to begin down a healthier part.
Aging is not a destiny of pain, medication and disease. That is largely up to you.
Thanks for reading.
Simon Brazier. Dip HN, NNCP
simon@truehope.com
References
1. David W. Killilea and Jeanette A. M. Maier, "A Connection between Magnesium Deficiency and Aging: New Insights from Cellular Studies," Magnesium Research 21, no. 2 (June 2008): 77-82.
2. "266 Abstracts with Yoga ResearchYoga," GreenMedinfoGreenMedInfo.com, accessed October 15, 2019, http://www.greenmedinfo.com/therapeutic-action/yoga.
3. Chisato Nagata et al., "Association of Dietary Fat, Vegetables and Antioxidant Micronutrients with Skin Ageing in Japanese Women,"
British Journal of Nutrition 103, no. 10 (May 28, 2010): 1493-98,
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