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How to Fight the Effects of Aging

Like any battle, the fight against aging is best fought on several fronts simultaneously.

Get Up and Get Moving

Exercise is the key to a healthy life if you’re eight or 80. A brisk 30-minute walk every day is a step in the right direction. Take friends along or bring a dog for company. It also may help with motivation. Even those unable to walk may still get some exercise while stationary through repetitive movement exercises.

Eat Smart

The right kind of foods in the right quantities may do wonders to stave off the aging process. Plenty of fruits and vegetables, particularly the most colorful ones, which tend to be rich in nutrients, are important. Keeping your total fat intake down is important too; saturated fats in particular. Read food labels and substitute saturated fat in the diet for complex carbohydrates like starch and fiber.

Busy Body, Busy Mind

Exercise keeps the body working, but a flexible mind is just as important. The more occupied the mind stays, the more its cells are stretched, and the better shape it stays in. Start tackling the daily crossword and read the rest of the newspaper while you’re at it. Take up a hobby, keep busy and give yourself things to look forward to.

Laugh Loud, Live Long

It’s the best medicine, it keeps you young, it’s birthed a thousand clichés, but there’s no getting around it – laughing feels good and that can’t be bad. Watch a comedy, read a book of humorous fiction, share some jokes, get together with friends and reminisce about the good old days. Whatever gets you laughing keeps you young at heart, which is a good thing physically and emotionally. Smiling makes you look younger, too.