How to age gracefully!

Just 5 minutes a day - how to age gracefully!

You are what you eat - and what you eat matters!

To be young is healthy and to be old unhealthy – but we can’t be young forever. As the saying goes “you are what you eat” it would not be too far off to say that we normally eat all we can to become unhealthy. Yes, if you want to stay healthy you must control what you eat - normally we have to cut down on carbohydrates, fats and to some extend proteins. It is not practical to drastically cut down on that food but it would be reasonable to reduce it by at least fifty percent, more so for carbohydrates. Prevention is better than cure and so we have to start when we were young – so that we stay healthy when we have aged. Treating diseases is a costly affair and all governments know that so we have to start eating the right food as early as possible so as to prevent us becoming a statistic of the unhealthy when we age. What matters is not only what we eat but we have to exercise our body so that its components (muscles) don’t become useless.

Yes, you just need to buckle up for 5 minutes to stay away from illnesses. When you wake up in the morning, cleans yourself and go for your morning workout. You can also do it in your house if need be. Just 5 minutes getting your blood flow again is all you need.

How to stay fit at 70?

You just need to walk (with arm actions) for ten minutes - thats all. And while walking, raise both your hands up and tuck in your stomach while taking a deep breathe. But be careful as doing this will unbalance you, so take your time to do it slowly just to steady yourself before you quickened your pace. Breathing in will greatly release the tension that you have in your stomach region. Raising your hands up and taking in a deep breathe will help ease the flow of 'CHI' in your gut region. Doing it in the morning will give you jest for the rest of the day! And don't believe that you need to do an hour of exercise, just do ten minutes of walking and breathing in will do the trick. Of course you will need to be careful with your eating for if you take in too much garbage you will find yourself retaining most of the toxic elements in your body - and on a long term basis, will get you sick. Always eat enough to give yourself energy and warmth and stay away from oil fried foods that your stomach will not be able to digest.

Now build up your muscles before you do strenuous walking And you need protein to do that.Protein is a nutrient for building the human body, and vital for maintaining and repairing tissues, as well as making enzymes, hormones. It forms an integral part of the bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. Also, the body does not store protein, which is why it is essential to consume it regularly in your diet. However there are good protein and bad protein! Good proteins are rich in essential amino acids and are easily digested and absorbed in the body - lean meats, poultry, fish, dairy, nuts and legumes. Good proteins which are low in saturated fats will help prevent conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Now what about bad proteins? Bad proteins are highly processed or high in saturated fat, which can prove harmful to your health, increasing the risk of heart disease, kidney problems, and other health issues – examples are sausages, bacon, and deep-fried snacks. Elderlies should eat more protein to prevent their muscles from shrinking. Wasted muscles will prevent you from being mobile.

Now what happens when you walk? There is a good reason for people to exercise and to stretch their muscles – the more the better because muscles will shrink if they are not activated and certainly it will wilt with age. As we age, and because of muscle atrophy, the muscles will become thinner and in most cases will decrease in muscle mass which will result in difficulty in mobility – thus will require human assistance or equipment designed to help the body to be mobile. Furthermore, our society has been addicted to sedentary way of life, which inevitably will result in severe muscle loss. Thus the habit of choosing to be sited most of the time will really encourage the body to be lazy which will also result in us gaining weight. Walking is the best form of exercise that can prevent cardiovascular diseases among inactive individuals. Moderately paced walks stimulate the release of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, that is key to the survival of existing brain neurons and the generation of new ones.

Walk backwards? You might think walking backward is crazy but a study by Janet Dufek, an expert in biomechanics at the University of Nevada in the US, has been researching backwards locomotion for more than 20 years. She and her colleagues have found walking backwards for just 10-15 minutes per day over a four-week period increased the hamstring flexibility of 10 heathy female students. Additionally, doing it will strengthen the muscles in the back responsible for spine stability and flexibility. Dufek also concurred that backward walking has some benefits relative to lower back pain simply because you're stretching the hamstrings. Often one of the pieces that's tied to lower back pain is tight hamstrings. As well as athletes, retro-walking has been found to benefit the elderly, young, obese individuals, sufferers of osteoarthritis, and post-stroke patients with walking impairments. Now that is plenty to think about.

Perhaps the most exciting finding is that aerobic forms of exercise (including brisk walking) likely help facilitate the growth of new neurons,” says Patrick Smith, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Walking increases the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the brain, which can open the gates to enhanced creativity and thus increased memory – also a decrease ofcognitive decline. This is important for an aged society. Walking will induce the brain to release more endorphins which will help in pain relief as well as to give a euphoric feeling. In Malaysia, in a national wide survey conducted in 2019, it showed of a rising trend in obesity, increaseg from 15.1% in 2011 to 17.7% in 2015 and thence to 19.9% in 2019. It would be wise then to promote people taking up exercises in their daily lives or at least during their rest days. They will owed it to themselves to keep a healthy lifestyle if not for their own pocket or for the sake of the country not wasting money curing of their diseases – diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney dysfunction, stroke and other non-infectious diseases.

above photo --- author (aged 70+) jogging. _________________________________________________________ You may even do it at home if you are not able to go out walking! That's important because not everyone will have the opportunity to exercise outside their home. In fact you must at least have a suitable environment at home to exercise - you can strecth your muscles and help them grow. More importantly, you must have a regime that moves all your muscles - so when you strecth your leg muscles you must not forget to also strecth your hand muscles and your neck muscles! But in order to do it whitin ten minutes, you will need to be inmaginative about it. Maybe watching youtubes may give you the right idea. The luxury of having to climb up the stairs People normally find climbing up the stairs a strenous exercise and chose to take the lift if possible. But actually stairs is a gift from god - anyway it is not a gift if you are burdened by a weak muscle. For the ake of your health, do take the stairs instead of taking the lift because by way of climbing up the stairs, you will gain in terms of a stronger heart and a more capable leg muscle. Think about your health when you are facing a lift as you will be better off if you will take the stairs. It would even be better if you have stairs at home for you will have the opportunity of exercising your leg muscles by frequently climbing up the stairs. Same as you are going down the stairs for you will be exercisisng the opposite set of muscles - please treat it as a free exercising outfit. Besides getting a stronger leg muscle, you will also be able to strengthen your heart muscles but before you climb up the stairs, go tuck in your stomach and take a deep breathe - this to increase your blood oxygen level.

When is the best time for you to perform? What is the best time for you to paying attention, learning, making complex decision and solving problems? According to experts who used models to research on the best time for doing anything, it was found that there were 3 types of people, one called larks, another called owls. The larks are the morning people who perform best in the morning. An owl works best in the late of night. Yet another group belongs to neither the larks nor the owls and they generally perform according to whether they woke up in the early morning or late morning. All these happen due to their Circadian Rhythm which is another term for their internal time keeper. So, according to the experts, you should be aware of whether you are the larks or the owls and you should try to perform best during the best time of your rhythm – and it does make all the difference!

Healthy Aging How do you stay fit even when you have aged? Recently, a group of scientist got a breakthrough as to how to stay able body through the eighties and beyond. They found a unique group of cells that contributes to the aging process in particular some spinal cord cells that becomes toxic through the ages. So they fed it with vitamin C and they found the toxicity was lowered the result is that the aged are able to use their muscles to perform in the usual way. hus if you want your body to perform in peak condition, you will need to maintain a certain amount of vitamin C in your body - in fact you will be better off if your body have a certain aoumt of vitamin C for twenty four hours! There is no need to take a large amount of vitamin C (like 1000 mg) as it is easily discharge out through the urine - it will not remain in the body for long. And yes, vitamin C does not drive away the cold but rather they acts more like an antioxidant which prevents your body cell to be non toxic. Well, now you have a remedy for staying body capable - the research shows that as your spinal cord cell becomes toxic, it will affect the way you move your muscles. Old age can be beautiful if only you know how!

Are you always forgetful? Well there is a cure, in the form of practicing Tai Chi Qian (a form of Chinese slow exercise) during the morning hours. Twice a week will do the trick but if you do it every morning, then you will also be able to keep your balance and prevents a fall. No joking, this is one of the tricks that researchers have found to actually work – and you don’t have to take any medicine! According to Dr. Elizabeth Eckstrom, “you’ve basically given yourself 3 extra years of staving off cognitive decline” if you do Tai Chi every morning. A person with cognitive decline can expect to lose on average 2 years of life before you touch that point where you virtually don’t remember what you did five minutes before. Tai Chi Qian is both an exercise and a meditative journey where you enable the flow of Chi from the stomach to your brain – which will improve your sense of balance and enhance the health of your body. You will not fall easily and that is a lot of good if you are in the aged category, again without the need to take in harmful medicines!

It's important that you eat the right kind of food too!

Why is gut health important? Digestive system problems such as heartburn, gas, nausea, bloating and constipation reflect what’s happening throughout your body, especially in your gut. “As we age, the natural cycles slow down and don’t work as well,” says Johns Hopkins gastroenterologist Gerard Mullin, M.D. The main changes in your gut are stomach acid (level), gut immunity and gastrointestinal flora—the complex ecosystem of bacteria in your digestive system termed gut microbiome. Scientist has acknowledged that the gut microbiome is the second brain and there is a form of communication between the gut and the brain so you will need to take care of your gut – by giving it suitable food as the microorganisms there also need food.

Alzheimer’s disease can cause by what you eat! According to research using gut microbiota transplants, it has been shown that memory impairments in human with Alzheimer’s can be passed on to the young (healthy rats). The research further implied that specific bacteria in the gut are directly linked to cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patient. It would thus imply that both Alzheimer and other forms of dementia are directly related to the health of gut microbiome. But how does the health of gut microbiome be affected by what you eat? Understanding the role of gut microbiome during the early stages of dementia will bring about a right therapy for intervention to the onset of mind disease. In the research, rats that have microbiome transplanted from Alzheimer patient showed impaired memory behaviors. It is therefore important to know what goes on in our gut – in relation to what we eat.

Are you impacted by poor mood? Well, there is hope. Try eating dark choloate, the kind that contains little sugar! Nutritional psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo recently spoke with CBS News about the things you should be eating to boost your health and you may be affected by the things she suggested. Dr. Naidoo recommended eating more fiber as it is important for maintaining proper gut functioning. Then, eat dark chocolate (with little sugar content)as it als contain fiber and serotonin. Serotonin combat depression which is a bane for most elderlies but do refrain from eating too much.But not just any dark chocolate, only natural dark chocolate which might not easily available. However, the experts warn that eating too much of dark chocolate may increase your accumulation of toxic metals like cadmium and lead!

Would you love to add years to your life? Here are 3 doable things that can add to your life – that is if you are fit enough to enjoy life! Healthy Heart As the heart is the pump to the system, we must do our best to keep it in good condition. Researchers have found that better heart condition will lead to slower aging. Here are 8 important points that can lead to a healthy heart. 1. Eat as much as you can whole plant based food – stay away from highly processed food. 2. At least one hour of exercise – mix strength training with cardio. 3. Keep a low body fat as excess fat can increase risk of chronic decease. 4. Avoid excessive LDL (bad cholesterol). 5. Eat just enough protein and fiber to balance bold sugar. 6. Enough sleep (will depend on individual) of 6 hours. 7. Stay away from nicotine and alcohol (no excess). 8. Stay away from high blood pressure (with medication). Remember though, healthy life is not a given – it is not like eating all you can.

What food to take to enhance the health of the gut microbiome? It has been determined from research (Graze University of Technology, Austria) that consuming fruits and vegetables can contribute positively to the bacterial diversity of the gut microbiome – a large range of different bacteria can add to the health of the gut system. In furtherance to that, it was found that a good agricultural practice can ensure plenty of useful bacteria – plant associated bacteria will thrive in a positive environmental microbiome. So eat more fruits and vegetables and less of meat to gain on body health.

Taurine to slow down aging Researchers at Columbia University have shown that having taurine in supplements slow down the effects of aging in test on mice, worms and monkeys. Now that is what you should be taking if you want to add a few years to your life. Taurine is an essential amino acid that plays a role in the body’s digestive , cardiovascular, skeletal, muscular and the nervous system – so you can see how important to have enough of it in your system. Taurine is found in small quantities in fish, meat and eggs and is also available from your pharmacist as a supplement. Take it and age gracefully but if you can’t find it then just take two eggs a day – that’s all! When you age, you accumulate damage DNA which can lead to mutations and also an increased risk of getting cancer. Taurine protects your DNA and have the capability to scavenge harmful free radicals. 1. Taurine helps in tissue repair and tissue regeneration 2. It helps blood pressure regulation, reducing heart problems

What about your drinking water - does it matter? To stay healthy, you will need to drink at last 3 big cups of it a day to stay healthy. Your body weight is at least 65% coming from water and you need to be able to furnish your body with water but not any water. Water from the pipe is supposed to be safe but in truth, they are not safe because they contain a lot of unwanted chemicals that can give you illness. A long term ingestions of these harmful chemicals can cause cancer. So in order to be safe and be able to live long you should only drink filtered water - do not trust pipe water even if the authorities deem it safe. Safe water are those that you have filtered and boiled - and try to avoid taking coffee or tea from the roadside stall as they are seldom treated.

New therapy for prolonging life? A new gene therapy could fix failing hearts - was developed by a team of researchers in Italy and the United Kingdom. The team of researchers said the therapy could reduce the heart's age by ten years. In January 20203, researchers from the University of Bristol and MultiMedica Group in Italy discovered a new anti-aging gene that has proven to reduce the age of heart cells by at least a decade. “Researchers have long suspected that people who live beyond 100 years old must have a unique genetic code that protects them from the ravages of old age,” wrote The Telegraph’s Science Editor Sarah Knapton. “Previous research showed that carriers of a variant of the BP1FB4 gene enjoy long lifespans and fewer heart problems,” Knapton added. The researchers found that by inject the BP1FB4 gene into the hearts of aging mice using a virus as the delivery method; it was found that BP1FB4 rewound the heart’s biological clock by the human equivalent of 10 years! The treatment also triggered regeneration of heart tissue when the new genes were introduced into damaged cells in the laboratory, it was noted to help return lost function through the building of new blood vessels. However, clinical trials will continue to ascertain whether BP1FB4 will indeed work.

Here’s how you could reduce your risk of depression Society is getting evermore complex and the stress of daily life is taking its toll on nearly everyone’s mental health. Depression rates are rising and things are really looking grim. Now what can you do to pep up your mood?

Nuts and more nuts will do the trick! Researchers have discovered that eating a handful of nuts a day can drastically reduce your risk of developing depression. Just how much risk can you reduce by eating nuts? A 18% lower risk of depression - or a 18% up your mood! It turns out that you can lower your risk of developing depression by a whopping 17% if you’re eating just a handful of nuts a day, which is a doable thing and not forgetting that there are other benefits to nut eating like you get more fiber, more protein and more minerals.

Scientist have found why we aged

What is the cause of aging? Repetitive regions at the very ends of chromosomes are called telomeres, and they're found in a wide range of eukaryotic species, from human beings to unicellular organisms. Telomeres act as caps that protect the end regions of the chromosomes, and they're worn down a small amount in each round of DNA replication - they get shorter and shorter and finally become useless. This shortening has been found to be associated with aging! So scientists are working out to prevent this shortening effect for they believe that doing so will help arrest aging - and they have found a solution! So wait for this miracle cure - no need to take drugs.

You are what you eat!

Well, not everyone believes in what they will become after eating a certain thing, right?

Indeed, food scientist have found that there is a great amount of truth in the saying. But you will not believe it because you would want to eat anything of your fancy. However, if you were to look at society, especially the more advance society, you will find that there are more obese people than thin people strolling round the streets. That is because people just do not want to stop eating their favourite food - most of their favourite food can be caterised as junk food. Scientist have found that you will get a healthier life if you stop eating junk food and instead eat more vegetables - right, eat more vegetabes as they will make your gut healthier which will mean your brain will get a healthier message. But to break into this routine is hard to do for the average guy. Do not wait until your body feels sick as there is very little time left to resuscitate your body to the health condition while you were much younger. It is also scaring to know that the younger generation is experiencing more cadiovascular diseases - the much fear of getting heart attack and its ensuing consecquences. But think of it, eating more vegetables is not a very hard thing to do.

Overweight? No problem - just take Ozempic or Wegovy!

It is been predicted by the experts that at least 90% of the US population will be overweight by 2030. So are we concerned? No, there is this easy way to weightloss - taking Ozempic or Wegovy. Just like that but indeed we are all very worried because people like to chose the easy way out - eat all we want and if conditions become bad, we just go for that medicine that is so easily available, albeit with a doctor's recomendation. Could the conditions get worse for the rest of the world? Yes, it is because of inflation and everyone gets a little bit less money to spend, the result is that everyone tries to stay home sitting in front of movies that have resulted in them getting sickness all over their bodies! However, it is not always doom as people can still do little exercises that can spurt their bloodflows and their Chi which will give them a healthy body. Yes, take care to doo the relevant exercises and also not to forget to cut down on your eating. Eating less and eating smart is the way to trim your body of fats - makes your gut feel healthy which will also make your mind healthy. So you don't have to go the Ozempic way - saves you a lot of money.