Carolyn Hansen: Balance and wellness for a longer, healthier life – Northern Advocate

To age well, we have to keep our bodies fit and healthy. Photo / 123rf

OPINION

Modern medicine is a true marvel. It cures diseases, saves lives, and grants most of us the promise of a longer life than our ancestors could ever have imagined.

How well we age and what these "extended years" are filled with is another matter altogether. Medicine may grant extended years, but it's our lifestyles and attitudes that infuse our lives with vitality and joy or dampen it with sedentary loneliness.

Although we cannot freeze time, there are many things we can do to put a stop to ageing and ensure that we pass through the years gracefully, while looking and feeling our best.

Ongoing, scientific research confirms that our health and longevity are not dictated and locked by our genes. We are not born with a "health destiny". Lifestyles can and do change how our body ages. This is where responsibility regarding our personal health kicks in.

According to WHO, the World Health Organization, health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, it is "a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing"; a state of overall wellness.

The National Wellness Institute states that, "Wellness is an active process through which people become aware of and make conscious choices toward a more successful existence."

It is a "quality of life" cornerstone, ultimately determining how we feel, look and interact with those around us, and evidence supports and suggests that practising a wellness lifestyle is the real key to healthy longevity.

Wellness is never about surviving, but about thriving due to deliberate effort. As an approach to healthcare, it emphasises illness prevention and life extension rather than treating disease after the fact. Wellness implies self-awareness of both the causes and consequences of our actions, requiring us to take responsibility for our personal health and happiness.

Healthy habits are empowered to shut down bad genes that lead to poor health while turning on protective good ones, the powerful self-healing ones that promote longevity and stellar health.

That means consistently practising lifestyle habits that contribute to and help us achieve better physical, mental and emotional health, habits that include proper exercise, nutrition, mindfulness (self-awareness) and social connectedness.

The wealth of benefits that exercise offers in terms of making us feel our best while combating the ageing process cannot be overstated. The right exercises actively kick in HGH (Human Growth Hormone) production, continually reminding the body to renew, repair and replace old worn-out cells and tissues.

This self-healing mechanism spreads throughout every cell in the body, making us a whole lot younger and healthier!

Anti-ageing benefits of exercise -

Improved muscle mass and strength. Maintaining or building more muscle mass tissue lends well to functional strength. As an ageing adult, few things will impact our quality of life as much as seeing and feeling our functional strength go down. Let's not forget the fact that maintaining our lean muscle mass will boost our self-esteem and self-confidence. We feel and look better.

Enhanced bone and joint strength. Weight bearing exercises help prevent bone related issues from creeping up later. Osteoporosis is a serious condition that sadly, impacts far too many older adults. By starting early, we can make sure that that our adult years will be blessed with a strong, healthy skeleton.

Improved immunity. Decreased risk of health issues - heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure

Lowered levels of stress/emotional stability exercise not only kicks up HGH production, but we feel a boost of "feel good, happy-endorphins" when we exercise.

Mental acuity/sharp memory. Exercise stimulates key brain chemicals for concentration, memory and mental sharpness.

Healthy glowing skin. Forget about the expensive makeup, lotions and potions. Sweating releases toxins and puts a "real" glow on our cheeks.

Since consistency is the most important part of exercise, it's important to pick exercises that we enjoy so we stick with them. For maximum results, focus should be strength training as this is the form of exercise with the highest payoff and benefits.

When it comes to nutrition, there are certain issues that sabotage our anti-ageing efforts and accelerate the ageing process. Knowing what they are allows us to avoid them and their health damaging consequences.

Nutritional issues (that promote the ageing process)

Lack of antioxidants. Processed foods need to be kept to a bare minimum. When it comes to boosting antioxidants, the focus needs to be fresh produce fresh vegetables and fruits.

Over consumption of sugar. Sugar contributes nothing but calories and opens the door to diabetes.

High intake of trans-fats. Man-made fats designed to increase the shelf-life of the food products we consume. There is no real purpose for them health wise. They set us up for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Insufficient quality protein intake. Protein provides the raw materials needed to generate new cells, to generate the hormones necessary for keeping all systems in the body working properly, and for generating lean muscle mass.

Deficient omega 3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids provide key nutrients that the brain needs to function optimally. They are vital ingredients that work to keep inflammation levels down. Those who consume adequate omega-3 fatty acids on a regular basis are less likely to develop conditions like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, depression, as well as bipolar disorder.

Everything we do on a day-to-day basis all the choices that we make in how we approach our day impacts our body and the process of ageing. Our choices either accelerate ageing or combat it. If we punish our body with excessive alcohol, smoking or stress, we cannot expect life to reward us with healthy longevity. These are obvious, dangerous lifestyle habits that must be eliminated because they can and do kill.

In the end, our day-to-day actions and decisions not only affect how we currently feel, but influence who we will become, so we must plan accordingly.

Enjoying independence, productivity and self-care in later years is not a given. It is the reward received; the karmic joy earned for expressing self-love and living a life of "wellness" now.

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Carolyn Hansen: Balance and wellness for a longer, healthier life - Northern Advocate