More than eight million Canadian baby boomers (people between 40 and 59) are going grey, getting wrinkles, gaining weight and needing glasses as they enter "middle age." Typically, they've made more money than any previous generation, and they're willing to spend much of it on looking better and living longer.
More than eight million Canadian baby boomers (people between 40 and 59) are going grey, getting wrinkles, gaining weight and needing glasses as they enter "middle age." Typically, they've made more money than any previous generation, and they're willing to spend much of it on looking better and living longer. So, how can they get the best bang for their bucks? It's simple life insurance. No, not the "term" or "whole life" varieties that ensure their families are provided for when they're gone, but rather the "nutrient" and "exercise" types that will ensure their own vitality and longevity.
In Canada, the current life expectancy is 81 years for women, 75 for men. While the world's oldest living person is 122 years, anti-aging experts believe we could live to be at least 150. With the latest in nutritional biochemistry, we can keep the Grim Reaper at bay for much longer than we have been led to believe, especially when we understand how to tinker with our own biochemistry using nutrients and exercise.
Your body requires proper nutrition for optimal performance and longevity. While you may eat a variety of whole foods that are organically grown or processed, chances are you're still not getting enough of some nutrients to help you live longer. Research indicates that supplementation with certain nutrients is necessary if you want to live to be 100-plus. Alpha lipoic acid, for example, wards off diabetes and vision problems. Antioxidant nutrients such as vitamins A, C and E, the minerals selenium and zinc, and coenzyme Q10 will keep your immune system strong and reduce your risk of developing life-threatening bacterial and viral infections.
They also protect your heart and brain, and prevent cancer. Antioxidants are powerful anti-wrinkle agents and, unlike Botox and collagen, they promote beautiful wrinkle-free skin from the inside out. Other nutrients including phosphatidylserine, ginkgo biloba and curcumin have been found to maintain memory and proper brain function.
Another steadfast strategy is to simply eat 30 per cent fewer calories every day, especially those from sugar and bad fats. This slows the onslaught of arthritis, improves cardiovascular function and reduces musculoskeletal damage. Long-term studies in primates are proving this theory correct researchers have noted chimps seemingly get younger every year when they eat one-third fewer calories.
Exercise is another important part of the longevity puzzle. Contrary to popular belief, loss of muscle mass and strength is not a normal process of aging, but rather a cause of aging. If we maintain regular activity by walking, dancing, gardening and housekeeping, we maintain valuable muscle that keeps us younger, thinner and stronger.
hat's Your "Real Age?"
Your chronological age is the actual number of years since you were born. Your biological age is the "real age" of your body, determined by evaluating your biochemistry through blood, urine and saliva. Recent testing showed that my biological age was almost a decade younger than my chronological age a testament to 20 years of eating organic foods, taking daily nutritional supplements, drinking clean water and walking. Here are some more tips that can help you live to be a ripe old 150!
I encourage you to read on, as this issue of alive celebrates longevity by sharing information from a variety of experts on how you, too, can live to be 100-plus through natural health.
For more information and to help determine your "real age," see realage.com.