Two approaches to aging
It’s safe to assume that if you’re here, you have some interest in healthy aging. You’re not raising your hand to age unhealthfully.
How do we get there?
We have two approaches to healthy aging.
A desire to age healthfully, coupled with the belief that things go downhill from [pick an age]. I’ll call this one healthy aging as luck.
A desire to age healthfully, coupled with the belief that much of how we age is in our control. I’ll call this one healthy aging as action.
“About 25% of the variation in human longevity can be due to genetic factors.”
[source]
While the cited data refers to longevity, the focus of this discussion is aging in good health, with autonomy.
Corn tortilla, pinto beans, radish, tomatoes, hot sauce, nutritional yeast
Lifestyle factors and aging
Lifestyle habits that accelerate aging
What we eat
Insufficient exercise
Alcohol use
Tobacco use
Insufficient sleep
[source]
Congee with jasmine brown rice, mushrooms, spinach, radish
How & why do lifestyle factors impact aging?
“The aging phenotype is the result of the accumulation of cellular damage that cannot be repaired by the cellular maintenance systems that are running out.”
[source]
The good news?
We have some control over how much cellular damage we accumulate.
A diet high in processed foods, saturated fats, sugar, and low in antioxidants can significantly increase cellular damage by promoting oxidative stress.
[source]
It’s easy to tell ourselves that “a diet high in processed foods, saturated fats, sugar, and low in antioxidants” is not our diet.
Is that true? We can look to the results we’re getting to answer this question.
Blueberries, ground chia seeds, almond milk yogurt
What can you do?
Hope for good luck. Reject change because change is hard. It’s not comfy. In fact, it can get very uncomfy. It may not feel safe. That cupcake tastes really good. That person I like made it for me.
Embrace change. Do hard things. Struggle along the way. Get results. Find the joy in doing things you didn’t think you could do, or at least didn’t want to do.
If you’ve decided to embrace change and take action, next week, I’ll share a simple process for setting a health goal(s).
Cover photo by @madebyjens on Unsplash.
Thanks for reading!
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Eat plants. 🥦 Hydrate.🚰 Move.🤸 Prioritize sleep. 🛌
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