5 tips for healthy aging!

Regardless of our age, it is very important to take care of our health. As we grow older, even a flu can lead to complications that include secondary infections such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and other infections. It is therefore important to make healthy choices by strengthening our immune system and reducing the risk of disease.

Healthy and active aging

Here are five tips to help you stay healthy as you grow older.

1. Follow a varied diet

It is important to get all the necessary vitamins and minerals you need and this can only happen if you eat a varied diet. The sense of taste can change over the years, which can affect appetite and food preferences. You can make foods more tempting and healthier by adding herbs and spices such as rosemary, cinnamon or paprika. Consume plenty of fiber and reduce your salt intake. One nutrient to look out for is vitamin D. If you are not exposed enough to the sun you should take supplements of this important vitamin for the immune system. Remember, however, that dietary supplements can not replace a healthy diet that contains a number of beneficial phytochemicals such as antioxidants.

2. Watch your waistline

Body Mass Index is a number that indicates whether someone is overweight or not, but it is better to consider your waist circumference. People who have belly fat have a higher risk of developing diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Typically, it is considered that men should not have a waist circumference of more than 94 cm and women more than 80 cm. What you need to remember is that even if you gain 1 kg it affects blood tests, worsening metabolic health indicators [1]. It is a good habit to monitor your weight regularly, even once a day. This should not be a stressful relationship with your scales, the meaning is not to lose weight, especially during the holiday season because that’s where the “damage” usually starts.

3. Exercise systematically using resistance

As we grow older we lose muscle and gain fat. This is the main reason why the metabolic rate decreases. This, along with changes in hormones that occur in both leaves, results in weight gain. Until recently, resistance training was underrated, and experts used to emphasize only the benefits of aerobic exercise. But research shows that any type of exercise is good for your health and that resistance training has positive effects that aerobic exercise cannot offer. One of them is that it maintains muscle mass, which is very important for healthy aging and maintaining the metabolic rate. Also, maintaining muscle mass reduces the risk of diabetes, the most common metabolic disease.

4. Keep well hydrated

It is especially important to drink plenty of water. As we grow older, our thirst decreases and we are more at risk of dehydration. Prolonged mild dehydration increases the risk of kidney stones, constipation, cholesterol problems, and decreased physical and mental performance. Eight to 10 glasses of water are recommended each day to replace the fluids the body loses, but beware, alcoholic beverages do not count. You should drink more water if the weather is hot or humid or if you are physically active. In case too much water makes you get up at night, you should take your fluids earlier in the day.

5. Do your preventive examinations

Preventive tests are the smartest thing you can do. These include blood pressure testing, colonoscopy, bone density testing, prostate screening with PSA and urological examination, and dental evaluation. Do not wait to get something to go to the doctor. Preventing a disease is very important for healthy aging. We do not realize it but diseases, even if we overcome them, make us age faster. Doctors have long known that an illness, even an injury, can cause the body to age rapidly. It is no coincidence that a study examining necropsy material from patients with Covid-19 found that the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus causes cellular aging. So stick to prevention, even if it is a slightly stressful process as it can save you from many adventures.

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References

1. Metabolic Signatures of Adiposity in Young Adults: Mendelian Randomization Analysis and Effects of Weight Change.
2. Healthy hydration.