A Celebration of Women presents…. ‘Aging Gracefully’

 

The Role of Attitude and Lifestyle 

 

 

 

Two Basic Requirements of Graceful Aging

What I’ve discovered is that there are two “basic requirements” of graceful aging. To borrow from the “Serenity Prayer”, graceful aging requires the “serenity to accept the things we cannot change; courage to change the things we can; and wisdom to know the difference.”  Certainly acceptance of aging is a key to aging gracefully – but which of the changes that commonly come with age are the “things we cannot change” and which are the “things we can change?” 

 

What We Can Change — The Role of Attitude and Lifestyle

“It’s been discovered that attitude has an enormous role in how we age. Much of the decline that people experience with aging comes about due to the belief that decline in function and quality of life is part and parcel of aging. In addition, many of the problems of age are not due to the process of aging itself, but rather due to the effects of a lifetime of stress and poor health habits.” 

   

 

 

It’s never too late to change the two most important ingredients to graceful aging

 – attitude and lifestyle.

 

 

What We Cannot Change — Coming to Terms with Our Mortality

One thing we absolutely cannot change is the fact that every day brings us closer to death. This one fact alone may account for a great deal of our difficulty with aging.  As soon as we see signs of aging, we are reminded that this body is eventually going to die. As we age, we come face to face with our mortality, and to deal with this we are thrown upon our spiritual resources. Our “spiritual health” may well be measured by how we face the fact of our mortality.With the rest of the things we cannot change, there is more of a gray area, as we are only now starting to make scientific discoveries about the aging process. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that aging will bring change.  With menopause, both male and female, we begin to live with a different hormonal environment. The appearance and function of our body changes and requires that we adapt. Our roles change dramatically as our children grow older and leave home, and we become grandparents rather than parents. At some point, many of us become parents to our parents as they enter their final years.Growing older also brings more loss. Not only is there loss of many aspects of being young, more people we know die. This may be one of the most difficult aspects of aging.  If we haven’t learned to grieve earlier in life, the all important task of learning to live with loss must be learned to avoid psychological and health problems.  (Read Living with Grief.)In life aging is inevitable, many of the degenerative changes that prevail past middle age are not if preventive steps are taken.Recent medical research confirms that good nutrition can prevent, or at least slow down,such debilitating conditions such as Osteoporosis,Diabetes,and Heart Disease. In fact one report estimates that one third to one half of the health problems of people over the age of 65 are related to diet.

 

 

Steps

1. Determine the nutrients you need more of. With increasing age,the body is less efficient in absorbing and using nutrients; osteoporosis and other medical conditions common among older people also change nutritional needs. Consequently,an older person is likely to need extra amounts of the following essential nutrients:o CALCIUM to prevent osteoporosis and maintain healthy bones.
o VITAMIN D, which the body needs in order to absorb the calcium.
o VITAMIN B12 to build red blood cells and maintain healthy nerves.
o ZINC to help compensate for lowered immunity due to ageing.
o POTASSIUM,especially in the presence of high blood pressure or use of diuretic drugs.
o FOLIC ACID and a B VITAMIN ,which the body uses to make DNA and red blood cells ,can lower the levels of haemocysteine, a compound in the blood that has been associate with heart disease.
o FIBER to prevent constipation.
o OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS from fish oil can prevent cardiac death by blocking fatal heart rhythms. OMEGA-3 Fatty acids are credited with keeping arteries healthy and reducing the sickness of platelets in the blood.2. Try to eat balanced meals regularly, including meat and fish, vegetables and fruits.3. Drink a lot of water every day to keep your body hydrated and cleansed. 

 

Herbal tea.

 Cut down on coffee and drink herbal tea. Coffee has no specific varieties that will help you beat the years, but herbal teas offer a huge variety of flavors specific to aging gracefully. Sage is an excellent anti aging tea, which helps keep the mind and memory functioning properly. Rosemary also boosts the immune system and keeps your heart healthy. Corn silk tea is an aid in weight loss. Adding lemon to herbal teas will boost their anti aging properties. 

 

Why Drink Alkaline Water

 

There are four very good reasons for you to drink Alkaline Water

 and Why Drinking AlkalineWater Can Help your Health.

I have explained most of them in My Story and prior pages. And from all the feedback that I get in response, I can see that I need to simplify and clarify the subject to be simply understood.

 

Tips

• Strive to make meals pleasurable,even if you are eating alone.
• Select foods that supply contrasts in color, texture and flavour.
• Avoid using salt to improve flavour,instead add herbs and spices.
• Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
• A small glass of wine or beer with meals aids digestion and adds to eating pleasure (Remember: one small glass of wine or beer, not the full bottle)
• Take daily walks or engage in other exercises.
• Choose healthier foods from the market that contain no serious preservatives or additives that impair health.
• Calorie restriction diets have supposedly been shown to retard the aging process in animals and the degenrative diseases associated with aging to research this topic more read Beyond The 120-Year Diet, by Roy L. Walford, M.D. 

 

Warning

• If you live in a northern climate (like Boston,Seattle,Chicago, much of Canada, as well, as parts of Europe), your body may be seriously lacking Vitamin D, essential for absorption of calcium. Two cups of milk a day can replenish Vitamin D Levels in the body. Do not start on a calorie restricted diet without talking to your doctor first.  

 

Thanks to Debbie Molis, SelfGrowth.com: http://www.selfgrowth.com/

Photo image, thanks to: http://www.way-ya-go-alkaline-water.com/Anti-Aging.html

Herbal Tea:  http://www.obaging.com/eight-ways-to-age-gracefully-without-surgery/ 

Excerpts:  http://heartofhealing.net

Elsa P:  http://www.elsaelsa.com/astrology/2010/03/27/how-do-you-feel-about-aging/ 

 

 

    

A Celebration of Women

 

  

It is not in anyone’s understanding but in the complexity and unusual nature of the subject that makes it difficult to comprehend. So in this page I will attempt to break down each of the items. Simplify, describe and make clear the Way, How and Why Alkaline Water can Improve and Strengthen your Health. Read more here:  http://www.way-ya-go-alkaline-water.com/Why_Drink_Alkaline_Water.html