How to Slow Down Aging

We all want to look and feel as young as possible, no matter what our birthday says. In today’s culture age is not respected, so we try to appear as young as possible. The old say goes “Age gracefully? No, I am going to fight it every step of the way!” But, is there anything we can really do?

Clean up your diet. More and more evidence shows that the standard American diet (SAD) speeds up the aging process. SAD is marked by fried and sugary foods, processed grains, and other toxins tend to age more quickly and die younger than people who adhere to healthier diets. Individuals hoping to live long, healthy lives need to avoid eating processed foods containing refined sugars and flours and processed or hydrogenated vegetable oils. A diet composed of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables; grass-fed, pastured meat and dairy products; healthy saturated fats; and living "superfoods," could hold the key to avoiding the negative outcomes contributed to aging. One reason this type of diet works is that it reduces inflammation inside the body. Inflammation is at the root of degenerative neurological and cardiovascular issues as well as other age related debilitating situations such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Another key to successful aging is exercise, of both the body and the brain. Both strength training and flexibility training are important here. Weight bearing exercises strengthen the bones as well as the muscles. Keeping both of these strong will prevent the falls so many elderly have. They will also eliminate the chance of breaking a bone if a fall does occur. But it doesn’t stop there. Strength training has been shown to increase brain function. By the same token, exercising your brain will reduce the chances of memory loss, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. The key is to exercise every muscle in the body, including the brain. Start where you are at and keep working towards improving. It can be done. There are many world records out there made by people in their 90’s.

The common theory of aging is that we lose muscle mass and brain power automatically. Recent studies are showing this is not completely accurate. The key is that as we age we cannot let ourselves slow down. We must keep up, and possibly even increase our activities in order to keep our capabilities. This means doing some time of aerobic, strength building and balance building exercises almost daily. It also means exercising our brains on a daily basis. This means learning new skills. Music and language skills are extremely helpful to brain health, but any type of learning will do. Just because you are in your fifties or sixties does not mean it is too late to earn that advanced degree you have always wanted. Sure, you may not have as much time to use the skills as the twenty something college student, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the time and money. It may mean the difference between staying active until your last day on earth and spending years in a nursing home not knowing who or where you are.

Supplements can also be helpful in the quest to reverse aging. A new supplement that shows a lot of promise is called Telezyme.

This supplement has actually been on the market for several years but has been waiting in the wings for some supporting data. The process is to actually measure telomere length and compare with a baseline taken before supplementation. The first year to year telomere length results from Spectracell Laboratories for clients taking four Telezymes per day.

The first was a male in his mid fifties. The telomere length in this individual actually grew by over 22%.

The second was a male in his mid sixties. While the telomere length did not shorten in ten months, the man did grow a year older.

These results are perfectly in line with other laboratory testing of telomerase enzyme with respect to telomere lengthening and client age. The statistical error of the test is plus or minus five percent. Additional testing is needed but so far, the results are very encouraging, backed up by actual scientific data points performed by an independent laboratory.