Natural Aging

When she looks in the mirror some days, it seems like it’s not even her. The wrinkles are starting to form, the gray is peeking through, and she doesn’t feel like her once sprite self.

When she picks up a magazine, watches a movie, or even sits at a restaurant, she notices the seemingly perfection of others – tight and glowing skin, not a strand of gray, and a body that looks better now than 20 years before.

She feels old, shabby, and simply inadequate in a culture that puts looks above love.

She wonders…is it time for anti-wrinkle injections? How about a nip and tuck? And definitely an appointment to get the gray out.

Then.

Then she’ll feel more respected and revered. Then she’ll be able to feel good in public. Then…she’ll be happy. 

Does any of this touch on feelings you also keep inside? If so, it’s to be expected in our western culture.

Why do we spend hundreds of dollars on face creams, but question whether we should purchase supplements? Why do we think we’ll be happy once we look younger?

There is an entire industry dedicated to covering up aging, offering superficial treatments designed to decrease the look of aging. And, they are quite good at marketing it!

But…what is this mindset doing for our health?

Here’s the bottom line: Aging is inevitable. But, a negative outlook on it doesn’t have to be.  

Here are 3 ways we believe you can age naturally AND gracefully.

In many eastern cultures, aging is a sign of wisdom and respect. The longer you live, the more experience and knowledge you possess, making you a vital part of a thriving society. Vitality and enjoyment is a goal for many and the community regards that.

However, when a culture focuses more on looks than insight, aging can be looked at as a gloomy future, filled with weakness and worthlessness.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

It’s simply time to shift our focus on to acceptance.

Aging is not something we can run away from. However, if we change our perspective on it, it could mean our search for happiness becomes much closer.

Think of aging as a car. A car is going to age, but the way we take care of the car can make a big difference in how long it lasts.

If you exhaust the car, keep it outside in the elements all of the time, and not get it checked and kept up with regularly, it can age a lot faster than if you treat it kindly.

Sure, you can put a new coat of paint on it and it may look shiny and new, but if you haven’t kept up with things on the inside, it still won’t last as long.

It’s the same with aging. We can focus on keeping things looking new and shiny, but if we don’t focus on the inside, we may age much faster than we want.

We encourage you to focus on your individual health and vitality on the inside. What do you need to do to sleep well, feed your body with the right nutrition, keep the body moving, and live more calmly?

You may just find that once you focus on the inside, the outside will start looking that much better!

When we age,

– we lose muscle mass

– we lose elasticity in the skin

– we become more insulin sensitive (which means we are more sensitive to carbs and sugars)

– we can have higher cortisol

– we can gain weight

– we can lose energy

and yes, most of these things are going to happen. However, you can work with it! With slight changes to your lifestyle, aging can be slowed!

So what lifestyle things can you do to naturally delay the aging process? Many!

Here are some of our favorites:

– weight training: opt for 1-2 days a week (it doesn’t have to be very heavy or intense). This helps keep muscle mass and tightens the skin (reducing wrinkles).

– reduce carb intake: this helps the body adjust to any insulin resistance and lowers the chance of weight gain.

– walk: one of the best anti-aging activities that can slow the process of aging. It gets the body moving and clears the mind for stress reduction.

– acupuncture: this therapy can reduce inflammation, increase good sleep habits, and calm the nervous system for slower aging. Once a season can do wonders in balancing the body!

– eat fiber: fruits, vegetables, garlic, and ginger are great for digestion and for aging. The anti-oxidants in these foods fight the aging process and support the body’s insulin.

– drink green tea: this potent anti-oxidant beverage can help slow aging with everything from helping to decrease inflammation to supporting good brain health.

– add omega-3s and cinnamon to your diet: both of these target insulin-resistance and can help stabilize blood sugar.

– take curcumin and omega 3s: these supplement are excellent for reducing inflammation, which can be helpful in disease prevention.

And overall, stress can play a crucial role in how fast we age. Relaxation, whether that be through meditation, yoga, reading, bird watching, cooking, etc. can be one of the most important things we do to reduce our stress and increase our vitality.

If your aging strategy is to just go along and wait until something happens to deal with your health, it may be time to think again.

We find that people who:

– get proper sleep

– get proper nutrition

– have stable and healthy relationships

– are part of a community

– have a purpose in life