"If I would have known I was going to live to get this old, I would have taken better care of myself when I was younger."
Hindsight
Having the great opportunity and time to volunteer in the 'patient acute care center' of the local hospital each week, I heard a patient make this statement, "If I would have known I would live to get this old, I would have taken better care of myself when I was young."
Well living to get 'old' might seem like, hey, just getting to live to be old is a pretty good deal. Or is it? The challenge with this thought is what is the quality of life like if one lives to be old?
Chronological or Biological
Actually, the good news is everyone has two ages. A chronological age or how old the calendar says and a biological age or the age at which your body functions as it compares to average fitness or health levels.
So, why would this be good news? Chronological age, which everyone identifies themselves by, isn't how 'old' we really are. It is a superficial number according to the co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical School.
Everyone ages biologically at different rates based on many things. Our genes definitely play a role, but more importantly things we can control have a big impact on our biological age. The foods we choose to eat, how much we exercise and of course the environmental toxins we are exposed to.
Of course, there is another question to be asked, and depending on our own chronological age, we probably all have a different answer. What is considered old age?
The Key
Research at the Yale Medical School identified nine bio-markers taken from a simple blood test that seemed to be the most influential on lifespan. Things like blood sugar levels, kidney and liver measures and immune and inflammatory measures. People with a lower biological age than their corresponding chronological age have a lower mortality risk and are less prone to developing diseases associated with the higher age range.
Why is this important? The key here is these are measures that can be changed. Changes to lifestyle, diet, exercise, sleep habits, and attitude can lower the risk.
Something to Think About
Eating is one of the few behaviors we get to practice several times each day. Every meal or snack gives an opportunity to reinforce healthy diet habits, like portion control and choosing nutrient-dense foods.
Every time you make a good food choice you are increasing the chance for a lower biological age.
Establishing daily healthy habits like walking or running, engaging in some form of resistance exercise, and getting enough protein in your diet all help to increase lean body mass and fight against 'creeping obesity' and high body fat levels.
Routinely performing some type of cardiovascular or aerobic exercise strengthens the heart and lungs and improves the body's ability to use oxygen. Over time, aerobic exercise can help decrease your heart rate and blood pressure and improve your breathing.
It's Never to Late
When one is young, the thought of getting 'old' is usually far from one's mind, but the habits established early on can influence your health and well-being as you get older. As the patient in the hospital stated, "If I had known I would live to be this old, I would have done things differently when I was young."
Employing healthy habits can delay the onset of diseases and cognitive and physical functioning problems and allow one to enjoy life to the fullest.
It's never too late to take better care of yourself and it's never too late to make healthy changes to your lifestyle.
What healthy habits are you going to start today?
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