5 Ways To Reverse The Effects of Aging
Why is it that some people seem to age slowly and gracefully, while others look haggard at a relatively young age? You might immediately point to factors like alcohol, smoking and drug abuse – but even without drugs that actively contribute to faster aging, some people seem to be ticking along to a different biological clock.
You may scoff at the notion of ‘reversing’ aging, which is often thought to be impossible. There’s a lot more to this idea of reversing aging than you’re probably aware.
So what are the factors that contribute to the speed at which aging happens, and how can you take active steps to slow and reverse aging effects?
The following five steps will give you practical tools you can start implementing today to get the upper hand in the battle against aging. One word of advice: approach these tips with an open mind. Some of them are likely to contradict the ‘conventional wisdom’ you’ve been following up until now.
There are many things about health that I have written about in this blog, this entry is an overall approach to give you guideposts. The 500+ other entries are to elaborate on each detail.
Step 1: Forget About Low Fat Diets
Food is not the enemy, or even a specific type of food. Your body needs fat to function properly. Take a moment to let that sink in, because the message you’ve been pounded with for the last 30 years or so is that ‘Fat is evil!’ Food companies have made billions through creating and marketing low-fat or no-fat versions of their products. But despite the prevalence of low-fat-everything these days, obesity is still rampant.
The simple fact is that sugar and carbs can make you fat just as easily as a high intake of saturated fat. And some fats – the unsaturated kinds – are necessary for a healthy metabolism. Certain hormones that play a role in anti-aging, like testosterone, require cholesterol and fat to be produced. Stop treating all dietary fat like it’s plutonium – you actually need it.
The reality is that we cannot keep a young, healthy body without hormones. Hormones are required for all the functions that make us youthful: muscle tone, beautiful skin, sex drive, energy—all are contingent on having high levels of hormones. There is no substitute.
Step 2: Spin Classes Won’t Help
Long endurance workouts don’t help reverse aging – in fact, they can actually speed it up. Professional athletes and Olympic athletes have teams to assist them to be at their best from their long sessions. Still, isn’t cardio an important part of preventing heart disease? Yes, of course – we’re not saying stop the cardio. But cardio workouts don’t require long, high intensity sessions in the gym.
A typical gym spin class is more likely to cause the release of extra free radicals in the body, which actually speeds up the aging process. Instead, shorter, lower intensity workouts are key (which is ideal, because it means you can spend less time working out anyway).
Step 3: Don’t Blame All Your Problems on Age
Some people use age as an excuse for their health problems. This is my least favorite thing I hear – everyone is capable of returning their bodies back to health. There may be signs of aging on the outside but their insides can not only return to youth, they can be better than they were when the person was in their 20s! But it’s important to take an honest look at your lifestyle and assess whether your problems are really age-related or if they’re caused by something you’re doing deliberately.
This point is actually somewhat more about your own mental mindset and the people around you. If you have the belief in your head that your body is going to deteriorate as you age no matter what you do, then the natural result is to ‘let yourself go.’ In other words, you give up on trying to look and feel younger.
If you adopt the mindset that you can shave 10 years off your appearance with the right lifestyle, you’ll find it much easier to adopt the habits, diet and exercise required to achieve that goal. (Important point: this means not only changing your own mindset but steering clear of people who refuse to give up the belief that ‘life ends at 40′)!
Youth on the inside can lead to youth on the outside.
Step 4: Stay Hydrated
No major secrets here: we all know plenty of water is an important part of staying healthy. But do you know why and how water helps slow aging? There are several key ways in which your water intake is directly related to aging.
For starters, plenty of water keeps your kidneys functioning properly – which helps take strain off the liver. The liver is your most important organ when it comes to burning fat, so helping it run smoothly is a big key to staying slim. Water also plays a crucial part in the elasticity and appearance of your skin – increasing your water intake is one of the easiest ways to take years off your face.
And remember that you can also get your water intake through the foods you eat – as hydration expert Ann Grandjean puts it, “Of the total amount of water consumed by the average American, about 20 percent comes from food and 80 percent comes from drinking water and other beverages.”
Step 5: Work Out Less (Yes, Less)
You can’t simply not work out – that’s a recipe for muscle loss, and muscle loss over time leads to increased fat gains, which is caused by a slower metabolism. But you don’t have to go to the other extreme, either – spending hours in the gym every week, sweating and straining.
Over-training can be harmful in terms of aging, and it’s much harder to stick to an intense training regime over the long term. You need a low-intensity workout which doesn’t take up a lot of time and which you can comfortably stick to over the long run.
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