If you’re reading this, you’re a day older today than you were yesterday. Congratulations! When you consider the alternative, this is a good thing. Rather than dwell on getting older each day, why not think about how you’ve gotten wiser with each passing year? Perhaps when we celebrate our birthdays with loved ones, we could gift them with our reflections on what we’ve learned during the past year. As Baby Boomers age, it’s a perfect time for Americans to begin revering the elderly, as other cultures do.
Aging does not have to mean failing health. Researchers have also become wiser over the years and have the following advice for us:
- Double your produce consumption to two servings at every meal and one with every snack to boost your antioxidant intake and combat the free radicals that are linked to over 200 diseases.
- Cut way back on unhealthy (animal) fats such as butter, cheese, and red meat and replace them with healthy plant-based fats which include nuts, soy, legumes, and ground flaxseed as well as fish.
- Consult your physician about your need for supplementing critical vitamins and minerals: vitamins D and B12, calcium, and magnesium.
- Choose unprocessed foods whenever possible: oatmeal not granola bars, broccoli not broccoli with cheese sauce, a baked potato rather than French fries, and quinoa over white bread.
- Enjoy coffee in moderation and green tea, and indulge in single servings of red wine and dark chocolate.
I have several friends who are professionals and over age 70 and the gal who toured us around the Tovrea Castle last weekend is almost eighty. They all enjoy an active, vital lifestyle. Let’s join them!