subject: Discovering The Fountain Of Youth - Can It Be This Simple? [print this page] Are You Young At Heart? Would you like to be?
It doesn't matter whether you are 40, 60, or 80 years old, the secret to staying fit in healthy revolves around two simply controlled factors - our diet and our activity.
There was a time when aging was associated with "taking it easy." While it might be good to relax a little after the demands of establishing a career or running a busy family home, we know that taking it too easy can be dangerous - especially when you are over 40! In fact, many of the health problems we think of as the inevitable effects of aging may simply be due to inactivity and disuse.
The price of not being physically active can be a high one. As we gradually lose flexibility, endurance, strength, balance, coordination and our ability to move easily, the quality of our life can be altered dramatically.
Climbing stairs, carrying the weekly shopping, travelling and enjoying activities with our friends and family, can all become more difficult or even impossible. Our attitude and ability to "roll" with life's ups and downs (both physically and mentally) can be negatively affected by sedentary living.
Another typical "result" of advancing years is the weight gain many men and women experience. Much of this gain is actually due to loss of muscle fibre with the resultant decrease in metabolism. However, both muscle loss and a slowing metabolism can be counteracted with exercise! Some experts believe that as much as 70% of the weight gain associated with aging is simply due to stopping moving and can be avoided with regular activity.
In fact, research has increasingly shown that the aging process itself does not have to stand in the way of living a healthy, active life. One of secrets to living "well" at any age is regular physical activity - and that exercise will improve your health whether you are nine years old or 90!
Beginning even the most basic activity program can bring significant health benefits, including lowered risk of heart disease and hypertension. Doing as little as 30 minutes of activity a day most days of the week can really work wonders for both your body and your mind.
There is a lot of evidence that physical activity does much more that strengthen your heart and build your bones - it improves how you feel about yourself and your life. Regular exercise can renew your energy, improve your outlook, help you sleep better, and combat anxiety and depression. And that's important, because research also shows that the better you feel about yourself and the more effectively you manage stress, the better your overall health is likely to be.
So, if being physically activity is one of the keys to the "fountain of youth" the other is clearly diet!
Over-eating is one of the major challenges we all face as we get older. If you are expecting me to go into a long diatribe on the importance of having a balanced sensible (read "boring") diet then I may have a pleasant surprise for you!
I have discovered a very simple solution that doesn't really involve dieting as such and it works like magic! It revolves around a secret food that has been eaten in various parts of the world for over two thousand years! Chocolate!
Simply eating 3 small squares of healthy chocolate every day will seriously help to control your weight and contribute greatly to your general health and well-being. There is now so much scientific evidence attesting to the benefits of eating healthy dark chocolate that a simple Google search will give you all the backup information you need.
Movement and chocolate - what a combination! Keeping you young at heart in both mind and body. This may be a close as we can get to the Fountain of Youth! Experts agree that there are few things in life that can bring as many health-preserving benefits as physical activity, and chocolate seems to be the functional food par excellence. The two together really do make the perfect combination!
Can eating healthy chocolate help to keep us young at heart? Absolutely!
