Health & Fitness
SIDEBOARD: The Other 3 Things Centenarians Share
This is a little outside the "healthy food for a healthy you" theme of FOOD for THOUGHT, but people asked what the other three shared qualities of healthy seniors are.
(This is the SIDEBOARD to FOOD for THOUGHT: Whole Foods for a Whole Life:)
The other things these centenarians have in common, beside a healthy natural diet, are a healthy outlet for stress, a naturally active life, and a sense of belonging or purpose in their families or communities. Let’s talk about these supporting players for a moment.
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Stress: The presence of stress hormones in our system affects how almost every chemical process progresses in our bodies – and affects some mechanical ones as well -- usually for the worse. Digestion is no exception. Under stress it does not work as it should, and we don’t benefit as much from our healthy eating habits.
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A Naturally Active Lifestyle: We are not talking about running the Boston Marathon, becoming an Iron Man triathlete or climbing Mt. Everest – those take their own toll on the body and indeed require a specialized set of nutritional rules. We are talking about taking the stairs instead of the elevator, sitting on the floor instead of never bending below the height of a chair, standing while talking on the phone, doing yard work, responsible ess, ee, ex and walking or riding a bike instead of taking the car to close destinations. Burning fat is not the long-term goal here (nor is it an efficient way to undo the damage of bad eating); maintaining balance, flexibility & muscle-tone, and burning the slight excesses of calories from meal to meal before they are converted to fat is the goal. Plus, exercise reduces stress & depression and boosts metabolism.
A Sense of Familial Belonging or a Sense of Purpose Within the Community: I would re-term these nebulous phrases love or compassion and destiny or devotion. Whatever you call them, it has been proven that they help our physical and mental well being even if it has not been discovered how they help. I leave it to you to find the meaning of these for yourself.
QUOTE of the Moment:
I guess I don’t so much mind being old, as I mind being fat and old.
Benjamin Franklin