According to Jacob Terranova
Have you ever wondered why we age differently? You must have heard about a 70-year-old running a marathon, while another person at the same age is bound by diseases, hardly moves, practically never leaving the house.
The onset of old age looks and feels different for everyone. The point is in how we calculate aging itself. Chronological age tells us how old we really are, but biological age can be determined by how we look. It is our biological age that is believed to be a more accurate indicator of our 'real' age - a combination of our physiological age (how healthy we are) and our psychological age (how young we act). So, even though the calendar tells you one thing, the health of your organs and tissues, as well as the way you look, feel and behave, can tell you something else, your age.
The good news is that it's never too early (and never too late) to start laying the foundations for longevity. A large part of our biological age is determined by how we behave - how we eat, how much we exercise, how much we sleep. So while each year will inevitably add an extra candle to the cake, certain lifestyle changes can ensure a better overall well-being even as the years go by.
Whether you're in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, or well into your golden years, maintaining healthy habits like a good diet and regular exercise can optimize your biological age and help you get the most out of your life.
Healthy aging in your 20s
When you're in your 20s, you don't want to think about old age at all. But right now, it's time to start thinking about 'healthy' aging. Think of investing in health like a retirement plan - investing now to reap the benefits later. This period in your 20s and 30s is the best time to lay a solid foundation and develop healthy habits to improve your aging process for life.
Here are some areas you should focus on if you're in your 20s. First of all - sleep. If you're a recent 20-year-old, then having a few hours or no sleep at night may seem completely normal. But as you know, it's really unhealthy. Sleep is a daily regulation process of our brain and body, performing countless important functions and influencing both mental and physical health. Not getting enough sleep can cause problems over the years by increasing the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression. Focus on good sleep habits in your 20s and thank us later.
Another important aspect of health at this age is your diet. Like sleep, your diet isn't usually something you worry about in your 20s. But we have to disappoint you - this youthful metabolism will not last forever. In addition, studies have shown that the earlier you start eating healthy and maintaining healthy eating habits, the longer they will last in your life. We understand that it can be difficult (or maybe impossible?) to eat healthy all the time, so try to get the nutrients your body needs by supplementing with quality vitamins and/or minerals to avoid nutrient deficiencies in your body.
One last tip is to use sunscreen. Sun protection not only helps reduce the risk of skin cancer, but also keeps you looking younger for longer!
Healthy aging when you are 30-40 years old
During this period, many people find themselves in a situation where they need to take care not only of children, but also of elderly parents. Let's add career challenges and the result is a lot of stress.
Managing stress and taking care of yourself to maintain your mental health is important at any age. But at the age of 30-40 it is especially relevant. Too much stress can become chronic stress, which is very harmful to your body. Chronic stress can cause a constant feeling of fatigue and general exhaustion. You may occasionally experience headaches, chest pains, and trouble sleeping. Over time, these effects can lead to blood vessel and heart problems. In addition, chronic stress increases the risk of mental health disorders and the likelihood of weight gain.
It also becomes more difficult to maintain a healthy body weight in your 30s and 40s. Even if you were active and exercised regularly in your 20s, you may find that the pounds pile on as you age. After age 35+, most people gain half a kilo per year. In this way, you can gain 5 kilograms in a decade like nowhere.
Why is that, you ask? We can simply attribute this problem to aging, but to be more specific, the three most common causes of age-related weight gain are:
- Changes in muscle mass: As we age, we experience a gradual loss of skeletal muscle mass. As our muscles shrink, our body's resting metabolic rate also decreases, so we need fewer calories. The problem is that if a person continues to consume the same amount of calories as they did in their 20s, the weight starts to increase.
- Changes in our hormones: As we age, the hormones that support our body's metabolism and cellular energy also decline, leading to weight gain.
- Maintaining the same exercise and diet: Even if we follow the same diet and exercise, our changing muscle mass and hormones require more exercise and fewer calories to maintain our ideal weight. It is worth noting that we also start to need more time to recover from physical exertion. So, the routine you followed in your 20s won't be as effective in your 30s and 40s.
Here are some simple tips for maintaining a healthy weight:
- Fill every meal with fiber, don't forget vegetables and/or fruits.
- Drink plenty of water – thirst is often mistaken for hunger
- Develop an exercise habit and stick to it. Exercising regularly will give you better results.
Healthy aging in your 50s and 60s
After age 50, all of the above health tips remain just as important. Get quality sleep, eat a well-rounded diet, get enough exercise and focus on your mental health. However, there is another important aspect that you should pay attention to:
After age 50, especially if your diet wasn't exactly exemplary when you were young, the plaque that has been building up in your arteries since you were young can start to cause more problems. Arterial plaque can make it harder for your heart to work and cause cardiovascular problems. During this period, it is necessary to show your heart more love and eat healthy. Try to maintain a healthy diet that includes healthy fats from fish and olive oil, lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, and low sodium (check out the Mediterranean diet).
Healthy aging when you are 65+ is the so-called golden years
As we mentioned above, part of the aging process is that muscle mass and bone density decrease to the point where they start to cause problems. Although bone should be strengthened at an early age, it's never too late to give your bones extra support. Foods or supplements that contain certain key nutrients, including vitamins D and K, magnesium, and calcium can help support healthy bones.
Getting enough protein and vitamin D in your diet is essential to maintaining muscle mass (which will go a long way in preventing falls). If you don't eat a lot of fish (such as salmon), it may be difficult to get enough vitamin D without supplementation. Amino acids can also help maintain muscle mass.
As we age, the mobility of our joints can suffer. Consider adding a curcumin supplement to your daily routine. Also, don't forget regular exercise, which provides many, comprehensive benefits:
- Building muscle mass
- Increasing bone density (especially weight-bearing exercises)
- Maintaining joint flexibility
- A reduction in the risk of falls and bone fractures
- Helps control joint swelling and pain associated with arthritis
- Helps maintain the ability to live independently
- Supports healthy cognitive function
- Good for cardiovascular health – and the list goes on…
Brain exercise helps keep the brain alert and prevent so-called brain fog. To stimulate brain activity and improve memory, solve crosswords, learn a foreign language or new dance moves and don't forget to read. Also, look for ways to include brain-supporting nutrients like Omega-3 (or Vegetarian DHA ), Magnesium L-Threonate, and Vitamin B12 in your diet, as well as foods that help you stay alert.
How to age healthily at any stage of life
We face many challenges in life, whether in our 20s or 80s, that deplete a critical substance found in every cell in the body known as NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide). Unhealthy lifestyle habits such as poor sleep, sedentary work, many late nights, excessive sun exposure, and an unbalanced diet, along with the natural aging process, deplete our body's natural NAD+ levels.
This coenzyme plays a vital role throughout our body - supporting cell repair, cellular energy production, metabolism, and much more. Therefore, as NAD+ levels decrease, vital body functions can slow down, leading to many negative symptoms of aging and other age-related conditions.
Whether you're worried about sleepless nights in your 20s or the natural aging process in your 30s and 50s, the important thing is that there are many natural ways to support healthy aging, such as exercise, a healthy diet, or taking NMN supplements .
This article was originally published in Thorne