Senior Health, Tips for Increasing Life Span

Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites


Living Longer, Living Well

Amid our younger years, many individuals are not concerned about the things that they can do to achieve a longer, healthier, more productive life. They have the entire world in their hands - an entire life before them.

And most of the time, everyone assumes that it's going to be a long life - no matter what we do.

The good news is that studies indicate that we are indeed living longer, and living better.

Although much of our longevity is based on our gene pool, there are many things that we can do to increase our life span - at any age, even when our gene pool feels and looks more like a swamp than a delicious, inviting pool.

The excellent thing about our list is that these are simple everyday things that we can all do to promote a better quality of life.

With some things, such as smoking - the health impact requires time. While new smokers may experience little more than bad breath, a loose cough, and body stench due to the smoke - over time the level of health slowly deteriorates.

Things such as wrinkles around the mouth, skin that ages far too soon, yellowing of the skin - in addition to very serious health issues such as oral cancer are made known.

The great news is that time is also a great friend to the post-smoker. In just a few short hours after smoking has been ceased, the blood is able to better flow through the body. Breathing is easier, too. So many healthy benefits and the best method to avoid risks of tobacco is to never start in the first place.

Simple, Doable Things That Promote Longer, Healthier Life Span

Healthy Daily Diet

1. Embrace a healthy diet based on the official food pyramid and all of the healthy food groups housed therein. Get your vitamins and nutrients from the foods in your daily diet rather than from a commercially manufactured pill.

Quit Smoking & Limit Alcohol Consumption, Caffeine, Over the Counter Drugs & Prescription Medications

2. As referenced above - do not smoke. Like eating, smoking can be addictive.

3. Limit alcohol intake. The current data supporting the healthy benefits of alcohol consumption tend to be overblown. The damage incurred by the liver due to alcohol consumption outweighs any health benefits.

4. Do not do drugs, and this includes use of over-the-counter products for every ailment that pops up. Keep in mind that most of our over-the-counter medications were once prescription drugs. If you'll take time to read the labels on the products that are frequently are stored in your medicine cabinet, some contain serious risks. The anti-inflammatory products can cause death or stroke. Some pain medications can cause undoable liver damage - and take note that dosage for Big Bill who is an adult male and weighs over 300 pounds is the same dosage for adult female Tiny Tina. Scary, isn't it?

In addition, avoid herbal supplements without first discussing with your doctor. Almost all herbs were used in ancient medicine - and even in today's world there are practicing herbalists. Herbs should not be consumed lightly.

And also monitor caffeine intake which can increase blood pressure readings. As we age, our blood pressure may naturally increase; we don't want to push the envelope with caffeine which also naturally increases blood pressure.

Embrace Exercise on a Regular Basis, Find Methods for Relieving Stress & Relaxing

5. Embrace moderate exercise. If the activity is too taxing on the body - if it is boring or if it takes too long to perform, odds are that the individual will not stick with the program. This is why walking is one of the most popular exercises. We can walk and enjoy the scenery - without being bored as it's forever changing.

6. Try to have a positive mind-set about life in general. It's never a bed of roses and even when it is, we have so many thorns to deal with. Life is never going to be perfect. When the grandson spills a five pound bag of sugar - it's time to chuckle amid the clean-up. When the grandson takes a bad spill on his bicycle and gets a concussion - it's time to cry.


As to that five pound bag of sugar, it's more like a three pound bag these days, isn't it?

7. Discover a pleasant hobby - something that makes you excited to wake up in the morning. A hobby can assist in feeling your life with joy and pleasantry.

8. Which brings us to stress - one of the major contributors to negative health effects on the body. Stress can trigger weight gain, headaches, body aches, anxiety - and a myriad of other health woes, at times serious.

9. Enjoy the things as well as the people in life that you love.

10. While activity time is essential to maximum health, relaxation is equally vital.

11. Enjoy keeping safe sex alive.

12. Never quit learning; it doesn't matter how young or how old we are, our brain is still a sponge waiting to be filled with wonderment. We're never too old to learn; in fact many of us are still learning from our past mistakes.

13. Pets may increase life span - but keep in mind those sometimes-burdensome responsibilities and the expenses involved with pets. They can cause the greatest joy but pet ownership is also accompanied with a bit of stress at times. We've worked in animal rescue for years now - and the most stressful time is when a pet gets ill.

15. Create an internal spiritual haven. Be a peace seeker, not a trouble seeker.

And finally, focus on the quality of life rather than the quantity of life. Our natural gifts mean the most in life. Our ability to love, to laugh, to share. While individuals didn't live as long in the old days, the modern ways have taken away much of what life was initially intended to be. These days we chase ourselves as we're set to a schedule. And at the end of Life's Race, we often have little to show for our efforts. But those special little things - the times with our loved ones, the love and laughter shared, those are the most precious things in life. Possessions - even the finest house or car cannot possible compare to these.

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