How to Age Gracefully and Holistically

A Holistic Way To Age Gracefully

We all age. But some people seem to do it better than others. I think most of us want to age gracefully – after all, we can’t avoid getting old!

I met a wonderful lady yesterday. She currently lives in Quebec, but she’d come home to visit her family on the little tropical island where I live. She was warming her bones after the cold Canadian winter, she told me, smiling. I thought she was perhaps 70. I was wrong, she is 83 – and full of energy. She certainly knows how to age gracefully!

Humans have been trying to avoid or mitigate aging for centuries.

Many Eastern cultures view lifestyle and self-care as essential to a holistic approach to healthy aging.

In the West however, we’re sold anti-aging creams and serums. And even cosmetic surgery.

These treatments certainly help – but they treat only the symptoms of the aging process.  A holistic approach however, looks at treating the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.

Factors That Cause You To Age

You can’t help getting older. But what you eat and drink, the stress you’re under, the amount of sleep you get and how energetic you are all combine to affect your appearance and the rate at which you appear to age – and how old you feel.

So, let’s look at each of these individually.

Stress Reduction

One of the most important elements in holistic medicine is reducing stress. Stress affects your whole body and causes imbalance that can lead to disease and overall ill health. Stress can greatly accelerate the aging process.

In holism, stress reduction is seen as central to healthy aging, and is considered a proactive effort.

Use meditation, relaxation exercises, yoga, and aromatherapy to get stress under control. They all help to provide healing and balance to the mind, body, and spirit.

Exercise

 When you keep active, you help to preserve your overall health and thus aging takes less of a toll.

Physical activity boosts the rate of your metabolism, which ensures healthy weight management. This is really important because your metabolism naturally slows as you age and so weight gain becomes more likely, putting strain and stress on your body.

What You Eat and Drink

Of course you know how important a healthy diet is. And especially as you age, it pays to eat foods that can really help with anti-aging.

There are many foods that do this, but in particular, choose foods which are high in antioxidants and omega fatty acids.

Free radicals are an indirect cause of aging – they cause inflammation which may lead to accelerated and unhealthy aging. Antioxidants fight the effects of free radicals. Here’s a list of foods which offer antioxidants: 

• Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Cranberries and Strawberries
• Kidney, pinto and black beans
• Artichokes
• Prunes
• Apples: Red delicious, Granny Smith and Gala
• Pecans
• Sweet cherries
• Black plums
• Potatoes
• Plums

Drink lots of water, not just to keep you hydrated but also to improve skin elasticity. Water also reinforces healing collagen, which helps to slow the manifestation of wrinkles and sagging.

Omega fatty acids are healthy fats that support heart health (heart disease is a major killer)as well as skin health. These foods are good for omega fats:

• Whole grain bread
• Flaxseed
• Natural Peanut butter
• Oatmeal (not instant)
• Pumpkin seeds
• Walnuts

• Parsley
• Kale
• Spinach
• Brussels sprouts
• Mint
• Watercress

• Halibut
• Herring
• Trout
• Fresh Tuna
• Mackerel
• Oysters
• Salmon
• Sardines

• Flaxseed oil
• Soybean oil
• Walnut oil
• Canola oil
• Cod liver oil

If you’re eating healthy food, you want to be sure that all these wonderful nutrients are properly distributed throughout your body. A great way to ensure this is a common holistic “medicine” – cayenne pepper. It dilates blood vessels which enables blood to circulate more freely, and it also reinforces the heart and regulates blood pressure.

Conclusion

A holistic approach considers all aspects of your lifestyle, rather than focusing on consumer products such as creams. Holism treats the whole person, instead of tackling a symptom.

A holistic approach to your well-being is very green and ecofriendly. It doesn’t harm the planet.

Stress reduction, exercise and what you eat all contribute to whether you age gracefully and healthily – or not.

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Warm regards,

P.S.  Don’t forget to download your free green living handbook “Live Well, Live Green” here.

Related:

• How to get MORE energy as you age!
• Get rid of all the toxic products in your life (you’ll be shocked at where they hide!). It’s easy – see how here!