I have been doing a lot of thinking about this and actually set my intension for the whole year around aging well! Now when I say aging well it’s not all about wrinkles, saggy skin, or gray hair…. Though my goal is to prevent all of that too!
I have been doing a lot of research about epigenetics, in the simplest definition it is the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. Unlike genetic changes, epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change your DNA sequence, but they can change how your body reads a DNA sequence. That sounds very scientific but basically there are things you can do, and not do, to help your genes/body “age” slower. It’s more about your environment than your genes. They actually have a test you can do to see how your body is aging biologically compared to your chronological age. I used the TruDiagnostic advanced genetic testing, https://trudiagnostic.com/ I will warn you it was expensive, but they do have deals throughout the year (On Black Friday they offered 30% off). But honestly, it’s worth the investment in yourself.
I found out that currently I am aging the pace of .87 which means I have slowed down the aging process. Anything below 1 is the goal. Every year I age chronologically, my body is only getting .87 years older. I want to see if over the next year I can slow it down even more! I thought I would share some of the things I am doing in case you wanted to slow down your biological aging process.
- Stress is a huge factor in aging. Everyone has stress in their life and to be honest everyone should have some stress but it you find that you spend most of your time stressed, it’s time to make some changes. One way to help reduce the stress in your life is to meditate, spend time outdoors, and sometimes it does means making changes, this could mean changing at your job or your relationships.
- Intermittent fasting is a great way to slow down the aging of your cells. It allows your digestive system to work better because it has time to rest and repair. Fasting allows your body to kick into autophagy, which is the cellular detox process that is critical for aging well and building a stronger immune system.
- As we get older protein because more important, especially for women because of our bone health. Increasing protein is a great way to help your body maintain its muscle mass. This becomes more important when you turn 40. As well is weight training helps maintain and build more muscle.
- I know this one isn’t a fan favorite but eliminating alcohol, yes I know wine has polyphenols which protect against development of certain cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases…. BUT and this is a big but, it also has a bunch of other stuff that is not beneficial to you, so green tea is actually a much better way to get the polyphenols you need.
- Getting 7-9 hours of sleep is essential to slowing down the aging process. Your body recovers while you sleep, so if you are not giving yourself time to do that, it truly will effect your whole body.
- I know I have written about cold showers before I must mention them again. Taking a 2-3 min cold shower every day can help reduce inflammation and help circulation. Research shows that it improves the production and health of your mitochondria, which is the energy source of your cells. It also creates a “good” stress in our body.
- Limit the amount of sugar and processed foods that you eat. This is probably the hardest one for most people. Sugar is very addictive which makes it even harder not to eat, but there is truly no benefit to eating sugar, it causes inflammation which in return causes most diseases within the body. I personally prefer to eliminate it all together, but I know not most people can or don’t want to do that, so I would suggest the 90/10 rule. Eat non processed and non-sugar diet 90% of the time and 10% of the time eat what you want.
- Move your body everyday but make sure you are doing all three types of exercise, cardio, weight training, and yoga/stretching. The goal would be to spend at least 30 mins a day focusing on your physical health.
These are some a few of the ways you can help your body slow down the aging process to live a life full of energy. Remember, “Take care of your body- It's the only place you have to live” Jim Rohn
I am currently reading a couple books (reading one, listening to one) about longevity and how to live healthy longer, when I am done reading them; I will let you know if I recommend them!
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