Five secrets to aging the right way

Aging well is of paramount importance as we are living longer, which means we should also protect our health and longevity, as well.

Poor aging accounts for much of the depression that many older adults experience. Many of them wake up in pain everyday and cannot do even the simplest tasks. With their memory, vision and hearing fading many older adults tend to be very sad and hope to fall asleep and not wake up the next morning.

This comes from conversations with many elderly adults that I have had in my work with them. This is not what I want for you or anybody else. My mission is to transform your mindset on health and the aging process, to help you see that life can be much better if you focus on aging better. You don’t have to live a life of decay and misery just because you are getting older.

There are five secrets to aging better that can make a happy, healthy life worth living. With exercise and eating a healthier diet at the forefront of healthy aging, there is much that can be done to help you get on track. They are as follows:

• Sleep better: Proper, quality sleep as been shown to be an excellent indicator of aging well. Poor sleep can lead to memory problems, such as dementia, poor recovery, high stress rates and poor energy levels.

Protect your heart health: As you may know, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels can lead to strokes and heart attacks. We have lost many loved ones due to these highly preventable diseases. Ensuring proper blood circulation can be accomplished by adding more nitric oxide-boosting foods to your diet. Foods such as beets, celery, watermelon and carrots all help open up blood vessels to ensure better blood flow. Boosting your cardiorespiratory health is also very important. Doing more activities such as swimming, cycling, walking, kickboxing and any other sport that your joints can handle safely, all help to improve heart function. Be sure to do three to five days of cardio-enhancing workouts each week for best results.

Maintain lean muscle: Building lean muscle is not just for athletes and bodybuilders. The aging population also needs vital muscle to protect themselves from decay, fractures and falls. Muscle building is not about vanity, it is about preventing sarcopenia, an age-related loss of muscle tissue. As a functional aging expert in the Antelope Valley, I can assure you that by building lean muscle, you