How not to get OLD and FAT!

From learning your carb limit to perking up your sex life, a new book shows . . .

SAdly, age affects us all, but some people are struck by it earlier than others. you can blame errant genes and shrug your stiff and aching shoulders in resignation. Or you can ask if there’s anything you might be doing which could be making things worse than they need be.

I see so many people skip through life happy and apparently healthy until they hit 45, and then the paunch suddenly appears, the knees start to creak, forgetful moments creep in, and they succumb to every cold going.

Once we hit middle age, our body’s natural functions — intricate systems of hormones, nerves, brain function, digestion and immune function — can begin to break down. And as we get fatter — and our creaking bodies stubbornly resist any attempts to lose weight — diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure can creep up on us. But I am convinced you don’t have to accept this natural deterioration. you don’t have to feel old and get fat.

‘Isn’t it all down to our genes?’ I hear you ask. The truth is, barely 2 per cent of the ageing process is hereditary — the remaining 98 per cent is up for grabs. diet, exercise, stress management and sleep can all have an enormous impact, regardless of your genetic destiny.

The wrong diet disrupts your gut, destroys friendly bacteria, unbalances your hormones and renders you vulnerable to brain fog, anxiety and depression. A sedentary life leaves your body starved of movement. lack of sleep shrinks your brain. Unnecessary medications can cause your body to slow down and put on pounds.

Middle age may be a hormonal maelstrom, but all these factors can exacerbate the problem, leading to an accumulation of seemingly minor symptoms your doctor might not take seriously and you’re likely to put down to ‘age’.

But this is your body’s cry for help. And when you heed it and discover how to support your body, you begin to shape your own future health.

My approach combines conventional medical training with alternative practices. It’s not complex or difficult to stick to — and it works. While we cannot stop the ageing process entirely, we can certainly make it a slower and more comfortable journey.

CHECK YOUR CARBS

MOST of us understand that sugar is the number-one dietary evil, and that white flour and processed food come a close second. But debate still rages over the kinds of carbohydrates that are good for us — and just how much of them we can healthily eat.

I am convinced that even ‘healthy’ wholegrain carbs can be challenging for many digestive systems.

each of us has our own set point for the amount of carbs (including grains, fruit and starchy vegetables) that we can healthily consume. Up to that point, your body will function well, but exceed it (whether you’re eating doughnuts or quinoa) and the ‘old and fat’ symptoms can start to kick in.

To make matters more complicated, your carbohydrate set point isn’t fixed, but can vary from day to day, even from hour to hour. On days that you exercise, you might be able to tolerate more carbs, but stress, sleepless nights and age can cause your tolerance levels to dip.

Count how many ‘ yes’ answers you get for the following questions:

dO you gain weight even though you eat whole grains, dried pulses, and fresh fruit?

dO you feel tired and foggy-headed after eating carbs?

dO you frequently crave sugar and starchy foods?

dO you find it hard to control how much sugar or carbs you eat?

dO you find that your weight fluctuates easily?

dOeS your energy fluctuate dramatically throughout the day?

dO you feel light-headed or irritable when you’re hungry?

dO you tend to gain weight in your face and around your abdomen more than on your hips and thighs?

dO you turn to sweets or carbs when you’re feeling anxious, tired or depressed?

If you answered yes to three or more questions, you might be eating more carbs than your system can handle and, regardless of whether you eat white bread or brown, you’ll be riding the ageinducing blood-sugar roller coaster.

The problem lies in your body’s reactive impulse to pump out insulin in response to the carbohydrates.

Insulin causes your body to store fat and triggers an inflammatory reaction, which leads to obesity and a host of other symptoms, including acne, digestive issues, immune problems, hormonal imbalance, memory problems and sleep difficulties. Insulin also stimulates the stress hormone cortisol, which produces yet more inflammation and causes your body to store yet more fat.

your first line of defence should be to remove the sweet and starchy ‘white’ and refined foods if they still form part of your diet. If you’ve already done that, try cutting back or avoiding all grains, including wholegrains, plus dried pulses, and fresh fruit (although a small amount of berries each day should be fine).

Keep a note of how your body — and brain — reacts.

you might need to experiment to find the right level of carbs for you and how your routine affects your ability to tolerate them. Porridge might be a perfectly acceptable breakfast for a relaxed Sunday, for instance, but intolerable on a high-stress workday. Sweet potatoes could be fine on the day after a good night’s sleep, but you might want to fill up on green vegetables if you’re tired.

Most of us can tolerate more carbs when we’re active, so give your body the vigorous movement it craves.

you might find you can shift your carb tolerance longer term by dropping your insulin levels through intermittent fasting. Try eating all three meals within a limited time frame — say 11am to 7pm, for eight hours of eating and 16 hours of fasting. But only do this three or four times a week rather than every day.

DON’T GO LOW-FAT

Cell walls throughout your body are made of fat, and without enough healthy fat in your diet, your cells — particularly brain cells — cannot function properly.

It could be your low-fat diet, not your age, that’s making you feel old, tired, cranky and forgetful — and perhaps even anxious, unfocused or depressed.

KEEP MOVING TO STOP BRAIN FOG

KeePIng fit and active is far less about developing strength and stamina or keeping your body in shape and much, much more about fending off ageing.

One of the reasons we age and get fat is because we don’t give our body the movement it craves.

Movement — of any sort — is one of the best ways to keep your brain healthy, to prevent dementia and keep your mind sharp. If you’re concerned about forgetfulness, or brain fog, your first line of defence should be to boost blood flow and oxygenation by getting moving.

exercise is also a brilliant natural way to reduce inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation lurks at the heart of so many of the problems of ageing — from aches and pains to menopausal symptoms, sleep problems, anxiety and depression — so it is really important to do what you can to move more.

Find some exercise you enjoy and do it for at least 30 minutes a day several times a week.

‘SEXERCISE’ YOURSELF YOUNGER

RegUlAR sex is one of the best ways to feel young and stay slim. It burns as many calories as a brisk walk, and promotes the release of hormones, including testosterone and oestrogen, which can keep you looking young.

It is a fabulous way to release tension and a great route to happiness. A recent study by the national Bureau of economic Research found a sexual relationship can bring the same levels of happiness as earning an extra £65,000 a year. you’ll be hard pushed to find a drug that can do all this without any side-effects!

Orgasms can be a powerful stress

reliever (you release the ‘bonding hormone’ oxytocin at climax, which is an antidote to stress hormones) and form of pain relief (they trigger the release of natural painkillers called endorphins).

Orgasms are also a great antiaging device. Some experts suggest 200 orgasms a year can lower your age by six years. Not only do the endorphins released by orgasms help you sleep better, but studies show three or more orgasms per week can reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke by half.

Orgasms also boost your levels of immunoglobulin A, which strengthens immunity.

And, of course, having sex helps you feel young. It deepens your relationship with your partner and empowers your own sense of being loved, loving and attractive — a confidence that can carry over into other areas of your life.

If you’re having trouble getting or staying aroused, or reaching orgasms, talk to your doctor about restoring your hormonal balance and correcting anything that might be going wrong. Sex is too wonderful a part of life to miss!

BUILD UP YOUR FLEXIBILITY

Flexibility is just as important as strength in the fight against ageing. your tendons, ligaments, and particularly the bands of soft tissue known as fascia are of crucial importance to health — and yet are often ignored.

you need soft, supple fascia to allow your muscles to move easily, but, as you age — and especially if you have had injuries, are inactive, or don’t stretch properly — your fascia can stiffen up. Injury, inflammation and chronic stress can cause your fascia to develop ‘adhesions’ — tight places where tissues that should be separated by fascia have fused. this can leave you feeling stiff, off-balance and sometimes in pain.

the problem is made worse if you spend much of your day sitting down. Slumped shoulders can tighten the muscles and fascia at the base of the skull as you focus on a computer screen, and your hamstrings (muscles on the backs of your legs) can get shorter, tugging at your lower back and pulling your pelvis forward.

this explains why so many of us reach middle age with a chronically stiff neck, or sore back.

but the good news is because these aches are partly self-inflicted, they can be undone. by stretching and nurturing your fascia — through yoga and regular massage — you can regain some of the youthful openness you might have thought was lost.

So don’t dismiss yoga as something for young, bendy people, and don’t discount a deep-tissue massage as an unnecessary luxury. they could be the key to keeping you moving.

Adapted by LOUISE ATKINSON from 10 Reasons You Feel Old and Get Fat — And How You Can Stay Young, Slim And Happy! by Dr Frank Lipman, published on February 23 by Hay House at £10.99. To order a copy at £8.79 (offer valid to February 29) call 0808 272 0808 or visit www.mailbookshop.co.uk. P&P is free on orders over £12.