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Look & feel
younger
As
a card-carrying member of the baby-boom generation, I take issue
with the charge that we men aren't growing old gracefully. I
don't see anything wrong with doing what we can to hold back the ravages
of time.
Sure, aging is inevitable, but it is also quite postponable.
Many of the changes that are commonly considered normal
to later middle age and encroaching old
age—from wrinkled skin, to aches and pains, to hunched posture, to lack
of energy—aren't. They're simply brought on by unnecessary wear and tear
on our bodies. With a little sensible upkeep, you can stay young longer:
- Pump
iron to increase energy. Strength training builds muscle—no
matter how old you are—and muscle maintains your metabolism,
keeping you energetic and helping you to burn up the calories
you
face at the dinner table.
- Eat colorful food. Orange fruits and vegetables
and the dark-green leafy vegetables contain carotenoids,
substances that, among other
things, may help protect your eyesight.
- Do sit-ups for your back. That's
right, strengthening the muscles in front helps support the spine
behind.
- Take
a multivitamin with B complex. A suite of the basic "Bs" will
help keep your mind sharp.
- Walk for your attitude. Aside from its
physical benefits, endurance exercise is a recognized
mood booster.
- Have sex regularly. There's hardly anything better for
a man's outlook on life. But evidence suggests that erections are
a use-it-or-lose-it
proposition, so make sure you get a regular workout.
- Wear
sunscreen. Approximately 90 percent of wrinkles come from
exposure to the sun. That sunscreen tube is a fountain of youth.
- Lose
10 pounds to ease your aching joints. Weight loss is now recognized
as one of the best ways to treat (or even prevent)
the pain of arthritis.
- Moisturize your skin. As we grow older,
our skin may not produce as much of the essential oils, but a moisturizing
lotion can take
their
place.
- Challenge
your brain. Like nearly every part of your body, your brain
needs workouts to stay in tip-top shape. Look for new mental
challenges—a
class at a community college, a regular game of chess, writing
that novel—to keep sharp.
As a wise man once said, "You're only as old as you feel," and
these are only a few of the ways to feel younger. As far as I'm concerned,
growing old no more quickly than necessary is truly growing
old gracefully.
More
ways to be youthful
When
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "We do not count a man's years
until he has nothing else to count," he was probably talking
about staying young at heart. More than a century later, Emerson's
wisdom
is still right on, but we've also got medical science to help us
stay physically young at heart.
Aging is inevitable but very postponable.
Just follow these tips:
-
Take a walk. Endurance exercise not only helps you live longer,
it keeps you feeling younger while you do. Men who spend at least
20
minutes three times a week in a moderately strenuous physical
activity are likely to lose weight, have more energy and better
endurance,
be sharper mentally, sleep better, and have sex more often.
- Lift weights.
A regular strength-training program can help you look younger (both
by building muscles and improving posture),
fend off
injuries, and feel more energetic and competent.
- Breathe. A simple
breathing exercise will help keep your lungs at full capacity and
relieve stress at the same time. A couple
of times
each day, take four consecutive deep breaths that require
at least five seconds to inhale and five seconds to exhale.
- Eat
complex carbohydrates. Foods such as whole-wheat bread, potatoes,
and vegetables give you the energy to keep going strong throughout
the day. Although you need some fat and protein, an overdose
will not only put on pounds, it will make you feel 10 years
more sluggish
than you need to.
- Drink water. There is no better way to keep
your plumbing system in good working order, a common problem in
older men. Drink 8
to 10 glasses
per day.
- Protect your skin from the sun. Dermatologists agree
that cumulative exposure to ultraviolet light is the main reason
our skin wrinkles
as we get older. Use sunscreen and protect yourself from
the midday
sun with a hat and other clothing. And when you hit about
50, consider a moisturizer for your face.
- Enjoy regular sexual
activity. Yes, use it or lose it applies
to even this pastime. Sex helps keeps your penis well nourished
with blood
and in good working order.
When it comes right down to it, I suppose Emerson had it pretty well
figure out. Act young and you will be.
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