More on Better Ageing

We all have a chronological age, in years, and a biological age, which represents and health and youthfulness of our body. They are not necessarily the same.

Science now has many ways to slow our biological clock and even reverse ageing. It’s ‘aging’ in the US and ‘ageing’ elsewhere.

Cells age, proteins get damaged, then the body ages, leading to illnesses and disease.

The amount of ageing can depend our genes, lifestyle and a little bit of luck. Lifestyle is the one we have some control over.
There is the 150, minutes of moderate exercise we should do every week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity. All this can be done without the need to go to a gym.

• Walk fast rather than slowly.
• Practice standing on one leg each day. This builds muscle and improves balance. Aim for 60 seconds with the eyes open on each leg and 10 seconds with the eyes closed. When the eyes are open, put attention on a particular object in front of you. With the eyes closed, try to visualise that same object, and this should help stability.

Muscles deteriorate easily with age and lack of use. They need resistance exercise to build them and keep them active.
• Press-ups and squats are good and require no equipment.
• Use stairs as much as possible.
• Walking on the spot while lifting the knees as high as possible.
• Carry the shopping home rather than driving.

Better muscles help improve control of blood sugar levels.

Diet is important.
• Restrict the amount of meat, particularly red meat and go for more oily fish, fruit and vegetables.

Although there is not a completely understanding of the link, it is known that healthy teeth and gums are connected to good general health. Tooth decay and gum disease causes inflammation in cells with a detrimental effect on the immune system.
• Maintain good teeth hygiene with regular check-ups.
• Sleep should be between 6½ to 8 hours and night.
At night, the brain eliminates certain toxins connected with Alzheimers. Also, dreams are a way the brain flushes out little bits of stress from the nervous system, which all helps.

Some drugs already exist which help reduce ageing. Although they are used for transplant cases and diabetes, a convenient side-effect is in anti-ageing. New drugs will target specific parts of ageing and are on the horizon, but at the moment be careful what you spend money on. As yet there is no magic pill.

All sorts of infections through our lives can build up a detrimental effect on the immune system. Some viruses remain in the body and can quietly carry on doing damage. Staying as healthy as possible can help guard against this.

• Excessive alcohol will affect the skin badly, while drinking plenty of water will help it.

Too much sun will increase the ageing of the skin. Sun can cause skin cancer in anyone. The ultraviolet light from the sun damages the protein and collagen in the skin, resulting in more wrinkles.
• Using a suitable level of sunscreen and wearing a hat are important here. UK light can even do its damage on cloudy days. Too much UV light can also lead to cataracts and macular degeneration in the eyes.
• Sunglasses are recommended even on cloud days. Many spectacles and contact lenses come with UV protection built into the lenses.

Mental health and mental attitude affect the ageing process. Loneliness, isolation, depression, loss of love-ones, financial worries all take their toll.
• Keeping up with and creating new social relations is important for mental health. The mind and body are one and the state of the mind will influence the state of the body.

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