How You Live Today Determines Your Health Tomorrow
Did you know the choices you make today can impact how healthy you are in the future? It might seem like that high fat lunch is no big deal, however everything you eat, drink and do can carry consequences into tomorrow. It’s not just diet, it’s every decision you make. There are a vast number of minute changes you need to make right now to ensure that your later years are more enjoyable and satisfying. Even slight alterations can make an enormous difference in the outcome of your health.
Make Necessary Changes
If you make it to the age of 65, you have exceptional odds of living another 19 years, provided you’ve taken care of your body and are in good health. How we do that is by looking at every action and decision as a map to get to those golden years. Nobody can abuse and neglect themselves and then think they’ll still have plenty of time to live better. The time to live well is today. To avoid some unpleasant situations, such as chronic back pain or hunched shoulders, which can give away age fairly quickly, standing up straight with shoulders back can help prevent that particular tell. The benefits of good posture extend even further. By opening up the chest in this matter, it also assists in proper breathing, feeding the bloodstream with oxygen, which may give your energy level a bit of a boost throughout your day. When you put your body in the proper stance, your joints and muscles align correctly, giving those areas support and reducing pain throughout the body. The proper posture can aid in many areas of pain management, including headaches and jaw pain.
Eat Healthy Foods
Making sure you’re putting healthy fuel into your body is also an important step for enjoying strong health as you age. Eating a balanced diet helps keep your mental acuity intact and can even increase your body’s immune response, meaning less illness and disease as you enter your later years. By feeding your mind as well as your body, with good for you foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, you’re even decreasing your personal risk of developing mind robbing conditions such as Alzheimer’s, while partaking in green tea may enhance your memory.
Keep Moving
Keeping the body in motion as you age is also a big part of living today for a healthy tomorrow. We’ve seen that many of the effects of aging are actually the result of discontinuing exercise. When the muscles are not used, they wither and become weak. But those muscles have memory and by returning to an exercise as simple as taking a walk, they can become strong again. Exercise isn’t a magic pill, but it does improve youthful vitality when continually pursued. After age 50, metabolism is slower, people tend to begin gaining weight and slowing down, yet research demonstrates that when a person is overweight, even a small ten pound weight loss creates dramatic positive results for overall health. The key factor is to always keep moving.
Starting today, keep your future in the front of your mind as you make choices. Instead of the elevator, take the stairs. Instead of that fatty iced coffee, grab a cup of tea. Say no to that huge slice of cheesecake and instead, share a dessert with a friend. You can still enjoy all those things you love, just do so in moderation and avoid things you know are not good for you. Small changes give enormous, lasting results.