Mind Body & Soul -
Aging Gracefully
Sixty is about the
time the body begins
to fail, when the
first hints of
age-related disease
begins. One hardly
notices aging on a
day-to-day basis,
but when looking at
old photographs--
the truth is there.
Recently, I was at a
school reunion and
amazed that some of
my former classmates
looked like they had
hardly aged at all.
Others did not
resembled the
persons I once knew.
There are some THAT
things actually get
better with age:
wine, cheese,
whiskey, beef, and
violins. Why the
difference? Why are
some persons so
altered by time and
others not? The most
likely answer to
these questions is
genetics and
environment.
All of us have
abused our bodies
over time and the
wonder is not that
we age and die, but
that we make it
through life as well
as we do.
Can we actually slow
the aging process?
Dr. Andrew Weil does
not believe aging to
be reversible. He
feels the best we
can do ---and it is
a lot—is to accept
this inevitability
and try to adapt to
it, to be in the
best health we can
at any age. Denial
of aging and the
attempt to fight it
are
counterproductive.
To age gracefully
means to let nature
take its course
while doing
everything in our
power to delay the
onset of age related
disease, in other
words, to live as
long and as well as
possible.
Steps to healthy
aging are really no
different from those
our grandparents
and parents preached
to us for years:
Physical Health:
We must eat a
balanced diet, and
exercise
Emotional Health:
We must reduce
stress, and have
positive thoughts
and attitudes
Spiritual Health:
Health and illness
involve more than
the physical body;
good medicine must
address
the whole person,
meaning bodies,
minds, and spirits. |
