It’s a thought that no one wants to entertain, but even so, age catches up with us sooner or later. The one thing we cannot slow is time, but what we can do is control the aging process so that even though our bodies go through the process, our brains and other faculties don’t fail us as we grow older. The trick is to age gracefully so that your body does not give up on you before your brain or vice versa. And to do this, here’s what is necessary:

• Plan your retirement when you’re healthy: It’s not something that we want to do when we’re healthy, but it is a must because you may not have people around to care for you when you’re old and infirm. Put aside some money to take care of your needs and also check out assisted living communities where you have people to care for you and where you can interact with others like you. It beats living alone and dying a recluse.
• Maintain your health with regular exercise and sensible eating habits: As you grow older, your body’s metabolism slows down. So eat less, eat more healthy food, and get some regular exercise every day. A walk for half an hour should do the trick, either in the morning or the evening.
• Avoid activities that cause disease: When you drink regularly (more than one drink a day) and smoke (or do drugs), you’re stressing out your body and driving it to disease. This makes you more of a broken shell as you grow older and you’re wracked by ailments that trouble you one after the other or all at once. So avoid drinking too much, smoking, and eating fatty foods. (more…)