Your health is influenced by numerous internal and external factors and, with age, faces wear and tear. However, your lifestyle can make a significant difference in how you age. With some simple self-care steps, you can keep illnesses at bay and prevent degenerative diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.
We consulted the experts, and here are their top pieces of advice on how you can age healthier;
Eat A Healthy Diet And Exercise Regularly
A lot of degenerative diseases are becoming more and more common these days because people’s lifestyle habits are not optimal. What you eat, how you sleep, how much time you spend sitting down, how much time you spend doing physical activity, and even more factors have a significant impact on your health.
There is a lot of information out there about how to prevent degenerative diseases, but most of it is vague and not very helpful. That’s because most people don’t understand the real causes of degenerative diseases.
The key to preventing degenerative diseases is to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly, but that’s not the complete picture. There are plenty of other factors that contribute to health and longevity. The fact is people who want to stay healthy and live a long life need to take care of themselves in many different ways.
A degenerative disease is a disease that slowly damages body tissue and may eventually cause the death of the organism. Degenerative diseases include neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Huntington’s disease, heart conditions such as atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease, and age-related macular degeneration and osteoarthritis.
Do you know that you can prevent degenerative diseases by eating a healthy diet?
It’s true. The degenerative diseases that afflict older adults are often due to poor dietary choices over the years. By eating a diet rich in whole foods, natural fats, and plenty of fruits and vegetables, you can prevent or even reverse many of the diseases that affect the elderly.
Degenerative diseases are a major problem in the 21st century, and they’re only getting worse. But you can fight back against these diseases with a few simple habits.
The first thing you should do is eat a healthy diet. A high-fat, high-protein diet has been shown to increase your risk of degenerative diseases, while a low-fat, high-vegetable diet will decrease your chances of suffering from these ailments. In addition, you should also exercise regularly. Exercise has been known to reduce inflammation and improve cognitive function.
Janet Coleman, a Health Expert writing health and wellness content for TheConsumerMag
Maintain Healthy Body Weight
If you’re obese or overweight, you’re at greater risk, so losing some weight should be the first thing on your list. Include some workout or exercise in your routine; even jogging or brisk walking for 45 mins – 60 mins daily would work,
Improve your diet and consume more quality over quantity. Eat more fiber-rich food and maintain a balanced diet with an adequate number of vitamins, protein, carbohydrates, etc.
Ensure adding antioxidants to your diet.
Sally Stevens, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist RDN Co-founder & Marketing Manager FastPeopleSearch.io
Probiotics
Probiotics are living bacteria that provide countless health benefits when ingested. These bacteria are naturally occurring in the gut but can be replenished through external means. One benefit that is rarely highlighted is the link between the gut and brain which is improved through probiotic use. The gut contains beneficial bacteria known as the microbiota, which plays a key role in maintaining health in both the body and mind. These health benefits include mental health as well.
Researchers have found that a direct line of communication exists between the brain and your enteric nervous system: this is what they call the gut-brain axis. This line of communication works both ways, linking the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal function.
Trista Best is a Registered Dietitian at Balance One Supplements, Environmental Health Specialist, and Adjunct Nutrition Professor.
Managing Stress
Degenerative diseases occur when the body and/or mind starts to break down, decline, or deteriorate due to the aging process combined with stress. Stress is extremely taxing on the body and mind and can be very damaging if not managed properly.
We can slow down degenerative diseases and many times reverse such diseases through routine maintenance of well-being. This includes reducing and managing stress, healthy eating, getting adequate sleep, engaging in physical activity, meditation, and positive thinking.
Shannon Jones is a Registered Dietitian and Well-being Coach; SNJ Coaching & Consulting.
Yoga
Practicing yoga, meditation, and breathwork will prevent lifestyle creep from destroying your youth and is a fail-proof method of preventing degenerative disorders. Degenerative disorders begin in the mind; if the mind gets stuck in a rut, so does the body. Regular practice of yoga, meditation, and breathwork prevent this from happening by keeping your body and mind young and flexible and preserving your quality of life.
Parm Saggu is the CEO and Founder of Parm’s Yoga.
Prevent Risk of Diabetes
The best way to prevent degenerative diseases is to minimize your risk. For example, diabetes affects just over 34 million Americans. Increased blood glucose from diabetes (or prediabetes) damages blood vessels and causes inflammation. Together, these factors decrease blood flow to body tissues and prevent healing. Maintain a healthy weight, choose a heart-healthy diet, engage in daily physical activity, and monitor your stress level. Prevention is a better strategy than treatment!
Dr. Poston is a licensed physician and works as a medical advisor for Impakt Fitness.
Collagen Supplementation
An osteoarthritis is a form of arthritis; many recognize it as a degenerative joint disease. It typically occurs in the hands, feet, hips, and knees when cartilage breaks down and changes bone structure. Collagen supplementation may have the ability to block this process from occurring, thus reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Collagen supplementation has been recognized for the way it supports the growth and repair of cartilage tissue, tendons.
Furthermore, it also reduces inflammation and pain and has the potential to help increase BMD and reduce protein levels in the blood, which contributes to bone breakdown.
Collagen has anticatabolic, antiapoptotic, and pro anabolic effects that play a protective role in suppressing NP cell degeneration. This suggests it may be a beneficial therapeutic option for the prevention and treatment of a variety of degenerative diseases.
Joseph Kennedy, PharmaD Consumer’s Health Report
Keep Your BMI in Check
I believe the first and foremost step to prevent degenerative diseases is to keep a check on your weight and maintain it at a healthy level. Among the many charts, keep BMI as a benchmark to know a healthy weight for your body type. Secondly, regular exercise comes to mind as it is always handy to be flexible and helps to maintain a good heart rate. One doesn’t need to go through heavy workouts, but general stretching and light exercises will do. Lastly, make sure to have a properly balanced diet to keep yourself from lacking in nutrition, along with drinking ample amounts of water.
Derek Hall, Content Strategist at FitnessVolt.com
