Archive for June, 2010

Our Aging Pets

My best furry friend is getting old. He’ll be 17 next month, and that is really old in doggy years. I can see that he has some aches and pains. His step has slowed. His muzzle has turned white, and he’d rather lay by the fire than go chase those pesky squirrels that have been the bane of his existence over the years. But I’ve learned so much from my best friend.

When he was a puppy, he taught me patience. I didn’t necessarily want the lessons, but I got them anyway. He has taught me to just be glad when good things happen, and he’s taught me that holding a grudge is energy wasted. He taught me to always eat the best stuff first. You might get full and not have to eat the other stuff. He’s made me laugh when I wouldn’t have laughed. And now he is teaching me the art of growing old gracefully and with dignity.

He doesn’t sit around moaning and complaining about his aches and pains, although I’m sure that he has plenty of them. He still enjoys the everyday things that he has always enjoyed, and he doesn’t worry about how many or few days that he may have left to enjoy them.

He still has confidence in himself. He still asserts his authority if a stranger has the nerve to approach without his expressed permission, and he’s not kidding. I’m not sure he could do anything about it, but HE has no doubt that he could do something about it.

He still loves unconditionally. Maybe that is what he is still trying to teach me, and I’m pretty sure that he thinks I’m a really slow learner, but he hasn’t given up.

We can learn a lot from our furry friends. They all have this aging gracefully and with dignity thing down pat. We should try to do as well.

See you next time,

Your Life After 40

Looking for the Fountain of Youth

Ponce de Leon was the Spanish conquistador who searched for the “Fountain of Youth” in Florida. He was convinced that such a fountain did exist, and he spent more that seven years searching for it off and on. He didn’t find it. But stories and legends about youth-restoring waters were well known in both the Old World and the New. The search for the “fountain of youth” continues, even today. Oh, nobody is out there wading through the Everglades looking for it, at least, I don’t think they are, but human beings are still looking for the magic that will keep them looking young while they grow older.

People look for the “fountain of youth” in bottles of hair dye. They think that if they color their hair and turn it back to the color it was in their youth, they will look younger and maybe even feel younger. Surely, they believe, coloring their hair can make the rest of the world think that they are younger than they are. The manufacturers of hair coloring products aren’t selling hair coloring products. Oh, no. They are selling the IDEA of the fountain of youth in a bottle. If coloring hair makes people FEEL better about themselves, then maybe hair color really is a little part of the fountain of youth.

People look for the fountain of youth in jars and tubes and bottles of skin cream. Retin A was a big, big thing only a few years ago. And it is true that Retin A can lessen the appearance of fine lines, but Retin A is not the fountain of youth. You can’t turn on the TV without seeing advertisements for face creams that imply a guarantee that your skin will look as fresh and dewy as the 20-year-old model on the screen. It’s true that moisturizers can keep the skin from wrinkling prematurely, and if these creams and lotions make people feel like they have a little bit of the fountain of youth in their reach, then they can’t be all bad!

The Aging Journey

A friend of mine recently reached the ripe old age of 60. She was so distraught, I was pretty sure that she expected a wake instead of a birthday party. She said to me, “Well, now I start the aging journey!” Later, as I thought about what she had said, it struck me that the “aging journey” pretty much begins with our conception, it doesn’t START at age 60, or any other age.

We grow older every single day. When we are born, we are a newborn ó but the next day, we are a day old. We get 24 hours to be a specific age. The next 24 hours, we are a day older than yesterday, but not as old as we will be tomorrow ó barring complications, of course.

I’ve known people who were “old” at 30 and those who were “young” at 80. I’m not really convinced that the number of years that we have lived on this earth has a lot to do with how “old” we really are. Oh, the number of years we’ve lived measure our chronological age, but I’m pretty sure that our chronological age is just a number. There are lots of numbers in our lives. We have a weight and a height, there are telephone numbers and street addresses, and then, there is our chronological age.

Our physical bodies will no doubt lose agility as we age, but our minds don’t have to lose a step. Our steps can become feeble, but our spirits can soar.

I’m convinced that the aging journey is whatever we each choose to make it. I really believe that it is possible to grow older on the outside without growing old on the inside. I believe that we can mature without withering on the vine. We can each choose whether we will see the glass as half empty, or half full.

See you next time,

Your Life After 40

Anti-Aging Hoaxes

There have been claims of magical anti-aging elixirs and potions for centuries. They are ALL hoaxes. Nobody has found the fountain of youth. Nobody can concoct a mixture that will make you stay young and beautiful forever. There is exactly ONE way to stop the aging process, DIE!

Now, just because it isn’t possible to find a way to stay young forever doesn’t mean that the shysters and crooks out there aren’t going to be selling one, or many. We would all love to be able to grow older while continuing to look and feel youthful, and because that would be a dream come true, the crooks are out there selling the dream.

Some of the stay-young-forever schemes are elaborate, and some of them are just laughable. Some of them are on TV in the form of commercials for face cream that imply that using a particular product will give you the clear, beautiful, and youthful skin of the 18-year-old model in the commercial.

The anti-aging schemes come and go. Some of them are just a flash in the pan that doesn’t last long, but some of them hang around for years like the spa/clinic of Dr. Ana Aslan in Bucharest, Romania. It may still be around. The “magic” elixir was called Gerovital H3. The main ingredient as it turns out is procaine or Novocain, a numbing agent used by dentists.

There IS a way to keep from looking and feeling older than your years. The secrets are just a simple, well-balanced diet that includes fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and fish, plenty of water, and daily exercise, as well as good dental care, skin care, and a positive and happy outlook on life in general. There isn’t anything magical about it, but it does work, unlike the magical anti-aging hoaxes.

See you next time,

Your Life After 40

Aging and Memory Loss

There are lots of things that can cause memory loss other than growing older. Depression can cause memory loss, and memory loss can also be one of the common side effects of certain medications. Alcoholism is certainly one cause of memory loss. Strokes and head injuries can also result in memory loss.

Some memory loss is natural. Memories are stored in different ways and in different parts of the brain. Short-term memory consists of information that just been recently acquired ó like the name of a person to whom you have just been introduced. Recent memory consists of information that was acquired in the recent past ó like what you had for breakfast. Long-term memory consists of facts and information that you acquired much earlier in life ó like memories of childhood. We begin losing brain cells somewhere around the time that we are 20 years old, and some memory loss is absolutely normal.

Recent memory is the area that is usually affected first. You might forget where you left your car keys, or you might not be able to recall the name of a person that you met last month. This kind of memory loss is not anything to worry about. Until and unless memory loss begins to affect daily life, minor memory loss is simply nothing to worry about.

Dementia is caused by the loss or destruction of brain cells. Dementia is not a normal part of the aging process. Dementia can be caused by a stroke, a head injury, or a brain tumor.

Most people think of Alzheimer’s disease as just a disease of the elderly. The fact is that anyone can get Alzheimer’s at any age, but the risk does increase with age. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging.

Forgetting the name of a person you recently met or forgetting where you left your car keys does not constitute serious memory problems. But if you suddenly can’t remember how to do something that you have done a million times before (follow a recipe, drive a car, etc.), you do need to see your doctor.

See you next time,

Your Life After 40

The Advantages of Aging

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the prospect of growing old, and I must admit that I’m really not all that alarmed. My mother just celebrated her 80th birthday last month. I went to see her on her birthday, but she didn’t have much time to spare me. We did squeeze in lunch, but she was getting ready for her next “big adventure,” as she called it.

My mother has lots of big adventures. Sometimes her big adventures involve travel, and sometimes they involve taking up a new hobby. Sometimes her big adventures happen in her kitchen, where she is trying out a new recipe. A big adventure can be taking her grandson down to the pond to “see what the fish are doing,” taking a yoga class, or touring a foreign country.

While we were having lunch on her 80th birthday, I asked my mother what it felt like to be 80 years old. She thought about it for a minute, and she said, “It feels pretty much like being 79 years old” and then she promptly ordered a double chocolate sundae for lunch. I said, “Mom, do you think that you should have a double chocolate sundae for lunch? Don’t you think you should have a nice plate lunch with meat and vegetables instead?” She just laughed. She said, “I probably should, but I’ve been eating meat and vegetables all my life, and I WANT a double chocolate sundae.” That was the end of the discussion.

My mother has the getting-older thing down pat. She enjoys life, each and every day of it. She is interested, and she is interesting. I have no doubt that she has plenty of aches and pains, but she just doesn’t talk about them. She talks about life with enthusiasm and gets excited about her next big adventure, whatever it might be! You GO, girl!

See you next time,

Your Life After 40

Menopause and Aging

Many women face the prospect of menopause with a great deal of fear. They don’t necessarily fear the end of their menstrual cycles, they actually look forward to that aspect of menopause with joy , but they fear the changes that will occur that will make them look older.

It IS true that after menopause, many women gain weight and lose muscle tone. Their skin wrinkles more quickly, as well. But these changes aren’t written in stone. They don’t have to happen unless the woman lets them happen without putting up a fight.

Herbs:
Most women are very fearful of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and with good reason. There is solid evidence of an increased risk for breast cancer for women who opt for HRT. However, the synthetic hormones used in the usual hormone replacement therapies aren’t the only choice. Black cohosh, chaste tree, and dandelion are only three of a long list of herbs that have been successfully used for many centuries to replace the hormones lost after menopause. Talk to an herbalist.

Exercise:
After menopause, exercise becomes more important for a woman than it has ever been before in her life. At least 15 minutes of exercise every single day is important to stimulate the heart, blood circulation, and breathing.

Diet:
Because the metabolic rate decreases after menopause, many women will gain from 10 to 15 pounds and some women will gain even more, even though their diets don’t change. After menopause, it is of even greater importance that you become very aware of the caloric value of the foods that you eat. Just some simple substitutions can decrease your daily caloric intake by enough that you won’t gain weight.

Avoid the sun:
The sun’s rays do more damage to the skin than any other single factor ó including menopause. Avoid direct sunlight altogether if possible, and when you do go out, be sure that you apply a good sunscreen and wear sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat.

See you next time,

Your Life After 40

Aging Isn’t an Excuse

Have you ever met people who are old before they are old? And have you also met people who are old in body, but young in heart and mind? Me too.

Age isn’t an excuse, and it shouldn’t be used as an excuse to stop participating in life. Age really IS a state of mind, and how you see yourself is a self-fulfilling prophecy, as well. If you think you are old, then you are old, and it doesn’t matter how old you are. On the other hand, being young works the same way.

I had one grandmother of each variety. One grandmother traveled the world. She sent me postcards from exotic places, and when she visited, she could tell stories about her adventures that would leave me breathless. I wanted to grow up to be just like her. My other grandmother complained about everything. To hear her tell it, she never slept a wink, and her body hurt somewhere all the time. She was grouchy and grumpy, and I really hated it when she came to visit us.

I was grown before I realized that the OLD grouchy, grumpy grandmother was actually 10 years younger than the “go everywhere, see everything, have the time of your life” grandmother.

The differences between them were not health-related, and the differences didn’t have anything to do with their financial situations, either. One grandmother CHOSE to be old. She was uninterested and uninteresting. The other grandmother REFUSED to be old. She was interested and she was interesting, and she enjoyed life. Age wasn’t an excuse for her, and it will never be an excuse for me, either.

The fact is that staying in life and participating in life keeps your mind young and agile. Age isn’t an excuse to sit down and start complaining. Get up and get going!

See you next time,

Your Life After 40

Anti-Aging Foods

Putting the wrong food into your body is pretty much like putting the wrong fuel into your car’s fuel tank. The car might run for a while, but then it’s going to die and refuse to go any further. That’s about the same thing that happens to a human body that is consistently fed the wrong food.

We know because we’ve been told time and time again that junk food isn’t good for us. Junk food is LOADED with preservatives, fats, salts, and sugars. Probably even six-year olds have heard the word “cholesterol.”

Is there any such thing as anti-aging food? Actually, I believe that there is a diet that can help to prevent our bodies from aging faster than they should; one that can keep our bodies operating in top form and help to keep us healthier longer.

I think that anti-aging diet would include a lot of fresh fruit, fresh and/or steamed vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fish, and water. It would also include very little saturated fat, including dairy products and heavy beef and liquids other than water. The reasons why that kind of diet would be an anti-aging one are simple.

Fruit and vegetables are loaded with the nutrients that our bodies need to be healthy. There are vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in an abundant supply. Vegetables and fruits keep the body’s digestive system in good working order.

Nuts are a high-fiber food that is loaded with minerals. They help to strengthen the immune system and control the buildup of cholesterol.

Whole grains provide complex carbohydrates that supply energy as well as many vitamins and minerals.

Fish provides the Omega 3 fatty acid that stimulates the immune system and decreases the chance of heart disease.

Water gives life to all living things, including humans. Just plain water is a wonder drug. It keeps the system clear of toxins and other harmful things, and it keeps the skin fresh and youthful.

See you next time,

Your Life After 40

Herbs to Slow Aging

Any sane person would object to any medication, herbal or otherwise, that would prevent aging because we either age or die. We don’t want to prevent aging. We simply want to prevent the appearance of aging. We want our bodies to remain youthful and our skin to stay fresh and dewy. That isn’t really a realistic objective, but there are herbs that can help to slow the appearance of aging.

The idea is to use herbs that will stimulate blood circulation and improve the body’s ability to dispose of waste and absorb needed nutrients ó and there really are herbs that can do those things for us. Just a few of these anti-aging herbs are:

1.  Lycium fruit is rich in antioxidants that slow down aging.

2.  Pearl contains mucopolysac-carhides that can help slow wrinkling of the skin.

3.  Schizandra will eliminate toxins from the liver and creat a more youthful body.

4.  Polygonum increases the production of superoxide dismutase (SOD). SOD is the body’s most important natural antioxidant, and it significantly slows down aging.

5.  Gynostemma has anti-inflammatory properties that prevent aging.

There are many other herbs that can help slow the appearance of aging of the body and skin. Diet and exercise are also two of the best and most natural ways to keep the body from appearing older than it really is.

A diet that consists largely of fruit, vegetable, whole grains, and very little fat will help to keep the body looking young and fit.

A daily exercise program helps to keep muscles toned and joints limber. Regular exercise postpones the onset of crippling (and aging) diseases like arthritis.

Be sure that you eat a healthy diet and that you exercise regularly. Talk to a herbalist about the herbs that are best for you.

See you next time,

Your Life After 40