What can seniors do to avoid the causes of aging in our killer environment that contribute to cellular dysfunctions and premature aging?
In part one of this series, I began it by stated “the process of aging is nothing more than the buildup of genetic and cellular errors and many of the environmental conditions that cause DNA errors can be eliminated.” In part two I discussed that as seniors we have been exposed over our lifetimes to these unfortunate, unregulated and man made hazards in our environment.
Here are a few of the positive changes you can make in your life before it’s too late:
Eat Organic Food. This includes eating whole foods such as real butter, whole grains instead of refined grains whenever possible, fresh fruits, vegetables, and beans instead of supplements to provide the fiber and vitamins they contain, skinless chicken breast cooked with healthful ingredients instead of chicken nuggets processed with added fats, flavorings, and preservatives, baked potato with chopped green onions and light sour cream instead of a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips, fresh berries with breakfast instead of raspberry toaster pastries or breakfast bars, blueberry smoothie made with blueberries, yogurt, and a frozen banana.
Get Some Sunshine. Exposure to sunlight increases the brain’s release of the serotonin hormone, triggering the release of hormones in your brain. Exposure to the ultraviolet-B radiation in the sun’s rays causes a person’s skin to create vitamin D, which plays a big role in bone health. Moderate amounts of sunlight have cancer preventive benefits for colon cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer.
According to the World Health Organization, getting anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes of sunlight on your arms, hands, and face two to three times a week is enough to enjoy the vitamin D-boosting benefits of the sun. Note that the sun actually has to penetrate the skin — wearing sunscreen and/or clothing over the skin won’t result in vitamin D production, so I recommend getting your sun before 10:00 am and after 4:00 pm in order to avoid sunburn and even skin cancer.
Go Barefoot. This is a bit controversial, since there is only limited scientific research behind it, but the accepted norm is that negative ions from the earth can reduce inflammation in your body. Even people who had been bedridden with chronic fatigue syndrome benefitted from getting outdoors, going barefoot and connecting to the earth. Try it.
Switch to Natural Cleaning Products. Somewhere in the 50s some marketing genius decided to create powerful household cleaning products designed to make domestic life easier. Today the modern home is loaded with toxic polluting substances caused by these same commercial cleaning products. For example, one-in-three people suffer from allergies, asthma, sinusitis or bronchitis that is directly related to these household cleaning products.
Going back to the basics, there are many inexpensive, easy-to-use natural alternatives which can safely be used in place of commercial household products. Here is a list of common, environmentally safe products which can be used alone or in combination for a wealth of household applications.
- Baking Soda – cleans, deodorizes, softens water, scours.
- Soap – unscented soap in liquid form, flakes, powders or bars is biodegradable and will clean just about anything. Avoid using soaps which contain petroleum distillates.
- Lemon – one of the strongest food-acids, effective against most household bacteria.
- Borax – (sodium borate) cleans, deodorizes, disinfects, softens water, and cleans wallpaper, painted walls and floors.
- White Vinegar – cuts grease, removes mildew, odors, some stains and wax build-up.
- Washing Soda – or SAL Soda is sodium carbonate decahydrate, a mineral. Washing soda cuts grease, removes stains, softens water, cleans wall, tiles, sinks and tubs. Use care, as washing soda can irritate mucous membranes. Do not use on aluminum.
- Isopropyl Alcohol – is an excellent disinfectant. (It has been suggested to replace this with ethanol or 100 proof alcohols in solution with water. There is some indication that isopropyl alcohol buildup contributes to illness in the body.
- Cornstarch – can be used to clean windows, polish furniture, shampoo carpets and rugs.
- Citrus Solvent – cleans paint brushes, oil and grease, some stains. (Citrus solvent may cause skin, lung or eye irritations for people with multiple chemical sensitivities.)
Stop Smoking. Knowing that we’re all aware of the dangers of smoking, do you really need more incentives to quit? Seniors that still smoke are highly dependent on nicotine and need to try to rewire their addiction. Exercise is the best method of altering the neural pathways while creating an alternative reward for nicotine. The dopamine and endorphin highs from exercise can help curb the dangerous and debilitating addictions of smoking.
It is never too late to change and the health benefits are almost immediate:
- Tasting and smelling things more vibrantly
- Reducing your risk of heart attack and cancer
- Having fewer respiratory problems and illnesses
- Improved circulation
- Not smelling of smoke in your skin, hair, home, and clothing
- Not exposing your family to secondhand smoke
- Saving money
- Exercising more easily and enjoying it more because it’s easier to breathe — even just the simple act of walking will be easier
- Living longer
- Feeling more energetic
Limit Your Alcohol Intake. Aging lowers the body’s tolerance for alcohol. Older adults generally experience the effects of alcohol more quickly than when they were younger. This puts seniors at higher risks for falls, auto accidents, and other unintentional injuries that may result from drinking. Many prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as herbal remedies can be dangerous or even deadly when mixed with alcohol.
Many health problems are common in older adults. Heavy drinking will make these problems worse, including:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Congestive heart failure
- Liver problems
- Osteoporosis
- Memory problems
- Mood disorders
Fast. Calorie reduction (CR) is a strategy proven to extend the healthy life span in many species, including mice, rats, and primates. Rodent studies conducted over the past 20 years have reliably demonstrated up to a 40% increase in maximum life span through lifelong CR.
These benefits to health and longevity have been shown in animal studies to roughly scale with the degree of calorie restriction imposed, but there is good reason to believe that any gain in primate (and especially human) life span through CR is much more modest than that observed in mice.
The calorie restriction response exists in all species tested to date, and probably evolved very early in the history of life on Earth as a way to increase the chances of surviving seasonal famines or other periodic shortages. Such shortages are the same length whether you are a mouse living a few years or a man living for decades, but for the mouse a season is a much greater fraction of a life span, and thus the mouse evolved to experience a dramatic extension of life in response to famine.
Fasting or calorie reduction in seniors will have beneficial results; after all, your body will let you eat far more than is good for you. What do you think about these ideas? Leave your comment, we’d love to hear from you.
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