No Matter the Age or Stage — Health & Medical Safety Matter

No one wants to grow older, except maybe kids under 21. But a time will come in everyone’s life when they realize that they no longer qualify as a “spring chicken.” When that happens, it’s important for everyone to take some time to consider how they can preserve health and mobility as they enjoy the golden age of their life. Here are three things to keep in mind as you get older.

Move Often and Eat Well

You’ve heard it your whole life (and if you’ve been around longer than 30 years, you’ve heard a million versions of this), but moving often and eating well are important parts of any healthy lifestyle. Of course, the science of what is healthy or best for your body changes with every new decade and generation. Even though the science keeps changing, the argument is the same: an active and well-fueled body is a healthy body. Well-fueled and active bodies help preserve health. They are resistant to illness, less likely to be injured and bounce back quicker if they are injured.

Moving often can be as simple as going for a walk, playing outside with the kids (or grandkids) or throwing a ball for the dog. If you’re interested in a more robust program, you can look into local programs like swim clubs or gyms. If you’ve never moved before, or have never thought about activity, why not check out a program that can teach you how to be more active? Wellness professionals can teach you how to modify each movement for your individual mobility level.

Eating well is so hard. It feels extremely vague, and years of conflicting data can make it difficult to know what one should eat. In fact, many dietitians are constantly trying to debunk favorite nonsense wellness tips like “Women over 50 should never eat more than 1200 calories” or that sugar is a drug. If eating 1200 calories works for you, great. If you feel that sugar is your drug, then you should avoid it.

If you don’t remember anything else from this article, remember that eating well is a matter of not being hungry, not being angry and feeling like your body is energized and happy. Ideally, you’d include lots of variety in your diet. If you can’t eat a large and varied diet, that’s okay. Many of the micronutrients in fruits and vegetables can be gained from a basic multivitamin.

Know Your Medications

Multivitamins may or may not be part of your daily regime, but if you’re like many Americans, you likely have some medications that you take regularly. It’s important to know what those medications are and if there is a chance they could interact negatively with other medications, multivitamins or food that you may take. You should also be familiar with what side effects are normal and what requires immediate health interventions.

Give Yourself Some Grace

Sometimes, no matter how “good” you are as you work to preserve health, you may find that your health and wellness begin to decline with age. Wear and tear and genetics all play a role in how we age. Despite your best intentions, you find yourself in a situation where you need some medical support. It may come in the form of medication to regulate hormones, blood pressure or systems. It may come in the form of procedures or system assists like an ostomy bag, a pacemaker or a catheter. And that’s okay. None of these medical interventions or support need prevent you from doing things that you want to do.

Age Happily

Whether you’re just starting to consider your age or you’ve long accepted your silver radiance, the best way to age well is to be happy. Happiness doesn’t have a start date or an expiration date, so enjoy every stage of your life because, after all, you’re only this age once.