Aging isn’t just about how you look. It’s an all-encompassing force that includes our mental health, how we feel, and how we’re about to enjoy life in our later years. Just like staying healthy and active prevents us from feeling gross, taking the steps to slow down aging can help us feel good and do more when we’re reaching older age. Thankfully, science has come a long way and figured out what we can do to slow down the process. How to age in the right way, if you will. From the right supplements to restricting calories, you can slow down the process and feel amazing. Here’s what we learned about the different ways you can slow down the aging process so that you are able to enjoy and live your life to the fullest, even in old age. Keep reading for more!
This Is How to Age Gracefully, According to Science
1) Don’t mess with your gut, keep it healthy
According to Well + Good, Dr. Frank Lipman, an anti-aging expert, says that aging can decrease the number of digestive enzymes that a person has, which causes an imbalance in the gut. It can lead to constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, and inflammation. This is where a good prebiotic and probiotic or having a lot of healthy, beneficial gut bacteria comes in handy. It supports an aging digestive system.
2) Exercise, exercise, exercise!
Exercising helps with absolutely everything. It is the key to aging slowly and keeping energy levels up as you get older. It helps fight inflammation and even slows down cognitive decline!
3) Taking these supplements
According to Dr. Frank Lipman, these seven supplements are the key to stopping aging in its tracks.
- Glutathione: for detoxifying, one of the most powerful antioxidants
- Magnesium: a mineral found in your body that detoxifies and prevents heart and bone issues
- CoQ10: a powerful antioxidant that gives you energy
- Alpha-lipoic acid: an antioxidant that protects your skin, balances blood sugar and helps to fight inflammation
- Turmeric: an antioxidant that reduces inflammation
- Powdered greens: drinks that are full of antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and all that healthy stuff!
4) Intermittent fasting
While studies have only really been done on mice, fasting has shown to actually reverse aging. When we age, the telomeres on our DNA (caps on the ends that protect us) get smaller and smaller until they are eventually gone. This makes our cells stop functioning properly. They may even start functioning as different cells! Like a nerve cell may act as a skin cell, for example. According to Being Patient, “Fasting supercharges metabolism, making the body more efficient at breaking down nutrients and burning calories. It also slows down the degradation of DNA, which is what occurs when we age, and accelerates DNA repair, thus slowing down the aging process.”
5) Living stress-free
We know that this is probably the hardest thing to achieve, in all honesty. Life comes at us when we least expect it, and living stress-free isn’t something that’s always feasible. But there are other ways to reduce stress! Exercising is one of the ways. Reducing anxiety may also help! Try to not smoke, switch coffee for green tea (a slower release of caffeine), and try and rid yourself of the things that make your heart race (in a bad way) if you can. Meditation can also be a great form of stress reduction. Being mindful can help you live in the moment and find ways of being present.
