Saturday, November 26, 2011

Living Healthy and Long while Aging

Tip for Healthy Aging: Exercise and Eat Right

If you want a fit and healthy body, start an exercise program. Exercise is essential in helping individuals live long, productive and healthy lives. As we advance in years, our body starts a downward spiral; bodily functions start to decline and the cells degenerate. If you fail to stay active during your lifetime, your body goes ahead with the aging process in full force. However, if you start working out while you are still young, your body will be able to cope with the aging process, even slow it down.

Your exercise program should include cardiovascular exercises such as aerobics. It's a great workout that promotes a healthy heart. Cardiovascular exercises help to increase your heart rate and encourage better, smoother blood flow to the heart. Your exercise program should also consist of strength training. Strength training exercises help build stronger bones so that you can avoid injuries to your joints and muscles. Weight lifting is a great strength training workout.

According to studies, people who incorporate weight lifting in their exercise program increase their odds of living a long, healthy and productive life. In a study, experts observed three clusters of men. The first group of men lifted weights while the second and third groups basically lived sedentary lives. These men were instructed to walk distances and at a particular length. Scientist found that the group of men who worked out showed lower levels of cholesterol while those who did not work out had higher levels of cholesterol. Experts agreed that resistance workouts encourage better blood flow, improve overall health and lower cholesterol levels.

Lifting weights has also shown to give metabolism a boost, giving a person more energy. Exercising also encourages the development of stronger muscles, enabling a person to go about his daily life much better and age much more gracefully. People who don't regularly exercise are at risk of decreasing bone density. When bone density goes down, blood is gradually channeled to the heart, putting a person at risk of developing heart disease.

You can lower your risk of having high levels of cholesterol by incorporating weightlifting in your exercise program. It will also slow down the aging process. However, keep in mind that you should lift weights at a comfortable, safe pace for you. When you're just starting out, start small and start out gradually; avoid lifting weights that your body can't handle. If you want to build strength through weightlifting, keep the weights low and the reps up. If you want to build muscles, slowly build towards more weights and faster reps. If you are new to weightlifting, it's best that you have someone to help you with the weights and provide you some support.

As we age, our body begins to lose fibers, vitamins and other nutrients. Furthermore, dying cells accumulate, living cells decline and new cells are slow to be produced by the body. Thus, supplements and vitamins are essential. Your daily diet needs to have at least 30 grams of healthy fibers.

You can switch to a healthy diet right now so you can get be on your way to healthy aging. Many people have a hard  time changing their diet; they have spent years and years eating fast foods and following unhealthy eating habits. Basically, you want to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, grains and nuts, and less of fatty, sugary and processed foods.

Have a diet plan, stick to it and you'll notice improvements in your body after a short time. If you truly want to live a longer, healthier life, you shouldn't wait to start exercising and eating right.

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