Thursday, May 27, 2010

Does The Fountain Of Youth Really Exist?

By Dr. Michael Pritsker, DC

What if you were told you I've discovered the fountain of youth and all you have to do is pony up $39.99 and you can have a jar of it to drink? I'm sure you wouldn't fall for that obvious line of bull. But unfortunately many people do fall for it. 99% of people are like goldfish. Not that they have fins and swim around in a fish tank. But because goldfish have an attention span of three seconds! That's right, 3 measly seconds!

This means that fish are slow learners. After all, what can possibly be learned in just three seconds? So if they eat a small disgusting worm that makes them sick, three minutes later they will eat another one and get sick again. Yes they will eat another little slimy worm and get sick all over again. So what happens after they give the salesman forty dollars for that fountain of youth in a jar and it doesn't work? They forget all about the first sale and in a few seconds just like the goldfish that at ate the worm they give another forty dollars to the next salesman claiming the exact same thing. So to understand this, even though there is no fountain of youth in a jar, there are three important things to take into consideration that can make you live up to twenty percent longer and look years younger.

First is having a positive mental attitude. That's right, positive thinking actually makes you live longer. In fact, a study done at the Mayo Clinic revealed that optimists lived 20% longer than pessimists! Imagine that looking on the bright side and cracking a smile every once in a while may put 10 or 15 years on your life. There's another interesting side note to optimists. They have more friends!

The second is exercise. Of course everyone's always yapping about how good exercise is. You'll slave away in the gym. You'll run around that stupid track and maybe you'll live an extra year. It's the last year when you're too old to care anyway. Well, it gives me great pleasure to tell you just how wrong you are! A groundbreaking study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1994, showed that the bodies of 40 postmenopausal women became 15 To 20 years more youthful after the women lifted weights twice a week for a year!

Lifting weights twice weekly certainly is not slaving away in the gym. This is something you have to understand to get the full grasp of it. That's something anyone can do to look years younger and feel great. I know it's not quite as intriguing as the fountain of youth and may take a little more time but it really does work.

Here's another interesting exercise fact. Exercise can even overcome bad genes! In a study of 16,000 sets of healthy twins, researchers kept track of the twins' lifestyles for nearly 20 years. At the end of the study, they discovered that those who exercised moderately at 30 minutes of walking twice a week cut their risk of dying almost in half when compared to their sedentary sibling.

That brings us to number three which is decreasing free radicals. Although experts disagree about exactly what causes our bodies to age, one of the leading theories attributes it to damage caused by free radicals. These molecules that are missing an electron, bind with healthy cells and wreak havoc on those cells' ability to function. Our bodies produce antioxidants to counteract the damage, but if there is not a large enough supply, cellular damage may not be repaired and sooner or later, we become ill. According to this theory, the best approach to slowing the aging process is to provide the body with plenty of ammunition against free radicals. You can do this by increasing your intake of antioxidants.

Forget for a moment about carbohydrates, protein and fat, and instead focus on food as a source of antioxidants. The most powerful food sources of these all-important nutrients are vegetables and fruits, so those should be the most abundant things on your plate. Round out each meal with whole grains, like brown rice, whole wheat bread, cereal and pasta, plus low-fat dairy products and lean meats. Sugar and fat should be the smallest category.

One study done by the National Cancer Institute shows how powerful a diet of this kind can be the key to great health. Researchers examined the eating habits of more than forty five thousand women and found that those who ate a diet high in fruits, vegetables, grains, low-fat dairy and lean meats cut their risk of dying from any cause by thirty percent! That's a phenomenal finding!

So there are multiple ways to find the fountain of youth and drink from it. Most importantly they are maintaining a positive mental attitude, exercising regularly and eating a proper diet. This can make you happy and healthy as you become older and smarter. And hopefully you will enjoy the process of growing old with all that life has to offer to you.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment