The Tribune

By Dr Monique Thompson

In 2013, Americans spent a little over $2 billion in the anti-aging market. Globally, the anti-aging market was estimated to be worth $122.3 billion in 2013, and is now being estimated to be worth $191.7 billion by 2019.

With these statistics it is evident that a lot of people are interested in ways of capturing their youth. Is staying younger longer an expensive, difficult task? Have we spent billions of dollars simply chasing a dream that was sold to us by a company trying to get their share?

While men may still pursue the highly desired “Fountain of Youth”, here are things we can do daily to look and feel younger longer, without really dipping too much into our pockets. Some of these tips you may very well recognise from previous articles:

• Mentally. A common decline that we tend to notice accompanies the aging process is diminishing mental faculties which we see manifested as senile dementia, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders. Ways we can maintain and protect our mental health includes staying mentally active by completing puzzles, playing ‘brain games,’ pursuing education, and making it a point to learn something new everyday.

• Emotionally. Too often we forget to take care of our feelings. In the pursue of a longer healthier life, this is an area we would do well to pay more attention to. It was discovered that individuals who adopt and utilise healthy coping skills, talk about problems they may be having, and release emotional baggage live longer than persons who do not. So if you needed another good reason to let bygones be bygones, there you go! A study done at UCLA tied together the mind-body connection in a study they carried out that revealed that emotional stress leading to the production of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline contributes to that stubborn belly fat, which in turn triples the chance of the development of dementia.

• Socially. Having strong bonds in a stable marriage, or healthy relationships, keeping friends close, and even participating in group activities have all been associated with longevity. “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” (Genesis 2:18)

Not that I needed any evidence to believe this statement, but I just wanted to point out that research has found that men are 33 per cent more likely to pass away shortly after losing their wives. Interestingly enough, the same is not true for females’ mortality.

• Physically. It makes sense that when it comes to living longer most automatically think about the physical body because aging really is the process of getting old. We create cells that age, die, and have to be replaced. In fact, scientists propose that we have new skin covering being generated every four weeks, a new heart being formed every six to nine months, a new liver being generated every five months, and new cells being formed in the digestive track every five minutes.

The good news here is that we have the chance to give our bodies the great building blocks needed to regenerate properly and be highly functioning. This is accomplished by getting in proper nutrition from a healthy diet that avoids sugar and other highly processed refined foods, trans fatty acids from fried foods, alcohol and tobacco all of which coincidentally causes wrinkles. A study done among some of the oldest people in the world found that they all ate a primarily plant based diet with little meat, and they ate less than their counterparts who died at an earlier age. Proper nutrition and exercise leads to the maintenance of a healthy weight which eradicates risk factors for so many diseases, like diabetes and hypertension which have both been found to lead to Alzheimer’s, dementia and poor mental health as well.

And just as a final note, supplementation to fill in the nutritional gaps and amp up the nutrients shown to promote longer life such as resveratrol, and antioxidants such as turmeric and vitamin A, are also meaningful steps that can be taken to enhance longevity. So while wrinkles, losing hair, a decline in sexual drive and function, and having gravity take its toll on our assets will happen at some point in the aging process, our actions and lifestyle choices do bear significant weight on how hard and fast we experience these things.

As always we take a holistic approach to health and wellness, keeping in mind that we are triune beings and no one part of us is more important than the other.

• Disclaimer: This information is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, rather to be used for educational purposes. Dr Monique Thompson is a naturopathic medical doctor and founder of Cornerstone Healing Institute; 356-0083. Please send your ideas for a “Breakout Session” to info@chibahamas.com