To live a long and healthy life is one of the things that most people aspire to. People today are living into their 90s and even their 100s, many of them still full of energy and a love for life.
But how do they do it? What are the secrets of these long-lived people, and how can we apply those secrets to our own lives?
Well, it turns out that they’re not really secrets at all. Simply forming and sticking to healthy habits is one of the major contributors to living a long time.
Let’s take a look at some of these habits and how they can help.
Maintaining a Healthy Weight
With every kilo of extra weight, more pressure is put onto your body’s organs and their ability to function. That’s why it’s important to maintain a healthy weight and a healthy BMI (Body Mass Index).
According to the World Health Organization, standard BMI categories are between 18.5 and 24.9 kg m–2 for normal weight, 25-29.9 for overweight, and anything over 30 is considered obese.
When a person’s BMI reaches the overweight or obese categories, they’re much more at risk for things like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cholelithiasis and other chronic diseases that plague both men and women.
On the other hand, people with lean body types are less at-risk for those problems. This is especially true if they’re physically active.
The most harmful type of body weight comes in the form of belly fat. There are two kinds of belly fat, subcutaneous and visceral. Subcutaneous fat is beneath the skin and isn’t too dangerous on its own. Visceral fat, however, can be very dangerous.
Visceral fat cells release metabolic products into the bloodstream, and from there they are delivered to the liver. The fatty acids are then free to accumulate in the organs like the pancreas or even the heart. Because those organs aren’t designed to store fat, the visceral fat cells cause dysfunction within the organs and lead to major health problems.
Needless to say, living with an unhealthy body weight can lead to a multitude of life-threatening health issues and greatly inhibit your ability to live a long and healthy life.
Exercise Regularly
It should go without saying that regular exercise is good for the body. It helps build and maintain muscle, which then makes it easier to burn fat and maintain a healthy body weight.
Body weight regulation is just one of the many benefits of regular exercise, however. It’s also good for the bones and for keeping our muscles in working order. It makes it less likely that we’ll hurt ourselves in day-to-day tasks by pulling a muscle or injuring ourselves through regular motions.
Exercise is also great for cardiovascular health, strengthening the blood vessels as well as the heart. It can help to lower blood pressure and avoid other cardiovascular related diseases.
It’s important to note that regular exercise doesn’t mean taking your body to the limits with strenuous activity. In fact, it’s actually healthier to maintain moderate levels of exercise and perform more activities that work multiple muscles throughout the body.
For instance, running every day can be hard on your bones and your knees and lead to injury. Jogging, walking, or swimming for 30-40 minutes every other day will still provide healthy levels of exercise without putting too much strain on your body.
The important thing is that you engage in physical activity on a regular basis.
Eat a Healthy, Balanced Diet
When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight, diet is actually a lot more impactful than exercise. While exercise can improve your health, diet is much more effective when it comes to staying within a health BMI.
More importantly, eating well provides your body with the vitamins and minerals it needs for a long and happy life.
A balanced diet should be rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats and calcium. The minimum recommended daily intake is two fruits and five vegetables. When you select your fruits and vegetables, choose a variety of colors to ensure you’re getting the full range of vitamins and minerals. For example, an apple and a banana, some broccoli and carrots.
When it comes to eating meat, try to limit how much red meat you eat and instead favor some trimmed chicken and fish at least twice a week. This will help with your protein intake. Try to avoid overcooked or charred meats, as that will increase carcinogens.
If possible, try to get as much of your protein as you can from plants like nuts and beans. Choose whole grains over refined grains in your bread.
A general rule of thumb is to only eat until your stomach feels 80% full. That will help you maintain a healthy weight. Oftentimes our bodies don’t realize we’re full until we’ve already eaten too much.
Grow Old and Look Good
While we all want to live long and happy lives, there are inevitable effects of aging that show up in our skin and often our hair. Wrinkles appear as the skin loses fat, and hair grows thin and changes color.
At Starks, we believe that looking good is a part of feeling good, and we’ve made it our mission to combat the way that aging affects our looks. Our center in Milan is fully staffed with hair restoration specialists and medical personnel who will work with you to help you love the way that you look.
If you’re in Italy and looking to enjoy a long and healthy life while also looking, and feeling, your best, visit us or call for a consultation. Let’s work together to help you get the most out of a long and happy life.
Starks also provides age management solutions from clinics located in France and Greece. Please click below to find out more about the hair restoration services we offer to our global clientele:
France:
Greffe De Cheveux
Italy:
Trapianto Di Capelli
Greece:
Μεταμόσχευση μαλλιών
