10 Great Tips How To Beat Aging | Healthy Living slideshows | Well Being center

Proper Brain Diet

Your diet is extremely important. What you eat everyday dictates how much energy you have and how much weight you put on. Your body mass index affects your health in a profound way. Obesity causes diabetes, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure, heart diseases and strokes. Therefore a balanced diet with all the essential nutrients is the way forward. Your total daily energy requirement depends on the amount of work you do. A child or an athlete will need more energy than a clerk. Your ideal diet needs to contain 50% carbohydrates, 30% proteins and 20% lipids. Any healthy foods can be incorporated into your diet to fulfill the above requirements. With regards to proper brain function, proteins play a key role. Glutamate, GABA, glycine, acetylcholine, noradrenalin, adrenalin and dopamine are important nerve transmitters. Glutamate is an amino acid (constituent of proteins) and GABA is also synthesized from it. Glycine is also an amino acid. Acetyl choline is synthesized from acetate and choline. Noradrenalin and dopamine are formed from the amino acid tyrosine.

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Clinical nutrition by Alan R Gaby

Use Creams For Thicker Skin

The skin is the largest organ in the body. It shows aging changes rather blatantly. Wrinkling, liver spots, dryness, hair loss and lack of skin luster are a few of the reminders of the passage of time. These manifestations can be delayed by ensuring the proper nourishment of the skin. Regular cleansing, moisturizing and avoiding harmful skin applications play a vital role. Wrinkling is due to a loss of elasticity of the skin. Elastin is a protein synthesized by the fibroblasts in the skin. Water, electrolytes, glucose and amino acids are essential for synthesis of elastin. Liver spots are due to enlargement and aggregation of melanocytes of the skin. Proper nutrition slows these age related changes. Water loss results in dryness. Proper moisturizing replenishes extra cellular fluid in the skin.

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Lecture notes on dermatology

Avoid Stress

Stress increases the serum levels of cortisol, thyroxin, epinephrine and norepinephrine. It also increases the production of free radicals and increases oxidative cellular damage. Avoiding stress reduces cell damage. Cortisol and thyroxin increase the heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Noradrenalin and adrenalin are neurotransmitters associated with fright, flight and fight reactions. In the long term, the presence of these chemicals in high concentrations in the blood translates into a higher risk of hypertension, diabetes and vascular disorders. Regular exercise, hobbies, good eating habits and spending quality time with friends and family all contribute to a stress free life.

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Ganong's review of medical physiology

Get Enough Sleep

Serotonin is the feel-good chemical in the brain. Studies have shown that adequate sleep increases the serum concentration of serotonin. Sleep is the time for repair and recovery. During sleep, the body switches into anabolic mode. Tissues pay out the oxygen debt of vigorous activity and repair damaged tissues. The stores of energy sources deplete during prolonged activity and sleep is the time these stores are replenished. During sleep, the heart rate slows down and blood pressure normalizes. Cardiac output drops. The liver, kidneys, and the brain are perfused well during sleep to ensure detoxification, waste disposal and neural repair.

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Clinical medicine by Kumar and Clark

Reduce Sun Exposure

Sun exposure is essential for vitamin D metabolism. Cholecalciferol is synthesized from cholesterol by ultra violet spectrum light. Cholecalciferol goes through the liver and the kidneys to form an active compound called 1, 25-dihydroxycholecalciferol. This compound affects the calcium metabolism. Although sunlight is beneficial to some extent, over-exposure has its own disadvantages. Sun exposure may induce a photo-dermatitis (inflammation of the skin due to abnormal reaction of skin to sunlight). Sun expose promotes melanocyte action and darkens the skin. Over-exposure to sunlight warms up the skin and makes water evaporates from the skin. This results in dehydration and wrinkling.

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Lecture notes on dermatology

Do Not Smoke

Studies have shown that smoking causes wrinkling faster than exposure to sunlight. These are known as smokers' lines. They are vertical parallel lines around the mouth. The heat from the cigarette burns the skin directly. Smoking interferes with the synthesis of elastin fibers in the dermis and reduces the skin turgor and luster. Smoking promotes damage to the lining of the blood vessels (endothelium). This paves the way to atherosclerosis and poor perfusion. Lack of oxygen supply to the skin reduces the tissue integrity. Smoking slows wound healing and increases the incidence of viral infections, skin cancers, psoriasis, hydradinitis uppurativa and cutenous lupus.

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Clinical medicine by Kumar and Clark

Get Moving

Exercise improves blood supply to the brain, heart, kidneys, muscles and liver. It improves cognitive function and coordination and reduces the risk of a stroke. Exercise improves tolerance by increasing myocardial contractility. In an athlete, the heart rate is slow but the heart pumps out enough blood due to its forceful contractions. Increased renal perfusion improves filtration and excretion of toxic substances. It triggers erythropoietin secretion. Erythropoietin triggers development of red blood cells. This in turn ensures good oxygen transport to tissues. Muscles require a large amount of energy to function. If energy supplied by glucose is not adequate, lipids and proteins are hydrolyzed to get the rest. A good muscle bulk therefore keeps you slim and healthy.

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Clinical medicine by Kumar and Clark

Enjoy Your Sex Life

Sex requires a lot of energy. It exercises almost all the muscle groups in the body. Regular exercise is good for the body. Studies have shown that sexually active women stay healthier, happier and cope with the effects of aging better. Sex increases the serum level of serotonin which is the feel-good chemical in the body. It alters the hormone secretion in the body in such a way that it reduces stress, reduces free radical damage and boosts the immune system.

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Clinical medicine by Kumar and Clark

Stay In Touch With Friends

A good confiding relationship relieves stress. Studies have shown that people without a close confiding relationship are at greater risk of depression. Various problem-solving methods and coping strategies thus far identified in society have friends as a key component. A fresh set of eyes and a second opinion always helps to avoid bias and puts things in perspective. It is not good to go to extremes, however. It is detrimental to get addicted to new community websites and programs because sitting in front of the computer counts as a sedentary way of life. Prolonged inactivity promotes diabetes, high blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia and vascular disease. It shortens your life rather than prolonging it.

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Get Yourself A Pet

A hobby is always a good thing. It distracts the mind from stress inducing life events. Studies have shown that having a gold fish in a bowl by the bedside actually improves clinical outcome and quality of life after a heart attack. Because hobbies are things that you love there is a higher chance of you sticking with it. Having a dog is also good because when you walk the dog in the evenings you actually get a workout yourself. It is important to ensure that it is a brisk walk and not a lazy stroll through the park.