Last week I was lunching with a researcher who developed a well-known pharmaceutical for Depression, Anxiety and PTSD. Our conversation led to the way in which people care for themselves and the way in which food choices and Lifestyle affect overall health and well-being. We talked about the underlying conditions that that are commonly associated with Aging, the fact that six out of every 10 Americans have at least one chronic disease, and the staggering cost this represents to the American Economy. He was amazed when I told him that, at age 70, I don’t have any underlying conditions that require I take any pharmaceutical.

The conversation led to the area of Lifestyle Medicine that has been growing in recent years. Lifestyle Medicine addresses the necessary lifestyle habits to help you achieve optimal wellness. It includes core practices and strategies that you need to serve you at the highest possible level and help you achieve optimal health and well-being. These are key important pillars of wellness which address the importance of a mind-body connection, they are: Movement, Eating, Hydration, Sleep, Thoughts, Social Connections, and Purpose. They can be described as falling into three buckets: Mind – Body – Spirit.

Mind: This includes overall mental attitude; thoughts; ability to handle stress and stress recovery; quiet time, including Meditation.

Body: This includes nutrition and hydration; sleep which is essential for recovery; and movement or any type of physical activity, including formal Exercise

Spirit: Social connections and purpose are key factors in spirit as is overall spiritual belief, energy, etc.

Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed information from the CDC and two long term studies, the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study they found there was a dramatic decrease in the risk of heart disease and Cancer for those persons who implemented at least five lifestyle habits into their daily lives. For those persons ages 50 and above who implemented habits in each of the areas examined, they were able to extend their life significantly. This was compared with people who did not implement these habits.

The study found that women who adopted healthy habits in all of the areas lived to age 93, as opposed to those who did not who lived to only age 79. For men the number of years they lived longer was slightly less, but still impressive. Eight-eight for those who adopted these habits as opposed to age 75 for those men who did not.

Of course, there are other factors that influence our health, well-being and longevity including family history, work environment, where and how we live.

Yet, still, you can change the trajectory by making intentional choices that serve as an investment in your well-being. Truth be told, these choices are simple, yet may not be easy. We can call them longevity choices; I’ve termed them mindful longevity solutions.

While reading these areas of well-being may intuitively make sense, they are simple but not always easy to implement, especially considering our busy lives. But, if you desire to live as healthfully and gracefully as you possibly can, for as long as you possibly can, the time to begin is now. It’s never too late.

If not already doing so, this is not an immediate about face. It is a process and takes time. It takes examining present unproductive habits and determining the areas where you want, and are willing, to work to make changes.

The American Diet is in crisis: I call it a fat, fried and oversized crisis. It is partially the result of advertising and the millions of research dollars that go into developing foods that appeal to our senses and contribute to a favorable mouth-feel experience, both of which leads us to reach for unhealthy food choices.

It’s sometimes hard to resist these unhealthy choices. It’s years of conditioning. Not only by society but in our families and culture. For many cultures food represents love and caring. Holiday celebrations and family get togethers find our tables overflowing with an abundance of choices, all of which we are expted to sample.

My mother used to tell me to finish everything on my plate because there were starving children around the world. She told me that ice cream, milk and cookies would make me feel better.

It’s all conditioning. Deconditioning or breaking that tie is not easy.

It extends way beyond food choices. 75% of Americans are seriously dehydrated, and drink only 2.5 glasses of water/day. Dehydration leads to high blood pressure, confusion, delirium, urinary tract infections, falls, depression, reduced ability to recover from vigorous exercise.

Stressed taxes our minds and our bodies, it has been called the silent killer. Among other things it leads to high blood pressure.

We all became acutely aware of the effects of Isolation and loneliness during COVID. Loneliness leads to depression which leads, cognitive decline and lowers a person’s pain tolerance. Forbes reports that fifty-eight of people in the United States feel lonely most of the time. This translates into to a serious national health concern.

Our minds are full and much of what we do is mindless, but we are not mindful. We live on purpose, but not necessarily with purpose.

There are many more examples in which we are not functioning optimally for our well-being.

Being aware is an important first step in making intentional, conscious choices.

Commitment to examining these areas and willingness to take the necessary steps to make changes amounts to a belief in self-care as a number one priority.

Become Your Wellness CEO

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Recharge!!!! Refresh!!! Reenergize!!!

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AGE MAGNIFICENTLY!!!!!

To find out more about the road to your Mindful Longevity journey email: phyllis@phyllisaymanassociates.com

Originally Published on https://www.phyllisaymanassociates.com/

Phyllis Ayman Ambassador for Conscious Aging Life Management and #1 WSJ and USA Today Best Selling Author, Podcaster

Phyllis Ayman is the Ambassador for Conscious Aging Life Management, and founder of Mindful Longevity Solutions. She coaches individuals to develop their Personalized Longevity or Wellness Care Plans so they can live as healthfully, happily ,and fulfilled as they possibly can. As an aging life careplanning coach and mediator, she guides families to make decisions and mediate challenging conversations around aging care issues. She conceived and owns the trademark IMpathy®, essentially the inner game of empathy, which the hallmark of her proprietary programs.

Ayman is a #1 WSJ and USA Today Best Selling author, featured speaker, panel moderator, trainer, advocate gerontological speech/language pathologist and dementia care specialist. She spent over 40,000 hours working with thousands of individuals and families in long term care. Her writings have been featured in Next Avenue, McKnight’s Long Term Care News and McKnight’s Senior Living, and the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioner Newsletters.