Reverse Aging: Forewarned is Forearmed

In this section, we discuss the most common types of degenerative processes you should be aware of, and how they can affect the aging body. Later, we’ll show you the practices and habits which can help you reduce or even eliminate your risks for these conditions. As you will see, by continually renewing the promise to treat our bodies well and wisely, we can add many healthy years to our lives.

If the first words that come to mind when you hear the word health are doctor and medicine, you have fallen into a common trap. Continued research to find cures for disease has produced astounding results, which are widely publicized and acclaimed. As a result, too many people think of their health in terms of treatment, rather than prevention, and that’s a calamity. It’s not reasonable to expect a physician to step in and instantly cure conditions which have arisen from years of physical neglect and abuse. And it is neglect and abuse that cause most of the deaths from disease in America today. Six of the ten leading causes of death in the United States—heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, and coronary artery disease—are diseases brought on or aggravated by the modern American lifestyle.

As medical science explores the causes of the deterioration which leads to heart attacks, strokes, and cancer, their findings point rather consistently to those elements in our lifestyle which are radically different from those of our ancestors. The same high technology environment that makes us so dependent on machines and digital devices affects the way we eat, the nutrients in our food, the way we move (or don’t) move our bodies, the way (and what) we breathe, and the way we sleep (or don’t sleep). Now it’s the time of our lives to aggressively explore all we can do to bring our cultural and physical needs back into alignment.

In past eras, infectious diseases were the culprits most likely to bring an early death. Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death, with bronchitis, pneumonia, influenza, whooping cough, and measles all up there on the list. And the major factors in the decline of those diseases were environmental, not medical.

The enemies of health are different today. Instead of contaminating food with bacteria, we strip it of its nutritional value and pump it full of chemical additives. Our water and air carry industrial pollution instead of virulent microbes. We have an abundance of foods that make us fat, artery clogged, and weak. Instead of working ourselves to the point of exhaustion and physical deterioration in sweatshops, we lead sedentary lives on the couch and computer chair and bring on physical deterioration through lack of exercise.

The difference is that today, you don’t have to wait for some public health revolution to improve your chances of continued health; most of the factors in your environment that could cause you trouble are under your control. Thanks to the new accent on healthier eating, more exercise, and less smoking, and the boom in the active sports industry, there is good evidence that consumption of high-fat, high-cholesterol foods has been in measurable decline. Per capita tobacco consumption in the United States has declined substantially. But although the death rate from coronary heart disease has decreased continually in the past decade, an American is still ten times more likely to die from a heart attack than a Japanese. Many experts feel that we have barely scratched the surface when it comes to preventive medicine. In The American Way of Life Need Not Be Hazardous to Your Health, Dr. John W. Farquhar, founder of the Stanford Heart Disease Prevention Program, stated, “At least ninety percent of the fatal and near-fatal episodes of premature strokes and heart attacks before age 65 are preventable.”

We still have a long way to go, but the figures indicate that we are finally on the right track—that we know enough now to eliminate many of the probable causes of heart attack, stroke, cancer, and diabetes from our lives. Your own attitude toward aging can help to ensure your continued health. You can enjoy your health even longer if you begin to realize your possibilities in middle age. Take the time now to build a lifestyle bases on healthful habits, and maximize your physical fitness while learning new sports and games and preparing for active forms of recreation which you can continue into your seventies and eighties. Several studies on aging done in recent years have found that, despite the popular image of older people as decrepit and sickly, most of those polled don’t feel sick. General good health is the rule rather than the exception at age 65-plus. And your heightened health awareness can bring you a sound mind and body and a happier way of life into your seventies, eighties, and beyond.

We can define physical aging as the increasing inability of the body to adapt to the demands of its external environment and to adjust its own internal functions. However there is not as yet any definitive information as to how long these changes can be postponed through our own constructive efforts.

You have inherited genetic patterns which determine not just the shape of your nose and the color of your hair but your susceptibility to certain diseases and your potential longevity as well. As the body ages, its defenses against infection and illness and become weaker. And there are always accidents which could not be prevented. No question though, neither genetic factors nor the hand of fate are reasonable excuses to neglecting your body’s needs. You can often circumvent your genetic legacy. In most cases, what you inherit is a tendency toward a disease, rather than the disease itself. Say you have a family history of high blood pressure. If you take the proper steps to minimize aggravating conditions, you can avoid turning this tendency into a dangerous medical problem, or at least control it with diet, exercise, and medication. So you can modify your risk exposure to serious illness through preventive controls.

What about infections, and accidents? If you are in good shape, your resistance is better at any age, making you a les likely target for disease. In an emergency situation, a fire or flood, for instance, if you are physically fit, you will be better able to defend yourself and recover from any injuries you might sustain. A person in top condition is less likely to become a victim of a traffic accident since reaction time, alertness, and agility all improve as fitness and health improve. The multitude of benefits you can gain from physical fitness are well worth the extra effort required.