We women — and a lot of you men, too — spend a fortune trying to look and feel younger. And, sadly, probably damage our health when we use products filled with chemicals or engage in some practices that are iffy at best and seriously dangerous at worst.
It always amazes me how much we’ve complicated life. How far we’ve strayed from natural ways that encourage our bodies to live well, which includes looking younger. We often see these natural ways as too alternative or too hard or too time-consuming. But, I’ve got to tell you: Illness is darn hard and time-consuming. And bank account draining on top of that.
Even if you’re not motivated by keeping your insides well, would you be interested in short-circuiting the aging process as it appears on the outside? Would you like to keep your hair and also have that hair not go gray prematurely? Have shiny, soft hair? Would you like your muscles to stay strong and not waste away? Would you like to be full of energy and vitality and be able to do things you could do in your youth?
Want me to tell you the secret? Are you sure? Are you going to stop reading once I reveal it? Ah, that’s what I thought! So that’s why I’m going to tell you more about this fountain of youth before telling you what it is, in the hope your motivation grows to take advantage of this health “secret.”
In research, rats using this secret remained youthful while their lab mates not using the secret were bald, frail and dying. The health-secret-provided rats had full pelts of dark fur, had maintained almost all of their muscle mass and brain volume, and their hearts were normal. The little show offs could even still balance on narrow rods.
Researchers were shocked to see the magnitude of the impact this health secret had on the rats. They expected some of it but not the all-encompassing effects that showed up. They did not predict that this would affect every tissue and bodily system they studied. Got that? It affected every single tissue and body system they studied.
Okay, the secret? The rats who maintained much of their youth into their senior years … exercised. This reduced or eliminated almost every detrimental effect of aging.
Still with me? Please don’t groan if you’re not an exerciser. Please don’t consider that if you aren’t a marathon runner, you can’t benefit. You can. Start slow; start today; start with something you can enjoy doing. And, if that gets old, change it again. Just keep moving. Create an active lifestyle instead of a sedentary one.
To keep you motivated, keep this research in mind. If time spent moving buys you years in the future in which you look great and feel great, that seems like a pretty good trade off. Yes, there are days when the couch looks more inviting, but remind yourself that if you grow old and frail, you will no longer have a choice. Take the choice while you still can.
