9 Secrets to Healthy Aging

Want to know the Secret to Healthy Aging?

Actually, there is no secret. It's the same thing you hear all the time.

I've seen some elderly relatives who are not aging well, and I've observed how they live their lives.

Here's my list of what you should do to age well and have a healthy life when you're a senior citizen.

1. Eat a healthy diet.

That means to read food labels and eliminate anything that has ingredients you can't recognize and/or pronounce when you read the label.

2. Eliminate high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

I have read that HFCS is banned in some countries.

3. Eliminate sugar as much as possible.

Sugar feeds cancer. Food labels may list sugar, but they may also list more than 60 other words that are sugar in disguise. Read 60+ Different Words That Mean Sugar to learn all the ways sugar is disguised in food labels.

4. Eliminate diet drinks.

It's been proved by many research studies to actually make you gain weight.

5. Cultivate and maintain an optimistic, hopeful attitude about everything.

Physical health is rooted in emotional and mental health. Pessimism can literally do harm to your physical body plus make you the kind of person others want to avoid. Learn how to manage your emotions.

6. Don't smoke, and don't live with someone who smokes.

If you smoke, you should make every effort to quit. If you're living with someone else, your second-hand smoke may be killing them. If you're a non-smoker, and you're living with someone who smokes, his/her second-hand smoke may be killing you.

If you're a parent smoking around your children, you may be setting them up for respiratory illnesses for life or even death. Is that something you want to do?

Smoking causes more than lung cancer which in itself is scary enough. Smoking causes heart disease, COPD, and a host of other health problems.

7. Stay physically active.

Walk, take yoga, learn Tai Chi. Do something that moves your body every day.

8. Have something that interests you intellectually.

Anything that makes your brain work is a very good thing. Keep your brain nurtured. Read. Work puzzles.

Be passionate about a hobby or a job or take classes to learn something you always wanted to know. Brain health doesn't necessarily deteriorate because of age.

9. Know your body well enough to know when something feels "off."

If something is "off" about your body or your brain/thoughts, get that checked immediately. Early detection is often the key to survival.

Takeaway Truth

Be smart, wise, and optimistic. Happiness and good health will follow.