Magazine Smart Living Smart Living

K.K. Bajaj Chairman, Bajaj Capital

CHANGE YOUR LIFE STYLE TO BEAT AGING

Aging is a physiological phenomenon.
For most of us aging is a dreaded part of life and we all know that almost everyone of us ultimately have to grow old. Since this period of life is unavoidable and it also has certain pitfalls, one should be prepared and learn to enjoy every stage of life. Middle age and old age have their own pleasures too,

“Eighteen till I die,” sang Bryan Adams. Now research has proved that a healthy and happy lifestyle could make you young in body and mind.

which, though of a different type, are not less than the pleasures of youth.

CHANGE YOUR LIFE STYLE
Be careful about your life-style as it is being registered in the sub-conscious mind of your children. They will, most probably, have the same habits, character & life-style as you have in your Old age. Hence you have to lead an ideal life, for the sake of your children. They are your future.

PREVENTION BEING BETTER THAN CURE
Regular medical check-ups should be undertaken to guard off potential health hazards. Consult more than one doctor. It is common experience that some doctors themselves are pessimists and scare their patients. Many times the opinion of two doctors differs completely. Inculcate positive health habits and avoid non-vegetarian food, fried vegetarian food, processed junk food, soft drinks, smoking and drinking liquor.

GO LOW ON LIQUOR:
Alcohol is known to inhibit the release of hormones from the posterior pituitary. One of the results of this is, loss of water from the kidney, which may lead to dehydration. Also, heavy drinking depletes the brain of thiamine and this produces small hemorrhages in the hypothalamic region of the brain. This is responsible for unsteadiness and memory loss, which are symptoms of alcoholism. Every drop of liquor kills same brain cells.

SMOKING HAS NO SANCTION
Stop smoking. Everyone has heard that smoking is bad for the heart. Now, researchers have found that smoking not only damages healthy hearts, but also nullifies the benefits of heart surgery. In UK out of 1,400 people who underwent angina treatment, those who kept on smoking had poorer health. The findings indicate that non-smokers and those who could quit the habit after their surgery were enjoying better health than smokers.

AVOID JUNK FOOD
It is believed that the way to a man’s heart problems is through his stomach. Plato once said, “Men do not die, they kill themselves.” Shakespeare had said, “Everyday we dig our own grave by our teeth.” There is a German saying, “Men eat to live, but wrong food eats them.” The wrong foods are meat, eggs, deep-fried vegetarian food, soft drinks, coffee, refined and processed food products. All these are dead foods. “You cannot feel alive by eating dead food” (Aristotle). In order to live disease-free life, one should eat whole grain, un-polished rice, pulses, fruits, vegetable, juices, nuts, sprouts, cereals, skimmed milk, yogurt etc.

GET THE ROYAL TREATMENT
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, supper like a prince and dinner like a pauper. Do not have heavy meals at dinner time. Harvard cardiology researchers, who asked 2000 people what they had eaten before their heart attack, discovered that the risk of heart attack jumps ten fold during the first hour following a heavy meal.

PROPER MIND TRAINING CAN PREVENT AGE-RELATED MEMORY DECLINE
Writing in a recent issue of the journal Nature, researchers said that volunteers who were given task of memorising some names and addresses, could be seen using their brains differently which enhanced blood flow in specific regions of brain. The findings suggest that cognitive training that encourages older adults to use frontal regions of brain could improve memory. It is also helpful in preventing aging-related memory loss.

BOOST YOUR MEMORY WITH BREAKFAST
Age-related memory loss can also be prevented with healthy breakfast. For everyone in need of a memory boost, breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day. According to a study by Canadian researchers Carol Greenwood, taking in calories after an overnight fast boosted the participant’s performance on memory tests.

PREVENT HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE BY DEEP BREATHING
The first non-drug treatment for high blood pressure may soon arrive — deep breathing. In research studies, deep breathing in the morning fresh air for 6 weeks lowered systolic blood pressure an average of 12 points and diastolic pressure by 8 points. Deep Breathing makes it another tool (along with diet, exercise, and medication) to help prevent and control high blood pressure.

FIGHT DIABETES BEFORE IT STARTS
Experts say that the following steps can dramatically reduce your risk of diabetes or reverse early diabetes. Avoid all refined food products like maida, sugar, colas, and sweets. A study by medical researchers in Finland found that people who exercised dropped their risk of diabetes by 80%. Caraline Myss, author of the Anatomy Of The Spirit wrote, “Emotional stress is the root cause of all physical illnesses, specially diabetes.”

FOOD THAT FIGHT AGING
Australian scientists tracked eating habits and measured wrinkles of 450 people over 70 years old who lived in Australia, Greece and Sweden. Invariably, those with good diets had the glowing skin. Greeks who ate green leafy vegetables, olive oil, garlic and beans had rosy cheeks compared with other natives who favoured processed meat, sugary foods and butter. So did Swedes who said “yes” to skimmed milk, low-fat yogurt, beans and spinach and “no” to roast beef, fried food, ice creams, pastries and soft drinks. The resulting advice is to replace foods high in saturated fats with fruit and vegetables, beans, olive oil, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. Healthy food fights aging and keeps one young in body and mind.

HOW TO GET RID OF AGE SPOTS
As we age, our metabolism changes and the liver may become so overloaded with toxins that it cannot rid the body of them. Result: age spots. They take years to form and eliminating them takes time too.
Avoid sweets, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and junk foods. Include fruits and vegetables in your diet, especially in the raw form. Drink at least 10 glasses of water daily.

FOOD TO MAXIMISE MENTAL ALERTNESS
You need to eat protein rich food either by itself or along with sweet and starchy foods like cheese, butter, milk, egg with bread, fruits and nuts, idli, dosa with chutney, cereal with fruits and milk, low fat curds or lassi and sweets.

FOOD TO GET MORE BRAIN POWER
Foods which are rich in certain trace nutrients like boron, zinc, iron, B-complex vitamins and carotene that are essential for enhancing brain activity like fruits & nuts, dry fruits (dates/raisins/figs), dark green leafy vegetables and whole grains like soyabean.

DENTAL DECAY CAN LEAD TO HEART PROBLEMS
Bad gum could be the route for bacteria that cause heart ailments. A study done on American males in the age group between 40 and 75 shows that those who had gum problems were prone to heart ailments. Their risk to coronary heart disease was twice more than those with healthy gums.

DRINK WATER, KEEP HEART HEALTHY
Want to lower your risk of having heart problems? New research reports: Drink more water, and less of everything else. Researchers at Loma Linda University in California found that people who drank at least five glasses of water each day were less likely to die from a heart problems than those who drank two or fewer glasses
per day.

SLEEP LESS TO LIVE LONGER, SAYS AMERICAN STUDY
Sleeping longer than eight hours or more a night could shorten your life, says a study of the night-time habits of more than a million Americans. The study was about the sleeping habits of adults aged 30 to 102, by researchers from the University of California, San Diego. It was found that the people who slept eight hours a night were 12 per cent more likely to die within the study’s six-year period, compared to those sleeping seven hours. The risk rose to 15 per cent for participants who slept more than eight hours or less than four-and-a-half.

KNOW ALL ABOUT CHOLESTEROL
Watch your weight the more overweight you are, the more cholesterol your body produces. Bring your weight down; cut down on fats, especially saturated fats like ghee, butter and cheese; olive oil is good and certain foods like almonds and peanut oil are high in mono-saturated oils which may lower blood cholesterol; eat more beans and legumes as they contain a water soluble fiber, pectin, that throws out cholesterol from the body. Also eat more fruits; grapefruit especially is beneficial in this regard.

THERE IS NO GREATER MEDICINE THAN OPTIMISM AND HOPE
A pessimist’s feeling of helplessness undermines his body’s natural defense & immune system looking forward to pleasurable events triggers healthy changes in your mood and also in your body, say medical researchers at the University of California. Psychological tests indicated that anticipating laughter reduced levels of tension, fatigue, anger, and depression. Another study by the same research team showed that these mood changes are accompanied by favourable physical changes, such as reduced levels of stress hormones. Dr. Lee S. Berk, said, “If doctors can learn to elicit hope in their patients, it could be a powerful tool for battling chronic diseases.”

REFRESH, REVITALISE AND RENEW YOUR ENERGY FLOW BY POSITIVE THINKING
Do not yield to blind fate but keep on praying and sticking to you resolve to keep yourself healthy, cheerful and prosperous. Fate is not on the palm but in the strength of palm. “Man is the architect of his own fate” (Swami Vivekananda). Give up recalling adversities, “Fools are troubled by their own thoughts.” Re-live in the memory of good days you passed. Remember the good qualities of others, condoning their shortcomings.

RE-BUILD YOUR SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP
Middle and old age being the golden phase of one’s life and it should be led methodically, relationship with all family members including spouse should be readjusted. No more high headedness of youth. You have led your life. Let your children lead it in their own way. Do not impose advice, neither feel ignored, if not consulted. Re-build your relationship with the younger generation. Time may come when you need their company, support and help. The younger generation is your future. Give them love, respect, appreciation and it will be returned to you in abundance. Do not be cut off from your social circle, particularly old friends. They are our assets.

TO LOVE & TO BE LOVED IS THE GREATEST HAPPINESS
Thank God for helping you throughout your life. He will help you in future also. Be contended and trust in the management of God. “A man who is contented is rich, a man who is dis-contented is poor” (Buddha). Love all as to love and to be loved is the greatest happiness of existence. And above all take care about your health. It is the greatest of all possession.

“He who has health has hope,
and he who has hope has everything.”
—Vedas