Did you know that centenarians – people living to 100 or more – are one of the fastest-growing age groups in the United States? Anyone over 40 years of age today will be the first to experience living in a society that is living longer than any generation in history.
While standing at a checkout counter recently, I was intrigued by a photo in a fitness magazine that featured a trim, muscular 63 year old man in a headstand pose. The article described how, by the age of 57, he had grown fat, tired and zapped of energy. He realized that his lifestyle, if continued, would lead to a very unhealthy old age. He dedicated himself to getting fit, started doing yoga and committed to doing it every day. At first he found it painful to stretch body parts that hadn’t moved in years. He persisted and at 63 he was more limber, stronger and healthier than at any other time in his life.
According to Dr. Eric Plasker, author of THE 100 YEAR LIFESTYLE, aging poorly is not inevitable. You have a choice. Based on your parents and grandparents’ experiences, you’ll see where you are headed unless you choose a different path. That path may include major shifts in lifestyle, such as regular exercise, balancing hormones, vitamin and mineral therapy, eating organic foods, and a commitment to maintaining your dental health.
It sometimes takes a rude awakening to realize that you are the only one who can alter the course of your own health. Many people don’t give up smoking until they suffer a heart attack; many don’t lose weight until they’re diagnosed with diabetes. And though we’re constantly urged to exercise, many don’t take it up until they find themselves huffing and puffing walking up a short flight of stairs.
Many common diseases seen in older people in this country are not a normal part of aging in other parts of the world. According to Dr. Plasker, these diseases are largely brought on by lifestyle choices. That’s a sobering thought. You can influence not only how you feel today, but whether you’ll have a healthy body in your geriatric years.
At 60, I’m in better health than when I was 40. Through a change of diet — eating less and eating organic — as well as starting yoga a few years ago, I’ve lost weight and feel healthier than ever. A recent physical showed my blood pressure to be lower than normal for my age.
As your St Louis dental health provider, I know that no matter how beautiful you make your teeth, unless the rest of your body is in good physical condition, your oral health will suffer. And conversely, your oral health affects the rest of your body. Just as a diseased liver will affect the remainder of your body, so will diseased gums or missing teeth that throw off the delicate mechanism of chewing affect your health
All of the good habits you implement daily will culminate in healthier and thus more enjoyable later years.
