In Pursuit of the Fountain of Youth

Jake Foster, PABy Jake Foster, PA

 

Tales of the fountain of youth have been told for millennia. Writings as early as the 5th century BC tell of mankind’s pursuit of the mythical spring that can grant the discoverer perpetual youth. Time resources and lives have been spent throughout the ages in trying to find this promise of forever youth.

 

But it just hasn’t been discovered yet.

 

A fact of life is aging. There just isn’t any way around that available to us yet. The history of humanity shows one thing for certain: we live and we age. Time passes on and our youth and very often our function is left behind us. This is very likely going to be an immutable fact of life for us and those who come after us. It is true that as the decades progress, we will inevitably lose some of those physical and mental abilities of our youth.

 

Don’t lose hope though.

 

We all know those folks who seem to be able to do things 10 years or more younger than their actual age, like the 90-year-old who can move and think and act like the average 70 year old for example. While there may be a lot of factors that contribute to this impressive longevity that are ultimately out of our control (like genetic, environmental or socioeconomic factors), there are many things that are in fact in our control that can help us function at a level that appears younger than we actually are.

 

Weight and nutrition

The majority of the health we can control very likely comes from our diet. There is no perfect diet for everyone, but some general principles apply to all: don’t eat more calories than you burn. Choose your calorie sources from foods that are lower in simple or refined carbohydrates, eat a balanced diet with healthy, lean protein. Monitor your weight regularly to meet your dietary goals.

 

Maintain muscle mass and strength

Very few things will increase your longevity, health and wellbeing more than maintaining a healthy amount of muscle mass and strength. Our muscles protect our joints, guard us against falls, and allow us to DO the things we want to do. The only way to maintain muscles is to use them. Yes, this take time and dedication, but it is worth it.

 

Mobility and stability

Don’t neglect mobility. This is a joint saving endeavor, and in order to keep our joints funcitoning and healthy, they need active, full range of motion training REGULARLY. Stability can be defined as protection against injury. While some injuries might be unavoidable, like sudden trauma for example, activities of daily living can also result in injury, and if our joints and muscles are more stable, these can at least be guarded against.

 

Cardiovascular health

Getting out and sweating, getting out of breath and getting the heart rate up regularly will keep the body’s motor going stronger for longer. Regularly schedule cardiovascular exercise will lead to a healthier heart and better capacity for your lungs to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, which allows us to do more for longer.

 

While the fountain of youth probably isn’t anywhere out there to be found, we can at least delay the onset of age related decline to much later in life so that we can enjoy a full retirement, as free as possible from pain and disability that can come from a life of neglecting these things. The time is now to start drinking from this fountain that we know is available to us, no matter what age you are.