The Art Of Healthy Aging

The option of a long life is forged at every moment, preparing to live, as the Arab proverb says, ” as if it were the last day and as if you were going to live a thousand years .”

Wanting to live long and healthy is a normal aspiration. Medical systems such as Traditional Chinese Medicine or Ayurveda are based on it. We know that we cannot be immortal, but we do know that there are those who manage to live healthy for more than a hundred years.

In genetics it has been observed that longevity is related to the length of telomeres, the distal part of chromosomes. These, with each cell division, are shortened and there comes a time when they no longer divide or do it badly, which can cause tumors or other diseases.

The epigenetic studies the external situations that influence the lengthening of telomeres.

Feel young and vital in full old age

The studies of long – lived people s point that what matters is not only genetic inheritance but, above all, the lifestyle.

There are people who by their lifestyle could be “old” at 35, while there are others who live fully and productively past one hundred. Many people do not define their age based on their years but on what they are capable of doing.

To grow old knowing how to adapt to changes and in good health, it helps to follow some basic rules:

• Eat a vegetarian and fair diet in food, almost hypocaloric and alternating fasting days.
• Do regular and varied exercise, without competition or great effort.
• Practice meditation, mindfulness, and self-knowledge.
• Respect others and have a good coexistence with those around us.
• And also, rejoice in life and with life.

A life choice

A long and happy life is the result of personal choice in matters such as diet, exercise, and how to deal with adversity.

I remember the end of Zorba’s novel , The Greek of Kazantzakis. The vital Zorba, about to die, says: ” I did many things in my life; however, there have not been enough. Men like me should live a thousand years .” Then he gets up and leaning out of the window, leaning on the frame, gazes at the mountains in the distance, opens his eyes wide, laughs and neighs like a colt. A full life until the last breath, an instant of life, a spark of eternity in the infinite time of the universe.

The health in old age is measured by the ability to do things and be autonomous that disease. If you are socially and intellectually active, you can consider yourself healthy even when you have a chronic illness.

Dr. Pablo Saz, naturopathic doctor and president of the European Association of Classical Naturopathic Medicine.