Secret 1- How to Stay Young if You Are
Secret 2- How to Be Younger if You're not!
Psst! - By -An Insider- A Whistleblower - Someone in the Know - me! - Age 92+.
Below is an excerpt from a book I’ve written on the subject of aging.(Not published yet.Needs formatting and a good book cover for Amazon.)
Please note – My spell checker insists on the American ‘Aging’ rather than the U.K. ‘Ageing’ Same positive result, however.
Who better to teach how to be young, fit, and healthy for longer, than someone, with 92 on the scoreboard, and still energetically and enthusiastically batting - (albeit with a runner now!)
My name is Ivor Vale: A near 93 year-old
.jpg)
Born November 1926) retired businessman living in The U.K. I owned and ran, together with my late wife Sylvia, ‘The Marches’, a very successful health and nutrition shop and restaurant in Hereford U.K for 32 years (1972 – 2004). I like sharing knowledge and helping others on the topic of health, aging, fitness, self-improvement and the future!
How Young Can You Die of Old Age?
Perhaps a better question is at what point do you know you are aging?
First indication for me was 3 years ago, with someone taking my arm at a traffic lights crossing. I was shocked, but consoled myself that it was just getting dark and I may have appeared uncertain.
Still a bit upset and embarrassed, I then fell over an unlit, road closed sign, as I walked into my street.
To add insult to injury, I went back in daylight to look at the sign and some comedian had put a dunce’s cap alongside it -
The earlier the decision to plan and make the most of your body and health, with the right food, exercise and attitude, the easier and better will be the results. Good habits become ingrained, programmed.
And it's so easy because a key part of aging younger, fitter,healthier longer, is eating (Good Food) and playing! (Sport).
Why do people die way before their potential span when two of the ways to a longer life are through two of its pleasures - Eating and Playing - I.E Exercise through sport!
The answer is the lack of a planned and disciplined approach.
Also, essential to living a full and contented life is to be busy. Always have something on the go. A purpose. An objective.
Here are the first 2 of 15 ideas in my book to help achieve that.
1
Exercise – Caution - Before you start exercising: If you have a medical condition then discuss with your medical professional the programme you have in mind.
Benefits – Improves the health of body and brain, and creates a synergy of positives. (Synergy) the interaction of elements that when combined means you get more out than you put in.
If you have the all clear, then start with an activity that you think would be enjoyable as well as beneficial. It could be any kind of aerobic exercise that gives a muscle work out and raises the breathing rate, such as brisk walking, cycling, dancing, swimming.
Simply working out with any of the above for 30 minutes a day will soon result in a growing feeling of wellbeing & confidence. A mastery of all you survey, will stem from the increase in oxygen to the brain and muscles. It will generate a chain reaction of increasing energy, and enthusiasm for more and more.
You are on your way!
Brisk walking & competitive table tennis was my choice of exercise. Speed walking for the aerobic benefits, and rambling for leisure and companionship. I maintain fitness now with a daily workout on a cross trainer.
2
Eating Healthy:
Benefits – The balance, mix and quality of your diet can make or break
‘YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT’ ‘Rubbish in Rubbish Out’ are truisms which are all that needs to be said. Better quality fuel in an engine produces peak performance. The human engine is no different.
What you eat will have a huge impact on both your physical and mental health. Some of the best foods known for improving brain function are blueberries, beans, whole grains, wild salmon, avocados, nuts and seeds, dark chocolate, and pomegranate juice.
Probably the best example of the ideal balanced diet is The Mediterranean Diet which is renowned for its health benefits. It contains low levels of red meat, sugar and saturated fats, and is high in fish, unsaturated fats such as olive oil, fruits, vegetables and legumes.
The Japanese diet is also known for its healthy components The longest-lived population live on the Southern Japanese Okinawa islands, where diets contain large amounts of fish, whole grains, soy protein and vegetables. Japanese people are more likely to reach 100 years old than anyone else in the world.
End of Aging Young taster.There are 13 more chapters in my book covering -
Reading,Sport,Games,Music,Puzzles.Meditating.Art.
Enjoyment.Breathing.Companionship.Relationships.
Community.Kindness.
All designed to LIVE a happy fulfilled life, and kick the can of aging further and further down - The Highway of Life!
I hope to live as long as you. There is so much more I still want to achieve. I eat fairly well and stay physically and mentally active. Of course something can come along to spoil things, but you cannot worry too much about that. It is a little scary that I could have grandchildren some day.
I met a lady recently who is a great-great grandmother! She was not as old as you, but it is not difficult to achieve if each generation has kids fairly young. We have tended to have them later in our family.
I like that.Thank you steevc. You appear to be doing the sensible things for a full lifespan.And you are a musician, which I think is a big plus for good mental health.
I yearned to play and aged 60 I opened a music shop in rooms above the restaurant.I also had lessons to learn music keyboard,but could not reach the standard I wanted,and experienced many frustratiions,embarrasments,but also many happy memorable moments with lots of laughs..
There is enough material from my time in the music industry for another book !!!
You have been very enterprising. Running a music shop could be a lot of fun and a great way to meet musicians, but I appreciate it is hard work. My dad started playing classical guitar in his late 70s, but he is getting a little frustrated by his progress. I told him to find things to play that he enjoys. It does not have to be about exams. The best thing for any musician is to find others to play with and starting our local pub sessions is one of the best things I've done.
Thank you.It wa a lot of fun steevc.But like your dad I was over ambitious and in a hurry to make up for lost time.
I played out in 2 pubs with a programme of songs I learned parrot fashion.O.K in the first busy busy pub.No one took much notice amidst the babble of noise.
Disaster in the second pub! I had memorised celebration tunes like happy birthday,but people were asking for songs that reminded them of their courting days,and the embarrasment of that evening brought an end to playing out.
But yes,I have more vivid memories.predominately happy ones, of the music shop & music school than any other business sector I worked in.
It's good to see a post from you. I am already telling people that I am friends with the oldest steemian. :-)
Keep rocking.
Love and peace.
Thank you inuke.I wonder sometimes if I am the oldest wrinkly on here.Thank you for confirming.It's apt that you say 'Keep rocking', see my reply to steevc with music shop picture .Yeh, we rocked alright !!!