Tips on Aging Gracefully

My dear wife recently turned thirty, finally joining the 30-something club. She had been looking forward to the momentous birthday for sometime, eagerly looking to turn the big three-oh.

I think most of my friends and colleagues who are well into their 30s or 40s thought it was endearing at how excited she was to step into the beginning of her fourth decade; meanwhile, the rest of us are all starting to sweat a little as we approach our next "big" birthday.

There are definitely physical changes that we notice as we get deeper into our thirties. Strange little cues from our body telling us that it is actually mortal, and, at least physically, we are past our peak.

For the first time, you notice you have to put in more effort to get the same outcome. To run or play sports as hard as you did in your teens and twenties, you have to monitor and tweak your diet, hit the gym regularly and keep an eye on your stress levels to maintain your lung capacity and strength. In your earlier years, a Big Mac meal and an exercise routine that only worked your thumbs on Nintendo would do to keep you running around for hours. Keep in mind that most professional athletes retire in their mid- to late- thirties.

And what is up with hair as we age? Sure, hair loss is well-known as well as a random influx of white hairs; but, in a weird type of second coming of puberty, random hair growth pops up in new places...but all the wrong places! Eyebrows, back, nostrils...ears?? Come on, give us a break.

Of course, we also start to notice the development of fine lines and wrinkles on our face, random new aches and pains, and start keeping count of our daily sodium or fibre or protein or whatever it might be to balance out your genetic predispositions.

Going to the doctor may mean a prescription for your ailments or the start of regularly scheduled and highly undesirable testing method (mammograms, prostate exams, colonoscopies).

The one thing I have noticed from patients in my practice, who teach me something new and inspire me on a daily basis, is how to age gracefully. I can almost guarantee that any patient whose date of birth surprises me incorporates exercise very regularly. The majority of the time this is accompanied by a relatively healthy diet. I use these extraordinary people as models for prevention for others and now, for myself.

Rules to live by as all of us human beings age together in unison...at the same speed, but at different paces:

1. Know your genetic susceptibilities, and take extra precautions to thwart them.
2. EXERCISE!! This means at age-relative high intensities and activities that are enjoyable to you, at least 3x/week, with other moderate daily exercise in-between.
3. A diet chock-full of naturally occurring anti-aging whole foods and deplete of pro-inflammatory (re: processed) foods.
4. Maintain a balanced life, and keep an eye on your stress levels (big-time age-accelerators).
5. Got a nagging problem...GET IT CHECKED OUT! (yes, guys, I'm talking to you)
6. Be cautious about settling for prescription medication that may be avoidable by lifestyle/diet modifications (see #2-#4). Once you get on the medication bandwagon, it's difficult to get out. Make sure to talk to your family doc or a licensed naturopath to make a fully informed decision that works for you.
7. Always keep an eye on your piss and poops...they are great indicators of what is going on inside your body.
8. Don't forget the basics: Get a good sleep and drink water regularly.
9. Roll with the punches of Father Time; acceptance of aging and finding humour in it definitely helps ease the inevitable.

Oh, and always keep in mind that although aging may be noticeable in physical decline, boy is it made up for in expanding knowledge and experience.

The ear hairs sure don't make me look forward to getting older, but wisdom certainly is appealing.