By Tim Crawford - 29 March 2019
Gordon Howe was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played twenty-six seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA). Gordon Howe was playing professional hockey for 32 years, up until his last season. Then at the age of 69 he suited up and played with the pros’ once again.
John Starbrook at the age of 87 still runs and finished the London Marathon. ‘‘I LOVE IT, I JUST LOVE IT.’’ John raises money every year for local charities. He has completed 36 marathons with no intention of stopping. .
The seniors of today are getting out and doing more than any generation before them. John lives by the motto of ‘Just keep on moving’. When a person is committed to moving, there is no telling how long he or she can be active throughout his or her life. ‘Just keep on moving’ is a growing trend for the elderly. Being active in later years is the best chance of beating bone and muscle atrophy as one grows old.
‘Keep on Moving’ health benefits?
Active people have always experienced a greater degree of general health and wellness. Quality of life is always measured in one’s ability to be pain free with the freedom to do the activities one loves to do. Everyone knows of a 60-year-old that looks 90 years old, and a 90-year-old that looks 60. One of the key factors in ‘staying young’ is our ability to stay on our feet and walk, run, or actively participate in some type of physically demanding activity on a regular basis. This isn’t a secret, everyone understands the phrase: USE IT, OR LOSE IT. If you smoke, eat poorly, or have a little alcohol it isn’t an excuse to stop being as active as possible. Diet has a profound effect on our bodies and can bring on disease or beat it into submission.
Medical study after medical study shows an active lifestyle will prolong life and improve the quality of a senior citizen’s life as they advance in years. What most seniors need is a kick start into a more active life style. How we eat could give less active elderly the energy and motivation to move more.
Intermittent fasting can make you feel young?
Only eating between the hours of 12 PM to 8 PM and keeping your intake of food inside of an 8 hour windows is a very popular diet craze today. Combining that eating window with a low carb diet, that also limits sugar will produce astounding results. Every living organism on the planet has a longer life span when dietary restriction is followed. The dangers of sugar are also coming into focus as more and more studies are showing the harmful effects sugar plays on the human body. Our high Carb diets are also contributing to disease as the body converts carbs into sugar in the body. Prolonged nighttime fasting, every other day diet, or the 5/2 diet all focus on the body having windows of eating and fasting. Each diet is showing remarkable results on overcoming disease and increasing energy to get up and out more often. If you follow any of the intermittent fasting meal plans, finding the one that matches your life style and is long term sustainable will be the key to individual success. Each person has a unique biology and finding the system that works best often is a trial and error experience.
One solution to a better Quality of Life?
Not only does exercise and proper nutrition help prevent the onset of many diseases, new studies are finding that cutting out sugar and carbs can even alleviate disease. The bottom line is cutting out sugar, limiting carbs and eating within a specific window can produce drastic results and improve a senior’s quality of life. New studies are also looking into the effects of regaining mental agility and how cutting out sugar from ones diet can stimulate the mind. Just as babies, our minds run on ketones. By switching our diets and intake to promote a more ketogenic friendly lifestyle we will find the quality of life will come from a simple dietary change.
What is the simple solution? TRY STUFF and Keep on Moving! Most seniors can see their quality of life diminish and, in many cases, a simple exercise routine and shifting our diets can make dramatic changes. Seniors don’t need to plan on running marathons or train to prepare to be a world class athlete. A little study and working on how to make changes that help our unique metabolism run optimally is key. Finding how to be happy with a diet, with the absence of sugar and carbs is very possible and adjustable to make each senior able to profit from good dietary choices.
Eat Now, Fast Later - AARP
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