OPINION

Almost from the beginning of time, people have been looking for a fountain of youth, or at the very least a magic potion that can keep us feeling and looking forever young.

The potions
usually come in a bottle, a jar or a pill – or from a surgical procedure – but as it turns out, we have been searching in the wrong places.

Instead of running to the a surgeon for cosmetic surgery or to the store to buy a potion or cream, we should be looking no further than our workout clothes and getting back into the kitchen and cooking natural foods from scratch.

These two strategies are gaining popularity as a new lifestyle-based anti-ageing plan lifestyle changes that can literally change what is going on with the DNA that is involved in the ageing process.

We are progressively obtaining new answers to these age-old questions and much of this new knowledge is positive and exciting as more and more people want a healthy and youthful life, the good life.

The search is for a quality old age. In the minds of some, old age itself has become a disease to be “cured”. There is a kind of quest for an endless middle age as when you adopt an anti-ageing lifestyle you have a real chance of adding decades of additional happy and healthy living.

More than 30 years of research has uncovered that the more you change your lifestyle (particularly in the areas of physical activity and nutrition) the more you improve as you are in fact turning off the bad genes that lead you down the path of poor health and instead are turning on the good genes that protect from disease and promote longevity and stellar health.

Most significantly, we can actually lengthen the ends of our chromosomes at regions referred to as “telomeres”. Telomeres are likened to the little plastic ends to a shoe lace that prevents the lace from unravelling. With telomeres, however, those ends get worn away with poor lifestyle habits which then lead to ageing of the cell the DNA is in.

With the right lifestyle changes, you can actually alter how you age by lengthening rather than shortening the telomeres on the ends of your DNA thereby slowing or even reversing the ageing process from within. Exercise has been associated with preventing telomere shortening, so it is clearly a very powerful anti-ageing strategy.

The power of proper exercise (strengthening exercise) is that it boosts human growth hormone (HGH) production, which is vitally important for optimal health, strength and longevity.

Vigorous physical activity, such as directly working the major muscle groups through their ranges of movement in a slow with slow, controlled manner with adequate loading, triggers stem cells to release high concentrations of growth factors that circulate around the body giving chemical instructions to renew, repair, replace and rejuvenate ALL body cells and tissues.

The result – super health at the cellular level – old worn-out cells and tissues get replaced with new younger, healthier, stronger ones turning back the biological clock in your body, muscle and brain. And not just a little bit younger and stronger, but a WHOLE LOT younger and stronger.

This “super wellness” is all about staying well when you are healthy. It is about building a strong disease-resistant body and even if you get sick it is about finding and eliminating the cause of the disease not just managing the symptoms.

The goals of an anti-ageing lifestyle are (at ANY age):

• Healthier – above simply “not being sick”

• To remain strong and energetic regardless of age

• Slow the ageing process

• Live a peak performance life

• Improve body composition (muscle-to-fat ratio)

• Wellness – physically, mentally and emotionally

• Being free of – and not at risk of disease

• Health span equals life span

This is an exciting time to be alive as it’s the first time in human history we have the knowledge and tools to avoid the worst effects of ageing. Given this new knowledge, an anti-ageing lifestyle can keep our bodies and minds young for much longer than has traditionally been the case.

You don’t need to age the way your parents and grandparents did. This is your prime! Set a new example for how HOT your 60s and beyond can be. The younger you are, the better your chances of locking in a healthy, active and enjoyable old age.

Adopting an anti-ageing diet and lifestyle now will maximise your chances of enjoying a long and healthy life span. For all of us, whatever our age, now is the time to start.

Carolyn Hansen is co-owner of Anytime Fitness