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How
to stop aging and achieve longevity?
Five
tips for living longer, looking younger, and staying fit
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The
developed world has a unique problem – an aging population. While this problem is being experienced in several countries in
North American, Europe, and Asia (particularly Japan) – the life expectancy is among the highest in the world for decades, women are delaying both marriage and having children, or in the worst case, deciding to have no children, and immigration has been tightly controlled all this time.
This does not mean that we should not try to live longer and
at the same time
look/feel younger and stay fit.
(Related articles: Injectable
fillers, Botox,
dermal
fillers, and Sculptra)
We are often asked
by our readers
how to live longer and also look younger and stay
fit. We relied heavily on our research in Japan to write this
article since when it comes to longevity, Japan is the leader.
While there are certain things that no one can do anything about, for instance the genetic makeup, the environment specific to Japan, or foods found only in Japan (and rarely sold outside Japan), there are other things that we can learn from the
Japanese about
slowing down aging. |
 Attitude
Japan is a highly structured society with clearly defined standards for generally accepted behavior, language style, traditions, and practices. While one could go nuts complaining about this, the Japanese have a very healthy attitude about their life. They accept the social norms of their country and try to live within them to the extent possible. At the same time, there is a lot more flexibility in the private lives of people and what they can not do in public, Japanese society provides a lot more freedom to engage them in private. Thus, on the whole
Japanese people tend to have a positive attitude about
life, they expect positive results in the future (which has been shown by how calm the Japanese society despite a
recession that does not seem to end), and have a strong desire to continue doing their best despite adverse times.
(Related article: How
to develop positive attitude?)
Physical fitness
Japan has made tremendous strides in technology and it has been used to develop gizmos that make life easy/convenient, but does not necessarily reduce a need for physical exercise. Looking at the lifestyle of Americans where the single most important driver for picking an item is how comfortable it is, Japan has stayed away from such an approach. There are people in the United States who drive 50 feet to pick their mail or cross the street to visit the neighbors or want a cooler in their sofa so that they do not have to go to the kitchen to get a beer. None of this would work in Japan. Dishwashers and dryers are practically non-existent. Most young people have bikes rather than cars. Even adults who have cars prefer bikes for short distances. Think about how you can get some physical exercise included in your daily routine rather than having to make a trip to the gym for the express purpose of exercising.
Exercise slows down aging significantly. (Related
article: Anti-aging
products that work)
Mental exercise
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Watching TV is rarely offers opportunities for mental exercise unless you are a fan of quiz shows. Japan has few channels to offer and there is not much interesting stuff on TV during daytime. So what do the Japanese do? They read – big time. Japanese are one of the world’s largest consumers of printed material. Reading is far more engaging than watching TV, even if it is a
manga. So keep your mind busy and challenge it to think
and analyze. So reading
Bazaar and
Vogue does not count.
Food items
The Japanese society and its culture is centered around freshness. Thus,
processed foods are not popular except among young people. The ill effects of eating fast food is already showing by way of obese teenagers though not at the scale seen in the United States or Latin America. Meat consumption in Japan is still small.
Japanese tend to eat foods like fish, beans, and vegetables. Secondly, the servings in Japan are small. Desserts are had only on special occasions and it is not common to have snacks – may be some green tea instead.
Green tea is known to have several
anti-aging ingredients. |
Health services
It is a shame that the world’s largest economy, the United States of America, has as many as
45 million people without access to any form of medical/health insurance. This implies that when needed, they cannot ask for medical advice. The results are clearly apparent. On the other hand, Japan has a national healthcare system that allows every Japanese consult a doctor when needed. If possible, get regular medical checkups and consult your doctor in case of a problem.
If you cannot afford to go to a doctor then you must use the
Internet to get at least basic advice on anti-aging and
longevity.
Recommended
links:
How to
look younger? Avoiding
wrinkles Benefits
of alpha lipoic acid in preventing aging Looking
younger helps you find relationships with a younger person
Habits to
prevent aging
How to age
gracefully
How to age like a French woman
Why are we obsessed with age |
