ENJOYING LIFE LONGER

Living a longer life could be attained than one can think especially if one gets more sleep, keep a balanced and have more variety of food and have a regular exercise. Well, these are the mantra of the people who lived longer.

Reaching the age at 100 begins with a lifestyle that is simple and disciplined as centenarians point out.

First is they eat a variety of foods. just like the old people especially those aged 100 and over as of this writing. These old people say that their diets when they were young were mostly fibers, fruits and vegetables. Their food stuffs were organic since their farms were not treated with commercial fertilizers or pesticides. They cook their own food. They did not drink sodas, soft drinks or eat junk foods since foods were not yet packaged from the factories to the markets. Unlike this time, the foods are all around the fast food chains.     

Second is that they love to work or exercise. They love to work and prefer to walk rather than riding on vehicles.

Exercise is one of the most important ways to keep our body healthy. Exercise strengthens the bones, muscles and the heart. It also burn off excess fat, improve balance, regulate the body’s metabolism, a process that turns the nutrients in food into energy and heat, and improve mood. It is one important means that makes our body healthy and conditioned.

Exercising for at least 30 minutes each day makes us fit. We could choose something that we enjoy doing and it will be easier to stick with its program for a long term. Walking, swimming, biking, any favorite sport and chore or other forms of aerobic exercise will give us the most benefit.

There are many exercises one could perform. But one exercise that is very convenient is walking. This sport or hobby does not require any equipment to be used except our feet.

Studies show that every minute of walking extends life. In addition, it is noted that people who walk regularly live longer, weigh less, have lower blood pressure, and enjoy better overall health than non-walkers.

Exercise does not only stimulate development of blood vessels in the skeletal muscle tissue, but it also does the same with the heart. Thus a fit person is better prepared to survive the occlusion of a vessel. It has also been shown that exercise even helps in the formation of new vessels even after an occlusion occurs.

Walking or striding has beneficial effect on the mind too. It is said to clear the mind and improve thought process. A brisk long walk in the evening has some tranquillizing effects. They say regular brisk walking benefits anxiety and depression. 

Benefits of walking:

• Walking Increases Your Lifespan
• Walking Wards Off Diabetes
• Walking Keeps Your Mind Sharp
• Walking Helps Lower Blood Pressure
• Walking is Great for Bone Health
• Walking Cuts the Risk of Stroke
• Walking Improves Your Mood
• Walking Burns down Calories
• Walking Improves Insomnia
• Walking is Good for the Heart

And third is that they do things in moderation. Just like working, eating or playing, they do self control over their endeavor. Even in their lifestyles, many of them could be powerful but they chose to have simple existence and are happy with it.   

It is up for us to chart our own lifestyles where we think we should be.

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Genesis 2:16-17

Self-control a Gift from God

It must be remembered that genuine self-control is a gift from God that we can receive only in Christ. Jesus said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5. We often in this life find ourselves at the end of our rope. But in God we have an infinite store of resources. So much so that the apostle Paul could say, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13