Stay Active While Aging

If you are a person like me who decided to do fun things to stay in shape and therefore live longer there are some things you have to know. Since I can share best what I already experienced I guess that is what I will do.

First of all, if you have been active all along, (running, swimming, hiking etc.) then likely this will be the most useful for you, and if you are a man it might be more helpful because that is what I know the most about.

Through the years what seems to be the most useful is to be consistently exercising doing something. From about age 12 to 40 I liked jogging 1 mile or more a day (sometimes up to 5). I liked the endorphins

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Endorphins ("endogenous morphine") are endogenous opioid peptides that function as neurotransmitters. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the ...

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 that your brain produces which often will take you naturally out of a depression like state or being out of sorts. By my mid 30s I started to notice that especially my muscles in my legs and feet could sprain or pull more easily and by late 30s I had to be really careful of what I did with my legs and feet especially while running, jogging, climbing etc. At about age 37 I tried to do a class 4 rock climbing move on rocks at the beach and tore the muscles loose from the back of my right knee and almost drowned in 4 feet of ocean water because  I couldn't stand up and had to crawl through the cold (about 58 degree water to shore). So, I guess be careful of things you did in your twenties by your late 30s.

In my 40s I found I had to stop jogging regularly because of some problems with my feet. Eventually when I had my feet x-rayed I found that I had hundreds of small fractures in my feet from jumping off of roofs with my buddies from ages 10 to 15 as a sort of macho thing (we were immortal. What did we know?)

Not being able to jog regularly I found really upsetting because this was not only how I mainly stayed in shape but kept from gaining weight and I didn't really find a replacement for jogging to stay thin, so in my 40s I began to gain some weight which wasn't good for me. Instead of jogging I moved to fast walking and hiking and walking reguarly to reduce the impact of jogging on my feet. I also started to have to deal with bone spurs which I learned to crunch away with rolling pin in some cases. Then at age 50 I had a heart virus which I realized had something to do (I found at age 58) with being hypothyroid which means I had an undiagnosed low thyroid condition. So, even though I sort of expected to be dead by now at age 64 before being diagnosed, I know (if I can figure out how to better take care of my heart) I could go into my 90s or even 100 or beyond if I find a way to properly maintain my health and vigor on into older adulthood. Presently, the oldest person I know is 94 and still mentally crisp and clear. And though he now walks with a cane and has a pacemaker is still active and travels with his girlfriend because his wife passed on in 1999. He is also a member of a flying club and flies with friends all over the U.S. in their private planes.

So, since my thyroid is now in balance from taking Armour Thyroid from Canada (Zero side effects with this natural medicine which also mentally makes me feel like I'm around 20 years old which is great too) I have a potentially long life before me, especially with medical advances coming forth every day from around the world.

I have been skiing lately some and snowshoeing across frozen lakes and such as a way to increase my exercise. And I'm considering spending half my time in the out of doors more and my wife agrees with me since I'm retired already so I can maintain and increase my health since I naturally am an outofdoorsman and love to ski and hike and ride dualsport (on and off road motorcycles). And I also like swimming in mountain lakes in the summer when it's warm enough. So, exercising having fun is one way to stay alive and relatively healthy a really long time. The other is finding healthy foods you like to eat. Though it will take some research on your part  if you do this, you likely can extend your happy healthy lifetime from 10 to 50 years just by doing all the things I'm recommending here already.

You might have other things and places to go that keep you active and happy as well, places where good friends live with active lifestyles or places like Europe or Canada or out in the country here in the U.S. Why not start to think about just how happy you might be exercising and walking or skiing, or jogging somewhere you love with the people you love?

Hint: After 50 some people's stomachs cannot process B vitamins anymore. Without vitamin B-12 a brain cannot properly function and could be one of the causes of senile dementia or alzheimers. So, I take every couple of days a sublingual B-12 which because you put it under your tongue goes directly from under your tongue into your blood and bypasses your stomach so you don't have a problem there. This way the brain gets enough B-12 to think clear thoughts ongoing. Also, you could pay for a B-12 shot in the posterior every month from your doctor as well if you wish.They have the sublingual version at Trader Joe's or your local Whole Foods or health food store.