5 Healthy Aging Essentials for Women

As you age, you continually change in many ways, as do many of your health needs.

This makes it valuable to periodically reevaluate your wellness approach over time. Among the numerous strategies that support healthy aging, these 5 have a major impact on how well we look, feel, think, and operate in our later decades:

Embrace a plant-centric diet

Aspiring to a daily menu comprised of fresh, whole, plant-based foods is one of the best possible ways ensure we age gracefully, looking and feeling our best, with a reduced risk of virtually all major health problems, from heart disease, to autoimmune disorders, to cancer, and more. Research indicates that vegetarians/vegans have lower mortality rates than people whose diet regularly includes meat.

Additionally, plant-based diets are associated with an improved metabolic and inflammatory profile. This means they offer you a degree of protection from the chronic inflammation that drives serious disease states. The healthiest approach, which is also the most comprehensive, emphasizes fresh fruit, veggies, nuts and seeds, intact grains, beans/legumes, and naturally fermented/cultured foods.

Grab your yoga mat

As you get older, some forms of exercise may be more suitable than others. Along with a daily walk, yoga is arguably the safest and most effective form of fitness for an aging body. Multiple, well-designed studies suggest that yoga has positive effects on cellular aging, mobility, balance, mental health, and prevention of cognitive decline—all areas of concern for older adults. Another reputable study presented evidence showing how yoga helps protect our cardiovascular, pulmonary, musculoskeletal, and nervous systems against age-related degradation.

Yoga can help:

• Improve balance and flexibility
• Enhance strength and mobility
• Decrease stress and boost mental well-being
• Improve cardiovascular health
• Help with pain management

In addition to the many other benefits it offers, yoga helps boost mindfulness. This is valuable off the mat as well, since being more conscious in your daily life is associated with feelings of gratitude, which is also part of healthy self-care.

Reevaluate your medical approach

Seniors should consistently reevaluate their prescription medications due to age-related changes in their bodies, which can impact the way drugs are absorbed, processed, and eliminated. It is advisable to learn how various Rx drugs affect metabolism, liver and kidney function, and the brain, especially when taking multiple medications, which increases the risk of drug interactions and adverse effects.

Seniors are increasingly seeking out natural alternatives to prescription medications for health concerns such as pain, anxiety, and sleep disorders. These include CBD/cannabis medicine, nutritional supplements, herbal and botanical remedies, alternative therapies, and other lifestyle modifications to address their health issues without the often harmful side effects of prescription drugs. Many natural therapies−now soundly validated by medical science−have been used traditionally for thousands of years.

While it is best to consult with your health care provider about any changes to your wellness routine, you may benefit from more than one avenue of support, given the different approaches and areas of expertise between medical doctors and holistic/alternative practitioners, such as naturopathic physicians.

Proactively address stress

As we know, certain forms of stress can be useful, potentially helping you be more alert, motivated, and productive in the short term. However, long-term stress is another story, as it can promote serious health problems. This is due in part to the fact that ongoing stress drives deadly, chronic inflammation. Women are generally more likely than men to experience symptoms of stress, including headaches and upset stomach. Women are also more likely to have mental health conditions that are aggravated by stress, such as depression or anxiety.

As you get older, your resilience to stress changes, making it increasingly important to be aware of the lifestyle factors that cause you to feel stressed, as well as learning how to better manage your personal stress experience to ensure healthier resiliency over time.

Cultivate the art of productive rest

If you aren’t familiar with this idea, you’re not alone, as it is a notoriously neglected aspect of holistic self-care. Productive rest is about intentionally incorporating physical, mental and emotional relaxation into your daily routine.
There are numerous benefits in cultivating this simple aspect of conscious self-care, such as enhanced creativity, healthier productivity, and improved mind-body-spirit well-being. We need to evolve in the way we regard rest, recognizing it as a necessity for optimal functioning. Nor is productive rest one dimensional. Rather, it includes physical, mental, and emotional, and even spiritual rest.

You might pick one of these areas to focus on first, and once it becomes part of your wellness routine, you can keep expanding. Wellness is after all a journey, not a destination. Here’s to healthy, happy, graceful aging!