Don’t blame it on old age
Are you in your 40’s, 50’s or 60’s and dealing with any of the following symptoms: weight gain, abdominal pain, unusual stool, nausea, acid reflux, leaky bladder, constipation, diarrhea, bloating & gas, balance issues, fatigue, lack of energy, brain fog, memory issues, sleep issues, or some other nagging issue affecting the enjoyment of your life?
When feeling the discomfort from one or more of these symptoms, have you caught yourself saying, “it’s tough getting old”?
Don’t be so quick to blame it on old age.
My 92-year-old hiking friend, Charles, is a beautiful example of how people are living longer today than ever before. Charles still hikes every Saturday with the Louisville hiking club. A secret to his living well, and long, is staying active and eating a healthy diet.
When you’re older, you discover that the consequences of poor diet and lifestyle habits in your 40’s, 50’s or 60’s can strip away your independence in your 70’s, 80’s and 90’s in the blink of an eye. One of the most precious things we have is good health, but it’s easy to take this gift for granted – until it starts to fail.
To enjoy our independence and stay active as we age, we need to take control of our own preventive health care and learn what it takes to keep our body healthy.
The symptoms and health issues we experience are clues and signals from our body that something is out of balance and needs correction.
Thousands of research articles are published annually proving that diet and lifestyle imbalances play a greater role than any other factor in the cause of ill health. Actually, the World Health Organization has stated that 80-90% of chronic conditions are caused by our diets and how we live.
“The most common disease-producing factors are food deficiencies and errors in diet.” D.T. Quigley, MD
Everything we eat or put in our bodies affects us. It can be good or bad, immediate or long-term, predictable or not, but one way or another, it will affect us.
The good news is: Today is a good day to change the way you live and eat. With every meal you eat, your nutritional status can change significantly and those symptoms can be improved.
Not sure where to start? Try starting with these three ideas.
First, eat whole foods. Skip the processed foods that come in a box. Eat mostly whole fruits and vegetables; keep meat consumption low.
Second, understand you have a unique physiology; it is yours and yours alone. It is as unique as a fingerprint. What may be a super healthy food for another person may not be right for you. Focusing on your unique internal environment, the soil in which these symptoms took root and how the food you’re eating is affecting your internal environment, is your second step.
Third, look upstream for answers. Symptoms are a downstream issue. If we start looking upstream for where the imbalance started and the soil in which the symptoms thrive, we can find the root cause. This principal of working in the soil and looking for root causes is why functional nutrition practitioners are so successful in helping clients restore their health, even when those same clients were unable to find relief from their doctors.
Your body is always on your side. It is always working towards keeping you alive. When these signals show up, listen. Don’t be quick to blame it on old age. Decide instead to take action today to improve your diet and lifestyle habits and to protect your health. My promise to you – if you eat better, you will feel better.
If you have a friend or family member who is struggling with aggravating and chronic symptoms and wants to feel better, please share this article with them.
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