Keys to Healthy Aging

• Attitude: How you feel about aging is key to your ability to thrive. Take advantage of opportunities.

• Exercise: With age, resistance training becomes increasingly important for maintaining strength and muscle mass. Increased muscle tissue burns fat more efficiently, reduces your heart disease risk and lessens your chance of a broken hip from falling, a constant risk for the elderly.

• Keep your mind active: Stimulate your mind with new and different activities. Take advantage of opportunities and possibilities that may have not been available to you previously, such as a second career, volunteer activities, musical instruction, writing or travel.

• Nutrition: Include more fruits and vegetables in your diet, and minimize meat, saturated and hydrogenated fats, and sweets. Eat moderately to avoid obesity.

• Manage your stress: Humor, meditation, exercise and optimism are some of the important ways to manage your stress.

What can put your Health at Risk:

• Lack of exercise
• Smoking
• Drug and Alcohol abuse
• Weight gain
• Stress
• Social Isolation

Healthy Lifestyle Choices:

• Eat breakfast
• Exercise
• Avoid weight gain
• Avoid smoking
• Limit alcohol intake
• Maintain mind-stimulating activities such as reading, socialization, etc.
• Lessen intake of snacks especially those rich in fat, sugar, etc.
• Sustain social connectedness
• Maintain optimism
• Sleep 7-8 hours a day

Ways of Preventing Illness

• Primary Prevention

- Keep yourself under regular health supervision
- Visit your physician regularly
- Take Immunizations
- Influenza, Pneumococcal Vaccine
- Undergo cancer screening
- breast and prostate

• Secondary Prevention
- Control hypertension <
- Control cholesterol levels
- Achieve weight loss
– for those on the heavy side or for those who are obese

Source:
Living to 100: Lessons in Living to your Maximum Potential at any Age Dr. Shelley dela Vega Geriatrician

Note:   This information is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advise, diagnosis or treatment.   If you or someone you know have any of the symptoms mentioned above, it is advisable to seek professional help.

For more information, please call:

CENTER FOR HEALTHY AGING

Tel. No. (632) 988-1000 / (632) 988-1000 Ext. 6576 / 6582

CENTER FOR PATIENT PARTNERSHIP

Tel. No. (632) 988-1000 / (632) 988-1000 Ext. 6444