Ageing! Are you?

Many people live well into their 80s and beyond. As the body ages, however, various systems slow down and the risk of disease increases. Even though one can’t stop time, one can forestall some of the negative effects of ageing with a healthy lifestyle.

Put simply, ageing is the process of growing old. Every part of the body is affected. Among other changes, hair turns grey, skin develops wrinkles, joints and muscles lose flexibility, bones become weak, memory declines, eyesight diminishes and immunity is impaired.

Cells in the body divide a set number of times, and then they die and are replaced by new cells. With age, this process slows down, and all body systems start to deteriorate progressively. Though some of this decline is normal and inevitable, researchers believe that unstable oxygen molecules called free radicals accelerate the process, making us old before our time.

Where some damage of this kind is unavoidable because of free radicals being produced during normal cell activity, the ageing process can be slowed down by avoiding outside factors that foster the formation of free radicals – cigarette smoke, pollution, excessive alcohol and radiationdefine from the X-rays or the sun.

Symptoms:

• Slowing of cognitive process; Difficulty in accessing memory and learning and remembering new people and events.

• Sensory decline; Delay in refocusing eyes and impaired ability to hear high pitched sounds.

• Weakened immune systemdefine: Increased susceptibility to colds, flu and other illnesses.

• Decline in muscle and bone mass.

• Increased risk of developing heart disease and cancerdefine.

Handy Tips:

• Protect yourself from sun. Ultraviolet rays make skin age faster.

• If you smoke, quit. Smoking speeds up bone and lung deterioration.

• Build and maintain bone and muscle mass with weight bearing exercise, such as walking and weight training.

• Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables every day – they are rich in the antioxidantsdefine that combat free radicals.