Anyone Looks Good At 22!

Youth is amazing. Flawless skin, strong bones, ample muscle and endless energy. Truthfully, even with variables such as height, weight and less than perfect presentation, there is little that is not incredible about being young and nearly indestructible. But Father Time marches on. Days become weeks, weeks become months, months become years and years become decades. What we took for granted in our youth is stolen from us slowly as we age,... or is it?

How much can we prevent excessive components of age and what can we do? Here is a link that perhaps over simplifies things, but it is rather vivid. Take a LOOK
One does not have to be a scientist to understand some of the apparent things going on.
Here is a list of some powerful tools to resist aging.

1. First and foremost, strength train. As we age there is a loss of muscle size and strength. You must simply add proper strength training to the mix. This fundamentally means moving resistance that is heavy for you, two to three times per week under proper supervision.
2. Don't gain excessive weight. WEIGH DAILY. This keeps tabs on how food affects your body and how salt, carbohyrates, constipation and dehyration can cause your weight to shift.  When you gain excess weight you are stretching your skin and enlarging and even creating fat cells. You are placing mechanical stress on your orthopedic structure. Imagine going through life wearing a 50 pound back pack that you never take off.
3. Eat a balanced diet. Extremism is usually that. Too much of a deviation past common sense. Your diet should include most everything whole and fresh. There is little evidence that organic does anything special. Adequate protein is always the first step.
4. Avoid the sun. While getting enough Vitamin D is the current headline, you must avoid excessive burning or tanning. Burns cause cancer and tanning is aging despite what anyone tells you at a cocktail party. If you are in a northern climate, consult your physician about appropriate Vitamin D supplementation.
5. Limit alcohol consumption. Moderate amounts of alcohol seem to add years to life. Excessive alcohol will age you. Your organs and your skin.
6. Don't smoke. Period. It is NOT A NASTY HABIT, IT IS AN ADDICTION. Many ex heroin addicts claim that quitting smoking is tougher. That is not letting anyone off the hook. Forget the health issues. Smoking ages the skin of the face and around the mouth causing wrinkles. 
7. Get active. The body is meant to be used. Moving about in nature is part of our being. Get out and run, walk, bike, swim or play. 
8. Learn new skills. Treat the brain as a muscle and exercise it daily. Reading, music, problem solving, art, language skills and writing. 
9. Social Interaction. Humans as a group do better with a sense of community and awareness of a higher power. 
10. Humans also do better paired in a relationship.   

The onslaught of time can not be stopped, but it can be managed. Aging is normal, but we are avoiding abnormal aging at all costs.