By Saya Norm
WE HAD experienced the situation” too late” many times in our life. And also, we use the term” too late” so often in our life. As we age, the term is used more frequently listen to the words most old people say: I lived with my own style throughout my life. How can I change my style in this old age? It’s too late.
I always eat meat and eggs as my main meal. How can I change to eat fruits and vegetables mainly in this old age? It’s too late. I had been drinking and smoking for thirty years. How can I be healthy by quitting those habits in this old age? It’s too late.
Because man is a living animal, death is inevitable. But life shouldn’t be always wrestling with various kinds of illnesses and making hospital home. We need not only merely living but the quality of life. So, we should make strong healthy life as long as we can and frail and sickly life as short as we can.
Sometimes we really, truly can be too late. Even in those cases only luck or coincidence should not be the culprit: the work we did should also be taken into account. Nowadays, many people died immaturely because of improper lifestyles. If we can change our path to healthy lifestyles, those immature deaths may be reduced, unnecessary financial losses may be covered and the waste of labour for caring for a patient may be saved.
It’s never too late to change your mindset. There are no expiration dates on your ability to make healthy changes. Age, as it seems, should not be an obstacle to starting new habits, especially for your health and lifespan. The earlier the change, the better the result.
Sure, you are not too late to change. Depending on an individual lifestyle, there would be so many changes to be made. Because of the space permitted, three major changes are discussed here.
Not too late to start exercising
You would say going to the gym, walking in the early morning in full sports dress and stretching in front of the house were things of the past. Those may be done in your youth. In fact, taking exercise again in your sixties is not too late unless you are diagnosed with a serious disease.
Research in 2019 found that inactive folks ages 40 to 61 who upped their physical activity to about seven hours a week had a 35 per cent lower mortality risk than those who stayed inactive. Exercise for longevity boost has to do with its impact on the heart.
One report said that formerly inactive 45 to 64 years old people who increased their exercise to at least 30 minutes four to five days a week had improved oxygen uptake and reduced heart stiffness.
However, in the competitive age, many people are very busy and have no spare time for exercise. Even after retirement most government and company ex-staff have no willingness to pay time even for a light stretch. They think that exercise is a special way of movement and is time-consuming.
That is wrong. Moderate activity such as doing household chores and even walking takes the prize over intense workouts. The key is to find an activity you can do frequently.
Begin with an activity that’s convenient, easy to do and that you enjoy. For a starter, even a fifteen-minute exercise may seem a lot. You don’t need long and strenuous exercises like young ones. Moderate exercise a few days a week is more effective than just walking but walking more steps will offset the negative effects of hours spent just sitting around. To make it a habit, pair your walk with something. For example, taking a walk every day after breakfast or dinner is a good way. You can use your walking time to minister to your family also.
Take your children or grandchildren along on your walk. As you log miles, you will be healthier and learn so much about your loved ones. It’s not too late.
Not too late to quit addiction
Even at a late age, some people had bad habits such as smoking or drinking. They are addicted and have no mental power to quit. They thought that they had been practising those bad habits for decades and quitting them at old age is not beneficial and makes complete nonsense.
It’s not as you think. Five-year addiction? Thirty-year addiction? No matter how long you had been practising those habits, especially smoking and drinking, it may be beneficial as long as you are diagnosed with no serious disease. Even with diseases, quitting may help your health span.
For a lifelong chain smoker, quitting smoking makes senses of smell and taste start to improve; within days coughing begins to progressively decline. Within a few weeks, energy and breathing get better and improve steadily. The chance of coronary heart disease may be reduced and continues to drop.
Quitting smoking allows the lung to heal. Quitting alcohol can also lead to a range of both physical and mental health as well as a social relationship, fitness and legal situations. After quitting you may improve your physical health and decrease the risk of liver disease, cancer and hypertension. Your sleep will be improved. Mental health is also improved. And the risk for depression and anxiety may be reduced.
Quitting alcohol is more difficult than smoking but the benefits are more pronounced.
Not too late to be semi-vegetarian
When we get older, our chances of getting non-communicable diseases such as stroke, cancer, diabetes and hypertension are increased. Constipation is also very frequent. Eating more plant-based food may reduce those risks. Although we prefer meat to plantbased foods in our youth, at this old age you should at least be semi-vegetarian. Fruits and vegetables are plentiful in vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.
Those phytonutrients support your body to function properly and prevent non-communicable diseases. The most substantial advantage of being a vegetarian is getting high fibre and good regular bowel movements. A 2020 report found that eating more fibre-rich food may reduce woman’s long-term total risk of stroke by up to 25 per cent and their risk of ischemic stroke by up to 30 per cent.
Consuming two cups of fruits or vegetables (25-38 grammes of fibre) daily in midlife can help control blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and abdominal weight. Even if you couldn’t be a full-term vegetarian, you should be a semi-vegetarian. Change your path to plant-based foods. It’s not too late.
