Keep it simple

I have a Google Alert in for “anti-aging,” but I would not suggest you do the same.  Just yesterday, for example, I learned via this handy service that Heather Locklear uses sperm as an anti-aging face cream.  I wish I could give you details (names of donors, methods of donation) but I have to admit I didn’t click on the link.  Most days I get links to press releases from nutriceutical and cosmeceutical companies hawking their wares.  Everything from distillations of black garlic to infusions of twig tea, from multi-vitamin miracle serums to well, sperm facials.  

 Is it really so complicated, time-consuming, expensive – or icky (I’m talking sperm facials) to actively work on enhancing our health and vitality?  To do what we can do to turn back the biological clock. I don’t think so.

 After exploring this world – as both a journalist and a guinea pig – for more than a year, I think I can narrow it down to eight (generally non-monetizable) habits of mind and body (presented here in alphabetical order) that go a long way to preserving and improving youthful vitality:

 Breathe.  As in deep, nourishing belly breaths.

 Drink water.  We are mostly water.

 Care for your teeth.  Not just for cosmetic reasons, not just to avoid dental crises but because gum disease has been linked to systemic inflammation which has been linked to more age-promoting diseases than you want to know.

 Eat plants. And not because Michael Pollan says so.  Because the healthiest, longest-lived cultures on earth do so.

 Move.  If there is a Miracle Pill, this is it.

 Sleep.  You need it, and you know it.

 Stand up straight.  Posture matters big time. (My next post will be devoted to this.)

 Stay curious.  Interest in the world around us keeps us young (and interesting ourselves).