Crucial to Quality of Life
It’s fashionable to talk about living and eating well, to help ensure a long and healthy life. This has become a value that most people strive for. Because, even as modern medical science has increased the life expectancy dramatically throughout our planet, the quality of those additional years is not ensured.
Nevertheless, many people indulge themselves in the present by doing what comes easily, regardless of the consequences for their future. Let’s take a look at how difficult is really is to reduce the risks of old age.
Several physiological systems, in my opinion, are crucial to achieving this universal value of healthy longevity. I would put three at the top of the list:
- Cognitive Clarity
- Heart Health
- Joint Health
The common denominator is that all three systems decrease in effectiveness as we grow older, because they are susceptibel to degenerative processes. The question that presents itself is whether these degenerative processes can be contained.
What can we do to maintain the integrity of our vital systems? Actually, the answer is simple. Take care of them, same as we do for our cars.
I drive a gasoline engine, so I wouldn’t dream of filling up with methane. I visit the garage regularly to lubricate the movingcparts, and I always begin driving slowly, to give everything a chance to warm up and reach optimal temperature levels. That’s easy.
It’s strange though that we don’t all follow the same principles when it comes to the vehicle we take with us everywhere – our body.
Nutrition
The first thing to do is making sure our bodies get what they need. We all know about vitamins, balanced diets, and the dangers of sweets and obesity. What many people are unaware of is that:
- our diets lack sufficient omega 3, and
- omega 3 is crucial to the proper function for all three of the critical physiological systems I cited above.
The British Journal of Nutrition has recently published a review of scientific research and concluded:
The findings of the present study reveal that supplementation with n-3 (omega 3) offers a scientifically supported means of reducing arterial stiffness. Reduction in arterial stiffness by n-3 may account for some of its purported cardioprotective effects.
This is yet another publication that supports the importance of omega 3 supplementation.