Aging is a completely natural thing that happens to everybody, but it often comes with health problems that you don’t occur as often when you are younger. As your body naturally ages, you may notice changes or start to experience health difficulties so it is important to find ways to maintain your health as you begin to grow older. Below are some suggestions on how to help your body age healthily.
Take Care of Your Heart
As your body grows older, your risk of heart disease increases significantly. Heart disease is the highest cause of death in women, and this risk only increases with age. In fact, four out of five women who die from heart disease are over the age of sixty-five, clearly showing the connection between age and heart health. Heart issues occur when the blood vessels in your body grow older and become less flexible, leading to more difficulty in blood flow and getting blood to your heart. For this reason, it is important to take care of your heart and reduce your risk of heart diseases by eating healthily and exercising regularly. It is also important to regularly check up with your doctor about your heart health. Another thing to be aware of is how heart attacks affect women differently than men because the risk of a heart attack increases as you grow older so it is important to recognize the symptoms if it ever happens to you. Some women don’t experience chest pain during a heart attack so it can be harder to recognize. Instead symptoms may include, arm pain, nausea, fatigue, or discomfort in the jaw, shoulder, upper back, neck, or abdomen, and more. Overall, it is important to be aware of the risk of heart disease as you grow older and to regularly check up with your doctor.
Know the Signs of Menopause
Menopause is one of the most well known parts of aging as a woman. Many people know that menopause affects the reproductive system, causing your body to produce less estrogen, which means that your body no longer menstruates. As your body grows older, it goes through various stages including premenopause, perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause, all of which are part of the natural aging of the body. As the body goes through this process, women often experience hot flashes, mood swings, fatigue, irregular periods, and weight gain due to a slowed metabolism. Though this process is natural and occurs to every aging woman, there are ways to maintain health during these years. One way to stay healthy is to eat a healthy diet that focuses on providing nutrients such as calcium, iron, and fiber. To help with hot flashes, avoid consuming alcohol, spicy foods, soda, and other drinks or food that have high caffeine contents. It also important to see your gynecologist to discuss menopause symptoms and to address any irregularities or concerns involving your reproductive system during menopause.
Exercise Regularly
As your body grows older, your metabolism slows down, which can lead to weight gain and other health issues such as heart disease as described above. No matter what your age is, it is important to regularly exercise in order to maintain a healthy body, but this becomes increasingly important as you age because it can help prevent common issues associated with aging such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight gain, etc. How you exercise may change through the years and as you grow older, but having an established habit of exercising will make it easier to transition to different exercises as you grow older because some of the activities that you enjoy when you are younger sometimes simply become difficult or impossible as your body ages. If you are worried about injuring yourself, talk to your doctor about the best way for you to begin exercising in effective ways that won’t put your body at risk. Additionally, exercising regularly should raise your heart rate in order to protect your heart against the risks described earlier, so make sure your exercises are effective in raising your heart rate, whether this means swimming, running, or simply walking briskly.
Overall, one of the most important ways to maintain your health as you grow older is to be establish healthy lifestyle patterns such as exercising and eating healthily.
