Regardless of your age now, your actions can have significant impact
on the way you age. In my years of practice and research I have iden-
tified seven key factors that can have a direct and powerful impact on
how successfully you age. As you read this list you’ll notice it’s a
review of many concepts that I have put forth in this book. Return to
the chapters that address each item for a review of what you should
consider for a new you, but only after you finish the book. While
these seven keys to successful aging may be a review for many,
they’re also a wake-up call for others who set less-significant priori-
ties for day-to-day living rather than living well today for a healthy
life tomorrow.
- Brain nutrients and brain stimulation.
- Anti-inflammatory foods.
- Antioxidant foods.
- Blood-sugar control and eliminating refined carbohy-
drates and sugars. - Eating protein foods.
- Physical activity to get aerobically fit.
- Emotional and social health. Successful aging also
includes the issues involving a person’s mental and emo-
tional health — the need to love, have fun, to socialize
and feel good about life. While volumes have been writ-
ten about this subject, my contention is that when people
take the necessary steps to better health, they feel better
mentally and emotionally, and tend to socialize and enjoy
life more, which leads to better overall mental health.
You can influence aging as much as you can influence disease
prevention and most other factors associated with fitness and health.
It’s less about the information — there’s enough in this book to keep
you busy for some time — and more about another important factor.
The first step in this whole process is in your hands — you decide to
increase your fitness and health, or, often through inaction, decide not
to pursue fitness and health. It’s my hope that you follow through on
350 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH