To Your Health
November, 2009 (Vol. 03, Issue 11) |
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Healthy From the Inside Out
By Peggy Raikes
What does it take to make a life-changing decision to improve one's health? For some, it's illness, a near-death experience or even the loss of a loved one. For others, it might simply be the realization that an unhealthy lifestyle will one day catch up with them. A 68-year-old patient of mine recently reported it was a shopping trip with her aunt, who was almost 90 at the time, that prompted the decision to enhance her health.
What was her motivation? It didn't come from clothes that wouldn't fit, pictures of lingerie models on the walls of the store, or an unpleasant reflection in a dressing-room mirror. Instead, it was when a fellow shopper asked if she and her aunt were twins that she knew she needed to make a change.
Like many of us, my patient found herself backed against a wall and her first thought was, "Get me to the spa!" And while that might be a good step, a commitment to exercise and improved nutrition is often the best therapy. Unfortunately, the multibillion-dollar beauty business is a great cover-up for an unhealthful lifestyle. Cosmetics, plastic surgeons, drugs and airbrushing offer instant gratification, and these options are regularly substituted for more natural and, in the long run, more effective choices.
One of the simplest and most important things we can do to revive our appearance, physical health and mental acuity as we age doesn't involve cosmetic changes or a trip to the spa; it's as easy as supplying our body with the nutrient-rich food and physical activity it so desperately needs. Beauty literally comes from the inside, and it takes responsible day-to-day choices to ensure this translates outwardly. Here are some suggestions on what you can do - starting today - to cultivate beauty from the inside out.
1. Control the Inflammation
One of the best ways to reclaim and maintain health, and even take years off of your appearance, is to control something called inflammation. Simply put, inflammation isheat, swelling or pain. When it is chronic, inflammation can make us age prematurely, and has been associated with diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, depression, cognitive decline and other conditions.
Inflammation can take many forms. Many of us have chronic, smoldering inflammation that causes digestive disorders such as gas, bloating, heartburn and irritable bowel. Others exhibit inflammatory problems in the form of acne, eczema or psoriasis. Sources of inflammation in Americans' lives include stress, obesity, smoking, drugs and sedentary lifestyles. One of the leading inflammatory triggers is unhealthful food, including sugars, red meat, artificial ingredients, gluten, trans fats and alcohol. Packaged and processed foods, especially those laden with hormones, antibiotics and preservatives, also contribute to inflammation. An inactive lifestyle, combined with a diet favoring inflammatory foods, can lead to free-radical damage, which might spur disease and appear in the skin as lines and wrinkles.
