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How to Break the Rules of Aging |
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| |  | Matthew Makowski
Senior Health Researcher |
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Remember your first car?
Mine was less than brand new. But it still had a distinct smell.
It smelled like freedom. It allowed me to go and do as I pleased.
I was able to look for jobs beyond the radius my bike could travel. And I could start taking girls out on proper dates.
I rewarded my car with weekly washes, the "good gas," and a steady regimen of checking the fluids and making sure the oil was fresh.
After a while, the fresh sheen of wax faded. I decided my ol' pickup didn't require the high-octane gas I was feeding it, and the oil changes became a little more sporadic.
And over time, little dings and dents started to appear. At first, I saw these as an affront to my independence. But I soon grew accustomed to them as just being part of my vehicle... and I stopped noticing them.
When I stopped taking preventive measures with routine maintenance, lights started flashing on the dashboard. And easily avoidable problems turned into big-ticket repairs.
It's how I treated my first couple of cars before running them into the ground and learning my lesson.
It's a bad habit. And unfortunately it's how many of us treat our bodies. |
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Check Your Engine
For the first few decades we're kicking around on this Earth, we don't require much upkeep. We can eat what we want... play and have fun without much worry of injury... and blood pressure levels or prostate health couldn't be further from our mind.
Then we get a little older and things start to change.
Subliminal "check engine lights" flash in our mind. "When was the last time I had my blood pressure checked?" we catch ourselves thinking.
We start to put on a little weight as our metabolism slows down and begin to worry about blood sugar levels. A couple of hours tilling away in the garden can lead to a plague of back pain the next day.
It's not hard to recognize that things aren't working like they used to.
But the average doctor is quick to suggest this is all just part of the aging process. They'll pass along a fistful of prescriptions to treat what ails you and send you on your way.
But should that be the way? Aren't there things we can do to get the purr back in our engines?
There absolutely is.
Overcoming Aging
I spend a lot of time talking with Dr. Phil Roberts. At the risk of being a nuisance, I'm constantly picking his brain about this kind of thing.
Now, the good doctor is living proof that we don't have to accept the aches, pains and litany of ailments we so often associate with getting older.
That's what separates him from so many of the doctors I've known and worked with...
To keep the metaphor going, if your typical conventional doctor is like a neighborhood mechanic, Dr. Roberts is more akin to a master restoration specialist.
He's not content with painting over the rusty parts. He wants to get in there and make it run like it did when it first drove off the lot.
With that, let this serve as a preview of things to come.
We're going to spend the next week sharing some of our most important tips for beating back the aging process in this special "Over 65" series... and making sure the best years of our lives are yet to come.
Stay tuned.
Do you have questions for Dr. Roberts on the aging process? Send us an email here. |
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