“Is getting older slowing down?” Dr. Walter M. Bortz asks. Then he urges, “Don’t slow down.”
If you keep active in mind, body and spirit, “you can defy the so-called effects of aging,” he declares in his book DARE to Be 100. He provides a good example of the message. He runs at least one marathon a year, and he is now 79.
Here’s a capsule review of the DARE elements:
Diet—Eat a varied diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Attitude—If you want to do something, you must first believe you can.
Renewal—Recharge, keep working, and stay in the mainstream.
Exercise—Be strong, stay loose, and stay balanced.
He provides 99 tips divided among these four categories, and he regards attitude as the most important element. Research shows the natural lifespan of humans is more than 30 years above current expectations, he notes.
In an earlier book called We Live Too Short and Die Too Long, he offers these steps for a long, healthy life:
1. Do at least 30 minutes of sustained, rhythmic, vigorous exercise four times a week. Make it as much a part of your day as eating and sleeping.
2. Eat like a bushman. This means whole grains and lean meat, along with the fruits and veggies.
3. Get as much sleep and rest as you need. Make quiet time a major priority.
4. Maintain your sense of humor and deflect anger. A positive mind-set creates the expectation that something good is about to happen, and opens the door to new options for success.
5. Set goals and accept challenges that force you to be as alive and creative as possible. Growth and living are nearly synonymous. When one stops, so does the other.
6. Don’t depend on anyone else for well-being. Maintain mastery, autonomy and independence in your daily life.
7. Be necessary and responsible. See each day as a chance to help someone or something. Associate with other active, involved individuals.
8. Don’t slow down. Stick with the mainstream. Maintaining your energy flow is the antidote to the perceived losses of aging.
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