How to Stay Healthy Into Your 40s

How to Stay Healthy Into Your 40s

So you're rapidly approaching that dreaded 40th birthday where you have to kiss your youth goodbye, and begin to feel the pains of an older body. It doesn't have to be all bad however, you can still maintain some of your youth by feeling young. This article will give you tips on how to keep your body in your 20s.

How to exercise
At this point in your life, you most likely have a family and/or career, so you don't have time to hit the gym like you did in your 20s and 30s. This being the case, you have to find ways to increase your physical activity over the course of a normal day. Make several small changes like taking the stairs instead of the elevator. You could also do some isometric exercises at your desk if you work in an office. Just remember that convenience (like an elevator) is often bad because it encourages laziness. When you get home from work, play with your kids or dog and do something active.

You should also try to go to the gym when you can. For young people, working out is about looking good and increasing strength, as you get older it becomes more about preventing bone loss and keeping your body strong. It also helps your body bounce back from injury faster, which is another important attribute as time goes on.

How to eat
At this stage, it is imperative to eat healthy, and strategically. Eat a good size healthy breakfast, it will kick start your metabolism and keep your level of energy up for the whole day. For lunch, don't gorge yourself. Eat light and slow, your brain takes about 20 minutes to get the message that you're full so by eating slow you will eat less. Some nutritionists recommend eating two light meals a couple hours apart in the afternoon instead of one big meal for lunch. This will prevent you from getting tired in the middle of the afternoon.

For dinner, get the rest of your fruit and vegetable servings in that you didn't finish during the day. Of course, limit the red meats and high calorie foods, and just eat healthy in general. Also, don't eat after 7:00 pm, your body will not burn the calories in time and they will be converted to fat.

What to prevent
It may sound scary, but when you get into your 40s your risk of getting cancer, osteoporosis, and heart disease increases quite a bit. You need to make sure you are working to prevent these things; you cannot just ignore the risks.

To prevent against cancer, consume antioxidants to battle against free radicals in the body. To get antioxidants, eat lots of fruit and vegetables like citrus, grapes, strawberries, broccoli, and tomatoes, don't just take supplements. Antioxidants can also be found in red wine, green tea, soy, cranberries, and oatmeal. To fight against bone deterioration and osteoporosis, consume lots of calcium, but don't increase dairy intake too much. Finally, heart disease can be prevented by physical activity, reducing weight, and quitting smoking. Those are the three most important factors in heart disease. You also want to monitor your cholesterol intake as well.

Your 40s can be some of the best years of your life, as long as you don't let the increased health risks get in the way. Take this advice to heart, and stay healthy.

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