Is it Possible to Reverse the Ageing Process? 

One of the biggest struggles we face when it comes to the perimenopause or menopause years isn’t what fun and games our hormones are having with our period, our sex drives or our mood.

It’s how old we feel.

We look in the mirror and we start to notice more grey hair appearing at our temples. We see more creases appearing at the corners of our eyes. We feel more tired, our aches and pains can flare up and we often just don’t feel like we used to.

Combined with psychological burden we face when we’re coming to terms with the idea that we are transitioning to a new era in our lives, we can sometimes feel like we’re ‘over the hill’, ‘old’ or simply ‘past it’.

But whilst we can’t undo our menopause, there’s evidence to suggest that we could slow down the entire ageing process so we can feel stronger, happier and healthier for many years to come.

Today I’d like to talk about what longevity means and share with you six tips that can help you feel younger and healthier, no matter what your ‘real’ age.

What is longevity?

Let’s talk for a second about what it means to have longevity. Longevity means living as healthily for as long as possible. It’s about looking and feeling youthful, energetic and free from ill-health.

However, despite what we might think, longevity involves much more than just eating well.

It involves every part of us from how we move, how we sleep, the health of our internal systems such as our gut microbiome, immune system, energy system and cardiovascular system, and even whether we have negative or positive thoughts.

Everything is interlinked, everything works together and everything influences how young we look and feel.

If one of these systems fall out of balance, the rest will suffer too.

Six tips to help you slow down the ageing process

There are many ways that we can take the elements of longevity and health we’ve just mentioned, and support them so that we can stay feeling at our best for longer.

Here are some suggestions.

1. Take a cold shower

Taking a cold shower is an ancient technique that is said to promote radiant health and longevity.

Evidence suggests that this is because it can boost your body’s metabolism (because it has to work harder to maintain a normal temperature), boost your immune system, reduce inflammation and promote healing.

Although cold showers might not sound like much fun, remember that it was only recently that we could heat our water. Before that, cold baths were our only choice, and in some underdeveloped countries, a warm shower or bath is still a luxury. So what do you have to lose? Will you give it a go?

2. Practice intermittent fasting

According to a study published last year in ‘Cell Metabolism’ increasing the time between meals can help promote a healthy weight, reduce inflammation, reduce your chances of suffering from liver disease and help slow down the ageing process.

However, intermittent fasting isn’t always suitable for everyone, especially if you’re struggling with low energy or poor sleep and it certainly won’t undo a poor diet.

3. Get moving

One of the best ways to slow down the ageing process is to get more active.

Maintaining muscle density is critical to slowing down the ageing process and also helps to protect our immune system, maintain our libido and boost longevity. You can maintain your muscle density by doing weight-bearing exercise that stimulates your muscles to stay healthy. It’s never too late to start and will make a huge difference to how you feel.

Lifting weights or doing bodyweight exercises is the only way you can increase muscle density- the odd yoga or Pilates class isn’t going to be enough. But don’t panic- even if you don’t want to head to a gym, you can find some great exercise videos on YouTube and exercise in the comfort of your own home.

4. Eat for energy

We can boost our energy levels and nourish our bodies by eating the foods which help the ‘energy factories’ (mitochondria) in our bodies to work efficiently. This will also help improve the quality of our sleep, reduce our blood pressure, reduce our cholesterol and help balance our blood sugar levels.

The best foods to enjoy are those high in antioxidants such as cinnamon, Swiss Chard, dark berries, dark chocolate, sweet potatoes and dark green vegetables.

5. Take time to rest

Rest and relaxation are also important when it comes to taking care of your body and mind and helping to reverse the ageing process, although it can be hard to achieve in the modern world.

Ensure you take time out of your busy schedule, kick off your shoes and relax. You could plug into one of my recordings, sit back and relax.

6. Optimise your nutrition

To stay looking younger for longer and to feel healthy, we also need to nourish our bodies with the right kinds of foods.

However, if you’ve attended a slimming club in the past or gone on a slimming diet, you’re likely confused as to what eating ‘healthily’ actually means. This isn’t your fault- there’s so much conflicting information out there, I know.

The truth is, there’s a huge difference between eating for weight loss and optimising your nutrition for health.

Optimising your nutrition means making sure everything you eat is whole food and close to what it looked like when it came out of the ground. You should combine quality protein, healthy fats, fibre and some carbohydrates and make sure you’re including all the essential vitamins, minerals, essential fats, and amino acids through the course of a week.

We can get these from plant-based foods and animal products.

Summary

Given the information I’ve just shared, do you think it’s possible to reverse the ageing process?

Sadly, I don’t think it is.

But surely we can slow it down and feel amazing regardless of our age if we take an active part in managing our health and wellness.

I’ve ingested hugely in my health over the past 5-10 years and I can quite honestly say it was worth every penny.

What are you doing to help yourself stay looking and feeling younger? Let me know in the comments below.