Aging Naturally

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Here are the facts as I see them. I have always maintained that supplemental nutrients are not substitutes for the whole foods that contain them. Taking supplements does not excuse you from eating a healthy diet. This is particularly true for the micronutrients. I take a good daily multivitamin-multimineral supplement, one that I formulated myself, as insurance against gaps in my diet--for example, to cover those days when I am on the road and simply can't get the fruits and vegetables I'd like. The more regularly we supply our bodies with antioxidants and phytonutrients, the better our health. Most of us simply can't do that with food, hence the need for supplements.

Apart from providing insurance against gaps in the diet, supplements can provide optimum dosages of natural therapeutic agents that may help prevent and treat age-related diseases. Consider vitamin E. Oil-rich seeds and nuts are the main food source of it. Many studies suggest that doses in the range of 200 IUs to 400 IUs of alpha-tocopherol (or, better, 80 mg to 160 mg of the whole complex, including tocotrienols) offer the best antioxidant protection against common age-related diseases. Nuts are good for you, but you would have to eat far too many to get that amount of vitamin E.

I should say too that I have always favored increased regulation of the dietary-supplement industry, which has proved incapable of policing itself. I would like to see the U.S. Food and Drug Administration create a new Division of Natural Therapeutic Agents to regulate herbs, vitamins, minerals and other products--not with the intent of thwarting consumer access to them but rather of ensuring that products on the market are safe, contain what they claim to contain, and do what they claim to do.

EXERCISE

It is probably possible to lead an inactive life and still experience healthy aging, but it isn't likely. Almost all the healthy seniors I know were physically active throughout life, and many of them still are. They walk, dance, play golf, swim, lift weights, do yoga and Tai Chi.

Of course, it is possible to get too much physical activity, not just because overactivity raises the possibility of damaging joints, muscles and bones, but also because of the possible adverse effects on body composition, the nervous system and reproductive and immune function. Knees are especially vulnerable, and surgical methods for repairing them are less than ideal. Repeated concussive injuries, as in football and soccer, may be associated with cognitive impairment in later life. That said, far more people in our culture err on the side of getting too little physical activity than too much.

Walking, if you do it vigorously enough, is the overall best exercise for regular aerobic activity. It requires no equipment, everyone knows how to do it and it carries the lowest risk of injury. The human body is designed to walk. You can walk in parks or shopping malls or in your neighborhood. To get maximum benefit from walking, aim for 45 minutes a day, an average of five days a week.