Feeling Your Age? Unlocking the Secrets to Feeling Youthful at Any Age
Prevention
The challenge with preventive measures, especially in health, is that their success often lies in the absence of negative outcomes. Unlike reactive treatments, where improvements are tangible and immediate, prevention aims to avoid potential issues altogether. This can make it difficult to perceive the direct impact of preventive actions because you won’t experience the negative consequences that might have occurred otherwise.
Prevention is not just a measure to avoid negative outcomes, it’s an investment in your future well-being. By taking proactive steps to maintain and improve your health today, you are setting the stage for a healthier future. The benefits of prevention are numerous, including long-term cost savings and a sense of control over your health.
Understand that wellness is a journey, and if you do it right, life only gets better with age.
By investing in preventive health measures, you are not only safeguarding your health but also your finances. You will experience long-term cost savings by reducing the need for expensive treatments, hospitalisations, and medications later in life.
Preventive health measures give you a sense of control over your well-being. You can make informed choices and take proactive steps to prevent potential health problems, rather than resorting to reactive measures after problems have already developed.
Your commitment to preventive health measures will have a positive ripple effect on those around you. It will inspire others to make similar changes in their own lives, fostering a sense of community and shared commitment to health.
Preventive health measures may provide relief from the worry of future health risks, potentially preventing chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
In a world of instant gratification, be bold, knowing it won’t provide immediate feedback; however, investing in preventive health measures is a proactive and valuable approach to safeguarding your health in the future.
Life at the age of 40+…
Our bodies undergo inevitable changes, and depending on your prevention investment plan or lack thereof, things could unravel quickly. This phase of life brings about a range of adjustments, both physically and emotionally.
Here we find ourselves experiencing some of what’s to come and I’m sure you are too.
For those that have not arrived yet, here is what you have to look forward to…
- Loss of muscle mass and strength
- Loss of bone density
- Reduced joint health and loss of cartilage
- Stiffness and decreased flexibility
- Hormonal Changes, mood swings, and changes in menstrual cycles.
- Changes in vision or hearing or BOTH!
- A slowing digestive system
- Increased brain function similar to my laptop lagging with too many browser tabs open.
- Skin changes and reduced skin elasticity, including wrinkles, pigmentation and dry skin
- Thinning or losing hair and brittle nails
- Poor or slow wound healing
Yes, it’s important to acknowledge these changes as a natural part of ageing, but how can we slow this process down?
Coping with physical changes after 40 and the consequences of losing collagen.
Did you know our body’s natural production of collagen starts to slow down in our mid-to-late 20s? In fact, we lose 1% of our collagen per year from then on. By 40, our body’s collagen drops so dramatically that it suddenly leads to many of the above symptoms.
What is collagen?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. It is the primary building block for bones, skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments, organs, blood vessels, intestinal lining and other connective tissues and accounts for a large portion of your body’s total protein.
It makes sense that losing collagen can have several health consequences connected to the above list of ailments coming your way! It’s not possible to avoid the inevitable, but what if we can mitigate collagen loss and maintain a balanced diet rich in collagen-building nutrients such as vitamin C, amino acids, and antioxidants? What if we focus on hydration and consider collagen supplements to help support overall health and minimise or at least slow down these potential ailments?
What does a diet rich in collagen look like?
Well, you can get collagen from various food sources, such as bone broth,
Gelatine, chicken skin, fish skin & scales and egg white, which contain proline, an amino acid necessary for collagen production.
Other food sources that support collagen synthesis include berries, which are rich in antioxidants, and citrus fruits, which provide vitamin C, which is essential for collagen production. Leafy greens also contain nutrients that support collagen synthesis.
Five Facts about Collagen
- There are up to 28 types of collagen. Type I collagen is the most predominant, accounting for 90% of the collagen in the human body.
- Collagen is primarily made up of three amino acids: glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. These amino acids form three strands, which make up the triple helix of collagen.
- Collagen is only found in animal flesh that contains connective tissue, such as meat and fish.
- Vitamin C is necessary for collagen synthesis.
- If you are like me and don’t have time to brew up a daily bone broth you can use a collagen supplement which comes in powder and pill form. Make sure you are using only pure hydrolysed collagen with no fillers for the best efficacy such as Sally-Ann Creed’s Pure Hydrolysed Collagen.
How I take collagen
I now take collagen every day. There are many ways to take collagen, if you are taking collagen in powder form, make sure you are taking a powder with no taste or smell making it a versatile option and you can then pop it in your morning coffee, tea, smoothie or just about anything. I often even add it to a quick soup recipe.
Here are some recipes which include ways to incorporate collagen
Healing Collagen Mushroom Soup
Date Collagen and Nut Butter Balls
I may have not focused on prevention in my youth but I’m certainly taking note now and hopefully in years to come aletter to my younger self will thank me 🙂
About Roxy Davis:
Dr Roxy Davis holds a degree in psychology & communications, a professional certificate in medical nutrition management from healthcert education & Bond University Australia, and studied as a Chef at Silwood Kitchens School of Cordon Bleu Cookery. Read more about the author here: https://roxydavis.com