Woods said she sticks to basic stuff like ‘good nutrition, exercise, good sleep, a purpose and joy,’ things that she feels worked towards improving her biological age.
Small meals
Your diet forms the foundation of your health and eating right can undo many health woes. In the said interview, Woods reveals she eats one meal a day, four days a week.
To achieve this feat, she made sure to work on her nutritional deficiencies that are common with ageing. Taking supplements like Vitamin D, B12, Omega-3, and collagen for her joints worked for her. She also supplemented with calcium for healthier bones. Prioritising proteins like chicken and fish and plant-based foods like lentil soup and seeds and nuts also helped her. She also avoided ultra-processed foods as much as possible.
“Eating right can help you live longer. Fasting for about five days a month and calorie restriction in general has shown benefits in longevity,” says Dr Dilip Gude, Senior Consultant Physician, Yashoda Hospitals Hyderabad.
Regular exercise
Woods in her interview added that she enjoys her Zumba sessions twice a week along with strength training at home.
“Just by being active and exercises of moderate intensity (combining weight training with cardio training) helps one live longer,” says Dr Gude.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
In the interview Woods revealed hormone replacement therapy for menopause helped address the ageing issues for Woods, who started to gain weight during menopause and felt low-energy. She also experienced low sex drive and urinary issues during this time. She went for HRT on advice of her doctor.
Avoiding processed foods
Woods also makes it a point to avoid processed foods which could have helped her lower her biological age. “Eating unprocessed, wholesome foods with lots of fruits and veggies that are rich in antioxidants and avoiding red meat or fried foods is a great way to begin,” says Dr Gude.
One can also add foods rich in protein such as plants and seafoods, soya, omega-3 fatty acids, nicotinamide(NAD), quercitin, glutathione, coenzyme Q10, resveratrol containing foods or fruits to their diet. Avoiding salts and sugars can also help. Polyphenol-rich green mediterranean diet is also known to lower biological age.
Get adequate sleep
Ample rest can do wonders to your health and also slow down the ageing process.
“Getting adequate amounts of sleep is another important factor that can help decrease one’s biological age. Sleep helps one rejuvenate, activate parasympathetic system, lower blood pressure or heart rate and inflammation and stress inside,” says Dr Gude.
Apart from this cutting down alcohol intake and tobacco can help boost longevity. Losing some weight and bringing BMI to healthy range of 18 to 22.9 can also do the trick as experts believe this factor alone can independently reduce one’s biological age.
Plenty of hydration, getting adequate sunlight, meditation and reducing stress are some of the ways you can fight ageing!
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