Anti Aging & Functional Medicine

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Anti Aging

Dieting Versus Lifestyle Changes Towards a Better & Fitter You in 2021

Perhaps you have heard the term healthy aging and wondered whether such a thing could really be true. According to the latest research studies on aging, there are active steps that people can take as they get older in order to put off some of the stereotypical signs and symptoms that most associate with aging.

An experienced Raleigh based anti-aging doctor sees these latest studies as proof that there are some common and controllable factors that influence healthy aging as opposed to early aging.

What’s even more encouraging is that taking steps to prevent or combat current aging related symptoms can even work to reverse some of these telltale aging signs resulting in the person feeling younger, stronger and hopeful about this next chapter of life often termed the elder years of adulthood.

Factors That Influence Healthy Aging

Anti-aging doctors have known for years that there are certain factors that influence healthy aging. There are some common factors that most people will have to deal with as the years pass.

These factors include:

  • Weight – Obesity
  • Activity Level
  • Lifestyle Choices
  • Hereditary Health Risks
  • Diet
  • Body Shape
  • Outlook on Life
  • Staying Involved in Activities You Enjoy
  • Sleep Patterns
  • Keeping Regular Preventative Health Exams & Screenings
  • Overall Stress Levels
  • Marital Status and/or Social Factors
  • Ability to Balance Life’s Challenges

How Weight & Body Shape Impact Healthy Aging

Weight and body shape also play a big role in the normal aging process. Obesity remains a high risk factor for speeding up those adverse aging signs and symptoms and can impact many areas of a person’s life.

Researchers stress that a person’s body shape and fat-to-muscle ratio, or body composition elements, also play a huge role in whether someone leans towards healthy aging patterns or suffers premature symptoms of aging and poorer health in general.

Specifically, obesity and gaining weight in the midsection area puts people at a higher risk of certain health problems.

These include:

  • High Blood Pressure
  • Cardiovascular Problems
  • Strokes or Heart Attacks
  • Type-2 Diabetes
  • Sleep Apnea
  • Some Cancers
  • Osteoporosis & Bone Density Loss
  • Higher Mortality Rate at Younger Ages

Dr. Zacco of the Anti-Aging & Functional Medicine medical practice located in the North Hills or Raleigh region of North Carolina offers some words of hope. There are highly effective anti-aging and healthy aging steps and treatments that can mitigate some of these risk factors and/or prevent future health problems.

These treatments include doctor assisted weight loss and management, preventative screening and health tests, hormone optimization, stress reduction, addressing addressing leaky gut syndrome and others.

Why People Should Carefully Consider What They Eat to Slow Aging Symptoms

It turns out, we are what we eat after all. This older adage has a strong ring of truth to anti-aging doctors. People should carefully consider what they eat to slow aging related symptoms. Our metabolism rates change due to age and other factors.

It is necessary to figure in these hormonal adjustment phases when planning meals. Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, avoiding sugary drinks and high-caloric foods, staying away from over-processed foods with high salt content and managing the appropriate meal proportions are key to encourage healthier aging patterns.

Dr. Zacco also mentions that supplemental nutrient and IV therapy, getting rid of body toxins through chelation treatments and keeping weight in the healthy recommended parameters can help immensely.

Reasons to Stay Active Later in Life

Getting older shouldn’t mean that we slow down our usual activity level. Keeping active later in life is a key component to healthy aging and well-being. Keep doing the things that you enjoy no matter your biological age. This can help individuals feel healthy, balanced, strong and younger at any age.

Manage Risk Factors & Get Health Screenings

It is also essential to manage risk factors and to get the recommended health screenings for your age group to stay healthy, strong and balanced. Ongoing stress has a huge negative influence on aging. Learn how to manage stress through meditation, yoga or other means. Staying connected socially is also important.

Dieting Versus Lifestyle Changes Towards a Better & Fitter You in 2021

Many people struggle with their weight, and this issue tends to become worse as people age. Most overweight individuals will attempt to go on a strict diet for a length of time. They do this hoping to discard those excess stubborn pounds and get rid of troublesome fat rolls and bulges. Learn the difference between dieting versus lifestyle changes towards a better and fitter you in 2021. No matter your age, whether you are 30, 40, 50 or older.

There are more fiction beliefs regarding weight loss and aging. An experienced anti-aging specialist in Raleigh, NC, offers some expert advice regarding dieting versus lifestyle changes that are proven effective weight loss strategies. Read on for insider tips on how to lose weight and keep it off at any age.

Fiction: Diets Must Be Strict & Rigid for Weight Loss Success

Fact: Strict Diets Often Hinder Long-Term Weight Loss Goals

There is a huge difference between fad dieting versus lifestyle changes that will continue to benefit the person into the future. Fad diets are often designed to keep all unhealthy substances out of the body to prompt the body’s natural weight loss mechanisms. All too often, these diets severely limit calories, and force the dieter to avoid most enjoyable foods and beverages.

This kind of dieting puts an enormous toll on the body. Rather than gradually decreasing unhealthy foods and drinks, the complete deprivation of a forbidden food substance activates the body to initiate intense cravings that are usually so uncomfortable that most give into the sensation by indulging in the long-neglected menu item.

Quite often, the person will overeat this forbidden food even more than before the diet started. This usually results in a rapid weight gain pattern that swiftly packs those shed pounds back on the body again in short order.

Fiction: Eating Healthy Means Giving Up Taste & Feeling Hungry

Fact: Healthy Diets Can Taste Delicious & Fill Hunger Pangs

A healthy diet should taste fresh and delicious. Accomplish this just by adding wholesome fresh vegetables and fruits that are in season. Most people do not even realize that prepared and preserved foods need excess amounts of added sugars, salts and other flavorings just to make them almost palatable. The fact is that vegetables and fruits at the peak of freshness naturally taste good without any additives at all.

A lifestyle dietary change to incorporate more fresh and wholesome foods into daily meals can be far more effective in shedding pounds and keeping them off than yo-yo bouts of extreme dieting do. Simply increasing your proportions of veggies and fruits and cutting back on high carbohydrate and sugary food choices goes a long way towards keeping hunger pangs at bay.

Fiction: I Should Eat the Same Amount of Food No Matter My Age

Fact: Your Diet & Proportions Should Change with Age & Lifestyle

Children still growing need more food during those critical growth years. Young adults who are active will need a higher calorie count per day than a less active senior citizen. Your diet content and meal proportions should change with age and lifestyle events to remain at your healthiest weight. Working w/an anti-aging doctor can help ensure that your diet plan is right for you now and the future.

Fiction: If I Follow a Strict Diet When Older I Don’t Have to Exercise

Fact: Older Adults Need Regular Exercise in Addition to Dietary Changes

As we age, our hormones will shift and this can impact how we look and feel overall. Neglecting to exercise on a regular basis may speed up the aging process often by way of muscle mass loss. This is often not caught early on because most people are too fixated on their scale weight. Which can easily be missed as muscle weighs more.

Many older adults are increasing their risk for bone loss if not paying attention to their age and making the appropriate healthy lifestyle changes along the way. Older adults often need extra vitamins and minerals to keep from losing healthy bone density. Because if they do not receive what  their body needs it increases a person’s risk for broken bones during a fall.

Take Time to Consult with an Anti-Aging & Wellness Doctor to Discuss Your Dieting Versus Lifestyle Changes 

The best strategy to ensure continued good health as you age is to consult with an anti-aging doctor. Your doctor can then assist you with your weight loss and healthy eating goals. The doctor can run certain diagnostic tests to determine if a loss of hormones is at fault. Hormone optimization is an important healthy lifestyle change that can be a part of effective weight loss strategies that work.

Contact Anti-Aging & Functional Medicine at (919) 615-0577 for more information on dieting versus lifestyle changes

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