Today we are featuring a guest post by Harry Cline. We enjoy his writing and thought you would as well. Thank you Harry for sharing your wisdom and knowledge with my readers.

Healthy Senior Living Starts With Balance

Getting to the point in life where you can slow down and enjoy retirement is a well-earned reward. When you or your loved one reaches this point, it’s a good feeling to be free of some obligations. But one obligation you don’t want to avoid is the need to care for your health. Sometimes seniors feel like the aches and pains that come with getting older are just inevitable. The truth is that you can make a big impact on your quality of life by actively caring for your physical and mental well-being now.

It’s All About Balance

As you age, the best way to care for yourself is by balancing healthy habits for preventing problems like heart disease with a commitment to staying on top of any health concerns you already have. One of the first things you should do is make sure you have the right health coverage so that you can access the preventive care and treatments you need. You may want to look into Medicare Advantage, which provides coverage for some health needs that aren’t covered by basic Medicare, such as dental and vision benefits. It’s a good idea to learn more about Medicare Advantage plans that are provided through Aetna because these areas of coverage are a vital part of healthy living for seniors.

Eat a Balanced Diet

When it comes to eating a balanced diet, the key is to keep it simple while focusing on getting the most important nutrients for your body. More and more, research is showing that there is a correlation between your gut (what’s going on in your digestive system) and your emotions. The great thing about this knowledge is that improving your gut health through diet can improve your overall wellness and make you feel healthier and happier. Two easy ways to improve gut health are eating fermented foods like yogurt and taking a daily probiotic.

To get all the other nutrients they need (and avoid the added sugar and bad fats that they don’t), more people are turning to meal planning these days. Planning out your meals may sound like a lot of work, but it’s easy once you get the hang of it. To make this even easier, the National Institute on Aging provides sample shopping lists and meal plans that are perfectly suited for older adults.

Choose Balanced Activities

You probably know that diet and exercise are the top two recommendations for healthy living. This is true at every age, but especially later in life. Along with eating a balanced diet, physical activity is the best thing you can do to ward off all kinds of health problems and boost your mental health at the same time. Of course, we think that running is an amazing form of exercise, and science backs that up. According to Science Daily, research has shown that older adults who jog regularly are able to continue walking more efficiently than those who walked but didn’t run.

Remember the overarching goal is to achieve balance, which means that doing different types of exercise is better than just doing one thing. It’s best to do more than just aerobic activity. You also need strength training to slow the loss of muscle mass, as well as activities that develop balance to prevent falls.

Create a Balanced Life

Your overall wellness comes from more than just diet and physical activity. A good diet and exercise promote happiness, but you can take even greater control of your life by finding that balance in other ways, too. Your overall wellness also includes social, intellectual, and spiritual needs. Some of these needs aren’t easily met for older adults, so you may need to seek out new opportunities.

Achieving a healthy balance requires more than just what the doctor orders. It’s about creating a lifestyle where your health is a priority. The good news is that balance doesn’t require huge changes. Making even small adjustments to your diet and activities leads to major health benefits and a happier way of life.

Harry Cline 
Author 
Chief Educator 
info@newcaregiver.org 
Newcaregiver.org 

 

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