Obviously, if you are 60 years old, you cannot go back to being 40 physiologically. However, putting a brake on accelerated aging can make you not only look many years younger but also slow down your biological clock.



The United States is a nation whose culture promotes accelerated aging. The effects of accelerated aging are reflected in its population. Everywhere in this country, you see people who are grossly overweight - a phenomenon that is unique to this country. Truly, in any developed country you do see obese individuals; but, unlike any other country, obesity has become an epidemic in the United States. According to statistics, 17 percent of the U.S. population is overweight, and 80 percent of overweight adolescents grow up to be obese adults, and childhood obesity rates have tripled since 1970.

Obesity is the Number One contributing factor to accelerated aging. Obesity puts extra stress on all your body organs, making you vulnerable to diseases and disorders.

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is nothing more than a high-fat, high-protein, low-carb diet. Americans have a cheese-eating culture, which also promotes the consumption of saturated fat - a major health hazard, especially for the heart.

When Americans become overweight, their quick-fix mentality often makes them turn to fad diets as a solution to their health problems. The Atkins diet, one of the popular fad diets, is a classic example of a diet promoting the consumption of meat and low-carb consciousness to control body weight. Unfortunately, going from one fad diet to another only impairs the body's metabolism, often resulting in yo-yo body weight, which only accelerates the aging process.

The typical American diet ages you prematurely because it lacks not only fiber to lower your cholesterol but also antioxidants to stop the aging process. Antioxidants are scavengers of free radicals, which result from your body's oxidative processes, such as breathing and digestion. In addition, the high animal-protein content of the American diet is the source of inflammation, which is the culprit of aches and pains, while the oxidation of saturated fat is the promoter of free radicals to destroy your body cells. Furthermore, a low-carb diet - usually deficient in calcium and magnesium - speeds bone loss, leading to osteoporosis.

The American youth culture promotes smoking: it is "cool" to smoke. Tobacco or nicotine attacks not only your cell membranes but also your DNA, causing premature cellular death. The damage to your skin structure is permanent. Giving up the habit is the first step towards slowing down the aging process.

Americans like to drink alcohol. Too much alcohol is another source of free radicals, attacking different parts of your body, especially your liver. Excess alcohol damages your liver, making the organ dysfunctional in filtering out or removing your body toxins. The accumulation of toxins and free radicals contribute to a host of health hazards that age you prematurely.

Alcohol may put you to sleep, only to cause you to wake up a few hours later, unable to fall back to sleep. Alcohol is often a cause of sleep disorders, ultimately requiring the use of toxic sleeping pills. Sleep deprivation accelerates aging.

Americans are sun-worshipers, as evidenced by the presence of tanning salons, which abound in this country. The search for that "Hollywood tan" causes irreparable damage to the skin, such as skin cancer, wrinkled skin, and aged spots, because the free radicals from overexposure to the sun affect all the layers of your skin, including the top subcutaneous layer, in producing sagging and wrinkling.

Stress depletes your immune system, which can lead to many illnesses, including cancer, because chronic stress can adversely affect your body's production of white blood cells. The American society emphasizes material needs, which indirectly make people do two to three part-time jobs just to make both ends meet and to keep up with the Joneses. Unmanaged chronic stress can and does age you prematurely and may even shorten your life.

Living in a society without being affected by its culture may be difficult, but not impossible. If you wish to look younger for longer, do what is best for you.

Copyright (c) 2008 Stephen Lau