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made with white fl our or white rice. Also avoid fried dishes and any foods cooked at high temperatures that actually skip the glycation production in the body and deliver harmful AGEs directly from the food. He advises taking 1,000 mg of carnosine (available in health food stores) daily to prevent glycation.


Stress The long-term effects of physical, mental or emotional stress are tremendously damaging to the human physiology. Sustained exposure to the stress hormone cortisol can shrink parts of the brain, damage blood vessels, increase blood sugar levels, heart rate and blood pressure and contribute to chronic infl ammation, according to well-established science recorded in the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Bowden warns, “Stress management is not a luxury.” In its many forms, including prayer, meditation and breathing exercises, it should be part of any agelessness program. Deep, restful sleep is as vital a component as ending toxic relationships, having a nurturing circle of friends and doing familiar, gentle exercise such as yoga or tai chi. Overall, Bowden adds, “Rather than thinking of such endeavors as anti- aging, I strive to embody the concept


of age independence. I admire former Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, who resigned from the court when he reached age 90 because he wanted to play more tennis.” Bowden recommends embracing the concept of “squaring the curve,” meaning that instead of anticipating and experiencing a long downhill slope of poor health leading to death, “I look at a long plateau of health, with a steep drop-off at the end.” Wellness guru Dr. Michael Roizen,


chair of the Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute, contends that although our chronological age can’t be changed, “Your ‘real age’ [calculated from data he collected from 60 million people] is the result of a wide variety of factors that are within your control. Dietary choices alone can make you 13 years younger or older than your actual age.”


Age-Defying Exercise by Kathleen Barnes S


pecially designed movements performed to music can dramatically improve memory, as well as slow the process of physical aging, according to Denise


Medved, of Hendersonville, North Carolina, the founder of Ageless Grace. Medved’s foundational physical and mental exercise classes involve 21


exercises that promote brain plasticity by activating all fi ve functions of the brain: analytic, strategic, kinesthetic learning, memory/recall and creativity and imagination. Find videos of Ageless Grace exercises by searching YouTube, including this one:


n While sitting in a chair (all exercises are taught in this position to develop core strength), make a circle with the right lower arm.


n Add a triangular motion with the left foot. n Next, add a horizontal movement with the left hand. n Finally, do the entire series in reverse.


Classes are available in all 50 states and in 12 countries. To fi nd a teacher nearby, visit AgelessGrace.com.


20 Central Florida natural awakenings


Roizen adds uncontrolled portion sizes, tobacco use and physical inactivity to the list of life-shortening lifestyle options.


Align with Spirit “If you don’t have some kind of spiritual foundation, literally, God help you,” says Northrup. “God isn’t confi ned to a book or a church, mosque or synagogue. Divinity is the creative loving, vital fl ow of life force that we’re all part of and connected to. Our bodies are exquisite expressions meant to embody, not deny our spirits.” Touch, pleasure and sex can be part of it, too. Individuals that have the most fulfi lling sex lives live the longest, according to researchers conducting the University of California, Riverside’s Longevity Project. “Pleasure comes in infi nite forms,” says Northrup. “It can mean the exquisite taste of a pear or the sound of an angelic symphony, the kiss of sun on skin, the laughter of a child, spending time with friends or creating a pastel landscape. When you experience pleasure, God comes through and you become aware of your divine nature. You’ll fi nd that joy comes in ways that are unique to you.”


Connection with the natural world is an essential element of agelessness, says Northrup. “The human body evolved to walk on the Earth, drinking its water, breathing its air and basking in its sunlight.” The bottom line is, “Agelessness is all about vitality. Taking all the right supplements and pills, or getting the right procedure isn’t the prescription for anti-aging,” says this renowned physician. “It’s ageless living that brings back a sense of vibrancy and youthfulness.” We could live to be well over 100


years old and, as Northrup likes to paraphrase Abraham Hicks, of The Law of Attraction fame, “Wouldn’t you rather have your life end something like this: ‘Happy-healthy, happy- healthy, happy-healthy, dead.’ Isn’t that a lot better than suffering sickness, decrepitude and frailty for years?”


Kathleen Barnes is the author of numerous books on natural health, her latest being Food Is Medicine: 101 Prescriptions from the Garden. Connect at KathleenBarnes.com.


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