The first 100 years?! You’re thinking, “That’s a typo, right?” But it’s not. Drs. George and Stefanie Olar of 360 Chiropractic in Lacey want you to be prepared to live a long and mobile life as lifespans will get longer. In 1900 the average lifespan was 49 years old. Today, it’s 79.11 years in the U.S. “And Researchers concluded in findings that we could live to 120 to 150 years of age by 2050,” adds Dr. Stefanie. “What does that mean? It means we need to know more about how to stay young for the first 100 years. We need that long life to be a quality life!”
Are You Ready To Live Healthy Into Your 100s?
While we all agree life is short, and the idea of doubling our current life expectancy sounds appealing, we must start thinking about quality if we are going to have more quantity. Would you really want 70 more years of arthritis pain? Or 70 years of sitting and watching tv because you can no longer go on hikes, play games with your great-great-great grandchildren or enjoy your favorite sport?
Chiropractor in Lacey Explains Brain Food
“Long-life reveals that we will have some major health concerns later,” explains Dr. Stefanie. “For example, we are continually seeing the devastation of mental diseases like Alzheimer’s. This disease didn’t just start. We just see it a lot more because dementia’s onset is usually 70 years or older. We need to take some precautions to use our minds at this age, so we don’t lose them.”
Some ways to keep your mind sharp include playing word games like Scrabble, Wordle and crossword puzzles. Eating right also helps keep your brain healthy, and that include supplements. Both Drs. George and Stefanie can help recommend supplements to add to your diet depending on your exact needs that will boost brain function, like Omega-3s, B Vitamins and Vitamin D.
Pamper the Skin You’re In, Says Dr. Stefanie
“So many wrinkles… What’s holding this woman together?” says the spoiled Kuzco in Disney’s “The Emperor’s New Groove” about Yzma, a sorceress who is probably close to 400 years old…so really, she looks quite good and spry for her age!
But for those of us who aren’t cartoons, we have to pay attention to our skin if we plan on having it hold us together for 120 or so years. Hydration is key to helping keep your skin young and elastic. “Old age has bought about the huge growth in cosmetic surgery,” says Dr. Stefanie. And it makes sense, people want to look younger as we live longer. “Millions of people have cosmetic adjustments to get rid of wrinkles! I hope that there is continued growth on treating the inside out, meaning, education on the importance of nutrition and hydration for the skin as well,” she adds.
But wrinkles don’t affect how you move or think, and they don’t cause pain. There’s more you should be focusing on…
360 Chiropractic: Nourishing Your Skeleton
What’s the use of a sharp mind and looking fabulous, if your body hurts so much you can’t enjoy doing anything? If you plan on looking like a 50-year-old when you are 100, you better also act like one! “I am for fewer wrinkles,” says Dr. Stefanie, “But the biggest problem we have seen come about is the increase in musculoskeletal problems. In other words, your mobility function: the ability to move around like we used to. We increasingly see that this area of health can be neglected.”
“What’s the use of the strongest heart, in a body that’s falling apart? A serious flaw, I hope you know that” was a complaint sung by Madonna as Eva Peron in “Evita.” Although Eva Peron suffered from cancer, which ultimately took her life, there are many long-term diseases that affect the quality of life as we age. One is arthritis, which affects our bones and joints.
In the United States, 24% of all adults have some form of arthritis. It is also the leading cause of work disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual costs for medical care and lost earnings are over $300 billion. Now imagine what those numbers would be like if we lived 50 more years?
“Let’s not forget the ability to move!” says Dr. Stefanie. “A lack of mobility will make you look a lot older than crow’s feet! The only reason we respond to our wrinkles before our spine and joints is a simple fact: if our spine were on our face, we would take better care of it.”
And something to think about: there is no replacing your spine. You get one and that’s it. And it holds your entire body upright, allows you to move and keeps your all-important spinal cord in place. “With the spine, there is no crown or replacement like with dentistry, you must take preventative steps to have good mobility,” says Dr. Stefanie.
So how do we keep our skeleton from aging too fast? How do we stay mobile so we can be as spry as Yzma even if we get a few more wrinkles along the way?
“With routine chiropractic adjustments, we can slow the progression of joint degeneration, improving function and decreasing the risk of injury,” explains Dr. Stefanie. “When the vertebrae of the spine are aligned properly, everything functions better. Proper lubrication of joints and muscles is increased, therefore improving mobility and function.”
In fact, Scott Haldeman, MD, a neurologist in Santa Ana, California and Chairman Emeritus of the Research Council for the World Federation of Chiropractic explains in an article for the Arthritis Foundation that, “If you have back or neck pain due to osteoarthritis, chiropractic is one of the safest therapies you can use.”
In addition to chiropractic adjustments, 360 offers laser therapy, also recommended by the Arthritis Foundation, as well as massage therapy to keep your body moving. “With little preventative care, we can eliminate much of a person’s pain management that would show in later years,” says Dr. Stefanie. “This is why the chiropractic field is truly part of preventative health care!”
Living for 100 years or more is not as far-fetched as you may think. Now is the time for you to start thinking about what it means for you and your family to live a quality life. The kind, knowledgeable doctors at 360 Chiropractic can put you on a health plan to keep you going, no matter how many candles are on your next birthday cake. Visit the 360 Chiropractic website for more information.
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