Senior Citizens Day recognizes the contributions of older people to the community, but nowadays many people of 65 and over don't regard themselves as senior citizens. With improved health and lifestyles they will be active for years to come.
Senior Citizens Day in the US is on 21 August, a day when the wisdom and achievements of older people are recognized and celebrated. It's also an opportunity to promote the rights of senior citizens throughout the world, to empower them so they can,in the words of the United Nations International Plan of Action on Aging, "participate fully in the economic, political and social lives of their societies.'.
At what age are you identified as a senior citizen? In the US usual retirement age to receive the full pension has been 65, but this is gradually creeping up to age 67, in line with many other Western countries. However these days many 65 year olds do not regard themselves senior citizens, and when you consider that a substantial percentage will live well into their eighties, 65 doesn't sound old.
On the Planning to Retire blog on the US News website, the question, 'when do you become a senior citizen?' was posed, and according to a quoted survey, only half of 64 year olds considered themselves senior citizens. The other half said senior status didn't apply to them as they were still energetic and young at heart and didn't feel like a senior.
It's certainly true that 65 year olds these days are in better health, more active and younger in mentality than those of the same age a generation ago. This is due to developments in medicine, improved knowledge about health and fitness and the resources readily available to act upon this knowledge. Experts in aging believe that the majority of the afflictions that are considereded as inevitable as you age-- eg stiff joints, lack of energy, muscular aches and pains, a decrease in strength and muscle tone, forgetfulness, lack of concentration are completely preventable by a healthy and balanced lifestyle in which our body and brain are being nourished properly and kept active. Such as:.
A healthy diet with minimal grains, sugar and processed food and an abundance of lean protein, fresh fruit and vegetables.
Daily Omega 3 consumption through supplements and/or seafood.
Regular exercise that includes a blend of weight training, cardio and flexibility and balance and
Keeping your brain active by continuous learning and trying new jobs and pursuits.
It's a well known fact that older people tend to be more vulnerable to illness and disease, and once they become ill, suffer more severe symptoms and take more time to recover. Part of the reason for this is that our probiotic colonies diminish as we age. Probiotics are the billions of bacterial organisms in our body that help digestion and help combat disease. Even those senior citizens who are fit and healthy will experience a decrease in their probiotic levels, so it makes sense to top them up with a daily probiotic supplement to further boost their immune systems and decrease their likelihood of falling ill.
So let's recap-- the modern senior citizen is an active and highly valuable member of society and we should make the effort on 21 August to recognize that. Today's senior citizen is more likely to have a healthy diet, get regular exercise, supplement with Omega 3 and probiotics and keep their minds sharp with consistent learning. We could all learn a lesson from that mindset.
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