When we think of aging, we think of getting older, birthday cakes and best wishes.
As we know, we start aging from the moment of birth. A young child will tell you that they are almost 3, a teenager will tell you they are almost 18 – that magic number for freedom.
Adults will say things like I am in my thirties or forties or I am five years from retirement – which could be any number with people retiring as early as 55.
As young people we don’t really think about the “aging process”. We may outgrow our clothes and grow taller than our friends and parents. When we are teenagers there are changes and then we seem to stabilize for what we think of as decades.
However, changes in our bodies start much earlier than we realize. Muscle strength and mass start decreasing in our 30s. Some of this is due to inactivity as well as decreased growth hormones and testosterone levels. The good news is that this loss is only about 15% and further loss can be prevented with regular exercise.
Most of us will need reading glasses as we get closer to 40 and although we won’t notice it, we will begin to have hearing loss, due in part to the noise around us. We may not fully notice our loss of taste as we approach our 50s or perhaps we find some food no longer enjoyable such as garlic, onions and other items. We may not realize that we are adding more salt to our food, sugar to our tea or coffee. Aging is inevitable and as I have said to many of my friends, only the very lucky get older.