Here at Primal Harvest, we're proud of you for continuing to make your health a top priority.

Life can get a bit chaotic at times and it's easy to let your diet, exercise, or self-care routine fall by the wayside. As we age, it's important to keep up with our health by adapting healthy routines and increasing daily activity.

Keep up the great work!

We believe that a natural, more holistic approach to healing and healthy aging means considering every piece of the puzzle.

This includes your diet, your overall state of mind, your exercise routine, and more. Perhaps one of the most important aspects of our health that we don’t usually pay close enough attention to is gut health.

Before we dive into the five tips, let's talk about little bit about the importance of gut health.

WHY IS GUT HEALTH IMPORTANT TO THE AGING PROCESS?

Your overall gut health has a major influence over your entire body’s health. Clinical researchers are now finding more and more that the human gut is closely connected to many of the most important systems in your body.

An unhealthy gut can damage not only your immune system, but also decrease mood and energy levels, slow metabolism, worsen skin's appearance, impact sleep quality, and so much more. Therefore, in order to look and feel our best as we age, it's essential to first take a look at the quality of our gut health. 

HOW CAN I BEGIN HEALING MY GUT?

If you often suffer from indigestion, upset stomach, food and skin sensitivities, fatigue, or unexplained weight changes, these are all pretty tell-tale signs that your gut is in need of some healing. 

Besides following a healthy lifestyle that includes plenty of water, rest, nutritious foods, and self-care, there are additional options that can help boost gut health.

Supplementing with a high-quality probiotic or gut health formula is one excellent option for providing your gut with the extra healthy bacteria needed to begin healing your microbiome. 

Knowing the importance of a healthy gut is the first step to healthy aging. Because the gut is tied so closely to the rest of the body, if you start there, a lot of your other health goals will fall into place. Healthy aging means be aware of your habits and making healthy choices as you age.

Now that you are aware of the importance of having a clean, healthy gut, here are 5 tips for staying healthy as we age.

HERE ARE 5 TIPS FOR HEALTHY AGING

1. TAKE A DAILY PROBIOTIC

WHAT ARE PROBIOTICS?

Probiotics are live microorganisms taken as a supplement that is designed to improve or restore healthy gut flora. They can also often be found in yogurts and many fermented foods, as well as in supplements (like our Primal Probiotics and Primal Gut Restore) and various beverages.

WHY PROBIOTICS?

Many studies on the anti-aging effects of probiotics have shown that a healthy gut greatly impacts how well your body ages. This means that probiotics can help your body retain its youthful energy, health, digestion, and overall appearance and vitality for longer. 

Daily probiotics are especially vital for elderly people, due to their increased risk for nutritional deficiencies, digestive issues, and weakened immune systems.

As we age, we face an ongoing decline in our microbiota diversity, as well as impaired gut immune response and gut bacteria composition. High-quality probiotics can help remedy many of these issues by slowing the decline of healthy bacteria in the gut, easing digestion issues, and strengthening our natural defenses.

One study showed that probiotics played a role in helping delay the onset of some age-related wellness concerns.

2. SUPPORT YOUR JOINT HEALTH & MOBILITY

Protecting our joints becomes especially important as we age and begin to experience discomfort in our bones that may impact our mobility.

One way to support your joint health is to keep moving. This may seem difficult if you're already feeling discomfort, but like exercising through sore muscles makes them feel better, regular movement throughout the day will make your joints stronger in the long run.

Physical activity in older adults is essential to healthy aging. Superfoods like turmeric and ginger have loads of antioxidants that can help promote a faster inflammatory response. By increasing inflammatory responses in your joints, daily activity can become more comfortable and easy.

Tips for increasing daily movement:

• walk 1 mile per day (outdoors for added benefits!)
• yoga or stretching for 20 minutes each morning
• lift 5lb weights during tv commercials
• park farther away from your destination to get more steps in

3. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR COGNITIVE FUNCTION & BRAIN HEALTH

 One of the 'hot topics' amongst researchers in recent years is the connection between our brain and gut. Studies are now finding that they are more closely tied than we ever imagined.

As we age, we are faced with general cognitive decline, such as the loss of mental clarity and memory loss. Simple mental exercises such as crossword puzzles or reading 10 minutes per day may help increase brain health.

Nootropic mushrooms such as lion's mane or reishi are growing in popularity due to their potential to help improve cognitive function. Taking a daily mushroom extract supplement is known to reduce stress and promote clarity, memory, and overall brain function.

4. GET ENOUGH SLEEP FOR INCREASED ENERGY LEVELS

Another dreaded part of getting older is not having enough energy to do the things you once loved. As we age, it can be harder to get a good night's sleep. However, we all know the importance of getting those 7-8 hours each night.

Stress, the decline in activity, or general restlessness can make it hard to get the sleep our bodies require. The result is often feelings of sluggishness, weakness, and fatigue the next day.

When you sleep your body is in an irreplaceable recovery period that is absolutely essential for the regeneration and rejuvenation of your cells. It's vital to physical performance, mental health, emotional wellness, appetite levels, skin health, digestion, overall mood, and so much more.

 A natural sleep support supplement, like Primal Sleep, can help support your healthy lifestyle with the right blend of calming botanicals and amino acids, such as valerian, melatonin, chamomile, lavender, and L-Tryptophan. As always, it's important to consult your doctor before adding a new supplement to your routine.

5. CUT BACK ON ALCOHOL AND AVOID TOBACCO PRODUCTS

This may seem like a no-brainer, but these habits can be more difficult to break than we may think. The effects of alcohol and tobacco include dehydration, nausea, increased blood pressure, sleep deprivation, skin issues, and decreased immunity.

Both substances can accelerate aging in your skin and create unwanted wrinkles, dryness, and dark spots. Heavy drinking or tobacco use can add years to your face.

As we age, metabolizing these harmful products can be harder on our system. This means that alcohol will stay in your liver, the organ that helps to metabolize alcohol, longer and therefore cause more damage.

If you are going to enjoy an alcoholic beverage, it's best to counteract these negative effects with plenty of water. Also, if you take medication, be sure to consult your doctor before you combine with alcohol.

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR HEALTHY AGING? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. WE CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU!