Ageing is a natural process and most of us do not accept and this lack of acceptance has lead to the development of myths related to ageing. Those who have accepted ageing as a natural process have always stayed active and lived happily. You have to feel young at heart to lead a healthy life.
The longevity myths are about the practices followed by a group of people that would confer longevity and some examples are purification methods, rituals, and alchemy. But unfortunately no scientific proof exists for all these. Various researches have been conducted to break the myths related to longevity and bring out the truth. However, myths still revolve around us and the top six myths are listed below:
Myth 1: Too much of hard work reduces our life line
People who work hard are successful in their life than people who have put in a less hard work. This is felt only when a person is about to retire and find that he has not achieved much or saved less money in his life. Hard work has nothing to do with longevity; it’s just the amount of success that makes a person live long. Earlier, our ancestors had to work hard; there were no machines to support daily chores or activities. We now have machines to grind, wash and even clean our utensils and hence there is no question of hard work in modern life.
Myth 2: Life Span has increased compared to the old days
The average age of a person was considered to be 40 years say about 50 years back and we believe that our ancestors lived for a shorter span of life. But, turn back and check to know how long your great grandparents had lived. Our great grandparents would have lived for a minimum of 90 yrs.This will help you realize the reality. The advances made in the field of medicine merely cater the need for curing an illness. But no medicine can stop our ageing process.
Myth 3: Old people have loss of memory
Loss of memory is due to the iron and vitamin deficiency. Inclusion of food rich in iron and vitamins can help to overcome the memory loss.
Myth 4: Eating less would increase our life span
It is a myth that food increases the process of ageing by adding free radicals. But this is not true, eating less makes us weak and the human body is not designed to suit starvation or eating less. And at the same time, eating too much also causes other ailments such as risk of heart diseases, obesity, etc., which increases the risk of lower span of life. At the same time there is no proof that eating less would increase the life span. Eating a balanced diet is important to maintain a healthy life style.
Myth 5: Ageing and sickness go hand in hand
It is a general opinion that when a person gets old he would definitely be sick. This might be true to an extent and this is natural. Stamina and immunity reduces with age and this is a natural phenomena. A recent study showed that additional nutrients such as vitamin supplements, etc., showed considerable improvements in the stamina level.
The following tips are useful to overcome the sickness syndrome in old people:
1. Increase the intake of vitamin C, vitamin B12 in the diet.
2. Smoking must be avoided it reduces the risk of developing cancer.
3. Increase the intake of fiber rich foods and avoid fatty items and those hard to digest.
Myth 6: Being happy increases your life span
This could be one of the reasons for increasing your life but this alone would not help. A slight change in the lifestyle would go a long way in increasing your life line. For example, if you are a happy person and live a sedentary life it would do no good. Hence, it is important to move from a sedentary life style and bring in some exercise regime and some creative hobbies.