Aging, especially in the US, is often thought of as a time of loss: loss of social role, income, friends and family, and/or health. Although there is a certain amount of physical decline with aging, many people continue to live full lives and have good mental, emotional, and physical health in later life. I believe that is due mostly to aging gracefully and looking at the gifts that aging brings. While there may be a loss of responsibility when children grow up or retiring from a career, there is also an increase in freedom. Many older adults now have the time and ability to travel, spend more time with old friends or make new ones, or take up new hobbies or revisit old ones. In middle years, many people lose themselves to demands from work, children, and home. That process of self-discovery and having time for oneself can re-emerge in later years. This time is very different from when we may have had it in younger years because with age comes a lifetime’s worth of experience and wisdom from which to draw. Images of Chinese “masters” always show an older (sometimes ancient) person and their wisdom more than compensates for any decrease in strength, speed, or skill.
Good nutrition is the physical foundation for positive aging. Before any physical changes are attributed to “just being old”, nutrition, digestion, and absorption should be assessed and optimized. Older people should recognize that while taste and smell decrease with age, these changes can be countered with spices and more flavorful foods to make food appealing. Eating smaller, more frequent meals of calorie and nutrient-dense foods can balance issues of easy satiety. Using apple cider vinegar or digestive enzymes can improve digestion and absorption. The impact of any medications on taste or digestion or the need for nutritional supplements (and interactions with medications) should be discussed with your doctor(s).
Attitude, connection to others, and spiritual awareness do affect a person’s ability to age gracefully. All changes in stages of life have challenges and losses as well as gifts and blessings– aging is one of a long list of those life changes. Finding ways to make and maintain relationships with others and developing a spiritual awareness helps maintain a sense of purpose and place in the immediate community and beyond.
© Kimberly Hindman, 2008
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