By Kathy Seifert
I was twenty-three and had just moved to Denver, Colorado with my newlywed husband when the world of wellness opened to me. Over forty years ago, Denver was well ahead of the rest of the country when it came to health and wellness. Most office buildings were equipped with workout areas which included hand weights and a treadmill. Many places even had saunas, steam rooms and showers.
Despite being an athlete in high school and college, I’d never really considered how the quality and types of food we eat might impact our overall performance and wellbeing.
On my way back to from grabbing lunch, I popped into a Natural Foods Store for a bottle of water. That one stop at a health food store in 1979 changed me. Over the next several months, I had many conversations with the joyful owner. This lead to an insatiable desire to learn as much as possible about using food to prevent disease and maintain optimum health.
Since that time, I’ve had a passion for healing with whole foods. I believe in the intrinsic connection between our minds and bodies and search for ways to contribute to a healthy lifestyle.
Now, at sixty-seven, may “cocktail conversations” are beginning to revolve around one’s aches and pains, senior moments, joint replacements, back pain and more. It’s assumed that as we age, such annoyances are simply a natural part of the aging process. I strongly suggest otherwise.
A healthy lifestyle with the right amounts of exercise, sleep, meditation, yoga and spending time in nature go a long way to preventing what most consider to be natural signs of aging.
Eating a plant-based diet, with quality sources of protein to prevent bone and muscle loss is important. Coupled with prioritizing movement and ex- ercise, you can stay looking and feeling your best for years to come.
Start your wellness journey today. Start making choices that reflect a commitment to both feeling and looking good.
Become intentional about the food you eat. Does it support your wellness? Will this choice add to your overall health?
Start moving. Engage with friends and family. Stop and smell the roses. You truly can become the best version of yourself – at any age.
The writer is a longtime resident of Old Town and former Executive Director of the Alexandria Seaport Foundation.
