I hear a lot of people saying oh you only look good for your age because of your genetics etc, well is it true and it's all just down to the luck of the draw? Do genetics really have that bigger role to play in our health as we age? Without going into a scientific debate on the role of genes and ageing I feel it's an easy excuse we can make to blame our upbrining on our current state of health and appearance. I often hear people saying "Oh my family is overweight", "my family have really bad oral health", or "my family tend to get health conditions young". It becomes easy to believe we might as well just give up and let our genetics choose whats going to happen to our health as we grow older.
Personally I see genetics as an easy excuse not to change your lifestyle and strive for optimum health. I think often people keep the habits, eating patterns and exercise regime set in their youth and similar to their family which, also plays a part in it looking more like genetics. Often times families don't change so much down the lines, they eat a similar diet to their parents, maybe have a similar type of job and don't work on clearing the emotional patterns that were passed onto them in their upbringing. Perhaps your mother was very stressed all the time and you took on that template, stress is one of the biggest factors of early ageing and health problems. Fixing your diet and exercise regime is only a part of the whole picture when it comes to ageing and illness. If your relationship isn't happy or you are stressed or miserable at work these factors can be one of the biggest reasons for premature ageing.
I have seen many an inspiring story of someone who's heath was already on the decline approaching 30 and they completely changed their whole life around with a healthy plant based diet, exercise and evolving spiritually, shaking off stress and living a more authentic life. For me one of the keys to health and longevity outside of diet and exercise is authenticity, being authentic in every moment and following your true path, your passions, your creativity and being completely honest with yourself and those around you in every situation. Being honest with when you are not on a path that is authentic for you and being brave enough to make changes to follow your bliss.
This is Markus Rothencranz, I love his articles and information on health, he has more raidance in his 50's than at 29 and he has an inspiring story and some great articles and recipes on raw natural foods.
Here are a couple of other truly inspiring people showing that age is just a number if you look after your health and spiritual wellbeing....
Mimi Kirk 75 year old raw vegan
Annette Larkins 74 year old raw vegan who grows all her own produce
Before you write off your ageing and poor health as genetics take a look into what you put into your body, how you use your body and your emotional and spiritual health.