Problems of old age

Problems of old age

                 Tags: ageing, life style, diseases, free radicals, antioxidants

        Each and everybody in this world have to pass through different stages in their life time. The different stages are  - childhood , adolescence , adulthood and old age  In the old age , problems are manifold . They can be grouped as follows -  Physical ,Psychological . Financial , Family related. In the advanced age the old are more prone to face various      accidents. Their eye sight may get impaired, may be difficulty in hearing. various life style diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol , memory loss (dimentia) etc . Elderly population in India is 138 million  in 20121. 

          As discussed, old age is an inevitable stage  in everybody's life. But the irony is that all  want to remain, youthful always. As days pass, one gets older and changes take place both physically and mentally. Ageing is a natural process which affects the whole body. Since it is a natural process, it can’t be stopped altogether but can only  be slowed down to a certain extent. The rate of ageing will speed up on account of lack of exercise, improper food, lack of sleep and mental worry. By correcting the lifestyle, the rate of ageing can be slowed down considerably.

        In old age skin loses its elasticity, eye sight gets impaired, muscles weaken, black hair turns to white, teeth get decayed and various other diseases increase. Heredity plays a very important role in ageing. Highly corrosive oxidising elements called free radicals attack our body. The main causes of free radicals are air pollution, strong sun light, cigarette smoking and absence of nutritious food. As  a remedial step, antioxidants should be taken which break down the free radicals. The main anti oxidants are vitamins - A, C and E and the mineral selenium.

 Summarising, the main effects of ageing are:

Increased chances for heart attack, arthritis , cancer

Impaired hearing, loss of teeth, cataract etc

Black hair turning white

Poor sleep, irritability

Bones turn more brittle due to loss of calcium

As mentioned earlier, ageing is a natural  process 

which can’t be stopped but can be only slowed down

to a certain extent  by changing the life style.

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