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How to Look a Decade Younger

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 Age presents an annoying paradox for most of us men. Early in life, we literally cannot wait to grow up and get our first paycheck, drive, go to war, buy porn, and of course, legally consume alcohol. It is a terrific feeling when the bartender asks for your ID and you calmly, proudly present it, proclaiming Yes! you do indeed belong here. Then, of course, the request for your driver’s license becomes annoying, as if the waitress cannot tell your 27. However, eventually the staff just accepts you are old, and now you are annoyed they don’t ask. Suddenly, all that desire to age quickly vanishes and remember high school football games and life without responsibility. Don’t give up, though. While we don’t recommend ditching responsibility, you can make it seem like you don’t have so much.

Ditch the gray 

Your hair is terrible at protecting the secret of your age. Although it is not always an accurate indication, graying hair looks old. If you are not ready for the “experienced” appearance, consider adding a little color back in your life. Caution – don’t over compensate. Going from white to jet black may make you seem younger to strangers, but ridiculous to all your friends and co-workers.

Embrace the bald

Sticking with the hair, what to do with your balding spot? To cover up the hair loss, go ahead and remove the rest. Men of all ages rock a shaved head; and that is exactly what you are going for, an indiscriminate age. You may even gain confidence due to your new hair freedom.

Man-scaping 

It was a milestone the first time you shaved your face, but now it just a daily chore. Tempting to ignore it, and sport a beard, however, moves you in the wrong direction on the age spectrum. A smooth face reminds us of youth. The same goes for a smooth body. If you want to fit in with spring breakers in Cancun, remove or trim any body hair that would otherwise be on display at the beach.

Hit the gym 

As long as you are planning on going shirtless, work on your droopy appearance as well. As we age, our muscles naturally deteriorate, often creating loose skin and body mass. A workout routine that fights this process will keep you in your 28-year old body well beyond your 35th birthday. Also, you’ll have the energy of a youngster, so you can keep up with the co-eds in friendly beach football game.

Lose the librarian 

Observers often relate glasses with intelligence, but when you pull out your readers to check a menu, your age is revealed as well. Unless they are part of your young, west-coast, hipster look, leave your glasses at home in favor of contacts. If you only need readers, pick up a pair of bifocal contact lens. Your date will never know.

Wardrobe update 

You might not understand how younger generations believe their attire is acceptable (we’re not saying we do either) but you can learn some things from them. Without draping yourself in Affliction, there are tricks for building a younger wardrobe. Consider the length of your shorts and pants – they both could probably be longer. You have the money, so pick up a few new items that still reflect your style, but also 2009. Don’t let your age dictate your clothing.

Relax, get a massage 

Joanna Czech, esthetician to the stars, touts massage as not only a terrific method of relaxation, but also a powerful anti-aging tool. Massage works blood through your body, aiding the delivery of nutrients and thus keeps your skin firm and healthy looking. As if you needed another reason for a massage.

Watch your diet 

You’ve all heard, “You are what you eat.” In this case, you are as old as you eat. Consuming foods that reduce inflammation and free radicals can slow the aging process. White seafood and green veggies are great, along with foods high in antioxidants. Also, simple carbohydrates cause you to retain water, leaving you bloated not toned. Avoid them and avoid baggy eyes.

Beware of the sun 

To understand the power of the sun, compare a handful of grapes to a cup of raisins. You don’t want to be the raisin. The sun will cause your skin to appear older via wrinkles, brown spots and more. Protect yourself with sunscreen that keeps out UV rays and fills your skin with antioxidants. It’s not too late to buy into this, either. Over time, keeping the sun out will allow your skin to return to the smoothness of its youth.

Kick your bad habits 

Two things your body needs, sleep and clean air. Playing poker all night online will not only drain your wallet, but also skins ability to recover. Your mind is not the only organ that needs to rest. Smoking a pack a day is even worse. Not only will it kill you, but smoking speeds your skins aging process, creating deep wrinkles and discoloration. Old habits die hard, but consider the reward – younger looking skin leading to younger looking girlfriends.

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How Does The Aging Process Affect The Body

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How does the aging process affect the body? If you're worried about it, don't be. It beats the alternative, and it happens to everybody. The aging process happens at various speeds depending on things like your ancestry and your environment.  The aging process happens on the inside of your body as well as the outside.

The aging process affects your body on the inside through the cells .It's estimated that we have 50 trillion cells in our body; that's incomprehensible to many people. Cells have been called the "building blocks of life," and, if they aren't working properly, it has an adverse affect. An important process called apoptosis tells the cells when to self-destruct. If the cells don't die when they are supposed to, cancer can result because the cancer cells will crowd out the healthy ones. If the cells die too early, that might result in both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

There are several effects that the aging process has on the outside of your body. As you age, you may see a change in your height. You will probably lose about two inches by the time you are 80, although it can vary greatly from person to person. Some causes of height loss include flattening of the arches in your feet, changes in the vertebrae and compression of the discs between the vertebrae.  Even poor posture can cause you to be shorter.

Another way that the aging process may affect the body is you'll probably lose some weight. If you're a man, you'll probably gain weight until you reach your fifties, and then you'll start losing weight when you reach your late sixties and early seventies. You will also notice a change in the amount of fat you have in your body compared to muscle. Researchers aren't really sure if these changes in weight are really part of the aging process, or if it happens because you are less active and you might not be eating a good diet.

Your bones are another part of the body that are affected by the aging process. Your bones become more brittle with age because of loss of calcium. If you're not careful, this can result in a lot of broken bones. If you break something major, like one of your hips, that will have an affect on your mobility and independence.

Don't worry if lots of the people in your family died at a young age. The science of medicine has made great strides in recent years. Life expectancy is gradually creeping up in the United States, and you can expect to live into your late seventies. That's why economists are worried about the financial aspects of the aging population. As you live longer, you'll be collecting Social Security and Medicare for a longer period of time. When 65 was determined to be the age when you can collect Medicare, most people didn't live many years beyond 65. That's not the case anymore. Lots of people live to be in their 80's or beyond.

Now you know how the aging process affects the body. The changes are so gradual that you may not even notice. If things don't seem right, you may want to contact your health care professional who can determine just how much the aging process has affected you.

American Geriatric Society

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

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Effects Of Aging On Balance

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Changes in weight or the types of medication being taken, as well as other causes, can play a part in the effects of aging on balance. For most people, the changes can sometimes be dangerous, but there are ways to offset the risks. Gaining or losing weight is often one factor in how the aging process affects one’s balance, especially if one becomes heavier. The legs and hips must support the extra weight, so it is possible for one to tire easier, which can result in loss of balance.

In some older people, weight gain is often caused by decreased physical activity. That is why it’s important to remain active even while aging is occurring. Certain medications also contribute to how the aging process affects one’s balance. This does not always have to be in a negative way, however.

If the balance problem was caused by changes or abnormalities in the inner ear, medication taken to correct the problem may actually improve balance. Further, it may be discovered that aging was never a factor in balance problems; rather, that the older person was suffering from a previously undetected inner ear problem.

The onset of some diseases often begins in the aging years; therefore, this can be another result of how the aging process affects one’s balance. Illnesses such as muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease, as well as others, often manifest themselves as one gets older. All of these can cause balance problems.

Another effect aging has on balance is in the development of neuropathy. This is a condition which affects the nerve endings of the fingers, toes, and bottoms of the feet. It can be caused by diabetes, as a result of chemotherapy treatment for cancer, and other things. When neuropathy is present, feeling in the bottom of the feet is sometimes diminished. For this reason, an older person may think his footing is secure, when in fact it isn’t.

How the aging process affects one’s balance unfortunately can cause increased dangers for the aging person. These dangers can include more frequent falls, some of which often result in broken bones, especially hip bones. Any fall can be bad, but it can be even more tragic when the older person falls and is unable to get up or is unable to summon help. Stories of aging people lying for days with broken bones and injuries are not uncommon.

For this reason, once evidence of how the aging process affects one’s balance becomes apparent, it is important for family members and/or caregivers to ensure that older people have a way of summoning help should such a situation occur. This can include using personal alarm systems, or having someone make frequent checks on an aging person.

Prevention of falls is a major part of dealing with how the aging process affects one’s balance. Small changes such as removing obstacles, including area rugs, wearing shoes with non-slip soles, and informing health care professionals of changes in balance as a result of medication can all decrease or even eliminate the possibility of an older person being injured as a result of balance problems.

 

REFERENCE:

NihSeniorHealth.gov

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What Are The Positive Effects Of Aging?

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As you get older you may wonder, what are the positive effects of aging? Once you reach a certain age, you start to notice the deterioration. Your back cracks when you stand up. You suddenly have to think about your knees instead of just automatically using them. You notice that you let out a long sigh when you sit down after standing for a while. It’s easy to get caught up in thinking about the downside of aging. A lot of people even go through a grieving process. But what are the positive effects of aging?

You really do know more, even if it takes you a couple of seconds to remember it. Really, would you go back in time if it meant you wouldn’t remember the positive effect of the Berlin Wall coming down? If you would never understand how amazing the transformation to the computer age was? If you would only know "Scooby Doo" as live-action? Many young people today don’t even recognize the phrase, “If it weren’t for those dratted kids!”

You have an extra beat before words come out of your mouth. When you were twenty, if the cashier got snippy, you were likely to snipe back. Now, as a more seasoned individual who has experienced some aging, you can remember times when life got you down and you weren’t all you should be. When the guy cuts you off on the freeway, you have that one reasonable second to decide if you want to go into full-scale road warrior mode.

You have wisdom. I know (or, as the kids would say, “I know, right?”), no one uses the word wisdom anymore. But you’ve got it anyway. With aging, you've got that extra little insight that you just didn’t have when you were younger. You just know when the kid is lying to you. You can tell, just from the angle of the bag boy’s body, that’s he’s pocket texting while at work. You can watch a woman’s face when she talks about her home life and know when things are going badly.

You’re out of the game. Realistically, people in their twenties don’t even see people in their forties. You’re just a prop in their world, there to provide services or money and not cramp their style. They still believe that they can and should be perfect. This might not seem like a positive effect of aging, but now that you’ve got the graying hair, the wrinkles, the sags and the crepe-like skin, you’re out of the perfection game. Relax and enjoy life.

When you’re in the first traumatic stages of realizing that your youth is gone, you may not believe that you can actually be content with aging. And sure, everyone would cheerfully give up the aching joints and three nighttime jaunts to the bathroom. But as time goes on, you come to realize that those disadvantages are outweighed by the positive effects of aging.

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What Effect Does Alcohol Have On Aging?

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You might want to be able to party like you are twenty-one forever; yet what effect does alcohol have on aging? Reaching for a drink after a tough day can help some people relax and unwind.  Wine with dinner or aperitifs afterward can turn an otherwise ho-hum party festive.  Yet alcohol, the friend, may suddenly have the propensity to become the foe if it accelerates the aging process, causing folks to not only look, but also feel, older than they are. 

  1. Wrinkled Skin 
    For most women – and men too – wrinkles are an unwelcome part of aging.  Sagging near the jaw line and bags under the eyes can add years to the face.  Excessive alcohol intake can cause wrinkles to appear because alcohol contains certain toxins that can cause skin damage.  Excessive alcohol consumption can also cause the capillaries in the face to leak.  When this occurs, water can seep in causing the face to sag or look puffy.

  2.  Misdiagnosis 
    As people age, the way their bodies process alcohol changes. Therefore, it could take fewer drinks for a person to become inebriated and the effects of alcohol on the body’s organs could be more profound.  Family members and friends of a person with a drinking problem could confuse the alcohol problems with other medical issues such as dementia.

  3. Alcohol and Medication Interaction
    Medications may become necessary for health issues that crop up as people age.  Oftentimes, people are prescribed medications for health issues such as high cholesterol or hypertension.  However, according to the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, elderly people may be likely to mix drugs and alcohol causing an adverse reaction.  Mixing the wrong types of medication with alcohol could cause illnesses or even death.

  4. Alcohol and the Body
    Bone density decreases as people age which accounts for fractures to places like the hip.  Drinking too much can impair balance and cause a slip and fall possibly resulting in a bone fracture.  Alcoholism can have a detrimental effect on behavior and intellectual functioning and can cause premature aging of the brain.

As with anything, moderation is the key when it comes to alcohol especially if there is concern about the effects of alcohol and aging.  Limit alcohol consumption to one drink and talk to a physician if a patient is taking any type of medication to ensure there will be no negative interactions with alcohol.  

 

 

 

Source: Alcohol


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How To Exercise Neck And Chin Muscles

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Do you look at your reflection and think to yourself there has to be a way how to exercise neck and chin muscles? Well, there is and we are all subject to the need for the exercises. Neck and chin muscle exercises not only tone the face and deflect the aging process, but also can provide stress management.

There are several ways to exercise neck and chin muscles, but we will explore the most basic and effective, as you must start somewhere. There isn’t really much needed to perform these exercises, except perhaps some sort of lotion to soften and moisturize the skin or some water to splash in the chin and neck area and a mirror to watch your face exercises – not that you will look too attractive making the goofy faces required.

  1. Start with a mirror. Looking forward, use your index finger and thumb to gently pull down the skin on your neck as you raise your head up. You should not pull until it hurts, just a gentle tug. You will need to repeat ten times.
  2. Working on the under-chin will be the next move. Clamping your lips and teeth together, you will be using your tongue for resistance. Pushing your tongue against your bottom jaw, push and hold for ten seconds, repeating six times. Placing two fingers at the base of the neck will also increase resistance.
  3. Purse your lips together, but not for anger. You want to get the lips as tight as possible and extend the lower jaw as far as possible. Continue by moving the jaw up and holding, down and holding, circling and switching from side to side. This will provide a full toning for the chin and neck.
  4. Nodding can work! Nod your head in each direction, emphasizing the jaw to exercise neck and chin muscles. When you feel resistance, stop and hold for ten seconds. Turn to each side and make sure to keep your back and neck as straight as possible.
  5. With the mouth open extend your jaw. Lock the jaw in place and bounce it lightly until you feel the slightest resistance. Continue in intervals of fifteen or until you are feeling pain.

When you exercise neck and chin muscles, you have to ensure that you do not strain the face. You cannot overwork the face as it will show much more than with any other muscles. When you know how to properly exercise neck and chin muscles, you will find that aging is taking its sweetest time.

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How Low Blood Pressure Affects Anger Management

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Curious about how low blood pressure affects anger management? Although high blood pressure is often associated with anger, low blood pressure affects anger management as well. Low blood pressure, or hypotension, can present various signs and symptoms that can play a significant role in managing emotions. However, it is important to note that the effects on anger management caused by low blood pressure are usually an indirect symptom. These are ways in which low blood pressure affects anger management:

Hypotension symptoms may include, but are not limited to, dizziness, fainting, weakness, fatigue, vision problems and feeling tired or sleepy. Some of these particular signs of low blood pressure can seriously contribute to one's mood and induce anger. It is not uncommon for someone that feels tired and/or sleepy a lot to be quite grumpy, perhaps even angry. An additional symptom of low blood pressure that may affect anger management is confusion. Those that become confused may also be more prone to anger or become hostile.

The way in which low blood pressure affects anger management is not the only concern associated with the condition. Serious health implications can be caused by chronic hypotension. Vital organs may not be getting all the oxygen-rich blood needed, which can become deadly. Extremely low blood pressure can lead to shock and/or death. However, it is important to note that the most common side effects of low blood pressure are falls caused by dizziness or fainting. If you believe that blood pressure is affecting your anger management, you should consult with your physician.

Resources:

AARP

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Hairstyles For Balding Men

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Looking for hairstyles for balding men? Many balding men worry about their hair loss, but this is the wrong approach. Make the best of the hair that you do have. You can exude confidence by getting some style. If you can't afford expensive hair treatments, consider these hairstyles for men with thinning hair. Some guys begin balding when their hair starts to thin out all over. The crew cut or shaggy layer looks are best for men with thinning hair.

  1. Crew cut. The crew cut helps even out hair loss in balding men. This look magically takes away baldness by keeping the hair shorter on the sides and longer on the top of the head.
  2. Shaggy layers. If your hair is thinning just on top of your head, you might like to have it cut into shaggy layers. Tousle the hair and allow it to fall naturally. This look creates the illusion of fuller hair when you don this disheveled look.
  3. Hairstyles for men with a bald spot. Some balding men get a bald spot on top or in back of the head. The best hairstyle for this is a close shave. For this look a man's hair is cut close to his head. There is no long part, just a clean buzz. Some men look good by lightening their hair when they get a close shave. This makes the appearance of baldness less obvious.
  4. Shave it all off. When balding men shave all their hair off, it looks like they have chosen the look. Women find this look attractive also. Men can grow facial hair with this look. When a man has a goatee, mustache or beard, attention is taken from the top of his head to the face.
  5. Keep it natural. Some men may choose to let nature run its natural course. Instead of using hairstyle tricks, they prefer to use what nature gave them.

There are a lot of hairstyle choices for balding men. The trick is finding a look that suits you and that you feel comfortable with. A stylist can help men choose which style will work best for them.

Resources:

Hair Loss Advisory

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How Men Deal With Aging and How You Can, Too

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Have you wanted to learn about how men deal with aging and how you can, too? Aging is made to look like an unfavorable phenomena, but it doesn't have to be a negative thing. There are ways you can dealing with aging and aging gracefully.

Here are some things you need:

  • Sunscreen with SPF twenty or higher
  • A positive attitude
  • Vitamins C and E
  • Anti-aging injections
  1. Avoid being negative. You are going to age no matter what. Try not to be pessimistic about it. Some men are more appealing to women as they age. Soon you will get a discount on everything from restaurants to entertainment venues–the senior discount. You are probably not ready to hear those two words together right now, but down the road it will mean keeping more of your money.
  2. Sunscreen. Sunscreen is an awesome way to slow the aging process before it starts. Because the sun is so rough on our skin, wearing sunscreen as often as possible is a great idea. Look for an SPF protection of at least twenty. The higher the better. If you want a tanned look you can always put on self-tanner and sunscreen.
  3. Vitamins. There are vitamins galore that keep your mind sharp and help give a glow to your face and body. These vitamins and nutrients are found in grapefruit and fish. Vitamin C is a great age-fighter. Vitamin C helps reverse aging and keeps skin agile. Vitamin E  protects your skin from environmental pollutants and helps keep your skin moisturized.
  4. Early anti-aging skin injections. If you are really desperate and the idea of aging totally brings you down, you could try the ever-popular, yet expensive, anti-aging injections. Some people are getting anti-aging injections when they are in there twenties to keep the thought of aging from even sneaking into their bodies.

The other option is to just let nature take its course while simply taking care of yourself. Try to get daily exercise so you feel good and enjoy your life. No one is going to stay looking young forever. If aging doesn't bother you, that's a great disposition. A few gray hairs won't get you down and you will still enjoy your life.

 

References:

Antioxidant & Anti-Aging Supplements 

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What Are the Physical Effects of Aging?

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What are the physical effects of aging? There are many effects on the body as a person ages, both internal and external. Here are only a few of the effects you may begin to notice as you age.

  1. Effects on the cardiovascular system. Physical effects on the cardiovascular system due to aging include a decrease in the elasticity of blood vessels and heart valves, restricted blood flow and a decrease in the amount of blood the heart can pump out. To counteract some of the physical effects of aging on the cardiovascular system, maintain a normal weight, exercise regularly, stop smoking and reduce salt, sugar and fatty foods in your diet.
  2. Effects on the skeletal system. The physical effects of aging on the skeletal system include loss of bone density, over time the bones become porous and brittle. Eat a diet high in calcium and vitamin D and get a moderate amount of exercise.
  3. Effects on the hair. The most obvious physical effect of aging on the hair is that it becomes gray. It may also start to thin (you may even start to get a bald spot that increases with time) and become brittle. Some people prefer to dye their hair as it becomes gray, but be careful not to use harsh coloring products, as they may cause your hair to become more weakened.
  4. Effects on the skin. As skin ages, it begins to lose its ability to retain fluids as well as its elasticity. To avoid these effects, avoid direct sunlight and use a moisturizing sunscreen.
  5. Effects on the eyes. The physical effects of aging on the eyes include producing fewer tears, thinning retinas and lenses that become less clear. Cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration become more common as a person ages.
  6. Effects on the teeth. Your mouth may feel dry and your gums may recede as you age. Your teeth become more brittle as you age and you may be more susceptible to oral cancer.
  7. Effects on weight. As you age, your metabolism begins to slow down. This makes you more susceptible to weight gain, yet another physical effect of aging on the body.
  8. Effects on sexuality. Sexual performance begins to change as you age. In women, the vaginal walls become less elastic and drier, and men may become impotent.

Resources:

PubMed Central

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What Are the Negative Effects of Aging?

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What are the negative effects of aging? The slow deterioration of the body is natural, and inevitable. Whatever the exact cause, or set of causes, the fact remains that aging happens. It is true that this process leads to a less-optimal form; but, there are also positive effects of healthy living, which can minimize the negative effects of aging.

As you age, the body absorbs less nutrients. Resultant nutritional deficiencies may be a major contributing factor of the negative effects of aging. Eating a nutrient-rich diet and taking dietary supplements can help combat this problem.

The heart loses some of its vitality over the years,
having to work harder to circulate blood through the body. Blood vessels tend to narrow and harden because of fatty build-ups, known as plaque. The best way to slow, and even reverse this process, is to eat a heart-healthy diet. Consume plenty of high-fiber, cholesterol-lowering foods, such as whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.

The organs of elimination also have more trouble.
This leads to multiple negative aging side effects, as toxins are allowed to build-up in tissue, contributing to chronic conditions, such as arthritis and poor cognitive function. The kidneys and bladder are no longer as efficient in removing waste from the bloodstream. The liver becomes overburdened and sluggish. The colon grows weak, leading to chronic constipation. The skin becomes blemished. Aside from a healthy diet, herbs can help to neutralize these negative effects that come with age. Drink dandelion tea for the kidneys, take milk thistle for the liver, rhubarb root for the colon, and red clover for the skin.

Skin, hair, and nails become dry and brittle over time. This is because the body has more trouble creating collagen, which is found in all connective tissue. Supplementing with vitamin C and silica can alleviate this aging side effect.

Despite the inevitable negative side effects of aging, with proper care of the body, growing old can still be done with grace. No matter what your age, do what is in your power for your well-being. A few years in the future, you'll be happy that you did.

Resources:

Balch, Phyllis, CNC. Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition The Penguin Group, 2006.

Mayo Clinic

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How To Get Rid Of Forehead Wrinkles

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Interested in learning how to get rid of forehead wrinkles? Many of us don't like the appearance of wrinkles anywhere on the face, and the forehead is no different. With today's technology you can just about erase some of the wrinkles you already have and prevent them from developing (or coming back). Here are some of the things you'll need to do just get rid of forehead wrinkles:

  • Anti-wrinkle cream containing Vitamin E
  • Over the counter anti-aging lotions with ingredients like collagen, Vitamin E and C
  • Sunscreen with 20 SPF
  • Eat foods containing antioxidants
  1. Anti-wrinkle cream for men too – Don't be afraid to try some of the anti-aging wrinkle creams on the market. Most of the time they are marketed to women, but they are useful for men too. Order one on the internet or try something else if this method of getting rid of forehead wrinkles isn't for you. If you do choose this method of getting rid of forehead wrinkles, make sure it has Vitamin E in it. Vitamin E is great for getting rid of forehead wrinkles.
  2. Lotions and anti-aging creams with vitamins – Try some of the over-the-counter anti-wrinkle lotions/creams. Look for ingredients like collagen, Vitamin E and C to name a couple. There are so many of these on the market to get rid of forehead wrinkles and prevent them.
  3. Don't forget your sunscreen – Sunscreen is an awesome way to keep forehead wrinkles away. Go for the higher 45 SPF rather than twenty. The higher the better to get rid of forehead wrinkles.
  4. Be anti-smoking – Smoking is the fastest way to age prematurely. If you want to avoid looking old before your time, then quiting is one of the best things you can do.
  5. Foods packed with anti-aging vitamins – Include foods with antioxidants in your diet like blueberries and raspberries.

 

Experts say sunscreen with a high SPF is one of the best defenses against aging. Men and women both wear sunscreen year around— yes, including winter. The sun doesn't go away just because it gets cold. And numerous people smoke. Smoking actually seems to turn people's hair to a slightly tinged color, turns teeth yellow and on top of all of that it makes you smell horrible. So, remember that when you're trying to learn about how to get rid of wrinkles. Getting those vitamins in would be the icing on the cake. Your body will thank you for it, rewarding you with a few extra years to enjoy your youthful, wrinkle-free forehead.

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How Does Aging Affect Male Sexual Organs?

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How does aging affect male sexual organs? It is a question that seeps into every man's mind, no matter what his situation. Whether you are single, married, healthy or unhealthy, your body will eventually go through some changes. Here are some brief descriptions of changes that affect male sexual organs and your overall state of being.

  1. Your testes. As you age, testicular tissue mass decreases. Along with this, the rate of sperm cell production slows down because the tubes that carry the sperm inside of your testes lose their elasticity over time. This change is called sclerosis and is a natural occurrence in aging men. It shouldn't be cause for alarm.
  2. Testosterone. Most of us know the reaction of male sexual organs has a good amount to do with the levels of testosterone you have. Testosterone production depends on a number of hormones in the body, so when these levels drop, the rate at which testosterone is produced also drops. Some research has shown that on average, the decline in testosterone goes down one percent per year starting in a man's early thirties. The drop in testosterone can lower your libido and slow down your ability to perform on demand, but again, this isn't anything to be concerned about, unless your drive and ability to have sex take a drastic nose dive. For those of you that want to procreate, it may take longer to help conceive a child, since the production of sperm is affected by the drop in this hormone. On the bright side, more sex with your partner can only help the bonding process, so keep a stiff, uh, upper lip.
  3. The prostate. The prostate is a gland that produces fluid which combines with sperm to help provide nutrients. It also helps create a balanced chemical environment (for fertility purposes) and helps create the erection needed for this purpose. Over time, the prostate develops scar tissue that can make it harder for the production of this fluid. Benign prostatic hypertrophy is a common condition that affects at least fifty percent of men. The prostate's growth causes it to push up against the urinary tract, which can sometimes make urinating a bit more difficult. These problems combined could cause erectile dysfunction and, as a result, problems with ejaculation.
  4. Health conditions. Knowing what your body needs is one important factor in how quickly aging affects male sexual organs. Diabetes and coronary artery disease, for example, are two conditions that affect male sexual organs. Both cause problems with blood flow through the arteries because of clogging and restriction of the vessels, so it makes sense that improper circulation of fluids in the body would also affect male sexual organs. Eating right and exercising are your true friends when it comes to keeping your male sexual organs fit.
  5. The brain. Lastly, we all need to take into account what is going on in our lives in order to help out our bodies. “Mind over matter” is a popular term and can apply very strongly to the way you handle yourself in the bedroom. Stress closes us up, mentally and physically. If you get a clean bill of health from your doctor every year but are still having concerns, it is time to reevaluate decisions you have made in your life. One change may be all it takes to get your body and soul back on track.

Aging affects the male sexual organs, there is no doubt about that. But, if you are mindful of what you need and take care of yourself, you can maintain a sexually active lifestyle well into your golden years.

Resources:

Medline Plus

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How To Butcher A Deer

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After field dressing and properly aging your deer you need to know how to butcher a deer. Basic butchering skills are a real asset to any hunter. These basic butchering steps will tell you how to butcher a deer, as well as store and label your cuts of deer meat.

To butcher a deer,  you will need:

  • meat saw (or hacksaw)
  • sharp butcher knife
  • butcher block paper or zip lock freezer bags
  • block and tackle
  • large cutting board
  • large bag lined trash can
  • wet stone (to keep knife sharpened during cutting)
  • clean cheese cloth
  • bucket of clean water
  • black sharpie marker

To begin the butchering process your deer should have already been properly field dressed and undergone the "aging" process. So, the deer carcass should be suspended from the block and tackle to a sturdy limb with the hind end up and the head down. Before beginning the first cut when you butcher a deer, ensure all your tools have been properly cleaned and sanitized.

  1. Take the hacksaw and cut the carcass in half going down the middle. Stay as close to the center as you can. Wipe the bone fragments off of your saw as you go so you will not litter the good meat with tiny fragments of bone.
  2. Wipe the sawed area of meat off with damp cheese cloth. Pat the met to keep it dry.
  3. Remove the rump. Keep in mind the rear legs are jointed. Find the joint and cut around it. Remove the rear shaped leg.
  4. Cut the steaks from the first leg. Remember to cut against the grain and also that the lower you go down the leg the tougher the meat is.
  5. Place the steaks into freezer bags or wrap in butcher paper. Be sure to label the package.
  6. Repeat step five for the other leg.
  7. Remove the loin meat. (This runs down the long area on the spine from bottom of back to neck on both sides.)
  8. Take the long narrow loin and cut it into smaller steak sections and wrap or bag. Remember to label.
  9. Remove the front legs by cutting between the chest muscle and the leg. These are known as the "hams" or "roasts". You can cut these in two pieces, bag and label.
  10. Repeat step 9 for other leg.
  11. Neck, leg, chest, and spine meat can be trimmed off to use for stews.  Try not to waste any of the animal.
  12. Clean and dispose of excess meat and carcass in the trash bag and properly dispose of it.

As a note of caution, when field dressing and aging the deer, make sure it is properly hung and that the temperature is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Also, remember when you butcher a deer to cut against the grain. If you cut with the grain your steaks will be tough. The shorter the muscle fibers the more tender the meat.

Deer meat is a leaner healthier choice for meat eaters. So, take your time, cut carefully, and give try to butcher a deer. You will save money and might find you are good at it. Happy hunting!

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How To Write Retirement Card To Mom

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Need to know how to write a retirement card to your mom? For many, retirement is a much-celebrated, long-anticipated activity that represents a celebration of years of hard work, accomplishment and sacrifice. The day that your mom reaches retirement age will likely be one of mixed emotions for her, but you can help celebrate her future by learning how to write a retirement card for your mom. Here are a few simple tips and tricks to write a perfect retirement card that's sure to warm her heart.

  1. Be creative. Sure, store-bought cards are nice, and some of those classic commercial cards are more like sentimental works of art than simply greeting cards. That being said, your mom will appreciate a retirement card that comes from the heart much more than a chipper decoration that plays a Beach Boys hit when opened. If you're not the artistic type, you can create a retirement card online and customize it with photos, making a keepsake she'll proudly display. If you do have a little bit of creative genius, all you need to make a really special retirement card is card stock, acrylic pencils and a bit of ribbon.
  2. Offer congratulations. Even though many have mixed feelings on the subject of retirement, the first thing you should put in a retirement card is a note of congratulations to the retiree. Remind your mom of all the wonderful things she'll be able to enjoy more often now that she's retired, whether it's time with the grandkids, going on vacation, pursuing a hobby or doing absolutely nothing for a while.
  3. Talk about the future. One of the things many people feel upon retirement is fear of becoming isolated and losing touch with friends, family and the outside world. In your retirement card, suggest going to dinner or to a movie the next week. Another nice gesture is to call some of her friends and co-workers and plan a post-retirement Sunday brunch. Remind your mom that she's an important part of the world, especially to you.
  4. Show your appreciation. The whole point of taking the time to write a retirement card to your mom is to let her know how much she means to you. Even if you're not usually the mushy type, thank her for everything she's done for you. Much of her hard work throughout the years, both inside the home and outside, has been done in order to build a happy life for her family. Her retirement card is a good time to tell her that you know this, and are grateful for everything she's done.

A parent reaching retirement age is a huge milestone for the entire family, and taking the time to write a retirement card to your mom helps you celebrate her milestone in the same way she was always there to celebrate yours. A meaningful retirement card doesn't need to be expensive, elaborate or even terribly time consuming. The simple fact that you took the time to write a retirement card to your mom shows her how much she is loved, and just how bright her future looks.

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What Are the Psychological Effects of Aging?

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What are the psychological effects of aging? The body inevitably deteriorates with time. Does the mind have to do the same? What are natural ways to slow the mental aging process?

Memory loss is one of the most common psychological effects of aging. For many people, remembering everyday things becomes more difficult. Memory loss affects short-term memory more than long-term. It may be easy to recall events that happened thirty years in the past, but difficult to recall what happened on the morning news.

Absentmindedness is also a characteristic psychological effect of aging. Clear, lucid thoughts become increasingly difficult. Older people may repeat themselves in conversation, or have trouble doing regular activities. This impaired cognitive functioning could also be a sign of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's affects one in ten Americans over the age of 65. It can lead to severe degeneration of mental functioning.

What is responsible for the psychological effects of aging? One cause is an older brain. Research has demonstrated that it actually decreases in weight and volume, which may be due to a downsizing in neurons. This biological change may be inevitable to some degree, but factors such as nutrition and mental activity may also impact how severe the psychological effects of aging are.

As the body ages it becomes less capable of absorbing nutrients, making a healthy diet and nutritional supplements essential to well-being. The B vitamins, selenium, and vitamin E are of particular importance. Exercising the brain with anything from crossword puzzles to engaging conversation will delay the psychological effects of aging as well. Take care of both your physical and mental well-being throughout the years, not necessarily to prolong life, but to improve the quality of life deep into old age.
 

References:

Balch, Phyllis, CNC. "Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition." (The Penguin Group, 2006).

Aging Brain

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How Does The Aging Process Affect The Respiratory System?

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The way the aging process affects the respiratory system is, unfortunately, about the same as how it affects other organs, which is a gradual deterioration of maximum function. Similarly to what happens to the rest of the human body with age, the aging process brings such changes to the lungs and its surroundings as stiffness and loss of elasticity, weaker muscles and shrunken airways. The result of these changes leaves your respiratory system more susceptible to breathing problems as you age.

As the aging process progresses, the chest wall loses its elasticity and becomes more rigid due to rib calcification, or calcium deposits. Respiratory muscles become weaker, most likely due to muscle mass loss within the diaphragm and the muscles between the ribs. These factors, along with the lung tissue itself losing elasticity, lead to labored breathing in older adults, especially in those who have led sedentary lives, because they are more likely to have weaker muscles.

Another change that takes place in the respiratory system as the aging process advances is in the airways. The sensory receptors in the airways, which have the job of monitoring the airways, and produce the cough reflex if it is needed to dislodge or expel something inhaled, lose their sensitivity with age. Therefore, the diminished cough reflex enables debris and irritants to reach the deep lung tissues, which can cause respiratory tract infections.

The aging process can also affect the respiratory system by causing a type of emphysema known as senile emphysema, even in those who do not smoke. This happens when the alveoli—where the actual gas exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place—lose their depth and become flatter, thereby reducing their surface area. Typically, a person will have lost about 25% of his alveolar surface area by the time he is in his 90s, which causes shortness of breath and coughing.

Fortunately you can help minimize the effects of aging on your respiratory system—much as with your cardiovascular system—by performing regular exercise. Your respiratory system is set up to carry on its functions throughout your lifetime if it does not suffer from illness, so anything you can do to help keep it running healthily will pay off when you’re in your later years.

Sources:

Nursing Times

Merck Manuals

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Foods That Slow Aging

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It seems to go without saying, but the foods you eat, much like the gas you put in your Hummer, have a huge impact on your body’s performance. Given this – and the fact that we’re basically on a slow decline to death from the moment we’re born – you’d think we’d care more about what goes into our mouths. Instead, we gorge ourselves on fast food and spend thousands of dollars on anti-aging “miracle” treatments that claim to undo the years of damaged we’ve inflicted on ourselves by ingesting things we can’t even pronounce. 

There are plenty of foods, however, that can nourish you and help keep age-related demons like cancer, dementia and osteoporosis at bay. They’ll also whittle your waistline, which is something that study after study shows increases longevity and improves overall health. Excess weight contributes to a whole host of life-shortening problems; a joint study between the National Institute on Aging (Bethesda, MD), the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection (Bilthoven, Netherlands) and the National Center for Health Statistics (Hyattsville, MD) concluded that “heavier weight in late middle age [is] a risk factor for coronary heart disease in late life,” and the American Cancer Society estimates that excess weight is linked to more than 90,000 deaths annually. 

Ready to age gracefully? Read on to find out which foods you should add to your diet in order to add years to your life.

Garlic

Once thought only to be useful in warding off vampires and unattractive blind dates, garlic has turned out to be a nutritional superstar that adds a wealth of taste to dishes without adding excess calories. Allicin, which is responsible for garlic’s strong smell and biting flavor, is actually an extremely potent antioxidant, and research published by the National Academy of Sciences shows that eating garlic appears to boost the body’s natural supply of hydrogen sulfide, which is manufactured by the body as an antioxidant and means of transmitting cellular signals that relax blood vessels and increase blood flow. Dr. David W. Kraus, associate professor of environmental science and biology at the University of Alabama and author of a large-scale study on the health benefits of garlic, advises crushing garlic and letting it sit for 15 minutes before cooking it in order to trigger a reaction that boosts the healthy compounds in the plant.

Eggs

The war on fat and cholesterol left eggs severely wounded but not entirely beaten (pun very much intended); although experts used to believe egg yolks were extremely unhealthy, they’ve now revised their assertions to recognize the benefits of the nine essential amino acids and six grams of healthy protein contained in one egg. Eggs also contain lutein (helpful in the prevention of macular degeneration), zeaxanthin (similarly good for your eyes and possibly helpful in preventing cataracts), and choline (important in the regulation of the brain, nervous and cardiovascular systems); they’re also one of the only foods that contain naturally occurring Vitamin D, which was recognized as vital in a report by the American Medical Association’s Council on Science and Public Health earlier this year. And, according to a study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, there is no real link between egg consumption and heart disease. The link between Hollandaise sauce and butt flab is well-documented, however, so please. Ease up on the Benedict.

Blueberries

According to a study conducted by Tufts University, the pigments, or anthocyanins, in blueberries appear to be an antidote to oxidative stress, one of the main components of the aging process. They also help your brain produce dopamine, which is critical to happiness, memory and coordination. Tufts researchers found that ½-cup of blueberries daily effectively reversed declining memory and loss of coordination in laboratory rats. Frozen blueberries make a great addition to protein shakes or yogurt, and fresh berries are delicious as an alternative to the sugary candy that will make you fat and probably kill you.

Leafy Greens

Spinach and kale – the stuff that made you gag when you were younger but also made Popeye strong enough to fight dudes three times his size – are full of antioxidants and cancer-fighting compounds like sulforaphane, beta carotene, vitamin C, and fiber. Spinach is also loaded with folate, which was shown by an Australian study published by the Journal of Nutrition to dramatically improve short-term memory. Greens are a great thickener for soups and smoothies, but they’re also far more delicious than you remember when sautéed in olive oil, salt and pepper.

Broccoli

Another dark-green, antioxidant-rich veggie, broccoli is part of the Cruciferous family of plants that aids the body in fighting against toxins and many forms of cancer. Several nutritional experts believe that eating broccoli raw or steamed helps to preserve important enzymes that are lost in the cooking process, but any broccoli is good broccoli when it comes to its overall health benefits. Broccoli is also a plant source of calcium, which can help prevent osteoporosis later in life and aid in the body’s absorption of Vitamin D.

Salmon

You’ve probably heard by now that oily fish like salmon and tuna help to prevent heart disease by keeping arteries lubricated, but salmon is also an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids, which, according to omega-3 expert Stephen Cunane, Ph.D., are essential to brain development and health. In fact, Alzheimer’s rates in different countries are consistent with the amount of fish present in the average citizen’s diet. Omega-3’s are also known to aid in weight loss, improve mood and help soothe certain skin conditions. Be mindful of where your fish comes from, though: wild salmon get their adorable pink color from eating krill and shrimp, but farmed salmon are fed food coloring to achieve the same hue. Wild Atlantic Salmon is currently thought to be the safest salmon option.

Beets

Doug was right; beets really are nature’s candy. They’re surprisingly sweet, especially considering their low calorie content (approximately 22/beet), and they contain folic acid, one of the most important B vitamins. Preliminary research demonstrates that Betanin, an antioxidant found in the vegetable, could play a significant role in the prevention of heart disease by inhibiting the oxidation of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Animal studies also show that eating beets significantly slows the growth of skin and lung cancers, so these babies are poised to become disease-fighting superstars in the not-so-distant future.

Flaxseed

Just like salmon, flaxseeds are chock-full of Omega-3 fatty acids (and happen to be one of the few plant sources of that provide the nutrient). Being plants, they also contain several phytoestrogens (as the name suggests, plant estrogen that mimics the healthful effects of estrogen in the body), one of which is lignin, now thought to improve cholesterol, as well as easily absorbed plant protein. Ground flaxseeds and flaxseed oil can be added to everything from oatmeal to pasta dishes in lieu of fattier and more expensive fish.

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How To Keep Skin From Aging

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As we age, finding out how to keep skin from aging becomes more important. Contrary to popular belief, you can start doing something about your aging skin before it's too late, and you won't have to pay much for it. It's actually quite easy to make the small changes in your skin maintenance with shocking results.

A few changes that can be made that are good for your skin include:

  1. Wearing sunscreen. The sun ages your skin and will cause early wrinkles. Use this to keep your skin from aging.
  2. Using a moisturizer. Use of a moisturizer once a day will keep your skin from getting dried out.
  3. Cutting out fatty foods. What you put in your body affects the outside of it, too. So, make sure you're drinking a lot of water and getting your proper vitamin intake. Drinking water keeps your skin from aging.
  4. Exfoliating once a week. When choosing an exfoliate, try to avoid one that is too harsh on your skin. Using one that is too harsh can actually be bad for your skin, because it's over cleansing and drying out your skin. Your face will produce more oil to make up for it being dried out.  
  5. Stop smoking. Not only will it be better for your health, it will also be better for your skin.
  6. Make sure you keep your bedding clean. You lay on your bedding when you sleep, so any dirt or oils on your bed will be in contact with your skin, thus, aging it.
  7. Use a facial mask once a week. There are different types of facial masks. They can be made or bought at the store. It's all a matter of personal preference. Some feel more comfortable with making their own mask at home, because they can control what goes into it. Before you make your own facial mask, know what type of skin you have. Also, make sure the recipe you're using for your facial mask states what type of skin it's supposed to be used for.

Below is a very simple yogurt facial mask recipe meant for normal or oily skin. What you will need for it is:

  • One teaspoon of yogurt.
  • A half of a cucumber. 
  • Food processor or blender.

On to the actual preparation and use of the mask:

  1. Cut the cucumber into medium pieces that can fit in a blender or food processor.
  2. Put the cucumber and one teaspoon of yogurt into your food processor.
  3. Blend them together until they are a paste.
  4. After the mask is completed, leave on your face for 30 minutes. Make sure the mask is rinsed off completely afterwards.

Not everyone has oily or normal skin, so below is a simple peach facial mask recipe for dry skin. What you will need is:

  • A whole peach.
  • A teaspoon of your choice of almond oil, olive oil or peach kernel oil.
  • A food processor or blender.

Preparation of the mask and use:

  1. Slice the peach into small enough pieces to be blended by your food processor or blender.
  2. Add the teaspoon of oil you chose.
  3. Blend it until it's a spreadable paste.
  4. Apply it to your face for fifteen minutes. Make sure you completely wash it off after the fifteen minutes.

Having beautiful skin free of aging isn't only for movie stars. Anyone can have it with some tweaks to their daily skin care. How to keep skin from aging is simplier than it seems. It's painless and almost free. Nearly anyone can have beautiful ageless skin.

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How To Tighten Aging Skin On Neck

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The ravages of aging and the horrors of gravity will effect us all at some point in our lives, but knowing how to tighten aging skin on your neck can help you fight gravity and keep the aging process at bay–if only just for a little while longer. The are two methods you can use when you want to tighten aging skin on your neck: you can use natural methods that focus on diet and exercise or you can opt for a surgical procedure. Using natural methods to tighten aging skin on your neck may take a bit longer, but it costs a lot less and the results last longer than surgical procedures. Here are a few things you can do to tighten aging skin on your neck.
  1. Drink plenty of water. We’re sure you’ve heard this bit of advice time and time again from your mom, but it bares repeating. Lack of moisture is one of the biggest contributors to aging skin. Drinking six to eight glasses of water every day will give your skin the moisture it needs and help tighten aging skin on your neck.
  2. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Most of us don’t think about how what we eat impacts our skin and the aging process. Eating a lot of processed, greasy foods can dry your skin and slow your skin’s natural repair process, ultimately making you look much older. Eating a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruit and vegetables will help your skin’s natural repair process work more efficiently, fight off skin-damaging free radicals and balance the moisture in your skin. All things that will help you tighten aging skin on your neck
  3. Do some face and neck exercises. Gravity is a major contributor to aging skin on the neck. The best way to fight the effects of gravity on aging skin is to exercise the muscles. Doing face and muscle exercises everyday will strengthen the muscles under your skin and help tighten aging skin on your neck.
  4. When all else fails, think about surgery. If facial exercises, diet and plenty of liquids aren’t doing enough to help tighten aging skin on your neck, you may want to look into surgery. The two most common types or surgery used to tighten aging skin on the neck are injectable treatments and surgical lifts. Injectable treatments, such as Botox, can be injected directly into to the skin, temporarily limiting the movement of the tiny muscles in your neck that can cause wrinkles and help tighten aging skin on the neck. The downside to using an injectable treatments is that they need to be redone every three to four months and cause permanent damage to the muscles if they’re used too often. A surgical lift means the doctor will cut into a few portions of your neck and lift and tuck the skin to tighten aging skin on your neck. Having a surgical lift is more permanent than using an injectable, but it, too, may need to be refreshed every few years.

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5 Signs Of Ageism

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Identify 5 signs of ageism to become aware of this way of thinking. Ageism, also called age discrimination, is any stereotyping, prejudice, or any general negative thinking that people have about older people. Often signs of ageism are seen in the workplace, which leads to older workers being discriminated against by younger coworkers.

  1. Assuming that older people are a certain way. The most obvious sign of ageism is when people see an older person and automatically assume that older person is a certain way. This can include their mental sharpness or physical abilities. Ageism, like any prejudice, does not rely on facts but on a stereotype that a group of set of people will be or act a certain way just because they belong to a given group, in this case, a group of older people.
  2. Passing over older workers because of their age. Another key sign of ageism is the act of passing older people by when hiring or promoting workers. Some people believe older workers are not as up to date on technological issues, for example, and assume that the older person cannot do the job. This is a sign of ageism.
  3. Holding a physical impairment against a person. Ageism can include seeing an older person with a limp or other physical impairment and assuming that they are unable to do certain things. This fact may or may not be true. The limp may be temporary from a sports injury, for instance, but ageism assumes the person is limping because of their age.
  4. Seeing gray hair makes someone old. The fact that someone has gray hair or is bald and jumping to the conclusion that the person is old is another sign of age discrimination. Some people are prematurely gray or go bald as a young person. This type of physical feature is not always a true sign of someone's age, and thinking that the person is old because of it is a sign of ageism.
  5. Thinking all old people act a certain way. Many people have in their minds how older people act. When they lump all older people into a set pattern without giving each individual the benefit of showing their own abilities or characteristics, age discrimination is at work.

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How To Take A Biological Age Test

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One key factor in determining the aging process is by understanding your biological age, so many people are becoming increasingly interested in learning how to take a biological age test.  While chronological age is the years since your birth, biological age refers to the age of your body and mind judging from your lifestyles and current body conditions.  For example, if a 20 year-old does not take good care of himself, he may have the biological age of 35. There are many different methods if you want to take a biological age test. Do understand that a biological test will not help diagnose any health problems.  You can take a biological age test at home by following the instructions below. 

  1. BMI. BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is developed by the World Health Organization to determine whether you have an appropriate weight that is proportionate to your height.  To calculate your BMI, multiply your weight in pounds by 703, then divide the result with your height in inches. If your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, you are healthy and your biological age probably is close to your chronological age. If your BMI falls above 29.9, you are more likely to suffer from hypertension and heart disease than people your age.  
  2. Balance. One biological age test is to test how well you can balance your body. Bend one of your legs forward at a 90 degree angle and place your hands on the hips so you cannot grapple on other objects for balance. Close your eyes and count until you can no longer hold the posture. For accuracy, you can repeat the steps three times and use only the best time. If you can stand on one leg for longer than 70 seconds, you have the biological age of a twenty year-old. However, if you can only last for twenty seconds or less, your biological age is 80. 
  3. Cholesterol level. High cholesterol level means an older biological age. You can find out about your level if you take a biological age test using only a mirror. Observe your eyes to see if there is a white arc at the edge of your cornea. If your cholesterol level is high, the arch will appear longer or even complete. A complete arch usually represents a biological age of 80. 
  4. Lifestyle. Habits such as smoking and drinking will increase your biological age as alcohol and tobacco will lead to liver damage and other health problems. On the other hand, regular exercise and healthy relationships with others will lower your biological age. So, the biological age test here is to ask yourself whether you have any unhealthy habits that you know is harming your body. 

Warning: Even if you have a good biological age, you should still consult a medical professional if you experience any unusual pain or discomfort in your body.

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5 Signs Of Biological Aging

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Would you like to know the 5 signs of biological aging? Biological age and chronological age are two different things. Chronological age is your actual age based on the number of years since your birth. Biological age refers to how fast or slow the body is aging.  This means that although a person’s chronological age is 40, they may have no visible wrinkles and look as though they are closer to 30 years old. This person is aging slowly and they are in good health.  Signs of biological aging are the things that start to go wrong with our bodies as we get older. The process may start with needing to wear glasses as our eyesight changes as we age. Some additional signs of biological aging are as follows:

  1. Hearing loss. Loss of hearing, called Prebycusis, begins gradually and may take years to become noticeable. By the time a person reaches the age of 65 the hearing loss may require the use of a hearing aid. It is estimated that one-third of Americans age 65 to 75 experience some degree of hearing loss.
  2. Arthritis. Arthritis and Osteoarthritis affect many older people but can also affect younger people as well. Arthritis is defined as pain and swelling of the joints. Osteoarthritis is a disorder of the joints in which the pain in the joints become severe and worsens over time. It affects the muscles around the joints and can cause the joints to become deformed.
  3. Muscle loss.  The body loses muscle tone over time this is why it is important to eat enough protein and maintain a regular exercise program including weight lifting. Muscle breakdown is attributed to falls and injuries in older people.
  4. Sleep problems.  As we get older, we tend to sleep less and wake during the night. It is common for older people to experience sleep disturbance and occasional bouts of insomnia.
  5. Changes in hair and skin.  Wrinkles appear as the skin begins to lose elasticity and collagen breaks down. Collagen is the substance that makes the skin firm and allows it to stretch without breaking.

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How To Treat Premature Skin Aging

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Your skin is truly the first thing that people see when they look at you.  If you are concerned with aging skin, you should know there are certain steps you can take to treat premature skin aging.  These techniques are simple, easy and effective if you practice them daily.  As much as people say their wrinkles are lines on the road they call life, it isn't something you want to look at in the mirror.

  1. Sun exposure.  This is the number one cause of premature skin aging and the most preventable.  Ultraviolet rays are very harmful when they have penetrated the skin and actually changed it's structure to turn darker.  While it may look great at the time, you will regret it one day.
    What you can do:  For one thing, you should always wear sunscreen with a high SPF while out in the sun, no matter what. Even if your skin has already been damaged from the sun, the sunscreen can prevent any further damage. You can also use anti-aging creams which can turn back the clock and give you younger looking skin.
  2. Smoking is bad for you, period.  Yes, smoking is bad, overall.  However, as many health problems as it may give you–the skin is the first to see the signs.  In studies, it has been proven that smokers even as young as 20 have already started premature aging from only a year or two of smoking.  Smoking can quickly accelerate the process of aging.
    What you can do: 
    Quit smoking, and do it now! The good news is that all you need is determination and a strong willpower to stop.  Also, studies have shown that if the smoker quits early enough, the body can 'repair' the damage done to the skin and make it healthy again.  Even if a person has been smoking for more than 10 years, the body can repair the skin and generate new skin cells to repair the damaged ones.
  3. Facial Expressions. If you frown, it will show.  Facial expressions are actually a very common factor in wrinkles. Not that you may be able to change every facial expression that you make, but it might help lessen wrinkles later on in life.  Common facial movements such as frowning, smiling, squinting and raised eyebrows may all change the structure of your skin over time.
    What you can do:  You cannot control every action that you make, but being aware helps. Squinting may be fixed by wearing sun glasses or getting prescribed glasses for your eyes if you have vision problems.  While you should stop smiling or laughing, those lines can be tamed by simple facial exercises.  A very common facial exercise for laugh and frown lines is to hold water into your cheeks for 30 seconds at a time.  The pressure exercises and tightens muscle in that area.
  4. Sleeping positions.  Another very common factor in skin aging is actually just the way that you sleep. Think about it, people spend an average of 8 hours sleeping every night.  Just as mentioned in the above step, facial expressions can cause premature aging.  Sleeping on your face may cause the same premature aging lines to form on your skin.
    What you can do: Try practicing sleeping on your back. Studies have shown that people who sleep on their backs did not form what is called 'sleep lines', these are commonly located on the forehead and side of the face.

Other factors may include:

  • Back and forth dieting can cause premature aging skin.  Loosing weight and then gaining it back not only creates stretch marks but can always loosen and tighten skin too many times over.  This can cause the elasticity in your skin to become weak over time.
  • Not drinking enough water.  Your body is made up of 70% water and needs these nutrient running through at all times.  Being dehydrated for long periods of time can also cause the elasticity in your skin to become weak.
  • Avoid alcohol.  It's not good to drink alcohol on a daily basis for your skin or your body.  This can cause premature aging and also dehydrate the body.

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How To Throw An Over The Hill Birthday

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Need to know how to throw an over the hill birthday? You look around and friends and family and you see it is time to throw an Over the Hill birthday party. Someone in the bunch is getting older and you want to make sure that everyone is there to celebrate and give them a hard time. When a friend reaches this milestone, throw an Over the Hill birthday party to commemorate the moment together. Here are a few ideas to help you put the party together.

  1. Choose a date and time. Try to have the party on a day that you know the guest of honor will be able to attend. Usually, the weekends are the best time for a birthday party. You also want to decide whether or not this is going to be a surprise.
  2. Find a location. Think about the time of day or evening that you want to have the party as well as the current weather. You can have the party at your house, rent out a ramada at the park or even reserve a room at a restaurant.
  3. Come up with a guest list. Think about all of the people that would be interested in celebrating this person's birthday. You can send out paper invitations, emails or even make phone calls. If this is going to be a surprise Over the Hill birthday party, be sure to let all of the guests know so they don't spoil it! Because of the Over the Hill theme, consider asking guests to come dressed in all black.
  4. Make or order a cake. You can have a black cake to add to the purposefully drab feel of the party, or go with something more traditional. If you will not be able to pick up the cake, arrange to have it delivered or ask one of the guests to pick it up on the way to the party.
  5. Get some food together. Think about what the birthday boy or girl would really enjoy and make sure there is plenty of it. Also, be sure to get drinks and plates, napkins and utensils together. These can also be black to add to the party's theme.
  6. Consider allowing guests to make a toast. Because of the person's age, go around the room and allow everyone to share something about the guest of honor. You can also turn it into a roast, and let everyone make fun of the person.

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How To Remove Age Spots On Face

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Learn how to remove age spots on your face. A lot of people, men included, would love to know how to get rid of age spots. Looking healthy is something most of us aspire to and getting rid of age spots is something to help you keep a youthful look.

Some things you need to get rid of age spots:

  • Skin brush
  • Limited sun exposure
  • Sunscreen
  1. Sunscreen is one of the best defenses against age spots. Stop the age spots before they start. Wear sunscreen as often as possible. Even in winter when the last thing on your mind is the need for sunscreen. In winter the sun reflects and is definitely still out giving its rays to your face. It's better to use SPF twenty or more. The higher the level of SPF, the more skin protection.
  2. Skin brushing. This a secret that not a lot of people know about. Skin brushing is done with a clean, dry toothbrush (on the face) and/or a regular sized brush (the size of a tub scrubbing brush) for the rest of the body. This helps to remove age spots on the face as well as other skin imperfections.
  3. Limiting your sun time. Staying out of the sun isn't the easiest way to remove age spots. It's nice to get some sun. But this is where slathering on sunscreen many of us hate goes a long way to help remove age spots and prevent getting age spots all together. Hats are helpful in covering your face to some extent and that helps protect your face from getting age spots.

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How Does Someone With Memory Loss Forget?

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Have you ever wondered how someone with memory loss forgets things they just did or important events and people in their past? How can they forget what they ate for lunch today but are able to remember exactly what they were doing the day President Kennedy was shot? How can people with Alzheimer’s or amnesia not recognize their spouses or children? Some memory loss occurs during the process of aging, while other memory loss may occur from things such as Alzheimer’s disease, brain tumors or injuries, amnesia, drug and/or alcohol abuse, medications, emotional issues, or depression. 

  1. Where is information stored? There are storage areas in the brain. Our long-term memory stores memories from things in the past like memories of our childhood and other events in our lives and facts we have learned during our lives. Our short-term memory stores things momentarily while we take a mental picture or repeat it over to ourselves (encode) so that we will remember it later. If these memories do not get encoded, they will simply be forgotten and never get to our long-term memory where they could be retrieved for future use. 
  2. There are three storage units in our long-term memory. There are two storage “tanks” in our declarative memory section of the brain, and one “tank” in our procedural memory section. There is a “tank” for episodic memory, which stores our memories of childhood and events in the past, and there is a “tank” for semantic memory, which stores meanings, understandings and knowledge that we have learned throughout our lives. In the procedural “tank” are things we have learned to do in our life, which are often automatic. After we encode something in our short-term memory because we want to remember it, it goes to one of the three “tanks” in our long-term memory.
  3. There is some normal memory loss as we age.  We start losing a few brain cells and brain chemicals some time in our twenties and this loss increases as we age. The more brain cells we lose and the older we get, the more our memory is affected and the more apt we are to forget. This loss can cause our brain to store information in a different way and become harder to recall. Some of the things that happen normally as we age are forgetting where we put something, or forgetting someone’s name that we just met. That type of aging memory loss or forgetting can be helped by making lists, keeping a calendar or daily planner, repeating a person’s name over a couple of times or making some type of association with their name to help us remember, putting our things in the same place all the time, and keeping your mind active by doing things like crossword puzzles or memory games.
  4. What happens to the brain in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia related disorders? There is a chemical in the brain called acetylcholine that carries messages from one nerve cell to another. In Alzheimer’s, this chemical breaks down and communication between the cells cannot occur. This results in memory loss. At first only the short-term memory is affected, and the person can remember their past but may forget something that has just happened. As more and more chemical breakdown occurs, the disease worsens and all memory is affected.
  5. In general, there are four major reasons why people forget. Forgetting can be simply a matter of retrieval failure. For some reason we just can’t bring back the memory. Another cause of forgetting can be caused by a newer memory being similar to an older memory, and the newer memory covers up the older memory. This could also happen when an older memory is so strong it covers up the newer memory. Another thing that could happen is the memory failed the encoding process and never got to long-term memory. Finally, there are sometimes events that people don’t want to remember. The event is still in their memory, but they are unable to recall it because it is too traumatic to retrieve. They just want to forget it forever!!

Tip:  If your memory problems are affecting your daily activities, consult your doctor. Your problem may be treatable.

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How To Treat Short Term Memory Loss

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Wondering how to treat short term memory loss? While forgetfulness can be stressful and even frightening you do have the power to improve this condition yourself. Take control of your mind with these tips on how to treat short term memory loss.

  1. Eat for proper brain function. Try to include plenty of brain foods in your diet on a daily basis. This includes salmon, walnuts, coffee, and berries. Foods that are high in either nurturing omega oils or protective antioxidants are beneficial for treating short term memory loss.
  2. Take ginkgo biloba for brain support. This natural herb improves cerebral circulation and has been known to treat memory loss. Talk to your doctor about adding ginkgo biloba to your diet.
  3. Exercise. Improving overall well-being through regular physical activity has a positive effect on mental well-being. Exercise improves circulation and helps to lower cholesterol, two important factors in brain health.
  4. Use brain games. Fifteen minutes a day of puzzle-like activities such as crosswords and sudoku is a great way to exercise the brain and treat short term memory loss.
  5. Avoid and address factors that can cause memory loss. Alcohol and drug use, heavy use of prescription and over-the-counter medication, exposure to toxins, and even depression can affect the well-being of neurons and neurotransmitters. To prevent and treat short term memory loss, stop any type of substance abuse, reevaluate the necessity of any drugs you may be taking with your doctor, drink purified water and eat organic produce, and talk to someone if you may be suffering from depression.

Knowing how to treat short term memory loss is a valuable asset. Not only can you improve the functioning of the brain, but you can also prevent further mental deterioration.

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5 Best Ideas For Over The Hill Party Supplies

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When your friend is having a party and you need a gift idea here are the 5 best ideas for over the hill party supplies.

  1. Viagra. Viagra or anything in the shape of a small blue pill will always be one of the best ideas for over the hill party supplies. Giving a Viagra sample to your rapidly aging friend is always good for a few laughs.
  2. Popsicle Stick and Duct Tape. This is a unique gift you can give to your over the hill friend to help with his erectile dysfunction problems. Make sure you label it as "Red Neck Viagra" or something similar. This is a unique gift and a cheap way to give your birthday buddy one of the best ideas for over the hill party supplies.
  3. Over The Hill Stripper. Nothing says over the hill better than an 80 year old woman in lingerie. The aging stripper does not have to actually do any dancing. As long as she is insinuating that she will be giving the birthday boy a lap it should be enough to make him a bit uncomfortable as well as providing many laughs from everybody in attendance.
  4. Adult Undergarments. Give a pack of Depends or other similar adult undergarments to your aging buddy. A pack of adult diapers is always a funny gift and one day he may even need them.
  5. Over the Hill Stool Softener. It is a small hammer that is packaged as an "Over The Hill Stool Softener". Hard stools are something that affects many people as they get older and a funny gag gift such as this is always one of the best ideas for over the hill party supplies.

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How To Get Rid Of Under Eye Wrinkles

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Many people want to know how to get rid of under-eye wrinkles, and the effectiveness of the treatments available may surprise you. The first step in getting rid of wrinkles under the eyes is prevention. Sun exposure, smoking, cold weather and dehydrated skin can all lead to under-eye wrinkles. Avoiding these things will slow their progression while treating the eyes. As we age, our skin loses its elasticity and the body produces less collagen under the skin. So, how can we get rid of eye wrinkles and keep them from coming back?

To get rid of under-eye wrinkles, you will need:

  • Eye cream
  • Dark glasses
  • A hat
  • Sunscreen
  1. Eye cream is essential to treating under-eye wrinkles. Wash your face and eyes first thing in the morning and apply an eye cream before any regular face cream. Wash your face again at night, removing any makeup, and apply another layer of eye cream. When applying the cream, avoid stretching the skin and start from the outer edge of the eye and work towards the inner corner. These creams typically contain retinol, collagen, vitamins and muscle relaxers that improve the elasticity of the skin over time and help to eliminate wrinkles.
  2. There are some great eye creams on the market, and they are extremely effective at getting rid of wrinkles under the eyes. Most of these creams are available at the local pharmacy or drug store. They work to get rid of under-eye wrinkles and dark circles, reduce puffiness and prevent further damage to the delicate skin around the eyes.
  3. To keep wrinkles at bay, wear dark sunglasses and hats, and always apply sunscreen before going out into the elements. Sun exposure is a great contributor to wrinkles under the eyes, and summer is the worst time to have your face exposed. Sunlight causes premature wrinkles around the mouth, eyes and forehead. Use an SPF of 50 or more on the face, but your best bet is to keep the sun from coming into contact with your face altogether.
  4. Drink at least 1.5 liters of water a day to ensure that your skin is properly hydrated and get plenty of sleep to reduce under-eye wrinkles. When the body is sleep deprived it causes the eyes to sag, causing fine lines and wrinkles. Placing tea bags or cucumbers over they eyes will help to shrink the blood vessels and relax irritated eyes. This may seem like a small step, but it can go a long way towards reducing wrinkles when applied first thing in the morning prior to your eye cream.

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10 Rock Songs About Getting Older

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Highlighting 10 rock songs about getting older kind of goes against the grain of rock and roll. These musicians live fast, die young and leave a beautiful corpse. At least that's what we're told. Yet, there are quite a few songs that deal with aging. There's no such thing as a pension plan or retirement in rock and roll, but they can at least sing about getting old.

  1. "Middle of the Road" The Pretenders Chrissie Hynde is so cool. She can sing about middle age and still sound young. But this is Hynde getting older and realizing her world isn't getting any better. And that's not a good thing.
  2. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" The Beach Boys Get this: Brian Wilson sang about wanting to get older so he could get married and settle down. What's wrong with this guy? Well, it turns out plenty is wrong with him. But he still gave us one great little song.
  3. "Hey Nineteen" Steely Dan This is a cool song. When the singer can't believe his date has never heard of Aretha Franklin, he's floored. That's one of the drawbacks of dating someone young enough to be your daughter.
  4. "The Heart of the Matter" Don Henley Don Henley was always old before his time. But when he wrote this song, he really was getting older. When you get older, hopefully you get wiser. Don Henley, indeed, sounds wise in this song.
  5. "Mother's Little Helper" The Rolling Stones What a drag it is getting old. The Rolling Stones are singing about an aging woman, but it's a drag to age, whether your a man or woman.
  6. "When I'm Sixty-Four" The Beatles This is the ultimate aging song. The Beatles gave us a song that wondered if love could last well into old age. It can, of course, but it usually takes a few marriages to get there.
  7. "Growin' Up" Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen struggled growing up, but he seems to have found peace. Let's hope his kids are having an easier time growing up than he did.
  8. "Too Old to Rock & Roll, Too Young To Die" Jethro Tull In this song, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull sings of that ugly middle ground. This person is past their musical prime, but not quite ready to kick the bucket. Obviously, Ian Anderson wasn't singing about himself. He's not too old to rock and roll at all.
  9. "Touch of Grey" Grateful Dead By the time the Grateful Dead recorded this song, the band members had more than just a touch of gray. But that didn't matter because it still became their biggest hit. This touch of gray ended up having the golden touch.
  10. "Time Passages" Al Stewart The passage of time means aging. But it sounds so much nicer to say "time passages," than "aging," doesn't it? Al Stewart thought so. He may have been right.

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10 Country Songs About Getting Older

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The 10 country songs about getting older will make you think, laugh and even cry. Country is one of those genres that knows how to tackle a sensitive subject like getting older. When you hear the 10 country songs about getting older it may just make you feel a bit younger.

  1. Toby Keith "As Good As I Once Was" (2003). Only Toby Keith could bring together the subject of getting older and bar fights into a realization of the inadequacies of growing older. This entry into the list of the 10 country songs about getting older will make you understand growing older just a little bit better.
  2. Merle Haggard "Old Man from the Mountain" (1974). Country music legend Merle Haggard released "Old Man from the Mountain" (1974) to discuss the subject of aging and holding on to your lady and your land. This high-spirited song needs to be on the list of 10 country songs about getting older.
  3. Hank Williams Sr. "Angel of Death" (1954). Hank Williams Sr. died in 1953 at the age of 29. In a very short time, his honest country music left an ever-lasting impression on all music for years to come. The song "Angel of Death" (1954) was released the year after Williams died and it showed his continued fascination with asking for forgiveness before dying.
  4. John Conlee "The Backside of 30" (1979). An unmistakable country song about being a guy being on his own after his wife and son leave him. John Conlee did not have many hits, but this song belongs on the list of the 10 country songs about getting older.
  5. Hank Williams Sr. "Ready to Go Home" (1956). This is another song about getting and old, confessing your sins and then dying by country legend Hank Williams Sr. This was released as a posthumous single three years after Hank Williams Sr. passed away in 1953.
  6. Dixie Chicks "Top of the World" (2003). The song "Top of the World" (2003) was written by songwriter Patty Griffin and recorded by the Dixie Chicks. It tells the story of a man that does nothing but regret his life as he grows older. The song appears on the Dixie Chicks album "Home" (2003).
  7. The Stanley Brothers "I Long to See The Old Folks" (1954). The Stanley Brothers are the legendary country act that recorded "Orange Blossom Special" (1955) and "Pretty Polly" (1950). The song "I Long to See the Old Folks" (1954) is an interesting observation of the process of growing older.
  8. Wynonna Judd "Is It Over Yet" (1993). Wynonna Judd is one of the recent legends of country music, and her song "Is It Over Yet" (1993) is about growing old alone. This song about begging someone to stay that wants to go deserves to be on the list of the 10 country songs about getting older.
  9. Johnny Cash "A Boy Named Sue" (1969). One of the most famous of getting older by country legend Johnny Cash. "A Boy Named Sue" (1969) was debuted at the San Quentin prison on national television as a story about a man who grew up wanting nothing but revenge on his father for naming him Sue.
  10. Red Sovine "Giddy-Up Go" (1965). Very few country singers told a story like Red Sovine did. His hit single "Giddy-up Go" (1965) is about a trucker who named his truck Giddy-up Go because that is what his little son named it. The trucker came home to find his son and wife gone. After 25 years, the trucker met his grown-up son who became a trucker driving a rig named Giddy-up Go as well.

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10 Best Songs About Growing Old

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What are the 10 best songs about growing old? Read on to find out. Growing old can be hard, but luckily, there are plenty of songs out there that can help you in the process. Songs about growing old can cheer up those who feel they are aging quickly, or offer some insight on the idea of old age. Whether you are a fan of country, rock, or cheery music, we’ve got the perfect song about growing old for you here. 

  1. David Bowie- “Changes”. This is a great 1971 song about getting older and the passage of time. It also is a good reminder that everyone gets older, sooner or later.
  2. John Mellencamp- “Cherry Bomb”. The main focus of this song is about gaining a new perspective on life as we grow older and wiser.
  3. John Mayer- “Stop This Train”. Everyone has some fear of growing old, even John Mayer. This song takes a look at a few insightful ways to combat the fear of aging.
  4. Pulp- “Help the Aged”. When we grow older and things begin to change, suddenly the world doesn’t make as much sense as it did. “Help the Aged” lets us know that changes will happen and we just have to sit back and let them.
  5. Simon and Garfunkel- “A Hazy Shade of Winter”. This song uses seasons as a metaphor for the cycle of life and changes that occur in our lives.
  6. Dooley Wilson- “As Time Goes By”. The name of this song is quite self-explanatory, as it takes into the world of time and the cycles of life.
  7. Toby Keith- “As Good as I Once Was”. In this song, Toby Keith takes a look back on his life and how he used to be.
  8. Sophie Tucker- “Life Begins at Forty”. Nobody ever said growing old has to be a bad thing, and this song explains how life is only just beginning as we age.
  9. Barbara Mason- “Yes, I’m ready”. Barbara Mason wrote this song at the age of eighteen, explaining her readiness to take on life and getting older.
  10. The Beatles- “When I’m 64”. Paul McCartney wrote this song for his father’s birthday, and it has been a favorite ever since.

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10 Songs About Growing Up Too Fast

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It's not surprising to find these 10 songs about growing up too fast. Kids are growing up too fast. In fact, adults have always thought kids grew up too fast. Even so, it sure seems like they're on time-lapsed photography these days.

 

  1. "What's My Age Again?" — Sum 41: With "What's My Age Again?", these Canadian pop-punk stars faced fast-approaching adulthood. Just as bands wonder what town they're in, from day to day, young people must sometimes wonder how old they really are.
  2. "Last Dance with Mary Jane" — Tom Petty: Mary Jane is that girl that became a woman, almost over night. Somehow, we want girls to remain as young as we always remember them. But, that just doesn't happen.
  3. "Sweet Sixteen" — Destiny's Child: Enjoy sweet sixteen while it lasts, because that's only one year out of life. Granted, it's an important year. The age of 18 is big, too. The age of 21 is even bigger. After that, it's just bigger numbers, is all.
  4. "Circle Game" — Joni Mitchell: Joni Mitchell wrote this when she was really young. She may have been really smart. She might have been really lucky. Whatever the case, she got it right.
  5. "Sister Christian" — Night Ranger: "Babe, you know you're growing up too fast," Night Ranger sang, "And your mama's worrying." Yes, the fast growth of teens puts worry in most parents' hearts.
  6. "18 And Life" — Skid Row: It's one thing to grow up fast. It's quite another thing to take on a life of crime young. That's what happens in this gun-happy rock song.
  7. "Walkaway Joe" — Trisha Yearwood: "Mama told her baby, girl take it real slow." Famous last words, eh? If you tell a young person to slow down, they'll only react by speeding up. Mamas oftentimes know best, but little girls learn how to tune them out–even when they're giving good advice.
  8. "I'm Just A Kid — Simple Plan: It's crazy because teens start to look like an adult on the outside, but feel like they're still a kid on the inside. That's what this song suggests. He may claim to still be a kid, but he doesn't look like one anymore.
  9. "Magic Man" — Heart: When you're a kid yourself, this just sounds like a cool rock song. But when you examine the lyrics, the guy in it turns out to be a creep. Heart was pretty wise beyond their years.

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How To Look Older

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Figuring out how to look older when you are young takes not only a physical makeover but also certain mannerisms and qualities. The appearance of looking older gives you the power of respect and being wise beyond your years. Give the impression you are older using the following step below.

  1. Dress conservatively. Skip the dirty converse, goofy cartoon or offensive T-shirts and opt for a sophisticated appearance to look older. It does not mean to rock a three-piece suit everyday but dress up your jean collection, and match it with a nice buttoned up shirt with cool loafers. It is a nice fresh older look appealing for all ages.
  2. Show sophistication. The biggest part of looking older is having the traits that older people carry. Talk with proper English rather than slang in sentences. Speak about subjects beyond sports, music, women, and video games and of worldly events and social issues. It is important to listen as well to speak to give others the time to chime in. Once you hone in the qualities that will make you appear older, it becomes easier in time.
  3. Hang out with older people. No one saying to hang out with people old enough to your grandparents but befriending someone who is 35 oppose to 23 whom has a lot more experience and wisdom can make a guy look older. When you befriend older people, some of their ways and habits rub on you.
  4. Have a mature face. A clean look is preferred on most young men, but to look older, grow facial hair as it usually add years to the face. Do not forget to get a trim every two to three weeks at the barbershop to avoid looking like a lumberjack. Sporting a beard makes you look maturer as many people will treat you as an older man.

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How to Avoid a Mid-Life Crisis

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No one said growing older is easy.

But it certainly gets more complicated if you start cheating on your wife with the hot new intern, go into debt trying to pay for a top-of-the-line hair transplant or, God forbid, start playing in a secret rotisserie baseball league a la Paul Rudd in Knocked Up.

And while a breakdown in your late thirties or beyond might seem weirdly sexy from afar, the consequences can be dire. With that in mind, here are five expert tips for heading a mid-life crisis off at the pass. Not at that point just yet? Read this now and thank us later.

1. Treat Your Body Right.
Eating right, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly will help keep your body and mind right. “Stay in shape,” suggests Dr. Bruce Rays, PhD, a clinical psychologist with the UCLA Medical Group in Malibu, California. “Instead of losing tone and muscle and looking like you’re getting older, then fearing aging, you’ll look healthy and strong and stay that way. Sex is important, too.”

2. Remember the ‘You’ in Your Life.
When you get into a committed relationship, ‘me’ turns into ‘us’. “Keep doing the things you like to do,” advises Jane Meskill, LSCW, a therapist in private practice in Portland, Oregon. “It’s all about balance.” Maintain your friendships, something many guys fail to do when they get hitched. Make regular plans to shoot pool or go golfing with the guys to stay in touch with your old self. At the same time, continue to pursue the things you are personally passionate about to keep your mind off hot interns—and hair plugs.

3. Allow Yourself Guilty Pleasures.
When you decide that the Harley Davidson is too much of an indulgence while you’re in your prime, it gets pushed to the back of your mind, only to resurface in mid-life. Then you go crazy buying new toys and jeopardizing their future finances. So it’s actually better to allow yourself a splurge here and there along the way. “Go shop at John Varvatos—why not have a youthful wardrobe and be able to fit into it?” asks Rays. “And it won’t be so extreme as a mid-life crisis if you have a car you feel youthful in no matter what age.”

4. Keep Your Relationship Fresh.
Relationships are work, and kids multiply it, says Meskill. “A man sometimes loses his wife to the children and family situation,” she oberves. “If you can’t transition back into the boyfriend and girlfriend stage, you’re going to realize that you have this much life left to live, you’re getting older, and you’ll want to do things.” That’s typically when men go out and have affairs. Steer clear by making sure you still have some along time with your wife, and by being as creative as possible in bed, of course.

5. If You Haven’t Already, Start Talking.
You might find that your significant other has some of the same questions flying through her head that you do. “Make the things you want clear and don’t let things build up and blow up,” says Meskill. Who knows, maybe she always wishes she had gone heli-skiing in Alaska, too, and you can plan a trip together.

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5 Men With Grey Hair Who Are Still Awesome

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Men seem to have a distinct advantage over women when it comes to aging. A man with grey hair, when properly styled, can look distinguished, especially if that guy was awesome before he got a touch of grey. Just because you’ve started losing some hair pigment doesn’t mean you have to lose your looks or you awesome attitude and swagger. The six men on this list may have grey hair, but trust us, they are all still awesome!

 

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George Clooney. George Clooney is so cool that he will remain awesome in the afterlife, long after his skin has been chewed off by worms. He’s that cool. It’s his combination of attitude, swagger, style, and affable like-ability that make him so endearing. He got some grey hair early on, but rather than vainly try to cover it up, he’s embraced his new follicles and his career hasn’t missed a beat. If anything, it’s going stronger than ever, and his grey may have something to do with it!

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This Is Sixty

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I’m turning sixty this week. And I have to tell you, I’m kind of ambivalent. I mean, what is sixty, other than the beginning of the seventh decade? Geez, that sounds pretty ancient.

Sixty. It’s kind of a bullshit milestone, more sizzle than steak. Nothing changes the day after. Well, my health insurance already went up. But I’m still five years away from the panacea of Medicare. And retirement? That’s a big reason I chose the writing game. They can carry me from my office feet first.

Sixty. I’m not old old.

I’m just not so young anymore.

I see myself in the mirror; something doesn’t seem right. The voice inside my head is still the same. But the face has changed—who is that man?

Not young enough anymore to head fake and pull my Earl Monroe spin move, or even to venture onto a court, doctor’s orders; or to read without glasses; or to figure out a program or an app that is supposed to be intuitive; or to stay up all night entrenched in something deviant or creative—I need a good night’s rest or I’m screwed the whole next day.

Not young enough anymore to eat pizza or donuts whenever I want; or a cold piece of fruit; or to forego flossing lest my gums recede; or to make an overture toward the super cute twentysomething who seems to be batting her eyelashes at me—at some point I realize that she’s not flirting, that one of her fake eyelashes is on crooked, bless her heart, and that she’s only a few years older than my son, whose ass I wiped, and that she doesn’t even realize she’s flirting, not in that way at least, because what she really wants from me is something that resides inside my head, inside my soul, inside my vast library of personal experience… and not inside my pants.

I’m older than her father.

I see myself in the mirror; something doesn’t seem right. The voice inside my head is still the same. But the face has changed—who is that man? Why are his eyes so puffy? What is with the crazy blotched coloring of his beard? The age spots on his bald head? The yellowing teeth. The recalcitrant hairs sprouting everywhere except the places they’re supposed to be. And what is that weird wrinkly thing going on with his neck?

I’ve only gained fifteen pounds since college, but somehow I have borderline high cholesterol. My abs are still tight but there’s a stubborn layer of fat that wants to muffin over my belt; I’m not quite sure where my ass has gone, ditto the hair on my ankles. And it has become painfully evident lately that I should never have spent the entire summer before freshman year practicing bicycle kicks—luckily, people take my arthritic limp for a modified pimp roll; I guess I’d rather be perceived as cocky than as crippled. In all, I’d say it was worth it; soccer ignited my can-do attitude. But then there’s the whole thing with my neck. There are surgeries in my future, I am certain. I try not to think about it.

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That is what you do at sixty, I guess, because right now nothing’s changed all that much, but you know it will. You look up and see what’s coming and you acknowledge it, and you try not to do the actuarial math. Maybe you find some religion. Maybe you start going to see more doctors. Maybe you fine-tune a little bit your notion of what’s important and what’s a waste of time.

But then you look back down, focus once again on the road before you. You put one foot in front of the other, just as you always have.

Nearly twenty years ago, when I was in my early forties, I spent some time with a guy who was ninety-two. His name was Glenn. When we met, he’d been retired for nearly three decades, almost as long as he’d worked. He didn’t mind being old.

“Consider the alternative,” he liked to say, and then he’d laugh his trademark laugh, an elfin, phlegm-tinged chuckle, blue eyes twinkling beneath the twin canopies of his droopy eyelids. Sometimes, if he laughed too hard, he’d wet his pants a little bit.

Like Glenn told me: You can rage against the dying of the light, or you can feel fortunate that it’s not yet totally dark, that there’s time left and things to do.

But how much time?

 

**

 

As a young man I fought my way forward, a spoiled little brat determined to have his way, blissfully unaware of the obstacles and the odds.

Now I know what’s realistic. I’ve been through death and loss and tragedy, a shit ton of disappointment; I’m a bit of a grizzled vet, as are most of us when we’ve reached this age. Yet, even as I have a palpable sense that I’m closer to the end than to the beginning, I’ve never felt more idealistic. Or more powerful. Or more accomplished. Or more vulnerable. Or more frustrated. I don’t know how all these conflicting emotions can live together inside me as they do, but there you have it. Maybe that’s why my blood pressure is high.

Don’t beat yourself up. You can’t know things before you know them. Just don’t make the same mistake twice. There are plenty of others to make.

The good news: I’m not a career athlete or a leading man. Physicality is not my realm, I’m in the thinking game. Even as I slowly degenerate, my understanding flowers.

This is some of what I’ve learned:

Hard work, well enjoyed, builds a man, makes life, day by day.

Less is more, unless you’re talking about your bank account.

What you say and do are equally important.

That person who seems to be acting all weird for no good reason—you’re right: It’s them not you.

Sometimes your only recourse is to win by example. Don’t expect acknowledgement.

Nobody will ever hear your story in all of its richness and complexity. You’ll never be completely understood by others. This is why it’s important to try to understand yourself. Only you can bring yourself that kind of comfort.

I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers. In turn I have always tried to be kind.

The hard part is making stuff look easy.

The fullness of one’s schedule is not always the best indicator of the fullness of one’s life.

When you tell the truth consistently it’s easier to remember what you said.

The other human beings in our personal dramedies never perform exactly the way we might expect or fantasize, and neither do we.

With homeownership comes people with leaf blowers.

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The Theory of Originals: Strive to be number one in a class of one. Don’t compete; instead, form your own line.

When you reach high, you can fall hard. The great ones learn how to bounce.

Success is like standing in a field watching a sunset—it’s the most beautiful time of day, but it’s also the time of day when the bugs come out.

Heartbreak is the opposite of love, just as decay is the opposite of life. With one you always have the other.

Like it or not, life’s best course is usually adaptation.

When peoples’ stories don’t add up, when it doesn’t seem plausible something happened a certain way… chances are it didn’t.

Just Kidding: Universally the most insincere phrase uttered in polite company, usually meaning the exact opposite—I’m not kidding at all.

Go the extra twenty-five feet.

Don’t beat yourself up. You can’t know things before you know them. Just don’t make the same mistake twice. There are plenty of others to make.

Luck comes more quickly when you’re doing instead of waiting. At the very least, it makes the time go faster.

Sooner or later, shit will splat in your face. Some might get in your mouth. You may not deserve it but there it is. It’s how you cope that takes your measure.

 

Mike Sager is a bestselling author and award-winning reporter. For more, click here.

 

All photos: iStock

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How to Age Gracefully Instead of Morphing Into Andy Rooney

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When I was in my early twenties and living in France, I had the opportunity to attend a New Year’s Eve dinner at a famous artist’s residence in Fontainebleau, about an hour outside of Paris. A friend was living with the artist’s daughter, so we had a coveted spot at the long dinner table that included relatives of the Matisse and Picasso family. For an aspiring young writer like me, this was a heady, awesome event.

The artist himself was a bit like The Most Interesting Man In the World. He pointed to the head of the pigeon course that was still on my plate, told me, “the brain is the best part” and then showed me how to dissect its skull and produce that pistachio-sized nugget of yumminess. When he cracked open some ancient bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac, he quietly instructed us: “You don’t drink good wine, you eat it.” Later, when he explained the secret of aging was to always clip your ear and nose hair and stand up straight, we took it as sage-like truth.

Since then, a bunch of comments from smart girlfriends, life experience, psychologists, lifestyle experts and educators later, I have assembled a list of things one must do in order to age, to mature, with style and grace and without turning into Andy Rooney (God rest his giant eyebrowed soul). Read, do and steadily morph into a silver fox…

Take a look in the mirror, and if your jeans happen to fit like James Van Der Beek’s in Varsity Blues, it’s time for a wardrobe upgrade.

1. Clip Your Nose and Ear Hair
You know those things you might have found gross in your old uncle, such as small shrubberies sprouting out of his ears and nose? Dude, it’s genetic, check your own ears! Do you really think it’s attractive to your girlfriend, wife, possible dates or even friends? Sure your buddies and mother will love you either way, but they’ll probably love you even if you degenerate into a grotesque, aging slacker doing bong shots on your parents’ tattered couch at 50. Avoid that.

2. Stand Up Straight
Slumped shoulders and bad posture aren’t only unattractive, but also mounting clinical evidence suggests that this body behavior directly affects your psychology, your mood, your sense of self and your self confidence. The Dutch behavioral scientist Erik Peper, who studies how posture affects us, found that aside from literally changing our hormones, when we sit up straight we are actually think more positively. Similarly, if we skip during a break, we can actually boost our energy levels as opposed to a slow, slumped walk that can drain us of our energy. So chin up and hup-hup-hup!

3. Wear Clothes That Fit
Fashion comes and goes but proper fit always trumps trends. You might not have a skinny jean body, so don’t push it, they’re too tight and look it! You think your grandfather is the only one who looks odd in his over-sized shirts, pants and coats? You want that happy medium of clothes that are close to the body line without necessarily hugging it. Take a look in the mirror, and if your jeans happen to fit like James Van Der Beek’s in Varsity Blues, it’s time for a wardrobe upgrade.

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4. Get Your Hair Cut Properly
Clip the ponytail … unless you can really pull it off. (And unless you’re Willie Nelson, you probably can’t.) Good haircuts are often expensive but once you get one and can establish a great look for yourself, take a picture and find a more reasonable haircutter to replicate it. Obviously, shorter hair is easier to maintain. Your haircut is one of the things people notice first. It can also give you a confidence boost.. And remember: Messy hair can be a cool look, but greasy messy hair isn’t a look, it’s a warning.

5. Invest in Quality Footwear
A very hip, smart and exceedingly posh girlfriend once told me: “With a little self confidence you can get away with wearing almost anything… as long as you have great shoes.” Over the years I have observed that this is true. Great shoes can be pricey so they don’t all have to be great. But at least one stylish pair—and we’re not talking sneakers—will open doors from dive bars to elegant restaurants.

6. Be Kind
In a world filled with fuckedupness, being kind can almost seem like an alien notion. But it is not. You might think of yourself as kind and compassionate, but it is easy to forget to walk the walk. For compassion it’s essential to put yourself in someone else’s position. For kindness it’s equally essential to be able to count your blessings and live in some version of gratefulness. But there are also literally actions you can take to cultivate kindness. Generosity can take many forms. From random acts of kindness as disparate as holding a door open for a stranger to offering to take care of someone or help them out, doing good never gets old.

Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it makes everyone else more alive. Curiosity keeps you young, no matter how old you get.

7. Stay Curious
Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it makes everyone else more alive. As Dorothy Parker said, “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” Curiosity keeps you young, no matter how old you get. It also keeps you open. He who is curious and open has a twinkle in his eyes. Twinkles are attractive. He is an interested person, and we all know how tiring a person can be when they are mostly focused on being interesting. We all appreciate a person who asks questions over one who won’t shut up, no?

8. Keep in Some Sort of Shape
This one should be obvious: Maintain your fucking health. Most things can be made a whole lot better with two gigantic but easy to-do fixes: a good diet and exercise. Get those two things right a lot of this other stuff will come so much easier…

Learn more about author Loren-Paul Caplin here and follow him on Twitter here.

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That 22-Year-Old Scotch You Just Ordered Might Be a Rip-off

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Conventional wisdom holds that the older the whiskey, the better it is. And in most cases that is accurate—but not always. Whiskey ages in wooden barrels—not bottles—so the longer a particular whiskey ages the more the character it takes on from the barrel. Which is not always a good thing.

Take, for example, an expensive 50-year-old Scotch. These bottles run into the tens of thousands of dollars because of the rarity and status attached to them. In most cases the drinker is tasting strong notes of vanilla and spice from the wood, moreso than the particular grain(s). Some critics believe that aging for an excessively long period actually hides the quality of the grain. Since the grain is the basis for any great whiskey, this process can be more of a detriment than a plus.

On the flip side, there are 12-, 15- and 18-year-aged whiskeys that are cheaper and as flavorful as older Scotch. The next time you’re sampling Scotch, pay close attention to the character, nose and legs of 20-year-plus aged offerings. The differences are often minimal, particularly when it comes to taste.

Another thing to take into consideration when ordering at your local bar or liquor store is the way whiskey is labeled. Any beverage that bears the whiskey name must be aged at least three years. However, unless a bottle is advertised as being from a single barrel, the whiskey is derived from several barrels of different ages. The age notation only refers to the youngest barrel in the batch. Most times we have no idea how old a bottle is, because there is no average age given. What’s up with that?

Due to demand, the way many distillers are getting around the age labels is by crafting No Age Statement (NAS) Scotch. NAS Scotch has become increasingly popular over the past few years among serious whiskey drinkers and casual sippers alike. Part of the reason is because distillers are making more NAS bottles out of necessity. The other reason is because many of them are damn good. Legally, if a bottle is marked as a 25-year-old whiskey, every single drop of that bottle must be older than 25 years. And since time machines don’t exist, these brands cannot go back in time to age more whiskey. So it is either wait decades or create non-traditional blends.

So the next time you’re in a situation that calls for a round of expensive neat Scotches, don’t automatically go for the oldest one on the menu. There are great NAS, teenaged and OG options to suit various palates and tax brackets.

Photo: iStock/Shaiith

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