Bob Greene’s 4 Pillars to Feel 20 Years Younger

Bob Greene has his own line of food in the supermarkets (Best of Life foods) and he also been featured many times on Oprah.  The Four pillars Bob Greene recommends for feeling and looking younger: Exercise, nutrition, skin care and sleep.  According to Bob, these pillars can change your physiology, which will slow down aging and cause your body to function as if you were years younger.

We all know exercise is essential to adding years on our lives – the main thing is we need to schedule our exercise just like we do anything important in our lives.  Schedule it and DO IT!  Exercise also releases endorphins which in turn make us happier.  Happiness does not heal, but happiness protects against falling ill. As a result, happy people live longer.

We have all heard, “we are what we eat.”  Well, start eating Superfoods to start feeling super!  Every meal should include superfoods that will help you look years younger, such as sweet potatoes, eggplant and blueberries. Additionally, half your plate should be covered with fruits and vegetables.  That’s right boys and girls…HALF of your plate should be full of color and full of life fruits and veggies.

Bob Greene also recommends (and I agree with him wholeheartedly) replacing fattening starches—such as breads, cereals and pastas that are made with white flour—with whole grains, brown rice and lentils. Good high-protein choices are fish, chicken or soy. Also, adding spice to your dishes can help you live longer. Herbs and spices, such as ginger and basil, can help fight infection and chronic diseases.

It is also important to eat from the rainbow.  The more color on your plate, the higher the nutritional value.  And good nutrition means we are healthy from the inside out – and that health radiates and turns back the hands of time. Fruits and vegetables get many of their colors from phytonutrients, compounds that play key roles in health and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer (learn more about the importance of eating from the rainbow and colorful foods you can integrate into your meals here).

Skin care is important since our skin is the largest organ on our body.  Just as what we put in our bodies is important, what we put ON our bodies is equally important.  Make sure you are not putting chemicals and toxins in the form of “skin care” and cosmetics….many pretty packages and the words “natural” do not make a great skin care product.  Remember to read the labels and make sure you know what you are putting on your skin.

The last pillar of good health to make you look and feel 20 years younger is sleep.  According to the CDC, up to 70 million Americans say they don't get enough. If you're not getting seven to nine hours a night, you are putting your health at risk.

"We know that if you don't get enough sleep, it can actually shorten your life," sleep expert Dr. Ronald Kotler says. "It can contribute to problems like diabetes and obesity."

Most people don't think of sleep as something that can make them fat, but Dr. Kotler says it's definitely a contributing factor. "While you're sleeping, the brain makes this chemical called leptin. Leptin is involved in suppressing your appetite, so that if you're not sleeping enough and you're not making enough leptin, you're going to be hungry all day. And if you're going to be hungry all day, you're going to eat and put on weight...then you put yourself at risk for sleep apnea, and it becomes a vicious cycle," he says.

Are you ready to turn back the hands of time and get healthy?  Start with these 4 pillars of health and if you need some extra wisdom and encouragement, contact me today.