5 Signs You're Aging More Quickly Than You Should + Exactly What To Do About Each

Aging isn't a bad thing, it’s the way of life. But there is a difference between aging and aging well. There are some important diet and lifestyle factors that either accelerate the aging process or make it go a lot more smoothly.The key to aging well starts with self-examination—and then taking control of a bodily process called autophagy.

What is autophagy, you ask? Well, it's a natural thing that happens in your body. The word literally means "self" and "eating," and so as you might expect, autophagy is your body’s way of ridding itself of cellular junk like excess proteins and cells that are no longer being used. We've known about autophagy for a long time, but have more recently been leaning more about how awakening this process can majorly affect your biological aging process, reduce your risk for disease, boost your vitality and energy, invigorate your skin, and even help you lose weight. Boosting autophagy is one of the main goals of intermittent fasting.

The first and most obvious sign of aging has everything to do with the skin, our body's largest organ. Our skin protects us from the elements, provides a barrier to the outside world, naturally expels toxins, and controls our body temperature—but it's also an outer reflection of our body’s inner health. Chronic stress can cause1 inflammation and prematurely age your skin. If your skin is dry, itchy, flaky, irritated, wrinkled, or sagging, chances are it is because your skin is sending you a message.

Sitting is the new smoking. Did you know that Americans spend 70 percent of their time2 sitting down? Recent medical research has shown that our work and home life habits are contributing to accelerated aging. Sitting, whether in your car, at your desk, or in front of the television, is a factor in the onset of numerous health concerns including obesity, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels.

You may have stuck to the same diet and exercise routine for years, but suddenly you notice that your waistline is expanding. Metabolic and hormonal changes that naturally occur as the body ages do contribute to belly fat, especially in women and men in middle age. For women, this can be especially true after menopause when estrogen decreases and body fat shifts to the abdomen. This can get in the way of you looking a feeling your best, but visceral fat in the gut (belly fat) is also a contributor3 to accelerated aging and health risks such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and respiratory distress.

You look in the mirror and suddenly realize that your eyes are constantly red or dropping. The clear-eyed, sparkling gaze of your 20s seems to have given way to constant red eye and your contact solution, eye drops, antihistamines, and eye creams aren’t working. Many experts think red eyes have to do with4 inflammation and might be related to conditions like arthritis or thyroid dysfunction.

Memory loss and forgetfulness is a natural sign of aging—especially when you are living a stressful life. As we get older, natural brain health deterioration and glitches can lead to delays in recalling information such as names, movie titles, telephone numbers—things that just seemed to always be ready in our memory reserve when we were younger.

What to do: Age-related memory loss can be slowed down with the right foods and nutrients as well as brain-stimulating activity. An omega-3 DHA-rich diet and supplement routine should become part of your everyday self-care.

Remember, by making small but high-impact changes to your everyday routine, you can support your body in this process called aging. The great news is a little bit of effort goes a very long way, and your body will thank you for every little thing you do.