WHY ‘DYING’ AND NOT ‘LIFE’ BEGINS AT 40

Does life really begin at 40? I think not. Before I tell you what I think, let’s see what the American philosopher, Walter B. Pitkin, whose self-help book, published in 1932 and titled “Life Begins at Forty” means by his book, at least idiomatically.

Well, the English Language had adopted the title of Pitkin’s book as an idiomatic expression, which means “that when one reaches the age of forty, life becomes better, maybe because one has the skills, experiences, and means necessary for an enjoyable life.” Now, what do you think? I think it’s a mere supposition, which may not be realizable in many people’s experiences.

To puncture Walter Pitkin’s philosophical supposition, one Helen Rowland (trust women and their intuition), added a dimension to this that belied the meaning of the title of Pitkin’s motivational book. Here’s Helen Rowland’s notable quote: “Life begins at forty, but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eyesight, and the tendency to tell a story to the same person, three or four times.”

So, which is more accurate: “Life begins at forty” – that life becomes better – maybe because one has the skills, experiences, and means necessary for an enjoyable life”, or that at forty, one’s arches (curves) fall, rheumatism sets in, eyesight begins to fail and a person tells a story to the same person several times, without ever remembering that he has told them the story before? No, I think “Dying begins at forty.” Oh, no, I believe there are many good things of life that reach their peak when one gets to the age of forty. Yes, more people are able at forty to easily afford some comfort – buy a fine house, buy a dream car or start a dream business, plus being able to afford to eat ‘good food’.

Nevertheless, 40 is the age when most people’s health begin to fail them. It happened to me. At 40, my lower back pain had become chronic and worrisome to me and family. At 40, I had used multiple recommended eye glasses for over 5 years, and my eyesight was still deteriorating. However, I was lucky that my memory was still sharp at that age, but I was having more frequent malaria fever, plus arthritic pains that came on and off in my leg joints and fingers.

Let me now show you why I think dying starts at the age of forty. According to science, a number of things that show you that you are not getting ‘better’ begins to occur in your body. I will point out few here.

YOUR METABOLISM SLOWS DOWN

It’s a scientifically proven fact that when you get to the age of 40, the rate at which your food is digested become slower, the rate at which your body absorbs or utilizes fat, protein and other nutrients you ingest in your food also begins to slow down. And without being to medical school, you understand that your body would no more perform the way it did when you were younger.

So, the same science recommends that you do the following:

Reduce the quantity of food you normally eat

Because your digestive system no more functions like when you were younger, larger portion of meals could end up not being well digested and well absorbed by your body. The result? You will tend to get fatter, which would become detrimental to your health eventually.

Change your diet

As you grow older, nutritional scientists advise that you switch your diet to more plant-based meals. Fruits, vegetables and other plant-based foods are easier to digest than the usual processed and carb dense meals we usually consume.

Drink more water (better if it’s natural alkaline water)

Drinking more water aids in the digestion of food, as the digestive system becomes slower in the digestion of what we eat from the age of 40.

Avoid late night meals

As you grow older, especially when you get to the age of 40, avoid eating late meals. It’s recommended that your last meal for the day should take place at 5pm, and latest at 7pm.

LOSS OF MUSCLE MASS

At the age of 40, science tells us that our muscle mass decreases. In other words, one’s muscles would become flabby and would need deliberate action to tone or strengthen it. What’s the way out?

Become more active by exercising your body

Since some people become more comfortable by the time they get to the age of 40, it’s recommended that you deliberately park your comfortable car and trek to places within 2 kilometers around your neighbourhood. On the alternative, engage in regular brisk walks or jogging. Consider other mild sporting activities like cycling around your neighbourhood instead of driving your car around.

Now, our muscles use up most of the calories we consume as younger individuals, and when your muscles become slack, the calories or energy get stored as excess fat and could become problematic to us eventually. Excess fat or weight means that you could develop big tummy or those fat could envelop some internal organs and cause unexpected problems.

TOO MUCH EASE

When things become too easy for us – using a car instead of trekking, having too much in the house to eat and drink, availability of money to buy anything you fancy, you could unwittingly poison yourself. For instance, because you can afford it, you eat whatever is introduced in the fast food industry, like Pizza, Shawama, Special Ice cream, etc.

The way out of this is to deliberately subject your body to ‘suffering’ as suggested above. Regular workouts, abandoning your car to trek to some distance, etc. will help your body stay healthy.

The long and short of this matter is that you change your lifestyle as you get to the age of forty and above. Take note that no one can take care of your body and life for you. Even your doctor depends on what you tell him or her to help you get well. The doctor depends on you to know how you feel. Taking medicines to cure you of certain health problems, but continuing in a lifestyle that is harmful to your health is like shooting yourself on the leg but praying that you will not have any infection.

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