TO a considerable degree... we could decide not to age. We are forever in search of the fountain of youth, the cure for old age. But even though dozens of theories have been proposed, yet science has not produced a universal theory of aging. Throughout history, from the time of Hippocrates on, doctors have always drawn a distinction between disease and aging. Disease was a departure from health, a derailing from the normal track of life. Aging, on the other hand, was the natural course of events. Physicians attempted to treat the former and accept the later. Unfortunately, some 10-20 percent of hospitalizations for seniors are the result of drug side effects.

Seniors benefit more than anybody else from good health habits. A small change in your health risks provides greater benefit to you than does a large change in a younger individual. It is never too late. The last two to ten years of your health habits is increasingly important to the quality of your life.

Good news... there is only five major areas to healthy senior lifestyle:

• Exercise -- The central ingredient of good health. It tones the muscle, strengthens the bones, make the heart and lungs work better and helps prevent constipation. Exercise eases depression, aids in sleep and in every activity of daily life. Aerobic (endurance) exercise is the key to fitness. This is the most important kind of exercise. The word “aerobic” means that during exercise period, the oxygen (air) you breath in balances the oxygen you use up during the exercise period. Your choice of a particular aerobic activity depends on your own desires and your present level of fitness. Walking, jogging, swimming and brisk-walking are appropriate for all ages, and many seniors of all ages can participate.

• Diet and nutrition -- A variety of dietary considerations are important to the healthy life. Most people don’t like sudden changes in their diet. Instead, you should move gradually towards improvement. Excessive dietary saturated fat is the worst food habits. It is the major cause of atherosclerosis (clogged arteries) leading to heart attacks and strokes. Too much sodium (salt) in the system tends to retain fluid in the body, increasing blood pressure and predisposing to problems such as swelling of the legs. Adequate fiber intake is one of the most popular health measures. It increases regularity of bowel action and protects the bowel against cancer of the colon. Fiber binds cholesterol and helps eliminate if from the body. Calcium supplements are particularly important for seniors especially senior women. Women over age 50 should have at least 1500 mg of calcium each day.

• Smoking -- Lung cancer and emphysema are the best-known and most miserable outcome of tobacco smoking. The most numerically and important problem of smoking is the development of atherosclerosis. This results in heart attacks and strokes, angina pectoris (chest pains), intermittent claudication (leg pains) and many other problems. It is never too late to quit smoking. Only two years after stopping cigarette smoking, your risk of heart attack returns to average. Decide firmly that you really want to quit smoking. You need to quit smoking. You need to believe that you can do it. Combine your stop-smoking program with an exercise program.

• Alcohol -- Excessive alcohol intake is a serious problem for some people in every age group. It leads to depression and can have a negative effect on your entire life.

• Weight control -- Excessive body weight compounds many health problems. It stresses the heart, the muscles and the bones. Excess weight makes breathing more difficult. Additional weight slows you down, makes you less effective in personal encounters and lowers your self-image. Fat people are hospitalized more gallbladder problems, more high blood pressure, more heart attacks and more strokes.

For most of us, the problems and the solutions are personal, not medical. As with the other habits that change health, management of these problems begins with its recognition as a problem. And for those of us with a potential problem, the vigilance must be lifelong.