This is a tricky question. Aging is a biological process that starts at the cellular level and manifests itself in the obvious signs we are unfortunately so familiar with. Examples are everything from wrinkles, physical limitations, simple memory loss and more serious brain issues like Alzheimer’s.

Science is on the path to possibly reverse the damage to cells that occurs over time but they’re not quite there. In the meantime, we’ll have to settle with preventing the effects of aging while future generations might be able to reverse. So how do we prevent the effects of aging?

Exercise

Along with a proper diet, exercise might be the most obvious and therefore overlooked method of prevention. However, do so at your own risk. Not only does exercise accomplish all the things that you already know about, like make your heart stronger and generally help you to stay in shape, but there are also benefits for your brain and skin.

Exercise lowers your risk for depression, which though it can affect a person at any age, aging can be a factor in its onset. Additionally, exercise lowers your risk for dementia, which is an age-related disease. If those aren’t reason enough, exercise can reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s and promote a healthier brain. Another wonderful side effect of exercising is an increased blood flow. This increase in blood flow carries oxygen and nutrients to your skin as well as carry away waste.

Diet

You knew it was coming. Yes, yet another article telling you to improve your diet. The key here is plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, seafood and lean meat. With being healthy something that has become fashionable, it’s more difficult these days to not know what is healthy. However, in the less-obvious category, there is proof that going fat-free isn’t as necessary as previously thought. Unsaturated fats are important for hormones to work properly.

As a part of a healthy diet, staying properly hydrated is also important to “reverse” the effects of aging. Drinking plenty of water helps with your skin elasticity, but more importantly it is critical for proper kidney and liver function.

Love

Being around people that you love is a great way to reduce stress plus, it helps to minimize depression. Some people can retreat from socializing in their old age. While it’s also important to take some time each day for ourselves, being a recluse can wreak havoc on how quickly we age. Somehow, for some people, getting older sadly also means not asking for help. Human beings need other human beings, regardless of our age.

Also in the category of love is sex. A recent study suggested that people who orgasm twice per week or more, live longer lives. It’s easy to joke about how much everyone loves sex but it’s easier to become complacent in our love lives as we age. Find a time and place to spend with your someone special away from your everyday routine so that it’s designated as “your” time. Sex may not be the result, but whatever happens, it will help.