I am sure all of us experienced a time in our lives when our attitude was really an anti-attitude towards the effects of aging. Not aging itself, as the only alternative to aging is dying. It reminds me of the Kenny Chesney song, “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now.”

My wife and I wanted to defy the effects of aging and had a pretty intense reaction to reminders of aging. When my wife got her AARP card in the mail reminding her that she just turned 50 and received all the benefits of membership, she had a defiant card-burning ceremony! Now we smile when we look in the mirror or get those reminders and realize—we are not anti-agers; we are healthy-agers embracing aging with goals of extending our quality of life. And millions of others have entered a healthier mindset of the aging process!

Today, there are over 108 million people in the USA that are 50 years of age or older. The 65+ age group is expected to grow from 50.8 million as of 2018 to 70.4 million people in just twelve years. This population trend is motivating a desire for a healthier way to age.

The National Council of Aging (NCOA) reported that 80% of adults aged 65 and older have at least one chronic condition; 68% have two or more according to 2015 data from Medicare and Medicaid Services. I will not list the conditions but make note that the majority are a result of lifestyle choices. This is excellent news because, as I have said before, if lifestyle choices can make us ill, they can make us well.

The aging movement now centers on healthy aging—not anti-aging. We share values like independence, freedom, and a healthy mind. Autonomy and freedom translate to lifestyles that maintain mobility and self-reliance.

Healthy aging is not so much about longevity but about extending quality of life. A long life in diapers without the ability to respond to purpose in life is not a life worth living. We will all age, but how we age comes down to the choices we make today.

This is why at TriVita we are moving toward helping our Members understand how best to support their body systems and organs—so they can make informed choices for healthy aging and the quality of life that goes with it. We have hero products with additional companion products so our Members can make the decisions right for them in supporting their health goals.

Maintaining mobility throughout the aging process strengthens independence and self-reliance, and the musculoskeletal system needs proper nutrients and nurturing activities to remain strong at any age. MyoHealth is a powerful muscle and bone-building formula containing the nine essential amino acids developed by Dr. Robert Wolfe, supported by over $20 million in funding and 25 human studies. Now the healthy-agers do not have to accept muscle atrophy that leads to so much despair.

Another example of healthy aging is supporting good brain health. Until recently, the attitude about brain health was you either had a good memory, focus and function or you did not. A healthy brain has always been separated from lifestyle choices. Now thanks to research—especially Dale Bredesen MD and other leading medical researchers—we know that diet, physical and mental activity along with targeted nutrition can support a healthy brain.

Today the healthy aging movement is looking beyond wrinkles, thickness of hair, and waistline, to see whole-person wellness: living with vitality and quality of life through the aging process.

Wellness is having the vitality and energy to do the things you love and need to do; having daily positive emotions of love, forgiveness, gratitude and acceptance; and developing a relationship with God knowing His purpose for your life.

Healthy aging is possible through proper lifestyle choices, and is most appealing through the lens of whole-person wellness.