I am turning 44 in a few weeks. Nothing to be sad about. In fact, I am grateful for every year of my life. Growing old is a blessing, not everyone experiences being old. Most people die young. My parents did. My younger brother died when he was 15. So, you can only imagine how happy I am that I get to spend more time with the people I love. My daily prayer is that I get to see my grandchildren with my two nephews.

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I think I know what you are thinking next. If I want to live longer, I should start taking care of myself more than what I am doing now. I actually am. Right now, I am trying my best to slow my aging especially on my skin. Well, I have three ways on how to slow the aging process the natural way.

1. Stop smoking, drink less alcohol.

I think we all know the side effects of smoking and drinking alcohol. Damage to the lungs and liver, not to mention how it wreaks havoc to the whole body over the years of continued consumption and use. I know most of you would react to this number one way of slowing the aging process because a number of you are smokers and drinkers. But let me say something as a reminder: do it in moderation. Smoking, if it can be totally eliminated from your system, the better. Drinking, well, a glass a day won’t do anyone harm. We have an old lady neighbor who swore to my dad that the secret to her long life was drinking one bottle of beer a day. She told my dad that she would drink one cold bottle of beer every night before going to bed. It might be true because she lived to almost a hundred years.

2. Take extra care of your skin.

Avoid direct sunlight. Don’t over-tan your skin. Make sure to remove your make-up before going to bed. And clean your face with soap and water only as much as possible. Go to the dermatologist if you have a skin blemish, pimple or skin tag. Get a facial regularly. It also doesn’t hurt to try a new skin treatment from time to time, like microneedling. Everything you need to know about microneedling can be researched online, of course. Procedures that can help your skin look better are totally okay to try. Again, everything in moderation.

3. Eat a healthy and balanced diet.

One of the things that I tell those close to me when it comes to eating healthy is to not be swayed by the current diet fad. Not every diet that worked on others will work for you. It is still better to consult a doctor before going on a diet to make sure that you are not harming yourself more than getting healthy in the process. If you don’t want to consult a doctor, you know the best advice there is: eat in moderation.

Let’s make sure to beat the mortality rate and grow older than our elders.