AFRICAN -AMERICAN WELLNESS GURU, JULIA FORTUNE TELLS OF RARE SECRETS OF HER YOUTHFUL BEAUTY @ 60

‘’Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will
burn out the pain’’.-Joseph Campbell

BY Cerutti Mike Osagie, Ikoyi, LAGOS
* youngchief@yahoo.com

Seasoned icon, Maria Michelle could not have summed it any better when she mused that: ‘There is no cosmetic for beauty than happiness’’

Some people are no doubt  blessed to  in the exclusive  class of ''ageless beauty'', which is perhaps a result of  Joy, happiness, inner peace, beauty and a high self esteem that ultimately show an  ageless expression of  natural beauty

And undoubtedly, renown African American(originally Nigeria born) Julia Fortune is one of such lucky people, for even at 60 years and being a grandmother, she is still looking chic and  elegantly  fashionable

CERUTTI MEDIA  VIA WORLD INDUSTRY LEADERS GROUP, caught up with Las Vegas, in America, based Wellness propagator to tell us her secret, and she was at home with her recipe you can also learn from

 HER STORY ON SECRET OF HER BEAUTY AT 60 
Well first let me thank you for the compliment, which was very kind of you for saying.  What is the secret of my beauty at 60? Well the secret is that there is no secret!  I practice what I preach and enjoy a Wellness lifestyle in all its dimensions:  regular exercise, proper diet, mental stimulation, and education. 

My wellness regimen allows me to keep stress free as much as possible, and as we all know, stress is a killer.  But did you also know that too much stress can actually age you?  It can and let’s face it when you’re stressed you tend to worry needlessly and constantly.  Most people in that situation will most assuredly be wrinkling their faces and frowning a lot which will ruin "beautiful" in a heartbeat.  So for a closer glimpse of my wellness regimen, let me break it down for you.

Let’s start with an easy one – regular exercise.  I can’t emphasize enough consulting with your doctor before beginning any exercise routine.  I walk 2 – 4 miles a day, six days a week.  I don’t run and don’t recommend it.  Here’s the reason – running puts undue stress on your lower joints which raises the chance for injury.  Besides the idea behind exercise is to tone your body, looking fit and trim, and you do that by increasing your cardio BPM, or beats per minute, to a sustained average of 70% of your maximum heart rate which you can do just as well walking at 3 to 3.5 miles an hour as you can running at 6 to 8 miles an hour.  

According to the Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise-intensity/art-20046887?pg2) your maximum heart rate is calculated as 220 minus your age.  The optimum heart rate then is a percentage of the maximum heart rate (50% - 70% for moderate exercise level and 70% to 85% for vigorous).  There is no specific age range that will determine whether one should work out at a moderate or vigorous exercise level, again consulting with your doctor may determine that.  To see how the calculations work, I will use me as an example.  To calculate my maximum heart rate I’ll take 220 minus my age (60) which equals 160 – that is my maximum heart rate.  To calculate the low and high percentages of the moderate exercise level I’ll take my maximum heart rate and multiply it by .5 for the low end and .7 for the high end (160 x .5 = 80 bpm, 160 x .7 = 112 bpm). 

 The same goes for the vigorous exercise level (160 x .7 = 112 bpm, 160 x .85 = 136 bpm).  So how do you keep track of your bpm when exercising?  There are many wristbands available on the internet or at the chemist that keep a constant record of your bpm; if you exercise at an indoor gym, most treadmills, steppers, and the like have on board heart rate monitors; I like the old school method, the one still used by some medical professionals – look at your watch for 15 seconds and use your fingertip to count your pulse, then multiply by four.  All these methods work; it is just a matter of personal choice.   Just as we need to put fuel in our autos to get where we need to go, we can’t exercise without putting food (fuel) in our bodies.  Next up: let’s get down with food.

Proper diet – fuel for fitness.  All of us eat, it is how we survive.  But not a lot of us have ever learned what and how to eat.  I don’t need to give you stats on obesity, heart disease, or other chronic diseases, just look around and you’ll see the lack of a proper diet is prevalent in every country and every walk of life.  We are all acquainted with the USDA’s food pyramid and more recently the food plate at www.ChooseMyPlate.gov where the proportions make more sense than the old pyramid did and on the website has a better visual appearance.  MyPlate divides the plate into 4 sections (grains, protein, vegetables, and fruits) but not in equal portions with veggies taking the largest slice (35%) followed by grains (30%) with fruits and protein filling out the rest of the plate along with a dairy portion.  This is an optimum meal arraignment for healthy eating, supplying proper fuel for your body, and designed to keep you fit and trim.  Do you see this type of diet where you live? I don’t, at least not in large numbers.  What I see is a lot of folks that think they’re healthy because they’re eliminating a food group, losing weight and looking good.  But looking good is all they are.  Look, much to the dismay of the vegans and the radical vegetarians out there and even the meat and potato crowd, humans are omnivores, we’re meant to eat all the food groups.  You can’t eliminate a food group or two and expect to be healthy and fit, you might be thin, real thin, but thin isn’t necessarily healthy and, of course, neither is fat.  Too thin and you’re probably missing essential body fat (yes you need some).  Too thin and you’re probably missing vital nutrients.  A fit body has essential fat and sufficient nutrients to power your body.  My well-balanced meal is a slight variation of MyPlate in that half my lunch and dinner plates are vegetables with other half divided between grain and protein.  My breakfast is fruit and grains along with almond milk.  If I want a snack I eat fruit and even with all these, I still add Vitamins and other Supplements to my diet. For more information on specific supplements contact me at juliafortune@gmail.com.  So how do you know if you’re in the fit category?  One of the ways is by getting a full physical from your health care provider and another is calculating your BMI or body mass index. Before going to your Doctor, drop by the Total Body Wellness Center for a full non-invasive  Body Scan so you can take your results to your Doctor.  For additional information contact me at juliafortune@gmail.com.  You can find a great BMI calculator at www.nhlbi.nih.gov, load in the numbers and it does all the work.  The results are same for men and women.  I recommend visiting your health care provider to determine your bone structure prior to using this calculator as having large or small bones could alter the results. 

Do you know what happens when you eat right and exercise?  You begin to feel lighter because you’re eating the right food in the right quantities, and exercising allows your blood to flow better which allows you to think better and that will stimulate your mind.

Mental stimulation – pumping iron for your brain.  Exercise gets your blood pumping which increases blood flow to your brain.  This in turn increases the cognitive functions in your brain.  As you relax from your workout start your mental workout by reading a book, writing something, or maybe playing a board game.  You can feel the stress leaving your body which further opens your mind.  Ever notice when people come back from vacation how much younger they look?  Why?  Easy – no stress.  What the good food and body exercise starts, mental exercise and relaxation finish when it comes to stress.  I combine my mental stimulation after my walk with a combination of soaking in bath that contains soothing essential oils, aromatherapy, and good soft music. 

Education is both teaching and being taught.  It is speaking as well as listening.  Watching as well as being watched.  See how education can improve your beauty.

Education – watching the outer me and listening to the inner me, both of them.  Take a good look at your body, like what you see?  Everything I’ve mentioned above will help improve the way you look and feel, but I’m talking about those little tell-tale signs of something potentially wrong.  I routinely scan my body and run my hands over my body to detect possible abnormalities.  I live a really healthy life style but that doesn’t mean that something can’t creep up, you need to be aware.  Early detection means early diagnosis and early cure.  I also “listen” to my body when it comes to my internal parts and take care to get routine and annual checkups.  I heartily recommend this for everyone but, as a cancer survivor, it is essential.  Knowing that I have a healthy body keeps me relaxed and stress free.  Knowing that I have a healthy relationship with God does the same thing, to a higher level.  Remember being a child, being care free, knowing that no matter what, dad was the one with the answers?  Dad was the protector, the one who makes sure you have what you need, the one who wiped your tears when you got hurt.  Sound familiar?  God does all that and more for His children and that makes me feel beautiful.  Feeling beautiful brings your beauty out for all to see…. at 60 or any age''.    

THAT IS JULIA FOR YOU,AGELESS BEAUTY AT 60