Can a certain lifestyle rob you of your energy and your youth? Is it possible to prevent health problems or reverse them if you are battling with challenges today?

The answer is a simple and resounding YES.

At age 35, I had a hysterectomy. Today, at 45, I look much older than my biological age. What should I do to regain my youthful looks?

Hysterectomy triggered your early menopause. This accelerated the aging process in you. The tragedy about hysterectomies is that the surgery may not be necessary in some cases. According to Herbert Goldfarb, MD, New York, University of Medicine, and author of “The No Hysterectomy Option,” about 80 percent of hysterectomies that are not done for cancer reasons can be avoided.

Oftentimes, a good number of surgeries are done to eliminate fibroids which are considered harmless estrogen-dependent growths, bleeding and prolapsed or droopy uterus. And yet there are effective treatments available today to address these problems without cutting out the female organs.

Let’s deal with your situation. You have lost your estrogen factory and now the body has overreacted. Osteoporosis occurs twice as fast now. Consult your obstetrician and an endocrinologist. Both can draw up a hormone cocktail to stabilize your system. Get back your estrogen and look into your thyroid condition, testosterone cortisol, progesterone and HGH (human growth hormone) levels.

Get healthy by cutting back animal fat in your diet, exercising, meditating, engaging in stress-relieving programs, or getting quality sleep. If you find your skin unusually dry, consider taking liver oil capsules, evening primrose oil, and collagen with hyaluron supplements.

I am only 30 and plagued with high blood pressure. How do I reverse it?

It’s called a hidden aging problem. While wrinkles and gray hair can be seen and aching muscles can be felt, high blood pressure, also called hypertension, arrives without warning. It can strike you at any time. So, beware. This condition is directly linked to heart attacks and kidney failure. Do you know that most people go about their daily lives unaware that they have this condition?

Being aware of your own condition can already save your life. While the exact cause of hypertension is unknown, experts have identified risk factors such as family history (if your immediate family had it), stress, and unhealthy lifestyle.

To do: Remove the synthetic sodium/salt in your diet. Use only natural salt. Sodium damages the lining of blood vessels. Be careful where you eat regularly. Hidden sodium in restaurant food can cause your blood pressure to rise. You could be sodium sensitive as well.

Manage your stress

Psychological factors play a major role. Stay calm. Manage your stress. Consider taking garlic oil capsules to control cholesterol and vitamin B Complex to manage your nervous stress conditions. There is also turmeric (luyang dilaw) to cleanse your blood and assure better blood flow. Exercise reduces LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, so does vitamin C.

Avoid alcohol. Excessive drinking contributes to high blood pressure. Remember, how often you drink is as important as how much you take, though recent studies have shown that a glass of red wine is a heart-healthy drink.

While many may resort to prescription drugs to address the problem, know that there are side effects like fatigue, compromised libido, and erectile dysfunction. If you are overweight, embark on a weight-loss program. Just eating more vegetables and reducing carbohydrates daily will do the trick.

Take 3,500 mg of potassium daily in order to counteract the excess in your body. It will assure you of blood volume and bring your blood pressure down. (Natural sources: one baked potato packs 830 mg of potassium, and so does one cup of spinach. Other sources: bananas, orange juice, cabbage, corn, broccoli)

Note: Too much potassium supplements can aggravate kidney problems. As much as possible, take it from natural sources.

Magnesium can help. Good sources are nuts, seafood, peas, lima beans. Calcium can round off your mineral requirements from fish, low-fat cheese, canned fish with bones (yes, the mineral is in the bones!). Load up on fiber-rich foods. Fight dehydration by drinking 10-15 glasses of water daily. Laugh, be happy, smile.

Help me clean up my complexion! From time to time I have a pimple outbreak.

Skin problems must be initially addressed from the inside. Only after this has been addressed can one begin to see dramatic changes.

Eat vitamin C-rich foods like citrus fruits, green vegetables, supplements with 1,000 mg of vitamin C.

Increase intake of water soluble vitamin A in its natural form—fish, egg yolks, regular butter.

Take vitamin B complex-rich foods like beans, raisins, cantaloupe, brewer’s yeast.

Take two to six capsules of acidophilus (good bacteria) on an empty stomach.

Never get dehydrated. Drink one full glass of water every waking hour.

Sweat it out through exercise, and sauna to get the toxins out.

Sleep is essential for a radiant complexion.

Eliminate processed foods if your acne problem is serious.

Emergency treatment: Supplement with 10,000 IU beta carotene for six days straight.

Affirm today: “Happiness is mine today.”