The Healthful Aging Thread

[lsimpson33]

Science-based aging

I'm a big fan of looking at this all through a science-based lens. One book I highly recommend:
Overkill: When modern medicine goes too far by Paul Offitt

Diet:

• Don't take vitamins. I know this seems counterintuitive, but the research is pretty solid that they do more harm than good: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/...myth-why-we-think-we-need-supplements/277947/
• Worked with a dietician a few years ago to optimize my vitamin intake naturally through eating. As my DH says, "I eat like a rabbit." I eat a minimum of 5 vegetables and fruits per day and 2 out of 3 meals per day are almost always vegetarian
• Lots of cruciferous vegetables because they've been shown to prevent cancer
• DH and I rarely eat out unless on business travel. This also helps with the budget.
• Have been working on reducing sodium intake. After starting to use MyFitnessPal to figure out calories/carbs/protein in our meals, I realized how much sodium we were eating. Yikes.
• Eat a diabetic-style diet even though we aren't. We balance protein/carbs, eat high fiber, and I eat every 3 hours when awake

Fitness

• Do Camp Gladiator 3 times per week
• Swim 1 time per week for an hour (I was a competitive swimmer, so this is intense)
• Walk 1x per week.
• I agree with yoga, but am bad about it. I do use a foam roller 3x per week
• Martial arts training 1x per week

Mental/Cognitive

• We're still working, so that helps
• Joined multiple philosophy groups to engage my brain
• Big proponent of therapy
• Meditate 5x per week
• Journaling daily
• I love learning new things, so that's a huge plus. Right now, I'm learning to sew

Sleep

• There is a really strong amount of research that you should go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. So I do that (within a 30 min range). It's not fun to get up at 5:30 am on weekends, but wow do I feel better when I do.
• Get 8 hours of sleep per night
• Minimize anything that will reduce the quality of sleep (stress, TV before bed, etc.)
• Gave up caffeine except for any really big need (about 1x per month)

Skincare

• No Botox, but I'll admit to Retin-A (I'm 39)
• Major user of sunscreen, every day
• Use exfoliating gloves on my skin per week
• Use a 50/50 mix of Eucerin body lotion and olive oil on my face, neck, chest and hands at bedtime each night
• Get a skin cancer screening every year or every other year

 

[Music Lover]

But you don’t need to be fanatical about it. If I have someplace interesting to go or to do and it means not doing my exercise that day I don’t care. I will do what I like. I can exercise the next day or the day after. Exercising just to exercise is boring to me. We have to do what works for each of us.

Agreed. Although I exercise regularly, if I'm busy then I don't care if I miss a workout. Yeah, sometimes it's boring but I'm only doing 15 minutes of weights 3 or 4 times a week and 15 or 20 minutes of cardio on the in between days. The workout is over before I get bored, lol. I can't remember the last time I worked out for an hour...and I don't see any reason why I should.

 

[Ronstar]

Exercise over a long period is sustainable when doing things that you enjoy. I enjoy biking and hiking as hobbies, so I alternate days of biking and hiking with running for exercise. I do one of these every day unless I have travel constraints. And I add a little weight lifting in front of my tv.

I think I get most of my exercise from hiking. It can be done anywhere, anytime, in any weather conditions. And it’s always interesting. And it will probably be the form of exercise that will I’ll be able to do past my running and biking years.

 

[RetiredHappy]

I don't do keto diet but keep my carb intake to 80 to 100 gms daily, including on 4-hr golfing days 4 to 5 times a week. Before I met my husband, I would swim for an hour every morning at 5am, followed by 2 donuts in the morning with a cup of french vanilla coffee and I didn't even like coffee, when I got into work. I was usually good about limiting carb intake for the rest of the day.

I met my husband at work 15 years ago, and learned that he was diabetic and I started taking my blood sugar level with his glucose monitor. I was alarmed that after a meal of spaghetti with meat balls, my blood glucose was around 170. My lab tests were still normal, under 5.6 A1C. But I started to change the way I ate and no longer indulged in high carb meals.

We both love good food which means that we do focus on meals quite a bit and we host friends at our home for dinner alot - once a week or so. We also eat out at nice restaurants almost daily for lunch and a couple of times for dinner. Keto is definitely out for us but my husband keeps his carb intake to no more than 50 grams a day ever since he was first diagnosed as diabetic more than 20 years ago. His diabetes is well under control, takes oral meds, golfs alot and exercises on days when he is not golfing.

Right now our goal is to lose some weight. I am at BMI of 21 but I want to lose another 5 to 10 lbs. My husband wants to lose another 10 to 15 lbs as he is still in the overweight category. We watch portion size and limit snacking.

 

[audreyh1]

I second yoga for everyone... it is basically stretching and strength for the whole body... so seems sensible that it will help with balance.

Yoga, even basic Hatha Yoga, can be quite a workout.

Below is a recent 45 min yoga workout where my heart rate averaged 140bpm and peaked at 170 and stayed elevated for a pretty long time. I didn’t feel fatigue until maybe the last 5-10mins of hard work.

Why did my heart rate get so high? We weren’t moving fast, but we were doing big body moves from position to position including some very challenging balancing moves. (I didn’t even know there was a reverse half moon pose!)

 

[audreyh1]

The problem is after 6 months or so when the goals are met and people feel so much better they relax the diet and return to the old ways and the same problems come right back along with inflammation and weight gain. So, if a person is a gourmand then it is very difficult to maintain this diet for life. It is hard to travel as well and most restaurants are out of the question especially outside the US. That said, you get pretty good at knowing what to eat and how to avoid carbs. I try not to be an inconvenient guest and eat around the carbs without making a scene but some things I simply refuse to eat and can be insulting to some people who do not get it. Outside the US, such as here in Hungary, they have zero knowledge of the keto diet. Hungary, btw, has the 4th highest level of obesity in the world (the US is in first place). Many have frank Type II diabetes and simply refuse to listen to me. Others do not have the willpower to maintain a diet, especially one as severe as the ketogenic diet. I am watching friends die because of this and it is saddening to see.

I was able to maintain ketosis after increasing carbs. I probably eat more than 50g net carbs from larger servings of vegetables, although I stopped tracking carbs almost 2 years ago. I check my blood ketones about once a month, and have maintained in ketosis for almost 2.5 years. My fasting blood insulin and A1C are their lowest ever - 4.8 and 4.6% respectively. I think there is a lot of variability in individuals and their carb tolerance. I was never pre-diabetic as my A1C was never above 5.2, it was my triglycerides that were creeping up. My doc likes to see triglycerides below 80 for good cardiovascular protection. He thinks 150 as the official upper limit is way too high. My Triglycerides/HDL ratio stays around 1.

 

[Ronstar]

Yoga, even basic Hatha Yoga, can be quite a workout.

Below is a recent 45 min yoga workout where my heart rate averaged 140bpm and peaked at 170 and stayed elevated for a pretty long time. I didn’t feel fatigue until maybe the last 5-10mins of hard work.

Why did my heart rate get so high? We weren’t moving fast, but we were doing big body moves from position to position including some very challenging balancing moves. (I didn’t even know there was a reverse half moon pose!)

Don't know why your heart rate got so high, but it seems like you get a good workout.

Something doesn't make sense to me. In my version of HIIT running, I exercise 75% of the time that you do, have the same average heart rate as you, but burn 56% more calories than you. Maybe a weight setting, but I can't find it.

 

[audreyh1]

Don't know why your heart rate got so high, but it seems like you get a good workout.

Something doesn't make sense to me. In my version of HIIT running, I exercise 75% of the time that you do, have the same average heart rate as you, but burn 56% more calories than you. Maybe a weight setting, but I can't find it.

Well, we are standing, inverted, moving to plank, downward dog, up again to different standing poses, inverted again, holding difficult strength or balancing poses, ad nauseam. The challenging balancing poses will really get my heart rate up because so many muscles are engaged - effort is high. Holding in say plank for a long period will also get my heart rate up.

We are doing steady slow deep nasal breathing through all of this.

I’m female, 61, 5’ 3”, weigh around 140. I’m sure that all goes into the Apple Watch calcs. The Health app and Fitness app share information.

 

[BlueAFMom]

Don't know why your heart rate got so high, but it seems like you get a good workout.

Something doesn't make sense to me. In my version of HIIT running, I exercise 75% of the time that you do, have the same average heart rate as you, but burn 56% more calories than you. Maybe a weight setting, but I can't find it.

The other variable is METS which vary by exercise type.

https://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/the-value-of-mets-in-weight-loss-workouts.html

 

[Charlie_Boy]

Great thread, but fewer posts than I expected. I and my wife eat moderately, live well and healthy, and walk most days. My wife is an avid hiker, I mean long hard hikes in the mountains along the Front Range and she also takes various classes at the gym: yoga, jazzercise, zoomba, roomba, and other catchy ones. I don't much like hiking or being around folks so much, so when she hikes and more, usually 2-3 times a week, I go to the gym on the Air Force Academy. Still, I will shortly be 75 and have become concerned about my stability, balance, and falling. Then, I saw information about a fall prevention program by UC Health in our area and I signed up. The program consists of a virtual class (on aging independently) but there is another in hospital program too, a bit longer, more intense program called Stepping Out. I signed up for the latter and that starts early next month. Perhaps there are similar classes in your neck of the woods. I will post my experience with that program later, maybe a new thread.

And speaking of fecal matter, while there may be benefits in swapping some with others, I am a cleanliness nut. We have had Toto Washlets (bidets) in our homes in Japan and the States for over 40 years. There are medical benefits with them too besides just being clean and they pay for themselves in paper savings. That would be a good discussion too if there hasn't already been one.

 

[Kgillen107]

Hello - Which kind of facility/doctor can I go to to learn more about this? I live in S. Florida. Thanks!

 

[bmcgonig]

Well, we are standing, inverted, moving to plank, downward dog, up again to different standing poses, inverted again, holding difficult strength or balancing poses, ad nauseam. The challenging balancing poses will really get my heart rate up because so many muscles are engaged - effort is high. Holding in say plank for a long period will also get my heart rate up.

We are doing steady slow deep nasal breathing through all of this.

I’m female, 61, 5’ 3”, weigh around 140. I’m sure that all goes into the Apple Watch calcs. The Health app and Fitness app share information.

Audrey, what I’m fascinated by is your ability to keep your heart rate at 170 for so long. That must be close to or right at your maximum heart rate?

 

[BubbaChris]

I used to fall a lot, and had a couple of very bad falls back in 2015, when moving into this house. Since then, my cataract surgery and knee replacement surgery have really helped me to cut back on falls (because I can actually see obstacles(!) and I no longer wobble precariously about when I walk).

But, I am getting older and even one fall could hurt me more than it would have years ago. So, a hobby of mine is to try to "fall proof" my home and environment. Luckily my home has no stairs, so falling down stairs will never be an issue here.

I have motion detecting nightlights all around my house. I have removed anything I could trip on, and I have no throw rugs that aren't well anchored to the floor. When getting up from bed, I always sit upright for a moment before standing, and this helps me to prevent falls due to orthostatic hypotension. My shower has multiple grab bars, a shower stool, and a non-slip floor. My shoes do not have slippery soles. Any time I hear of something that I think will help for fall prevention, I buy and use it.

I am not counting my chickens, but I have not fallen in several years since I started doing this. Trying to think of new ways to prevent falls is kind of a fun hobby, as well as adding to my health as I age.

DW used to be a Fallproof Certified Master Instructor. This is a program that was developed at the Center for Successful Aging (CSA) at Cal State Fullerton. They have certified hundreds of instructors throughout North America. It may be worth checking with the CSA to see if there are any Fallproof-certified instructors in your area. The program director, Debra Rose, is considered an expert in this field and I've met many of DW's clients in the 10 years she was practicing. Their stuff works.

Best regards,
Chris

 

[audreyh1]

Audrey, what I’m fascinated by is your ability to keep your heart rate at 170 for so long. That must be close to or right at your maximum heart rate?

Apparently not. In rowing a few years ago (4?) one day I was feeling particularly good and it is easy to get my heart rate above 170 when rowing hard, so I decided to let it creep up more. I got to 181 before I scared myself and pulled back effort. I did not feel winded, just didn't want my heart rate to go higher.

That yoga heart rate graph peaked at 170, but I was operating above 160 for a fairly long time. Again I don't remember feeling particularly out of breath.

I'd posted before about my heart rate running high and apparently I am not the only one here whose heart rate routinely gets up there, so I think the whole max heart rate thing by age is not very useful.

 

[Old Microbiologist]

Audrey - I agree with you. After 2 years of the keto diet I don't count the carbs anymore either but do a spot check randomly for ketones. It hasn't been an issue so I even stopped doing that. The diet doesn't change much as we have established a set of meals that are good to eat and have low carbs. My wife, who isn't doing the keto diet deliberately, is passively keto as I do the majority of the cooking. She is happy to have lost weight and her A1c is normal now.

As for yoga, I do a mix of Kundalini and Vinyasa but the latter is in a flow pattern of my own design. I adapted my routines from Rodney Yee's videos for the Vinyasa and from Maya Fiennes and from Ravi Singh/Ana Brett to fit what I want to do and alternate them. However, as I have old back injuries from some bad parachute landings and bad landings doing jumps while snowboarding sometimes it exacerbates the problem. I think this is an issue for us older folk as our disks dry out as we age. I have 7 herniated disks but mostly they don't cause me much trouble except after performing Yoga. It is interesting, my heart rate doesn't go up at all and even though my yoga is very difficult I don't actually consider it exercise in the sense of counting energy. I count it the same as a 45-minute (3-15 minute sessions with long breaks where I usually go swimming) sauna session. I often do my yoga routine in the sauna (in the winter) if my wife isn't in there with me. She is Russian and Banya (sauna) is a serious business with them and no funny stuff is allowed other than beating each other with hot steaming branches from Linden or Birch branches I make in the Spring from some of our trees. Anyway, I generally do 3 1 hour yoga routines out by our pool in the sun, usually naked (we are fully screened with complete privacy by 30-foot high Italian cypress that runs the entire property perimeter) and I usually do it at the hottest part of the day. That is for Vitamin D and skin disinfection by UV. Being blonde and blue-eyed I have a genetic inability to fight gram-positive bacteria and often get small skin infections so the sunlight fixes that by killing the bacteria. Perhaps too much information for some here but there are probably other people out there who are unaware of their genetic disorders as it is fairly common in blondes that come from Scotland or Irish origins. One sign is sneezing in bright sunlight (Photic Sneeze reflex) which is also associated with this condition. Streptococcus and Staphylococcus infections are a chronic problem for those of us with this genetic disorder which arises from mutations to the IRAK-4 and Nf-kB genes (and probably others as well). Anyway, that is my logic for doing this.

 

[Ronstar]

Well, we are standing, inverted, moving to plank, downward dog, up again to different standing poses, inverted again, holding difficult strength or balancing poses, ad nauseam. The challenging balancing poses will really get my heart rate up because so many muscles are engaged - effort is high. Holding in say plank for a long period will also get my heart rate up.

We are doing steady slow deep nasal breathing through all of this.

I’m female, 61, 5’ 3”, weigh around 140. I’m sure that all goes into the Apple Watch calcs. The Health app and Fitness app share information.

Maybe height, weight, sex does affect calorie output. My phone had me as 6' and 190 lbs. I changed it to 180 and I'll see if it makes a difference.

 

[audreyh1]

Gender definitely has a big impact on calorie burn. Besides being bigger and heavier, men generally have more muscle mass.

 

[levindb]

Sex definitely has a big impact on calorie burn...

Was not sure where you were going with this...thanks for the added explanation.

 

[audreyh1]

Was not sure where you were going with this...thanks for the added explanation.

I almost said gender instead.

 

[DRC726]

OK here is a really wild one. There is a huge amount of research on the gut biome and how it impacts our health. But I hadn’t run across anti-aging research until recently.

New poo, new you? Fecal transplants reverse signs of brain aging in mice
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/202...al-transplants-reverse-signs-brain-aging-mice


Hmmmm - I don’t know how I feel about that. Maybe something less drastic?

What is a fecal transplant? Well it’s used today to treat bad gastric infections such as C. difficile https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325128#what-is-a-fecal-transplant

Yeah, I pretty much don't like the idea of someone else's poop inside of me! I wonder if there is a way to change your gut biome significantly by changing your diet alone?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Yeah, I pretty much don't like the idea of someone else's poop inside of me! I wonder if there is a way to change your gut biome significantly by changing your diet alone?

Sure! Diet changes, fasting, sunshine, exercise, probiotics, fermented food, cranberry juice, and fiber to name just a few. I especially like the youtube videos by Tim Spector of the British Gut Project and Rob Knight of the American Gut Project.

Ingesting pomegranates and cranberries can feed a type of bacteria that boosts the effectiveness of some types of cancer drugs.

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah, I pretty much don't like the idea of someone else's poop inside of me! I wonder if there is a way to change your gut biome significantly by changing your diet alone?

Yes, gut biome changes depending on what you eat. But if in a critical medical situation like C Dif, I’d take the transplant. Unfortunately C Dif can be the result of taking antibiotics. I don’t think you can eat your way out of C Dif.

 

[YakGrl]

Yes, gut biome changes depending on what you eat. But if in a critical medical situation like C Dif, I’d take the transplant. Unfortunately C Dif can be the result of taking antibiotics. I don’t think you can eat your way out of C Dif.

My father had heart bypass surgery and then had lots of antibiotics given. He developed C-diff in rehab and ultimately died of the C-diff infection within 4 months. C-diff is a big problem in hospitals and rehab/nursing home settings.

 

[audreyh1]

My father had heart bypass surgery and then had lots of antibiotics given. He developed C-diff in rehab and ultimately died of the C-diff infection within 4 months. C-diff is a big problem in hospitals and rehab/nursing home settings.

Oh no! That’s terrible! My condolences.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Researchers are developing next generation probiotics now that may combat c-diff without a fecal transplant - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28760934/