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How to get an A" in aging...at any age |
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 Pamela
Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP, is an internationally renowned
expert and speaker in women's health, fitness and
nutrition. Peeke is a Pew Foundation Scholar in
Nutrition and Metabolism, and one of the only
physicians in America formally trained in nutrition
science. Dr. Peeke is founder of the Peeke
Performance® Center, which offers her Lifestyle
Management Program guiding clients through the
mental and physical transformations of their life
journeys.
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How To Get An "A" In
Aging...At Any Age
Everyday Fitness
with Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP
I
don’t know about you, but I’m planning to live a
long life filled with high quality living. That may
include reaching 100. Apparently I have lots of
company. I’ll bet you didn’t know that according to
the Census Bureau, in 1990 there were 38,300
centenarians. Today, that number has exploded to
96,548, and counting. That’s a whole lot of gray wit
and wisdom living in America. And I’m glad. I
figure if my goal is to live long and well, I might
as well learn from these masters. Here are some
helpful hints from the men and women who are the
gold medal winners in the longevity marathon of
life:
1) Centenarians use their body reserves well. At
birth, you actually have excess capacity built into
your body tissues, organs and biological systems.
This reserve declines gradually over time. The goal
is to slow down this decrease in reserve. You’ll
never guess how. Yep, we’re back to healthy
lifestyle habits. You need to know that this decline
can be insidious. That means you can actually lose
most of an organ’s function before you actually
experience symptoms. For example, your kidney may
experience a 90% decrease in function and you’d
never know it. We’ve got a boatload of brain cells
we’ll never use and the majority of them may be gone
before we ever show signs of loss. Studies of the
centenarians show that they tend to be more
physically active throughout each day. They eat
simply but tend to stick to whole foods. Processed,
refined products are not a staple. Masters of living
long and well don’t eat science fair projects.
2) It’s never too late. Gerontologists have noted
that you can make improvements in your lifestyle at
any point in your lifespan and reap terrific
benefits. If you begin to walk on a regular basis in
your mid 40’s, researchers have found that you can
delay immobility to age 90 and beyond. On the other
hand, if you’re 45 and sit around growing roots in
your sofa, immobility can snare you at age 60. Get
up and move already! Aim to accrue 10,000 steps
every day you can.
3) Use it and you won’t lose it. Scientists from
the National Institute of Aging once noted that much
of what we thought were the symptoms of aging are
actually the symptoms of disuse. If you don’t use
it, you lose it. This applies to your physical as
well as mental muscle. Of course muscle strength
declines with age. Outside of athletes, most of you
will reach your peak muscle performance somewhere
between the ages of 20 and 30. Again, because of
that body reserve, if you stay physically active,
you shouldn’t experience significant muscular
incapacity until your 80’s or 90’s. Add strength
training to your physical activity routine now. If
you do, you’ll be able to stay physically
independent and avoid disability and frailty. And
whip out your Sudoku and puzzles to keep your mind
fresh and focused.
4) Optimize your genes. I’ve got a reality blast
for all of you folks who may be saying “Oh heck, my
grandmother and mom lived well into their 90’s. I
have great genes and I don’t have to try hard to
live long”. Science shows that only about 20-30% of
longevity is genetically determined. Lifestyle is
the critical factor. You can really make a
significant impact on living long and well when you
improve lifestyle habits. So don’t sit on your
genetic laurels. Clean up and optimize your
lifestyle habits. Here’s one of my favorite sayings
and I use it in all of my writing:
5) Wit, passion and social connections keep you
young. Researchers with the New England Centenarian
Study note that the majority of centenarians
continue to do things they love (hey, don’t knock
knitting; it works!), they’re often fun and feisty,
and they cherish and maintain social connections to
family, friends and their communities. Whatever age
you are today, make sure you’re living a life rich
with people you love to be around, and that you’re
out there doing professional work and hobbies for
which you have a real passion.
6) Aim to be a “stress shedder”. Dr. Tom Perls,
one of the top centenarian researchers, noted in his
book How to Live to be 100, that the men and women
he studied were “stress shedders”. In other words,
they experience whatever stress occurs, adapt and
adjust, and then move on. They don’t tend to drag
the drama and trauma of life’s stresses around with
them. This relieves them of mental weight and allows
them to get on with embracing and enjoying life.
No
matter what your age is, you can take small steps
right now to ensure you’ll be mentally and
physically fit to live out your dreams as you
journey through life. One of my most cherished
friends is Sister Genevieve Kunkel, one of the great
nuns of Notre Dame who are the stars of the famous
Centenarian Nuns Study. 99 years old and brimming
with wit and wisdom, she was once asked what the
secret of her longevity was. Smiling, she replied,
“I have but two good traits. I am alert and I am
vertical.” Let’s all use this as our mission
statement — to be mentally and physically fit enough
to achieve that “A” for aging.
© WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.
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"Genetics may load the gun, but
environment pulls the trigger." |
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