2 Things Needed to Stay Healthy as We Age
Executive Summary : In this article, I will provide a high-level recap of what I learned after I started researching how to reach my goal of remaining healthy
The two most important things we need are:
- To maintain muscle mass for as long as possible
- Avoid high levels of sugar intake. This is a complex topic that we will explore more, but the short answer is that reducing sugar (especially sucrose (table sugar) and high fructose corn syrup (common in sodas) reduces the negative impact that high levels of sugar have on our bodies.
1) Muscle Mass
I found the following graphs very eye-opening and worrisome.
taken from the Youtube video : The Older Muscle: Ageing or Disuse? - Prof. Harridge (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1FlDIErlmA)
The first graph shows that muscle strength increases into early adulthood, then begins a long slow decline – until we can no longer manage our lives (can’t lift a gallon of milk out of the fridge, can't stand up from a chair, or can't walk to the mailbox and back.)
The second graph shows what happens if suffer a fall or illness. Even a few days of bedrest causes a tremendous loss of muscle and can be unrecoverable. This is what happened to my dad.
Finally, the last graph shows how strength training increases our strength and adds years to the time that we can live independently.
This is an informative video and I recommend that you go watch it if you have time.
2) Avoid high levels of sugar intake.
Consuming high levels of glucose (from sucrose and HFCS (high fructose corn syrup)) can lead to chronically high fasting glucose levels, prediabetes, and finally diabetes. According to the MayoClinic website (Diabetes - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic) the list of long-term complications of diabetes includes:
- Heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease
- Nerve damage (neuropathy)
- Damage to the nerves related to digestion can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation. For men, it may lead to erectile dysfunction
- Kidney damage (nephropathy)
- Eye damage (retinopathy). This could lead to blindness
- Foot damage
- Skin and mouth conditions, including bacterial and fungal infections
- Hearing impairment
- Alzheimer's disease
- Depression
Furthermore, according to Dr Benjamin Birkman in Why We Get Sick, the damage begins to happen as our insulin levels begin to increase, even before standard tests would show that our blood glucose levels are increasing.
In Summary
To remain healthy,
- Lift weights
- Avoid sugary foods
We’ll dig deeper into these topics soon, I just wanted to put the thought in your head.
Where We Are Going From Here…
We’ll dig deeper into these topics soon, I just wanted to put the thought in your head. I hope you’ll come along.
I Plan to Publish on Fridays…
Coming articles:
- 2 Things to Stay Healthy
- I Did a Senior Fitness Test
- Do you know the difference between a carb and a sugar?
- My Philosophy of Weight Loss