Category: older age

Many older adults are deficient in vitamin B12 and folate

On By SupremeCmdrIn Diet and Disease, Nutrition, older ageLeave a comment

Key findings:

  • One in eight adults over 50 were low to deficient in vitamin B12 while one in seven were low to deficient in folate

  • The prevalence of low or deficient folate increased with age, from 14% among those aged 50-60 years to 23% among people over 80 years old. Low folate status was also more common in smokers, the obese, and those who lived alone

  • Low or deficient vitamin B12 was more common in smokers (14%), people who lived alone (14.3%) and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds (13%)

  • Use of both vitamin B12 and folic acid supplementation was low, with higher rates among women than men but less than 4% overall taking supplements of either vitamin

Read the source article here.

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OA is a Pain in the Hands (try exercises)

On By SupremeCmdrIn Lifelong Learning, Memoir, older age, OrthopedicsLeave a comment

The source article is here.

For many people, hand strength declines with age, especially if arthritis sets in, making it hard to go about daily tasks. A study published in 2017 in Arthritis & Rheumatology estimated that the overall lifetime risk of hand osteoarthritis is close to 40 percent, with twice as many women as men developing it. People who are obese are also more susceptible—possibly because obesity increases chronic low-level inflammation, which contributes to joint damage.

All of a sudden I’m paying more attention to those infomercials that are selling electric jar openers.  An older friend recommended naproxen sodium.  I’m thinking exercise, thus the link to this short informative article.

 

Light Exercise Helps Older Men Live Longer

On By SupremeCmdrIn Lifestyle Underwriting, Neurology, older age, Survival strategiesLeave a comment

Read the source article at this link.

The researchers report that any amount of physical activity, including light exercise, was linked to a lower risk of dying.

Also, each extra 30 minutes a day of light intensity activity, such as gentle gardening or taking the dog for a walk, was associated with a 17% reduction in the risk of dying.

Aerobic exercise may also slow cognitive decline  in Alzheimer’s according to a recent  literature review.

“Exercise can change the brain chemistry. It can change neurotransmitters associated with depression, anxiety and stress as well as brain chemicals associated with learning,” said Carol Ewing Garber, Director of the Applied Physiology Lab at Columbia University, Teachers College, in New York City, who wasn’t involved in the study. “These changes can result in improved mood, resilience to stress and improve functions of the brain such as processing speed, attention, short term memory and cognitive flexibility among other things.”

 

Aging – Ignore, Deny or Embrace?

On By SupremeCmdrIn Culture, Diet and Disease, Lifestyle Underwriting, older age, Survival strategiesLeave a comment

Perhaps the science will advance so that telomere reconstitution is a practical reality, that the DNA epigenetic changes can be reversed, that senescent cells can be eradicated, that the free radical damage to mitochondria can be dismantled, that the microbiome can be altered back to a youthful status. Perhaps metformin, rapamycin or resveratrol will have a significant impact. Perhaps.

But for now, it might be a more fruitful and meaningful personal use of time and endeavor to consider what the normal aging process means, not only physically and mentally but also spiritually and consider adjustments to lifestyles, behaviors and thought processes that will help usher in a productive and meaningful and hopefully healthy later years.

Source article here.

I see ignore and deny every day.  Male 35 5.6 220, elevated liver enzymes, elevated BP, and tobacco use within the past year.

Every now and then I see an embrace.  But this is rare.

My plan is to embrace and to live forever or die trying.

Anosognosia

On By SupremeCmdrIn Mental Health, Neurology, older ageLeave a comment

Remember this – if you can’t remember you’ve forgotten you have a problem.

Source article here. 

And while we’re on the topic don’t forget to exercise.

Or did you forget?

A follow up two years later showed that patients who were unaware of their memory problems were more likely to have developed dementia, even when taking into account other factors like genetic risk, age, gender and education. The increased progression to dementia was mirrored by increased brain metabolic dysfunction in regions vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease.

Protein Ingestion before Sleep Increases Overnight Muscle Protein Synthesis Rates in Healthy Older Men: A Randomized Controlled Trial

On By SupremeCmdrIn Diet and Disease, older ageLeave a comment

Conclusions: Protein ingested before sleep is properly digested and absorbed throughout the night, providing precursors for myofibrillar protein synthesis during sleep in healthy older men. Ingestion of 40 g protein before sleep increases myofibrillar protein synthesis rates during overnight sleep. These findings provide the scientific basis for a novel nutritional strategy to support muscle mass preservation in aging and disease. This trial was registered at www.trialregister.nl as NTR3885.

WOW.  Small study size but if these findings hold up in future studies…