A SENIOR’S NEW YEARS RESOLUTION
LIFE IS TOO SHORT, my wife’s favourite catchphrase, takes a renewed meaning at the start of the New Year—a not-so-subtle reminder if one belongs to a circle of friends or an organization catering to seniors. The inevitable demise of the older members comes in a more distressing regularity. The point of this piece is not to dwell on the inescapable but to find ways of living longer and better. Fortunately, the science of longevity is a well-known process; it’s the stuff of countless articles and forums for everybody’s consumption.
What is remarkable about life expectancy is that both the causes of short and long life are well understood and achingly uncomplicated. Certain illnesses can cut our lives quickly, and specific practices can sustain a longer life. Ergo, we should practice those activities that can help us prolong our lives and, at the same time, eliminate those that may cause particular ailments. Arguably, there are things beyond our control, genetics being one of them. But even this factor is no longer beyond the reach of science. It’s this kind of obviousness that makes a 150-year-old human in the next generation or two that makes it entirely plausible.
A mere 50-60 years ago, a doctor might advise a 50-year-old to slow down because of the spectre of a heart attack while going for a jog. T.V. ads for cigarettes were in full swing in the 50s; the ABC ( Always Buy Chesterfields ) ad by Ronald Reagan touts the unfiltered Chesterfields as “mild with no unpleasant taste.” It was a cultural right- of -passage into adulthood in my generation, so much so that, as I recall, my father gave me a pack of Salem and the lighter of choice (“Ibelo”) on my 18th birthday. It’s hard to believe that I was smoking ( in class) while teaching school in the Philippines in 1965! It took another 20 years until T.V. ads for cigarettes came to a close.
Today, of course, every jurisdiction in Canada has a by-law prohibiting smoking in every place where people congregate; passive smoke is now a culprit. Every detail about the ills brought on by this habit has been thoroughly studied. Statistics don’t lie; this is the most controllable factor that can affect our longevity. When insurance companies’ first question is whether you smoke, you better believe they have the figures to back the premium they charge you.
ARE WE DOOMED TO BECOME BIOLOGIALLY IMPAIRED IN OUR OLD AGE?
“I still have two abiding passions. One is my model railway, the other- women. But at age 89, I find I am getting just a little too old for model railways.”
-Pierre Monteux
French Conductor
People tend to act, talk, think and expect in a way consistent with aging. We behave according to how we perceive the elderly. Our activities diminish, and our lifestyle follows a pattern that is not conducive to counteracting the effects of passive habits. We assume that when our metabolism slows, it’s followed by less aerobic capacity, resulting in less stamina. And it does not stop there. When we become less physically active, we lose muscle mass and weaken.
Like a ripple in the pond, one inactivity leads to another. A biological chain reaction that leaves us frail. Depending on the severity of one’s withdrawal from active engagement, there is an almost predictable pattern of equal decline. The most visible degradation in older people is physical, but there is a heavy price to pay mentally and emotionally as well. Cognitive descent and emotional distress are not uncommon among the tired and vulnerable.
Fortunately, none of these is inevitable. The effort we put into keeping fit and healthy throughout our lives is proportional to the results in our well-being, particularly in later life—good practices when younger would be vindicated later in the second half of our lives. The power of established health and fitness protocols can be effective even when applied late in life or as part of a rehabilitative process.
WHAT PRACTICES SHOULD BE PART OF OUR ROUTINE?
Evolution has yet to eliminate the original core of our sustenance. Our genes still carried our forefathers’ “hunting-gathering” DNA 200,000 years ago. It has two abiding implications: first, we are meant to move; the hunting process is very physically demanding (twenty-five years of moose hunting in Newfoundland provided that insight, rifles and ATV notwithstanding). When your very survival depends on hunting, you must be constantly on the move. Second, our bodies have not evolved fully to handle and convert altered foods for the total benefit of our bodies.
Even with the advent of the Agricultural Revolution ( 10,000 B.C.), humans still ate unprocessed foods. Evolutionarily, Ten thousand years is relatively recent, so the onslaught of foods we eat is a shock to the body. Today, even the most organic food we ingest contains contaminants and the so-called “forever chemicals” our bodies are still trying to decipher. Cancer is nothing more than our DNA’s inability to process the food that we eat and the air that we breathe. Natural selection is a gradual progression. The slow course of adaptation to new toxins and pollutants will leave us open to new illnesses. As it is now, science and technology are man’s best weapons to mitigate this problem.
How much physical activity is involved in getting our food today? We are so addicted to easy accessibility that we don’t even have to leave the house to obtain food. The number of deliveries catering to this practice is testimony to a new level of inactivity. The daily trip to the open market of my childhood has morphed into a seniors market, encircled with fast foods and competing grocery stores. Young people are not fans of live chickens and the mainly organically sourced food available. Food in this category is often less visually appealing and does not have long shelf life.
Urban dwellers have cornered themselves to the encroachment of modern living, and the two most essential determiners of vigour and vitality are severely compromised. Every study and careful scientific research points to exercise and nutrition as keys to longevity and a rewarding, vigorous old age. Not only have these factors been studied thoroughly, but many living examples of populations in the so-called Blue Zone countries exemplify these influencers. People in Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; Icaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California, embody the best results of a populace whose combined diet and physical activity have given them a better than average durability. The elders of Okinawa are prime examples of humans whose daily lives are high in physical activity, giving them bodies that can withstand the rigours of modern living.
The lean body belies all the other favourable gains in our physiology that improve our odds against deadly diseases, which are the hallmarks of the elderly. Cardiovascular fitness improves our oxidative capacity and higher insulin sensitivity are two examples of internal fitness that give us an edge in preventing heart and diabetic-related illnesses. As it turned out, people in Blue Zones are also the purveyors of diets low in fat and high in fibrous carbohydrates and whole grains.
COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH ARE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF A HEALTHY LIFE.
The ripple effect of physical health in de-stressing our lives is well known. Walking is as much physical as it is a way of sublimating our emotional baggage. The cumulative effect of poor mental health resulting from high stress and chronic psychological issues are well-known precursors of lower immunity that can lead to a slow deterioration of our cognitive well-being. An older brain should be clutter-free to allow it to function optimally. Building new synapses ( i.e. learning new skills ) in a senior brain can only occur if all the other components of health are unimpaired.
A third factor is fast becoming a focus of intense study that contributes to human longevity. Social connection, along with exercise and diet, is said to be a significant component of long life. This is what I said in article # 47, “The Perils of Getting Older”;
“ Stress is ancillary to many afflictions we are susceptible to, especially in our later years. Eighty years of extended research ( by psychiatrist Robert Waldinger of Harvard Study of Adult Development, TED Talk: Lessons from the World’s Longest Study of Happiness ) of the happiest and healthiest people points to those with a warm connection with others.” “People had less depression, they were less likely to get diabetes and heart disease, and they recovered faster from illness when they had better connections with other people.” That is to say that they are the least stressed, even physically more vigorous and with sharper brains.
There is an evident reciprocity of wellness from physical, psychological and social fitness. One component of health is not enough to give us an edge. Besides diet and exercise, social connection is an integral part of the culture of people in the Blue Zone countries.
WHAT ABOUT GENETICS? CAN WE OVERCOME WHAT OUR GENES HOLD?
Advances in genetics and medical science have given us the leverage to prevent genetic illnesses proactively. We don’t inherit the disease; we inherit the gene that makes us susceptible. Understanding the mitigating factors that allow the onset of the disease gives us the power to manage the risks more effectively. A person whose immediate lineage suggests a high risk of a heart attack, for example, would be wise to pay attention to the risk factors that contribute to it. It is documented so thoroughly that it is incumbent upon the individual to take heed.
Then, of course, we can, as a last resort, look at medical miracles to help us out.
Drugs, angioplasty, bypass, and heart transplant have all worked wonders. Even Arnold
Schwarzenegger had taken advantage of these medical miracles. He had heart surgery three times for a congenital heart (valve) defect. There have been extreme cases in breast and ovarian cancer therapy where breasts and ovaries are removed to forestall the manifestation of the illness. In these cases, science has established the precise genes ( BRCA 1 & 2 ) that carry the DNA that is the source of the cancer. The two well-known celebrities who have undergone these preventive surgeries (known as prophylactic double mastectomy ) are Sharon Osbourne and Angelina Jolie. In Ms. Jolie’s case, she also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.
Gene therapy is the latest medical tool that holds promise in the most challenging genetic disorders in humans. Cystic Fibrosis, Hemophilia, and Muscular Dystrophy are not the kind of disorders that we go to a neighbourhood clinic. Many are now even classified as incurable, but progress in stem cell research holds much promise. But here ( we go again!), the Catholic church has ethical reservations about genetic manipulation and research that requires stem cells from embryos.
History is replete with political and ethical considerations at every stage of our quest for longevity. But take heart: a hundred years ago, Canada’s life expectancy was slightly over 50 years. Today, there are nearly 15,000 centenarians in Canada, with a life expectancy of 83 years, among the world’s highest. We must be doing something right! Keep that New Year’s resolution alive because, as they say:
Life is like a roll of toilet paper; “ the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.”
edwingdeleon@gmail.com