Aging! Who me?

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Last weekend was filled with cooking, eating and celebrating my birthday. I am so grateful to be alive and healthy on this big ball we call Earth. My friends and family sure went out of their way to make me feel loved this past week.

You know your friend “gets” you when she gives you a butternut squash in purple sparkly wrapping for your birthday! I like to think that vegetable depicts me quite well. I hope to be known as someone wholesome and earthy, wrapped up in a little bit of sparkle!

My birthday “week” started with a weeknight get away with a girlfriend and our daughters, a fundraising gala, and ended with 18 people for dinner last Saturday evening. My husband suggested we keep it simple and order in, and friends offered to bring food to share, but I wanted to make a meal that all of my peeps, plant-based or not, would enjoy.

Birthday dinner menu!
I decided to serve some appies including a Carrot Cashew Pate. Then for the main course, Cashew Basil Lasagna, Caesar Salad, garlic toast with bread from It’s a Bakery, and my Super Moist Carrot Cake. One of our guests is highly gluten sensitive so I also made gluten free options simply by changing out the pasta in one of the lasagnas and the flour in the carrot cake.

My youngest daughter surprised me on my birthday with a homemade (and mostly made up) vegan chocolate cake to die for. She made it with no oil, subbing avocado and apple juice and switching out white sugar for date sugar. What a kid. So proud!

All of this brings me to the topic of AGING! I turned 48 last week and like everyone, the older I get, the more I think about what life will look like in the next few decades. My plan is to be healthy and vibrant until 100, so I figured what a great topic to write about.

The Truth About Aging

There are numerous factors that can affect the rate at which we age. Most of these are modifiable. The most noted age accelerators are: smoking, our diets, our stresses and mental state, sunlight and toxins in the air and water. These factors cause changes in the structure and function in our body’s cells and drives their decline and ultimately the failure of the whole organism. (1) I also believe that sleep, our “ikigai” or sense of purpose, what we put on our body as well as our connection to others, all play a role in how well we age.

What can we do to age slower?

We shouldn’t just chalk aches and pains and diseases up to aging. We can slow down and prevent many common ailments by the way in which we live each day. Here are some proven factors of aging that we have control over.

#1. Nutrition

I’m sure you knew that was coming! What you eat three times a day has a HUGE impact on your health and how well you age.

You may have heard of the term telomeres. They are a cap at the end of our 46 DNA strands. These caps could be compared to the end of a shoelace and are seen as our life fuse. They keep our DNA from unravelling and shortening. As we age, they eventually shorten enough that the cell stops dividing and ends up dying.

In a study funded by the U. S. Department of Defense, Dr. Dean Ornish showed that in 3 months, by following a low fat, Whole Food Plant Based diet, engaging in daily exercise, practicing stress management techniques such as yoga and meditation, and having social connection, one could significantly boost telomerase activity. The theory is, if we can slow down the deterioration of the telomeres, we may be able to slow down aging. Click here for more on Dr. Ornish’s study and to watch his video on how longer telomeres can extend your life.

In the following video, there are two foods that are the most damaging to our telomeres… You will be surprised at what they are! I guessed wrong for one of them.

What can I do diet-wise to decrease the shortening of my telomeres?

1. Eat more fruits and vegetables, especially those rich in antioxidants. The top foods are:
   – fruits
   – vegetables
   – unrefined grains
   – legumes
   – antioxidant rich spices and herbs such as: cloves, ginger, rosemary and turmeric
   – flax seeds (ground)
   – spinach
   – mushrooms
   – berries
   – oats
   
2. Eat less (preferably no) meat and animal products.
   These foods are high in saturated fats and cause inflammation in the body. Inflammation leads to the shortening of telomeres.
   The worst offending foods are:
   – fish
   – meat
   – dairy
   – eggs
   Other foods that lead to telomere shortening are:
   – sugar
   – alcohol
   – processed foods
   – excessive sodium

So, as you can see, you have the ability to slow and even reverse aging (telomere shortening) by choosing anti-inflammatory foods and avoiding as much as possible inflammatory foods.

#2. Exercise

We all want to age gracefully and be able to do the same activities we do now, when we are 20 years older. I am sure that you, like myself, have people in your lives that you see remaining active and youthful as they age. My mom is almost 76 and she keeps very active on her acreage. She still piles wood, shovels snow, goes for long power walks everyday and gardens. I am talking hardcore gardening, like chopping trees and dragging and piling up brush! This keeps her body moving and strong and flexible.

My grandmother lived to be 92 and played tennis well into her 80s. I recall playing with her when I was in my 20s and she was 82 and I didn’t stand a chance! She was active everyday. She rarely sat on chairs, but rather on the floor. I remember her doing calf raises when stood idle and springing up from the floor, as light as a feather from doing her stretches.

According to Dr. Greger, “Exercise can help: mental health, cognitive health, sleep quality, cancer prevention, immune function, high blood pressure and life span extension.” (2) He also suggests in this interesting video, that everyone should check their resting heart rate. It’s easy to do, just press your index and middle finger against the thumb side of your inner wrist. Set a timer for 60 seconds and count the number of times your heart beats.

The best time to do this, according to this article by Harvard Medical School, is first thing before rising in the morning. It is best not to take it within two hours of consuming caffeine, exercising, or experiencing a stressful event.

A study mentioned in the article highlighted above, shows that the higher a person’s resting heart rate, the greater the risk of premature death. Specifically, a resting heart rate between 81 and 90 doubles the chance of death, while a resting heart rate higher than 90 triples it. (3)

What should my resting heart rate be?

Dr. Greger’s suggestion is that your resting heart rate ideally should be less than 60 beats per minute and that a resting heart rate over 80 beats per minute should ring an alarm bell. (3) I have been checking my resting heart-rate periodically over the past few weeks and it seems to average around 54 beats per minute. Kind of a fun exercise to try!

The good news about your heart rate is that it is a modifiable risk factor. Meaning you can change it. Along with exercise, there are lifestyle regimens, like eating beans, that can bring down your resting pulse! Can you believe that? Studies show that eating one cup a day of pulses, (beans, chickpeas, or lentils) for three months can bring your resting heart rate down as much as 250 hours on a treadmill! Check out his video above. As Dr. Greger says, “Eat pulses for your pulse!”

#3. Stress management – Meditation and Yoga

In our modern day world, meditation and yoga are all the rage, and for good reason. We are more stressed than ever as a society and our bodies need coping mechanisms to combat these stresses. Moving your body in a purposeful and methodical manner while focusing on your breath, can help to calm your mind and strengthen your body.

The study mentioned in the video below, on the benefits of meditation, found that only 12 minutes a day of meditation can lead to improved mental and cognitive functioning and lower levels of depressive symptoms. This improvement was accompanied by an increase in telomerase activity, suggesting improvement in cellular induced aging. (4)

#4. Social Connections

According to this article from Stanford Medicine, strong social connection leads to a 50% increased chance of longevity, strengthens your immune
system, helps you recover from disease faster and may even lengthen your life.

Lacking social connectedness can be worse for health than smoking, high blood pressure or obesity. It can cause higher inflammation at the cellular level, increase anxiety and depression and cause slower recovery from disease. (5)

So, take the time to connect with friends, family, and even strangers. Perhaps volunteer for an organization that you are passionate about, or help out a neighbor. It will give you purpose and increase your happiness.

Other factors that age us:

There are numerous other factors that age us. Some of them are:

• Sunlight. We need sunlight to live and be healthy. Don’t be afraid of it, just avoid being outside in the heat of the day between 11-3 and cover up if you can’t avoid it. Wear loose clothing, a hat and find a sunblock for your skin that is made from natural ingredients. Wear it everyday on your face. It’s a scary world down the sunscreen aisle. Many of these products are filled with ingredients that do more harm to our skin and body than good. If you don’t know which products are good, stop in to see Nikki at The Green Vanity, downtown Kelowna, or find a natural skin care store near you. She will enlighten you with her skin care knowledge and passion and is the least pushy shop owner I have ever met.
  
• What comes in contact with our skin. Our largest organ is our skin and it is subjected to numerous assaults each day. Along with sun exposure, we are in contact with pollutants in the air, chemicals in our hygiene products, cleaning products, laundry detergents, even the chemicals found in our furniture and vehicles. Try as best as you can to buy products made from natural ingredients that are kind to your body and the earth.
  
• Smoking. Obviously, don’t do that… And don’t think that if you are smoking marijuana it is somehow okay for you. Smoking nicotine, marijuana, vaping, they are all toxic and will age you (not to mention kill you) faster than anything else.
  
• Dehydration. Our bodies are made up of approximately 60% water. Keep hydrated by drinking filtered water to avoid stresses on your organs.

Takeaways for aging well:

Even though society focuses mostly on our physical appearance as we age, (more on that below), aging is not all about how we look on the outside as time ticks on. It’s a combination of our mental, psychological, and physical well being. In order to not only age well, but thrive as we get older, the following list is a great place to start.

• eat well – lots of whole, plant-based foods that are filled with water and fiber
• avoid animal products and highly processed foods
• move your body
• work to have a resting heart rate under 60 beats per minute
• engage in stress management activities like meditation and yoga
• strengthen social connections
• don’t smoke
• get enough sleep
• drink water
• be mindful of what your skin is exposed to

Embrace Aging and your body

Last week, my daughter and I went to see a screening of “Embrace”. It’s a documentary, by a mom of three, who explores the pressures of the “perfect body” and how women the world over are in a constant battle with the way their bodies look. Societal pressures are causing us to obsess over our physical faults and not appreciate the magic that these ‘astounding homes for life’ hold. It’s just another facet of the aging process that we need to consider. I highly recommend it. It’s available on ITunes. Here is a teaser.

All of this talk of aging and the snow falling outside makes me think of cooking up something warm and wholesome, filled with plenty of antioxidants, for dinner. We need those extra antioxidants to fight those nasty, aging, free radicals floating around in our bodies!

Look out birthday butternut squash, in your “risque” outfit! I’m coming for you!

References:

(1) – Why do our bodies age? – Monica Menesini TedEx talk
(2)– Michael Greger M.D. FACLM, April 28th, 2017, Volume 35 Michael Greger M.D. FACLM  April 28th, 2017  Volume 35
(3) – Your Resting heart rate can reflect your current-and future- health, Posted June 17, 2016, updated February 06, 2019, 4:29pm, Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men’s Health Watch
(4)– A pilot study of a yoga and meditation intervention for dementia caregiver stress.J Clin Psychol. 2004 Jun;60(6):677-87.
(5) – Connectedness and Health: The Science of Social Connection