THE NEW YORK TIMES – Here are some nutrients to prioritize to keep your bones healthy as you age.
Calcium
When you don’t get enough calcium from food, your body will pull the mineral from your bones, which can make them weaker, said Sue Shapses, a professor of nutritional sciences at Rutgers University. Your ability to absorb calcium from food declines as you age too, she said.
Dairy products like milk and yogurt are excellent sources of...
Mayo Clinic News Network – Excessive alcohol use can harm the body in many ways, including an increase in the risk of various cancers. It damages liver cells, leading to inflammation, scarring and serious conditions such as cirrhosis.
Dr. Andrew Keaveny, a Mayo Clinic transplant hepatologist, says heavy drinking also can lead to alcoholic hepatitis, which is becoming more common in younger people.
Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute
"Alcohol can cause liver damage. And in some individuals who drink excessively,...
"The understanding that medical care can become a wearying treadmill for older patients has led researchers to look more closely at the consequences of so-called burdens of treatment."
Slow Walking
If your walking pace slows while you're in your 40s, it may be a sign you're aging faster than is typical. Walking is one of the easiest and best exercises you can do. To start a walking program, begin with 5 minutes a day and build up to 30 minutes.
Try to work up to 100 steps a minute. (To track this, count your steps for 10 seconds and multiply by six.) To make...
KFF HEALTH NEWS – “The future is here,” the email announced.
Hilda Jaffe, then 88, was letting her children know she planned to sell the family home in Verona, New Jersey. She’d decided to begin life anew — on her own — in a one-bedroom apartment in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan.
Fourteen years later, Jaffe, now 102, still lives alone — just a few blocks away from the frenetic flashing lights and crowds that course through...
ARS TECHNICA – The gap of time between how long Americans live and how much of that time is spent in good health only grew wider in the last two decades, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.
The study, which looked at global health data between 2000 and 2019—prior to the COVID-19 pandemic—found the US stood out for its years of suffering.
By 2019, Americans had a gap between their lifespan and...
Lack of Sleep
First, it’s harder to recall things when you haven’t slept. Second, sleep strengthens the bonds between brain cells that help you remember for the long term. Third, it’s harder to form memories in the first place when your mind is wandering because of a lack of sleep.
Good “sleep hygiene” can help: Shoot for 8 hours a night, exercise daily, stick to a regular sleep schedule, and avoid alcohol and caffeine late in...
Mayo Clinic News Network – Measuring how well you are aging can be as simple as balancing or standing on one leg.
It may not be easy for everyone to maintain balance on one leg, but according to Mayo Clinic research, it can be a reliable measure of neuromuscular aging for both men and women.
In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Kenton Kaufman, the W. Hall Wendel Jr. Musculoskeletal Research Professor who is behind the study,...
Studies show that maintaining microbial balance in older adults can potentially improve immune response, reducing susceptibility to infections and age-related diseases.
Taking levothyroxine may put patients at risk of bone loss, which may lead to conditions such as osteoporosis: a bone disease characterized by weak bones that break more easily.