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Tag: Exercise

  • Coronavirus: Many older adults are exercising more

    Coronavirus: Many older adults are exercising more

    Gretchen Reynolds reports for The New York Times on a new study showing that most adults are exercising less during the coronavirus pandemic. But, interestingly, many older adults are exercising more. What’s actually happening?

    There’s no question that most of us are leading very different lives during this pandemic. Overall, we are moving less. Working from home has become more of the norm, along with less travel and less running around.

    The pandemic has also altered the way we exercise–when, where and how. Thanks to our smartphones, researchers can study some of our exercise patterns, including our steps. Not surprisingly, we took fewer steps, on average 27 percent fewer, in the first month of lockdowns. People who had exercised a lot were some of the people who reduced their exercise regime a lot.

    To understand how people’s exercise regimes changed, researchers studied the routines of nearly 5,400 people. They all had downloaded an exercise app on their phones that tracked their movements: walking, running and cycling. And, they ranged in age from young to old.

    During the summer, after the first couple of months of lockdown, people began to exercise more. Most interestingly, people 65 and older got back to or exceeded their prior exercise levels.

    It’s not clear why exercise levels returned to where they had been or increased for older adults. But, some think that unlike working adults with kids around more and in need of more attention, older adults had more free time. Older adults also might have chosen to exercise more, in an effort to better protect themselves against the novel coronavirus.

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  • How to strengthen your immune system

    How to strengthen your immune system

    Last week, I wrote about the risks of taking supplements as a way to strengthen your immune system and protect yourself against COVID-19. There is no silver bullet. That said, there are ways to build up your bodies’ defenses against the novel coronavirus and other viruses and bacteria. As you might expect, the best ways are through exercise, good nutrition, sleep and calm. 

    Our bodies are equipped with cells, cell products, tissues and organs that serve as a defense against infection. These immune systems develop based on both the environments in which we grow up and how we treat our bodies. Diet, exercise, sleep, stress all contribute to the functioning of our immune systems. 

    Reducing your stress level, sleeping well, eating well, having enough vitamin D in your system, keeping your alcohol consumption down, and exercising all help to keep your body armed against respiratory and other illnesses.

    • Stress: Studies show that your immune system works best when you are not feeling stress. One study found that people who said that they had less stress in their lives were not as likely to catch a cold after being exposed to the cold virus with nose drops as people who felt more stress. A second study found that marital conflict weakened people’s immune systems. The study mildly wounded the arms of married couples. Couples who then argued with each other tended to have wounds that took longer to heal than couples who exhibited less anger. Techniques for managing stress and strengthening your immune system, include meditation, talk therapy, and controlled breathing.
    • Sleep: Studies show that people who sleep more than seven hours a night are better at fighting off infection than people who sleep less than six hours. In one study conducted at UC San Francisco, people who slept less were more than four times as likely to get sick after being exposed to a cold virus than people who slept more. In fact, people who slept less than five hours were more likely to get sick than people who slept six hours.
    • Eat a balanced diet. Eating a healthy balanced diet helps keep your body functioning well. As much as possible, get your nutrition from unprocessed foods rich in vitamins, minerals and fibers, not from supplements. Whole fruits are better than fruit juice. In particular, blueberries, apples and grapes have been associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes. And, try to minimize eating foods and drinks with saturated fats, added sugar, high sodium content and that are high in calories. But, still eat modest amounts of foods with unsaturated fats, such as olive oil, nuts, and avocados.
    • Vitamin D: Vitamin D produces proteins that kill viruses and bacterial infections. If you eat fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna or mackerel, drink milk with vitamin D, eat cheese and mushrooms, or spend time in the sun, you should have a good vitamin D level.
    • Alcohol: Studies show that if you drink too much, you can compromise your immune system and are more likely to suffer from pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses. To live longer, a recent study published in  the Lancet finds that you should not drink more than five drinks a week. People who drank more than five alcoholic drinks a week had a higher risk of stroke, coronary disease, heart failure and death than people who drank five or fewer alcoholic drinks.
    • Exercise: To stay healthy, sit less and exercise. Two and a half hours a week of physical activity is important for a longer life and to deter all kinds of chronic conditions.  You should spend at least 20 minutes a day increasing your heart rate. That benefits your heart, your mind, your muscle, your skin and more. Also, avoid sitting too much. Sitting can increase your likelihood of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. It can lead to high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and extra body fat around the waist. And, it can hurt your cholesterol.

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  • Coronavirus: Taking supplements poses risks

    Coronavirus: Taking supplements poses risks

    If you’re thinking there’s a vitamin supplement you can take to fend off the novel coronavirus, think again. As a general rule, for otherwise healthy people, vitamin and herbal supplements offer greater risks than benefits. Still, the New York Times reports that millions of people right now are spending money on supplements, believing that supplements will improve their immune systems.

    Based on independent evidence from Cochrane.org and other sources, there’s no reason to believe that most supplements offer most people any meaningful benefits. You can read here about vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin D, and fish oil supplements.  And, you can read here about 15 ingredients in some supplements that pose particular health risks.

    One serious issue with supplements is that they are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. So, they can have additives that are dangerous to your health. Another issue is that they can interact in harmful ways with other drugs you are taking, both prescription and over-the-counter. So, it’s best to speak to your doctor, before taking supplements.

    The safest and most effective way to boost your immune system if you are otherwise healthy is to eat healthy, drink a lot of water, and, exercise. Exercise is your best bet for bone health, not calcium or vitamin D supplements.

    What about zinc? Zinc helps our immune systems fight off bacteria and viruses. Right now people are buying large amounts of zinc. The best way to get zinc in your system is from eating red meat, poultry, shellfish, beans, nuts, chickpeas, lentils.

    If you take zinc supplements, be careful. The National Institutes of Health says that taking too much zinc can be harmful, lowering your immunity, and it warns you should take no more than 40 mg a day. It recommends that adult women get 8 mg of zinc a day and men 11 mg. Cochrane has found evidence that zinc supplements have helped prevent pneumonia in children aged two to 59 months. But the quality of the evidence was “low.”

    People are also buying elderberry supplements and echinacea. Cochrane finds that the evidence does not show echinacea fights the common cold, but it says echinacea could offer a “weak benefit.” As for elderberry supplements to prevent flu, the National Institutes of Health reports that  the evidence is weak.

    And melatonin? People are also struggling to sleep because of stress and anxiety. So, they are buying melatonin because they believe it can help them sleep better. Cochrane finds evidence that melatonin is “remarkably effective in preventing or reducing jet lag,” and says short-term use appears to be safe. But, it has not studied its effect on sleep more generally. The NIH reports that there is not enough strong evidence to show that melatonin helps or is safe for people with chronic sleep problems. Again, there are possible adverse interactions with other drugs. So, talk to your doctor before taking it. Here are some tips for sleeping well without drugs.

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  • What to do about constipation?

    What to do about constipation?

    The National Institute on Aging (NIA) offers advice on what to do about constipation, a condition virtually all of us face at one time or another. Generally, it’s not serious. Here’s what the NIA recommends doing.

    Constipation is not a disease. Rather, it is a symptom. Often people are constipated when they have fewer bowel movements than normal or it takes a lot of time to pass stools, and the stools are hard. Older people are more prone to constipation than younger people.

    You should not worry too much if you do not have a bowel movement every day. Some people have bowel movements twice a day and others have bowel movements three times a week. Everyone is different.  For some, it can mean bowel movements twice a day.

    To determine whether you are constipated, doctors might have you answer these questions:

    • Do you often have fewer than three bowel movements a week?
    • Is it usually difficult for you to pass stools?
    • Are your stools generally lumpy or hard?
    • Do you feel blocked or as if your bowels are full?

    If the answer is no to all of these questions, you likely do not have a constipation issue. If your answer is “yes” to at least one of these questions, you may have a constipation issue. You should talk to your doctor. The doctor can check the cause. You should also talk to your doctor if there is blood in your stool.

    Constipation can have a range of causes, including diet, exercise, and use of laxatives. Inactivity can cause of constipation. So can eating a lot of high-fat meats, dairy products and sweet desserts as well as prepared and processed foods that are low-fiber. Excess use of laxatives and enemas also can cause constipation because they can confuse your body.

    And, some prescription drugs used for depression and high blood pressure, allergy medicines, antacids and some painkillers can cause constipation. An SSRI, such as Prozac or amitriptyline might be the cause, as might an opioid, such as oxycodone or hydrocodone.

    People with stroke, diabetes and irritable bowel syndrome are prone to constipation. Their conditions affect muscles and nerves used for bowel movements. If your doctor finds this is the cause, it may be treatable.

    To avoid being constipated, be sure to drink a lot of water and other fluids. Ask your doctor how much liquid you should drink. Eat a lot of high-fiber foods, like vegetables, fruits and grains, either cooked or raw. You can eat dried apricots, prunes and figs as well. Bran could also be helpful.

    Change your diet slowly to help ensure your system adapts to the change.

    Be active, when possible. Every day you can, move as much as you can. If changes to your diet and exercise don’t help, talk to your doctor. Laxatives are yet another option if all else fails. Different laxatives have different risks and benefits. Talk to your doctor about which might be best for you.

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  • Exercise may be your best bet for bone health, not calcium or vitamin D supplements

    Exercise may be your best bet for bone health, not calcium or vitamin D supplements

    Calcium helps keep your bones strong and healthy. So, it is wise to incorporate foods with calcium into your daily diet. If you’re not getting enough calcium, exercise may be your best bet for bone health; the evidence is weak that calcium supplements will benefit you.

    The National Institutes of Health recommends eating foods rich in calcium. People over 50 need between 1,200 mg and 2,000 mg of calcium every day. You can get your daily dose of calcium from milk, cheese, yogurt, soybeans and dark, leafy vegetables such as kale or broccoli.

    Calcium supplements are another matter. Increasing evidence suggests that all those years of advice to take calcium supplements for bone health may be turning into one of those reversals of medical advice that seems to come all too frequently.

    Since 2002, the bulk of the evidence indicates that calcium supplements actually don’t decrease fracture risk and may actually do harm, such as increase the risks of kidney stones, heart attacks, prostate cancer, and even stroke. Nor does evidence indicate that eating more foods with calcium reduces fracture risk.

    That said, the Mayo Clinic suggests that if you are a vegan, lactose intolerant, have osteoporosis, or consume a lot of food with protein or sodium, you should talk to your doctor about whether you should take a calcium supplement.

    Vitamin D supplements also seem to be over-rated as far as bone health, as supplements do not lower fracture risk for those living in the community. For those living in nursing homes on the other hand, they do lower the risk of fractures from falls.

    The best bet to promote bone health for those living in the community? According to the evidence: Exercise. Weight-bearing exercises, such as walking, climbing stairs and dancing, are most helpful. These exercises help create new bone tissue, strengthening your bones.

    Exercise has a positive effect on preventing fractures, though in actual controlled studies, the average effect was small. The Surgeon General recommends an exercise goal of 30 minutes a day.

    This post was originally published on July 30, 2015.

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  • Top predictor for a longer life: close relationships

    Top predictor for a longer life: close relationships

    Only one in 5,000 people in the U.S. reach the age of 100. But, there are places where five to ten times as many people live to 100. Some researchers say that the top predictor for a longer life is have at least a few close relationships.

    People live longer when they are surrounded by friends and family who care for them, in places where old age is respected. Some analysts say that between 10 and 25 percent of a person’s life span can be explained by the person’s genes; the remaining 75-90 percent of the person’s longevity is determined by lifestyle. Based on his studies, Dan Buettner explains in his TedTalk, that people with a plant-based diet, who are socially engaged and have purpose, live longer.

    Buettner found that Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California and Okinawans who wake up in the morning with a sense of purpose and little stress, and who connect with their families and friends regularly, are more likely to live longer than others. They surround themselves with people who are “trusting and trustworthy.”

    According to Buettner, both men and women in the highlands of Sardinia live into their 100’s far more often than people in the U.S. There are ten times as many centenarians there than here. These Sardinians are surrounded by multi-generations of family members and friends. Their diets and daily physical activity may help explain their long lives. Mostly, it’s their social networks, their personal interactions with family, friends and neighbors.

    Psychologist Susan Pinker also studied Sardinians to understand why they live longer than people in the U.S. She notes in her TedTalk that women typically live six to eight years longer than men in the US. Women are more likely than men to spend time with their friends and family, talking to them, dining with them and bonding with them.

    For a longer, healthier life, Pinker argues that it’s important to have at least three stable relationships. These relationships can lower your stress level and rates of dementia. They can make it more likely for you to survive a disease. She says that “social isolation is the public health risk of our time.”

    You don’t have to be positive or upbeat to enjoy a long life. You need to be socially engaged, surrounded by people who love you and care about you. To promote a longer life with fewer chronic conditions, we benefit from buddies  on whom we can rely to spend time with us. Casual contacts with the postman and the grocery store clerk also are valuable. So are dogs and other pets.

    Of course, diet, exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking or drinking too much alcohol all contribute to a healthy, longer life. But, the most likely way to improve your odds of living a long life is to have buddies, people with whom you are socially interacting regularly, people you can count on to take care of you, people you can share stories with.

    And, to be clear, we thrive with face-to-face contact–eye contact, physical contact. This contact releases oxytocin, lowers stress, generates dopamine–gives us a little high. It’s far different from online activity.

    A version of this post was published on August 20, 2017.

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  • What’s the secret to a very long life?

    What’s the secret to a very long life?

    Today 110 million Americans are over 50 years old. And, half of people born today are expected to live past 100. What’s the secret to a very long life? Here are a few.

    Harvard Health offers the classic advice for living a long and healthy life: Don’t smoke, maintain a healthy weight, exercise your mind and body, engage socially, get preventive care and visit the dentist regularly. Also, take the medications your doctor prescribes to control chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and cholesterol.

    Professor Nir Barzilai, Albert Einstein School of Medicine, gives a lot more weight to genes than to a healthy lifestyle as cause for a person’s long life. Barzilai studies differences between chronological and biological age — actual years of life relative to a body’s health. He believes that people whose chronological age is much greater than their biological age hold the information to what it takes to live longer. 

    Barzilai has found that many people who live past 100 did not lead especially healthy lifestyles. One group of siblings, who all lived past 100, included a man who worked in a high-pressure job past 100, and his sister who smoked for 90 years. Other people who lived past 100, whom Barzilai studied, were overweight, did not exercise, and did not eat particularly healthy meals.

    Barzilai says that what centenarians all have in common is a “longevity gene,” a gene that resists aging. And, because of this longevity gene, Barzilai believes it is possible to erase cellular aging in people.

    An NIH-funded study, the Longevity Project, found that cautious and less happy people lead longer lives than the happiest people. The more cautious people took fewer risks, which extended their lives and kept them healthier.

    Yet another study out of the University of Washington found that having a greater sense of purpose led to a longer life.

    Wealth also appears to be a significant factor in living a long life. The US Government Accountability Office just published a report finding that wealthy people tend to live longer than poor people.

    Of course, living longer should not be a goal in and of itself. We should be careful about wishing to live longer if that means being old and unhealthy. Leading a healthy life may be a better goal and also likely leads to a longer life.

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  • Lifting weights may help you think better

    Lifting weights may help you think better

    The New York Times reports that a new study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology shows that lifting weights may be good for the brain; it could help you think better. In lab rats, weight training seemed to create new neurons in the brain.

    It’s well understood that people who lift weights build muscles and become stronger. The same is true for rats. What the study shows is that rats that lift weights also think better. These rats appear to be able to have less memory loss that comes with age and even regain memory they have lost as a result of aging. 

    It also has been shown that aerobic exercise, including walking, cycling and running, can do wonders for our brains. Aerobic exercise reduces inflammation and creates more neurons in the brain’s memory. A 44-year long observational study published in Neurology found that middle-aged Swedish women with good cardiovascular fitness were 88 percent less likely to develop dementia than women who were unfit. Exercise can also slow down the aging of your heart and muscles substantially.

    If you’re wondering where you left your cellphone or can’t recall the name of your good friend’s spouse, it may be time to see whether lifting weights can help. The researchers believe as few as three weight-lifting exercises a week could make a difference.

    In case you’re interested in how the rats did resistance training, the researchers attached weights to the rats’ rear ends and had them climb a three-foot ladder repeatedly.

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  • Exercise may strengthen memory in healthy older adults

    Exercise may strengthen memory in healthy older adults

    A new study reveals that, for healthy older adults, even a little exercise may strengthen memory. The finding suggests that our brains function better even after a single moderate workout. People who exercise routinely may improve their brain’s functioning all the more.

    The study published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society looked at the value of short-term exercise, 30 minutes of activity on a stationary bicycle. After the exercise, study participants were told a list of famous and non-famous names and asked to tag them accordingly while inside an MRI machine.

    Researchers found “greater brain activation” and ability to recall famous people in the participants who used the stationary bicycle than in the participants in the control group. The small study involved 26 participants between the ages of 55 and 85.

    The authors believe that the benefits of exercise can grow over time, further enhancing our brain’s ability to function and our recall abilities.

    A large number of other studies reveal the benefits of exercise for the brain and the body. Aerobic exercise that brings your heart rate up and gets you sweating is particularly good for your mental and physical health.

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  • Another reason to exercise: It lowers your risk of stroke

    Another reason to exercise: It lowers your risk of stroke

    According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), stroke is the third leading cause of death and a major cause of serious disability. Age is the greatest risk factor for stroke. After age 55, the risk of stroke doubles every ten years. But, exercise lowers your risk of stroke, as do other healthy behaviors.

    To lower your risk of stroke, the National Institute on Aging advises that you check your blood pressure and cholesterol and treat them if they are high. High blood pressure can double or quadruple your risk of stroke. To lower your blood pressure, eat lots of fruits and vegetables and other food that is low in cholesterol and saturated fats; eat less salt; and, don’t smoke.  (Medicare covers smoking-cessation counseling as well as nutrition counseling.)

    Also, exercise!  You can take a brisk walk several times a week, ideally for at least 20 minutes every day, or swim or ride a bike.  According to the NIH, you might want to try these balancing exercises, as well. It all helps.

    If you are overweight, try to lose weight. Even if you lose only a small amount of weight, it can seriously decrease your risk of stroke. Harvard Health recommends that you limit your daily calorie intake to less than 2,000 and exercise more.

    For more information from the NIH on how to get started exercising and the kinds of exercise you might try, click here.

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