Healthy aging and longevity Archive

Losing weight sometimes takes experimentation. If you give a diet your best shot and it doesn't work long term, maybe it wasn't the right one for you, your metabolism, or your situation. Genes, family, your environment — even your friends — influence how, why, what, and how much you eat, so don't get too discouraged or beat yourself up because a diet that "worked for everybody" didn't pay off for you. Try another, keeping in mind that almost any diet will help you shed pounds — at least for a short time.

Here's a look at three common diet approaches.

Regular physical activity promotes general good health, reduces the risk of developing many diseases, and helps you live a longer and healthier life. For many of us, "exercise" means walking, jogging, treadmill work, or other activities that get the heart pumping.

But often overlooked is the value of strength-building exercises. Once you reach your 50s and beyond, strength (or resistance) training is critical to preserving the ability to perform the most ordinary activities of daily living — and to maintaining an active and independent lifestyle.

Stress eating can ruin your weight loss goals – the key is to find ways to relieve stress without overeating

There is much truth behind the phrase "stress eating." Stress, the hormones it unleashes, and the effects of high-fat, sugary "comfort foods" push people toward overeating. Researchers have linked weight gain to stress, and according to an American Psychological Association survey, about one-fourth of Americans rate their stress level as 8 or more on a 10-point scale.

In the short term, stress can shut down appetite. The nervous system sends messages to the adrenal glands atop the kidneys to pump out the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). Epinephrine helps trigger the body's fight-or-flight response, a revved-up physiological state that temporarily puts eating on hold.

Back pain is one of the top reasons that people begin to lose mobility in middle age. Pain can keep people from engaging in physical activity, making it more difficult for them to maintain a healthy weight and keep up their strength, stamina, and balance as they age. So treating and managing back pain that results from injuries or health problems is crucial for staying on the path of a healthy and active life.

Considering that most people spend roughly a third of their lives lying in bed, choosing the right mattress is essential for managing low back pain. It can make the difference in whether you can sleep at night and function the next day.

Of your five senses, which one are you most afraid of losing? If you're like most people, your answer is your ability to see. Because  our eyesight is so precious, it's no wonder that myths abound about your eye health, what can damage our eyes — , and what can protect them. Here, we debunk five common myths — and tell you how to truly keep your eyes healthy.

Myth: Doing eye exercises will delay the need for glasses.
Fact: Eye exercises will not improve or preserve vision, help your eye health, or reduce the need for glasses. Your vision depends on many factors, including the shape of your eyeball and the health of the eye tissues, neither of which can be significantly altered with eye exercises.

Ask the doctor

Q. I just can't lose weight. A friend says that my problem might be due to the types of bacteria that live in my gut. That sounds crazy to me, but is it true, and can I do something about it?

A. Ten years ago, I also would have thought your friend was crazy. Today, I'd say she could well be right. Here's why. We've known for a century that bacteria live in our intestines, but we've assumed that they did little to affect our health. We thought that they were just mooching off of us — taking advantage of the warmth and nutrients in our gut.

A new study raises questions about whether they're truly equivalent to the brand-name versions.

You've no doubt seen them in the grocery store — typically drab-looking packages on the bottom shelf containing lower-priced generic versions of popular brand-name products. Some shoppers look at them with skepticism: Are they really as good? Or does cheaper just mean lower quality?

Many people have the same questions about generic prescription medications, says Dr. Niteesh K. Choudhry, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and executive director of the Center for Healthcare Delivery Sciences at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Are generic drugs really the same quality, or is it better to spend more for the name-brand version?

Each one can have a different timetable. Find out in advance what you should expect, and then track your symptoms.

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When your doctor prescribes a new medication, you may expect to start feeling the effects right away. But some drugs can take time to make a difference. "It depends on how quickly your body absorbs the medication, how your body distributes it, and how your body breaks down or metabolizes it," says Laura Carr, a pharmacist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Giving it time

Some medications start working on the first day. These include drugs that treat high blood pressure, like the beta blocker metoprolol (Toprol, Lopressor), which slows down the heart and reduces the force of its contractions; or H2 blockers such as famotidine (Pepcid) and ranitidine (Zantac), which treat heartburn by blocking the stomach's acid-secreting cells from making acid.

Ask the doctors

Q. My friend was recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but it seems like she might be imagining her symptoms. Is fibromyalgia a real condition?

A. The short answer to your question is yes. Fibromyalgia is a real condition that affects some four million Americans. It's a chronic pain syndrome that experts believe may be caused by a malfunctioning nervous system. Researchers using magnetic resonance imaging to examine the brains of people with fibromyalgia have found abnormalities in the part of the brain that processes pain signals from the body. It appears that this part of the brain is essentially boosting the intensity of normal pain signals, potentially causing the body to feel pain without a physical cause.

Most older adults take some kind of over-the-counter dietary supplement. But are these products right for everyone?

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Over-the-counter dietary supplements are big business — more than 90,000 products generate about $30 billion every year in the United States. Older adults make up a big part of these sales, too. A survey of almost 3,500 adults ages 60 and older published Oct. 1, 2017, in The Journal of Nutrition found that 70% use a daily supplement (either a multivitamin or individual vitamin or mineral), 54% take one or two supplements, and 29% take four or more.

But are these pills good medicine, or a waste of money?