Around the world, people are living longer than ever. But for many, getting older can come with an increased risk of health conditions…..CONTINUE READING ...CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The question has now become: how can you extend your lifespan and live those extra years as healthfully as possible?
While genetics can partially determine the quality of your later years, lifestyle factors can also play a role in aging well.
Middle age is a great time to channel your focus into increasing longevity. Even if you haven’t given it much thought in the past, there are still plenty of ways to add to the quality and number of your days on the planet.
We’ve partnered with Lifeforce to share five major players in healthy aging after 40: nutrition, hormone health, preventive measures, specialized care, and risk monitoring.
Focus on nutrition
Proper nutrition comes with special perks for people of certain ages. Loading up your plate with the right nutrients can help with brain health, muscle health, and skin support for aging gracefully.
A few nutrients to zero in on for longevity include:
B vitamins
Magnesium
Vitamin D
Protein
B vitamins
B vitamin deficiency may link to cardiovascular conditions, neurological conditions, and osteoporosis in older adults, according to a 2019 research review.
Keep your system strong by getting these micronutrients. They’re in:
Meat
Dairy
Seafood
Leafy greens
Whole grains
B complex vitamins are also a common supplement.
Magnesium
The older you get, the harder it might be for your body to absorb magnesium. So, it’s important to make sure you get enough of this nutrient.
A review from 2021showed a link between low magnesium and conditions like heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, hypertension, and stroke.
Foods that contain magnesium include:
Spinach
Avocado
Dark chocolate
Beans
Nuts
If you think you may be magnesium deficient, talk with your doctor about how to boost this essential mineral.
Vitamin D
A 2023 review showed that vitamin D may hold promise for age-related health concerns like a higher risk of autoimmune disorders and low immune function.
You can pull more D into your diet through foods like fortified milk or mushrooms. You can also ask your doctor about supplementation.
Protein
Protein may always be a critical nutrient. Muscle mass usually declines as you get older, so protein recommendations for older adults can be higher than for other populations.
A daily intake of 1.2–2.0 gramsTrusted Source per kilogram of body weight can be a good target.
Changing hormones can lead to emotional and physical changes, especially in people assigned female at birth. Hormones can affect focus, sleep, blood pressure, and other aspects of wellness.
Starting now, consider an annual physical to check your hormone levels, allowing you and your doctor to course-correct them if necessary.
Some hormones your doctor may want to check include:
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
Luteinizing hormone (LH)
Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
Estradiol
D ehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)
Testosterone
Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)
Practice prevention
Prevention is the name of the game to rack up more candles on your birthday cake.
You can incorporate healthy lifestyle practices that can see you into your later years with greater strength, energy, and brain health.
Three areas to focus on? Exercise, mental fitness, and sound sleep.
Exercise
You don’t have to run a marathon at 70 to stay fit as you get older.
A 2022 study Trusted Source found that even extremely short bouts of intense exercise (just 1–2 minutes!) performed 3–4 times a day reduced deaths from any cause.
Pro tip: Find exercise you genuinely enjoy and make it a habit.
Mental fitness
Staying mentally active is great for your long-term brain health, and it can even be fun!
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, activities like picking up a hobby, reading thought-provoking books, and playing games of strategy can all keep your mind sharp.
Sound sleep
Can you sleep your way to a longer life? Research shows this may be the case.
In a 2023 study involving around 172,000 people, those with the highest quality sleep measures lived significantly longer: 4.7 years for men and 2.4 years for women.
For deeper nighttime rest, try sticking to a regular sleep routine, avoiding heavy caffeine and alcohol intake, and turning off devices at least an hour before bed.
As you stick to these healthy lifestyle habits, try to keep an annual medical physical on the calendar.
It can give you a baseline sense of your health with tests like:
Complete blood count (CBC)
Hemoglobin (HGB)
Hematocrit (HCT)
Blood platelet count (BPC)
Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)
In addition to attending regular appointments with your primary care physician, now’s the time to contact your roster of medical specialists, too.
Depending on your personal medical and family history, it may be more important for you to contact certain doctors more frequently.
For example, if you have known risk factors for heart disease, an annual checkup with a cardiologist can be a good idea starting in middle age or earlier. People with a family history of skin cancer, on the other hand, can consider receiving annual screenings from a dermatologist.
Ask your primary care physician about which health screenings make sense for you. Knowing where you stand in each area of your health can give you peace of mind and help direct your prevention efforts for longevity.
Monitor risk factors
Whenever you contact your doctor, be sure to speak up if there are specific risk factors you’d like to keep an eye on. It may be a good idea to gather any family history so your doctor can test accordingly.
Even if you haven’t kept tabs on your blood work in the past or don’t have much information on familial risk factors, certain blood markers can help paint the big picture of your health.
These include:
Inflammatory markers, like high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)
Cholesterol, including apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and lipoprotein A (ApoA)
Blood sugar (hemoglobin A1C)
Tumor markers, such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer or calcitonin for thyroid cancer
There’s no miracle elixir or fountain of youth to guarantee a graceful, easy experience in the later years — and of course, there are plenty of factors you can’t control as you get older.
But taking steps to extend your years can boost your life satisfaction in the here and now. As you upgrade your health through simple, everyday choices, you may look and feel your best today and in the future…..CONTINUE READING
