Why do we gain weight as we age? There are several reasons - and not all of them are fully understood. But researchers are studying several aging factors that affect weigh gain as we age:
- Slower metabolism
- Loss of muscle cells
- Muscle cells that don’t repair as easily
- Changes in hormone levels that account for the loss of muscle fiber
- Worn out muscle cells that don’t burn calories as effectively as they once did
Bottom line? Your weight may have stayed steady over the last 30 years, but the number of optimally functioning muscle cells has not. Chances are, the percentage of muscle in your body is lower at 60 than it was at 30. And that can lead to weight gain or even contribute to diabetes - lower muscle mass means your body has to work harder to regulate glucose metabolism.
Exercise is important at any age. And Baby Boomers are a growing market at the local gym. According to an International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) survey, gym membership among the 55-plus group in the United States jumped from 1.5 million in 1987 to 9.9 million in 2007.
There’s been a lot of talk about caffeine lately - and plenty of confusing statistics. According to some researchers, drinking coffee may prevent Type 2 diabetes; lower your risk for colon, mouth, esophogeal, throat, prostate and endometrial cancers; or make it less likely you’ll commit suicide or get Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease. Other studies report that caffeine is harmful to developing fetuses and can increase one’s blood pressure, cause heartburn, make you more anxious, increase your secretion of stress hormones, and exacerbate insomnia, hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder.
Researchers generally acknowledge they don’t fully understand the effects of caffeine. It’s often difficult to directly prove cause and effect with caffeine studies because there may be other lifestyle factors - besides caffeine intake - that affect a person’s health, such as exercise, diet and sleep habits. And coffee has other substances, like vitamin E, potassium and magnesium that can play a role in a person’s health.
So what’s a person supposed to do? Ultimately, it comes down to moderation and understanding how caffeine affects you. Some people become jittery after one cup, others can have a half dozen cups and not be affected. Generally, if you do have high blood pressure or are pregnant, it is recommended that you monitor your caffeine intake.
And, here, is the next dilemma - knowing how much caffeine you are taking in. Each pot of coffee you brew will have different levels of caffeine depending on how your brew it or how long it is steeped. Other products that naturally have caffeine are chocolate and tea. There’s also talk of establishing labeling standards for products that contain added caffeine. While most sodas now list how much caffeine is contained in their product right on the label, other foods such as gum, yogurt, ice cream, chocolate bars and jelly beans do not. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an 8-ounce Pepsi has 25 milligrams of caffeine, while a Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate bar has 31 milligrams. Now think of all the coffee-flavored ice creams, candies and yogurts you consume.
Overall - think moderation. If you have medical conditions that are exacerbated by caffeine, then try decaffeinated products or eliminate those products entirely. And pay attention to labels. Right now, most products don’t list the caffeine they add, but if they’re “coffee-flavored” chances are they’ll contain some amount of caffeine.
It certainly is. While most people diagnosed with pneumonia eventually develop a symptomatic cough - not all of them do. Symptoms of pneumonia can vary widely.
For instance, one woman recently had a cough for weeks. When she went to her physician she was initially diagnosed with bronchitis. She had aching lungs, and a racking cough that was so bad she injured the intercostal muscles between her ribs, but the physician did not hear fluid in her lungs. She was also fever-free. A week later, after the original antibiotics didn’t improve her condition, she was given a chest x-ray that came back abnormal. A subsequent CT scan revealed she had pneumonia in both lungs. A stronger course of antibiotics eliminated the pneumonia.
One of the more inconvenient injuries people experience is “tennis elbow” - pain felt from the outside of the elbow and down the forearm (if the pain is experienced on the inside of your elbow, it is known as “golf elbow”). It can make the simplest things, like turning a doorknob, using a screwdriver, opening a jar, brushing your teeth, lifting a fork, or swinging a racket uncomfortable and difficult.
Despite its name, tennis elbow is most often caused by repetitive everyday actions in one’s life - the repeated contraction of the forearm muscles used to straighten and raise your hand and wrist. Think of carpenters, mechanics, assembly line workers or landscapers who use their arms and hands in a repetitive manner each day. These repetitive motions can inflame or tear the tendons that attach the forearm muscle to the outside bone of the elbow. The result is pain that is exacerbated when you have to move your wrist or squeeze your hands.
The biggest problem with health-related New Year’s resolutions? Most of us go “too big.” And that usually sets us up for failure. Everything in moderation — that’s the ticket. If you are serious about losing weight, lowering your cholesterol, stopping smoking, exercising more, eating better, preventing diabetes II — then make that effort in this frame of mind: small gradual changes in lifestyle. In this manner, you set realistic, reachable goals for yourself. And once those are reached — you go on to the next set of slightly bigger goals. And all the while you incorporate those changes into how you live. It’s not about dieting, complete denial or starting out with a daily 5-mile run. It’s about increments of change that you can live with so you can live better and healthier.
Here’s an excellent article that serves as a great example.
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