How to Prevent Loss of Muscle Mass With Aging

One of the consequences of aging is the shrinkage and loss of muscle tissue. This can have a variety of negative health consequences including a decrease in strength and mobility, loss of muscle tone, as well as weight gain secondary to the drop in metabolism related to the loss of muscle mass. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to help preserve muscle tissue as you age. Here are some anti-aging tips for preventing age related loss of muscle:

Start a resistance training program.

This is the most important anti-aging step you can take to preserve muscle mass. The reality is that without a resistance training program, you’ll lose muscle mass at a rate of around three percent every decade after the age of fifty. Resistance training can help to prevent critical loss of muscle tissue as well as build strength and increase mobility. Resistance training doesn’t necessarily have to involve weight lifting. You can use your own body resistance to build muscle by doing push-ups and sit-ups as well as by using resistance training aids such as weighted balls and resistance bands. If you’ve never taken part in a resistance training program before, schedule a session with a personal trainer to help formulate a plan for you. It’ll be well worth the investment.

Increase your protein intake.

Many older Americans fall short when it comes to protein consumption. If you’re unsure as to whether you’re getting enough protein in your diet to preserve muscle mass, use this simple formula. Convert your weight to kilograms by multiplying by 0.45. This will tell you how many grams of protein you should be consuming each day. (one gram per kilogram of body weight). Even if you don’t enjoy eating meat, you can still use vegetarian protein sources such as tofu and tempeh to get your daily protein quota.

Watch you vitamin D intake.

More attention has been focused on vitamin D recently and the anti-aging benefits it provides. Not only are studies showing it may prevent some of the chronic disease processes associated with aging, it also may help to preserve bone and muscle tissue. Since most foods are not good sources of vitamin D with the exception of fatty fish and fortified eggs, try to get ten minutes of direct sunlight on most days which should provide you with your daily vitamin D quota. Some experts are now recommending that a vitamin D supplement be taken on a daily basis, particularly if you live in an area that doesn’t get a great deal of direct sunlight.

Get your potassium.

A recent study showed that potassium may have an anti-aging role in preventing loss of muscle mass. The recommended daily intake of potassium is 3,500 milligrams. This particular study published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that older people who consumed at least this amount were better able to preserve muscle tissue than those who didn’t. To increase your potassium intake, try adding more fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet. Oranges and bananas are particularly good sources of potassium.

Loss of muscle mass is not an inevitable result of aging. Maintaining an active lifestyle, adding some resistance training, and altering your diet can help you maintain your muscle mass even into an advanced age. Why not give these muscle preserving, anti-aging strategies a try?

The Remarkable Anti-Aging Effects of Green Tea

It seems there’s more interest than ever in finding safe, natural ways to slow down the aging process. One inexpensive, natural food that appears to offset some of the effects of aging is green tea. Studies have shown that this remarkable, anti-aging drink may have a variety of benefits to the aging body through the effects of catechins, the active components found naturally in green tea. Here are some of the many anti-aging effects of green tea that are currently being studied:

Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease

In animal studies, the catechins found in green tea have been shown in various studies to protect nerve cells from cell death. Based on these results, it’s thought that the catechins found in green tea may help to reduce the risk of degenerative diseases of the nervous system such as the Alzheimer’s. Green tea catechins have also been shown to improve the behavior of mice afflicted with dementia. The healthy chemicals in green tea may not only help to prevent Alzheimer’s, it may also reduce the risk of another relatively common neurological disease, Parkinson’s disease. Both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease are characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques in the brain and central nervous system. A particular catechin found in green tea known as EGCG has been shown to help prevent the formation of amyloid plaques in mice. Whether this holds true in human and whether green tea catechins can reverse amyloid plaques once they’ve formed is still in question.

Skin aging

The polyphenols found in green tea are strong anti-oxidants which have been shown to counteract free radical formation in the body. Not only do the polyphenols in green tea exert their anti-oxidant properties when taken internally, they can also reduce skin related free radical damage when applied to the skin. Studies have recently confirmed that application of a topical green tea extract protects against skin damage related to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Although topical green tea extract shouldn’t take the place of your regular sunscreen, it may provide an additional level of protection that goes beyond standard, commercial sunscreens on the market. Because of green tea’s potential anti-aging skin effects, more and more cosmetic products are coming on the market that contain green tea extract. You can probably find one of these products at your drugstore or local cosmetic counter.

Chronic disease of aging

Green tea catechins may also protect against many of the common, chronic diseases associated with aging including certain types of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and even osteoporosis. Although results look promising, most of these studies have been observational and there’s no conclusive evidence that green tea can prevent or reverse these diseases. But with preliminary data looking so promising, why not add more green tea to your diet both for the taste and the potential health benefits?

Green tea seems to hold a great deal of promise in the world of anti-aging medicine. It’s a drink you can enjoy without guilt, knowing that you’re looking doing something quite healthy, and possibly protecting your body against the ravages of aging.

Review of Anti-Aging Straight Talk by Michael Moshier

I had the pleasure of reviewing a report by Michael Moshier entitled Anti-Aging Straight Talk. This is an appropriate title for this straightforward, candid report on maximizing health and slowing down the process of aging. Although Michael isn’t a health practitioner by profession and is, in fact, an engineer, he has developed a good understanding of the aging process and what can be done to promote good health and slow down age related decline.

Michael emphasizes in his report that before we can select the best anti-aging regimen, it’s important to have a clear picture of how our bodies are currently functioning. He emphasizes that the solution to anti-aging isn’t to go out and blindly take the trendiest anti-aging supplements. Before taking any supplements, it’s important to know which supplements are actually needed based on the results of a blood profile. This is a wonderfully simple idea that most anti-aging practitioners fail to address. Not everyone needs the same supplements or even the same diet for optimal health. It’s important to know first what deficiencies exist.

To this end the author recommends taking a simple blood test to assess levels of a variety of important metrics that can affect the process of aging. For example, for men he recommends checking a complete blood count, testosterone level, DHEA, homocysteine, estradiol, C reactive protein, and PSA levels. For women, he has a separate list of tests to be performed. Knowing these values will tell you where a deficiency or excess exists which will allow you to design a nutritional, exercise, and supplement program based on the results. This kind of approach makes a lot of sense. It gives a sort of roadmap to follow along the path to aging. He suggests constructing a chart so you can track the different metrics you’ll be following over time and alter your regimen accordingly. He also suggests getting the same blood tests done six weeks apart before designing your anti-aging plan.

One of the most important aspects of this book is that the author encourages each person to take responsibility for his or her health by designing an anti-aging program based on the results of their blood tests. There is no one right program that will address the needs of each and every person. The author goes into some detail on the anti-aging supplements he uses in his own regimen but emphasizes that this program works for him and may not be suited for other people with different blood metrics.

Another important point the author emphasizes is the concept of moderation and common sense. It’s not realistic to expect that you’ll never treat yourself again to foods that aren’t part of your program. After all, what fun is staying healthy if you can’t enjoy life? To this end he recommends treating yourself to your favorite foods in moderation.

He goes into brief discussions on factors that can influence the aging process in this ebook and tells you where you go to read in more depth about these processes. He also goes into some details discussing the supplements he takes on a daily basis. Although I don’t agree with all the supplements he takes, the majority of them are based on preliminary research data that suggests their effectiveness.

The author ends the book by giving twenty-five quick and easy anti-aging ideas. These are well thought out and if done on a daily basis might have a remarkable effect on overall health and the aging process.

All in all, I appreciate the author’s emphasis on taking control of your own health and designing an anti-aging program to meet your individual profile and needs. Although he wasn’t able to cover the anti-aging principles of diet, exercise, and supplementation in extensive detail, he does refer you to several excellent resources for educating yourself further. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking to enhance health and slow down the aging process.

6 Anti-Aging Foods You Need in Your Diet

How often have you hard the much quoted phrase, “You are what you eat?” This trite, old phrase may be more accurate than you think. There’s no doubt that diet playsan important role in who you are, how you look, and how fast you age. Diet not only provides the fundamental components necessary to build a strong and healthy body, if chosen wisely, it can also provide you with protection against disease and premature aging. If you’re looking for ways to alter your diet to slow down the aging process and prevent disease, here are six anti-aging foods you should add to your diet.

Cocoa or dark chocolate

Cocoa is an anti-aging food that has been shown to have a high level of disease preventative biochemicals known as flavonoids. Flavonoids are strong antioxidants and actually beat out red wine and green tea in terms of their ability to eliminate free radicals. Not only does cocoa have strong antioxidant potential, it may also reduce the risk of heart disease and lower blood pressure through its ability to increase production of nitric oxide which helps to dilate blood vessels and prevent platelets from sticking to one another. Although cocoa is healthy, don’t over do it. Keep your consumption to around an ounce or two of dark chocolate a day to avoid adding excess calories which can cause weight gain.

Nuts

Eating one to two ounces of nuts per day has been shown to cut the risk of heart attack by more than half. Increased nut consumption has been shown to reduce the risk of diabetes and stroke. One study even showed that regular nut consumption increased longevity by up to two years. Which nuts are best to snack on? The nuts with the most benefits in studies were almonds, walnuts, and peanuts. Just don’t overdo your nut intake since they’re high in calories.

Broccoli

Fruits and vegetables are known for being rich in antioxidants and other vitamins that help to reduce the risk of disease, but broccoli outshines them all in terms of health benefits. Broccoli is an abundant source for a group of compounds known as isothiocyanates which are powerful weapons against cancer. Even if you don’t like the taste of this vegetable, you can get health benefits from adding broccoli sprouts to your salad. The young sprouts have up to one hundred times more of an isothiocyanate called sulforaphane than does the mature plant. This is one anti-aging food that needs to be in your diet.

Pomegranate

Although the pomegranate has a long history, its remarkable health benefits have only recently begun to be discovered. The juice of the pomegranate may play a role in preventing heart disease and lowering LDL cholesterol levels and even slow down or stop the growth of prostate cancer cells. This remarkable fruit and its super healthy juice also have anti-inflammatory properties which may help to relieve the joint inflammation of arthritis. Eight ounces of juice per day should be enough to reap the benefits. If you take other medications, check with your doctor before drinking pomegranate juice since it can alter the breakdown of some prescription medications

Fish

Fatty fish such as salmon is a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids which have been shown to have multiple health benefits including reduction in the risk of heart disease as well as decreased joint inflammation and pain in those suffering from arthritis. This anti-aging food also appears to have positive benefits to those who suffer from depression. Eating two servings of fatty fish per week should provide you with the omega 3 fatty acids you need. If you don’t like the taste of fish, consider taking two to three grams of a fish oil supplement each day.

Green tea

Green tea is a rich source of catechins which are thought to have anti-cancer properties. In addition, green tea may help you to hang onto your trim figure as you age. In studies, people who drink five or more cups of green tea per day have been shown to burn between eighty and one hundred extra calories per day. Plus, topical green tea has been shown to reduce the effects of photoaging and can help you maintain younger looking skin.

Adding some of these anti-aging foods is a natural way to reduce your risk of chronic disease and promote better health as you age.

5 Important Factors That Cause Premature Skin Aging

Although the skin naturally ages somewhat with the passage of time, much of the skin damage, wrinkling, and sagging experienced with aging is related to lifestyle factors that can be partially prevented by practicing a healthy lifestyle. In the absence of healthy skin care habits, you can’t expect to have the skin of a twenty-five year old when you’re over forty. The good news is some simple lifestyle changes can work wonders in preserving the integrity of your skin as you age. Here are five of the most important factors that cause premature aging of the skin:

Not wearing a sunscreen

It should come as no surprise that many of the signs of skin aging are directly related to exposure to the sun’s rays. The sun not only causes wrinkling and increased skin laxity, it also causes changes in pigment resulting in the appearance of pigmented brown spots. Skin cancer is also a potential side effect of long term sun exposure. The sun’s rays weaken the elastic structure of the skin which results in the increased wrinkling and sagging seen in aging skin. To prevent photoaging, invest in a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 that blocks both UVA and UVB rays and wear it religiously. If you’ll be out in the sun for any extended period of time, add a straw hat and sunglasses.

Smoking

Smoking has a multitude of unhealthy effects on the skin. It decreases oxygenation of the skin and depletes levels of vitamin C, which play an important role in the synthesis of collagen, the basic support structure of your skin. In addition, smokers frequently develop wrinkles around their mouth from “puffing” on their cigarettes. If you observe long term smokers, they almost always appear older than their age.

Sleep Habits

There are two ways sleep habits can play a role in prematurely aging the skin. The first is lack of sleep. Although the role sleep deprivation plays in long term aging of the skin isn’t clear cut, skin certainly takes on a more aged appearance when you’re sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation can also increase levels of a stress hormone known as cortisol which may have an effect on skin health. The second way sleep habits can affect skin aging is through sleep positioning. If you sleep in the same position over many years, wrinkle formation is likely to occur where your face presses into the pillow. These are known as sleep lines. One solution to this problem is to train yourself to sleep on your back at night.

Overindulgence in Alcohol

Alcohol has negative effects on the skin in two ways. One way is that it tends to cause dehydration which alters the critical moisture balance needed for good skin health. Secondly, it causes facial veins to dilate which increases facial redness and increases the risk of broken facial veins. Reducing or eliminating alcohol from your diet can have positive effects on your skin as well as your general health.

Poor dietary choices

The importance of diet in preserving youthful skin is just starting to come to light. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in October of 2007 showed that higher intakes of linoleic acid and vitamin C along with lower intakes of carbohydrates and fats had a positive effect on the rate of skin aging. People who consume a diet high in fruits and vegetables also appear to have a slower rate of skin aging independent of other factors. This may be due to the ability of fruits and vegetables to offset free radical formation which contributes to aging.

Now that you know the five main factors that promote skin aging, is it time to make some changes?

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