Steps to Stay Healthy Past 70
0. Start with a reasonable attitude. When I googled healthy aging, I got a pages of images of hula-hooping, white linen on the beach, ear to ear grinning couples. I have never seen anybody grin at the gym. While it does feel good to exercise, this is about a positive marathon of incremental improvements, not a grin fest.
1. Move. Get a standing desk. Take breaks from sitting. Hike, snowshoe, cross country ski. Take the stairs. Take a walk at lunch or before or after dinner. Garden.
2. Floss your teeth every day. My dentist tells me that this reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke, arthritis, diabetes, all by 30%. He also tells me flossing must be daily: Plaque sets up like concrete if left longer. Why does flossing improve health? My dentist says that gum infection drives inflammation, which contributes to all of the above diseases. As a bonus, flossing maximizes your odds of keeping your teeth!
3. Lift. Some moderate weight training, at least three times a week, is important to maintain muscle tone and bone density.
4. Stretch. Warm up and cool down. It is important to maintain flexibility. I’ve noticed this gets more important as I get older.
5. Balance. If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. Consider yoga, barre or tai-chi to maintain use of your balance system.
6. Limit Junk Food. Fries, chips, sugar. You know what junk is. Don’t eat it every day. I have found as I recalibrated my sweet tooth that some things that I found addictive — soda pop, ice cream, sugar cereals, cinnamon rolls — -now feel gross if I take more than a few bites. When I was a kid I drank soda pop and juice every day. Now I can’t stand it and water tastes great. It is possible to recalibrate.
7. Eliminate tobacco. If you smoke or chew, stop. After one year you reset to normal life expectancy.
8. Avoid or limit alcohol. If you drink, drink in moderation. Document how much you drink. According to a physician friend, people tend to underreport.
9. Contribute. Work for pay or as a volunteer. This does not have to be all or nothing. One couple in our neighborhood works seasonally in a local garden department to earn the money to take their fifth wheel to the Arizona desert each winter. If you volunteer, you control your commitment and time.
10. Learn. Boredom kills. We can get the equivalent of a college education in anything online, for free. Google and learn.
11. Focus on Tiny Habits. Any change, even positive, can feel overwhelming. Break it down to tiny, incremental habits to make progress. Author BJ Fogg (see below) can show the way.
Further Reading:
For more information on healthy aging, the Younger Next Year books, by Chris Crowley and various co-authors.
For habit change, Tiny Habits, by Stanford University psychologist BJ Fogg.
