Healthy habits and long life

I strongly recommend all those who are turning 50 years old to read the 4/14/12 NY Times article about the life of Dr. Lester Breslow and his research on healthy habits and long life. Also on the same subject there is a wonderful book written by Dr. James Fries and Dr. Donald Vickery entitled "Take Care Of Yourself."

Both say the same thing that your lifestyle is your most important guarantee of lifelong vigor and that you can postpone most serious chronic diseases by making right choices.

Healthy aging was once thought to be a contradiction in terms well it's not and at 75 I'm the proof that it works. You are your own first line of defense against an unhealthy life style. Think about it!!

Keep it Simple, Consistent and Fun. 

Sarcopenia-- what's that!!!

When I first read about Sarcopenia I thought it was a Greek delicacy!! Well it turns out to be a very important subject as we pass fifty years of age. So here's the lowdown.

Sarcopenia is the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength associated with aging. It's a component of the frailty syndrome. In short it is characterized by a decrease in the size of the muscle, which causes weakness and frailty. We lose 0.5-1% per year of muscle mass after the age of 25. OK so now you know.

The only way to naturally combat this condition is through physical activity incorporating strength training. That's something we can all do. It's totally in our control.

Keep it Simple, Consistent and Fun.