Ask HN: What to do to be healthy when old? What should you be doing in your twenties to be healthy when you're older? What can someone in their fifties do to be healthy in their sixties/seventies? Finally, is there a good book on this topic? A sort of "owner's manual" for the human body? |
1. Reduce your consumption of carbs (not just sugar) as much as possible (below 50g a day).
2. Increase your consumption of fibre.
3. Eat real unprocessed food as much as possible (eat the apple instead of drinking apple juice).
If you do that you will dramatically improve your health compared with most people.
Go vegan. Go keto.
Privatize your personal relationships. Find meaningful work.
Honestly, just do whatever you want. If it works you’ll feel satisfied that you were right. If you’re wrong, you probably won’t care that much either.
In most people it involves prioritising health over other goals to some extent, e.g. if you're doing an 80 hour job, find a 40 hour one with less stress, hit the gym and cook proper meals.
* no alcohol * no sugary drinks and sweets * drink water * eat fruits, mostly berries * eat salad and vegetables * eat less meat * walk every day * get enough sleep
Marry someone way younger
Be religious
Walk a lot
Fast sometimes or often
Be close to parents relationship wise
Use moisturizer even in 20s
Donate blood or plasma
Keep carbs very low
Always be learning something mental and something else physical
Eat organic
Reduce omega-6 (grass fed meat has less of it AND AVOID all vegetable oils)
Er, seems like an outlier on this list. I doubt religion, which often suggests causes and effects originating from divinity rather than predictive behavior, will overall result in life extending decisions.
Besides, just logically it would seem to be a source of acceptance of your impending death, when perhaps continuing to fight for life may be the superior strategy.
added sources for other points in the comments as well
All this is gonna make you is poorer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw16LPVnNco
added sources for other points as well in the comments
added sources for other points in comments as well
Theories I've heard go from increased red cells to people environment containing fewer unknown chemicals that become concentrated downstream (unknown because even wild animals are becoming obese by getting exposed to something)
added sources for other points in comments as well
That's it.
You can be strong or you can be weak, so long as you're flexible, so stretch.
Stretch every day to maintain mobility. Look at something like GOWOD for a personalised program. Down Dog yoga app is brilliant as well.
Exercise:
Don’t do the same exercise two days in a row. Choose several low impact cardio exercises you enjoy and cycle between them such as:
- Rowing
- Swimming
- Cycling
- Rucking
- Aqua Jogging
- SkiErg
Do some form of resistance training. Do little and often rather than long sessions. Look at swapping traditional exercises out for more ergonomic alternatives. The aim of the game is to get volume on the muscles whilst avoiding stress on the nervous system. For example:
- Belt squats instead of back squats
- Trap bar deadlifts instead of conventional
- Swapping barbell movements for dumbbell movements
- Using sand bags and kettlebells instead of metal and rubber counterparts.
Train your explosivity. This is the first thing to go as you get older. Old men can still be insanely strong but they’re rarely as explosive as in their youth. TRT will help with this.
If your job is computer based, invest in some ergonomic office equipment. I recommend the Hag Capisco as a chair. If you get one, make sure you get the foot ring as well, it’s madness that it doesn’t come as standard. Get a split keyboard such as a ZSA Moonlander. If you get one, get a “ZSA Platform” to mount it on as well, makes it a million times better. Be prepared for a frustrating learning curve with it. I’ll post my layout for it here at some point or check my comment history where I already posted it somewhere else.
I also recommend purchasing a standing desk, such as a YoYo or Jarvis desk. Another cheaper alternative if you only need an area for a mouse and keyboard is something like the “Lifeline Cycling Table”.
The way I have found standing desks to actually work and not just get abandoned is to have the desk permanently set to standing height, and to have your chair set up at standing height too. That way you can easily switch between standing and sitting without any messing about. I used to recommend standing desk mats but don’t anymore as they often interfere with whatever chair you’re using. You end up having to faff and move them out of the way if you want to sit down and then get them back again if you want to stand. Same with the treadmill desks. Just invest in some carpet or a nice soft rug that way you get the cushioning benefits for your feet but can also move the chair around on it freely.
Eat healthy as other people have said. Invest in meal prep containers and make it as easy as possible for yourself.
Buy a Garmin or smart watch to monitor health metrics.
Journal to keep your mind healthy.
Spend time in nature.
Avoid overprocessed and junk food (yes, you know what is junk and what isn't)
No smoking. No harmful drugs. Low to no booze.
Exercise regularly.
Avoid social media - mental and physical health are related
If you're posting to drum up business, then just post to drum up business. Stay out of the personal and political stuff which is mostly just drama and noise. Interact only with reasonable responses to your own posts and note when people are just trying to stir something up or troll, ignore them.
Either you hire someone to manage your Social Media or decide specific rules of usage. Login only at work hours, for such amount of time to do X and nothing else. Try to have a blank account, empty of anything outside of work related, for example blank Facebook account which hosts the business page/group/whatever.
so i need to use my personal profile to build relationships and sell. this means i get pulled into personal use of facebook which destroys my mental health.
Organic produce is a luxury item for high-income citizens of developed countries.
Purely considering the elemental nitrogen required for supplying the global demand of calories, we currently have no viable system for eating all organic. The intensive nature of organic farming would require most city-dwellers to return to the fields, and we would still come up short by about half of the world's required calories. Please don't respond with an article about regenerative ag unless it truly addresses the process of implementation and realistic supply of calories.
This is a nuanced and complex subject. Our food system is dysfunctional and requires systemic change, but all organic farming is likely not the answer.
Additionally, I see no control for "religiousness" of the gathering, only "The simple act of congregating with a like-minded community might deserve much of the credit."
So, per your own source, "be religious" is not what would extend your life and is therefore not accurate advice.
Your heart is a muscle just like your bicep.
Exercise your heart with cardio exercises and it will grow bigger and stronger just like doing weights to increase your muscle size and strength. I used to cycle 15 miles every morning and at 55 years of age I had a resting heart rate of 50 bpm.
I have a huge heart both physically and metaphorically.
I have been eating a Keto diet since before it became fashionable.
Excess carbohydrates, the modern phenomena of fast foods and obesity, leading to a slow death.
I changed to a keto diet when one of my therapy clients had terminal cancer and I wanted to learn more about cancer. I read a research paper back in the late 90's that mentioned how cancer feeds on sugars and carbohydrates which are in fact sugars. Simple really, No food for cancer no cancer. Our brains prefer to live on fat (ketosis) not sugars.
Avoid hard labour jobs.
Before I trained as a psychotherapist I worked in the building trade for 20 years. I spent half my life on my knees and humping heavy stuff around all day. Now I have painful knee problems and lower back problems.
Keep reading, learning new stuff and doing human things.
Avoid the likes of zoom and any digital screen forms of communication. We, as humans, cannot read and engage with another human being through a screen. We miss all the wonders of micro-expressions and bodily expressions in our fellow humans.
I hope more and more people will realize that and reduce screen time for communication with others.
Either one of those could have been a life-changing injury and I walked away with minor bruising. Seldom has anything in my life paid off that well.
2) Figure out the dental care thing early: correct tooth care - the right electric toothbrush, the right toothpaste, structural issues like tooth grinding.
3) Sleep issues - deviated septum, sleep apnea, anything like that. Fix it young.
4) Get tested for food allergies. I was over 40 before I discovered I was gluten intolerant, and this is common for the non-celiac gluten intolerances. I wound up in hospital with a very specific skin rash, and they diagnosed me on sight. 40 years of allergy behind that. Bad news.
When you're young fundamental structural stuff can be fucked up and your body will just power through it without noticing. Catch it before you age into it.
Good luck!
However, the break falls cannot be just learned, they must be practiced from time to time, which requires an appropriate surface, e.g. some kind of hard mattress, resembling a tatami, or even the real thing (i.e. a special mattress or tatami made for wrestling, judo or aikido, put on an elastic floor, e.g. a wooden floor).
Going to an actual dojo would be the best, if that is possible. While the practice of Aikido, as done in most places (i.e. based on cooperative training in pairs), is not something that would transform you into a killing machine or an UFC competition champion, it is a very appropriate relatively low-effort training method for old people, useful to preserve their flexibility and balance, making them much less prone to injuries.
Also the daily practice of some solo kata taken from some martial art, or of some Tàijíquán form, is something that can be done at any age with very good results for preserving the body fitness, by exercising all muscles and articulations in coordinated movements, with the advantage that no special space is required. Most such kata can be adapted to be practiced even in a small room, or outside on the ground in some yard, when no better space is available.
There is so much crap out there which claims to have a huge impact, but at the end of the day, we have to compare the [cost and time] against marginal benefit.
The following provide the greatest marginal benefit:
1. Body-weight: this is going to have downstream impacts on cardiovascular function and sleep, so I'll go ahead and claim this is probably the most impactful variable. Simply being a healthy body-weight has an ENORMOUS positive impact on overall health. Likelihood of cancer and other non-communicable disease are tightly linked with bodyweight.
2. Diet: tied to bodyweight, sleep, and cardiovascular function as well. Diet is not complicated, at least in terms of gaining a large marginal benefit. Sure, you can optimize, but rigid fad diets are often a sham and will rob you of liberty, time, and money. Just eat a recommended diet of mostly whole foods. Keto, carnivore, low carb, low fat... it's all just product differentiation. Maybe one is better than another, but what is the marginal benefit of giving up the liberty of what you put in your stomach?
3. Sleep: Practice good sleep hygiene. Get as much as you need. Don't lay in bed unless you're actually sleeping. Get out of bed immediately upon waking up.
4. Exercise: for longevity, focus on moderate cardiovascular function. Overdoing it can be as bad as none. Strength training is important as well. Grip strength is a leading indicator of whether or not an elderly person will recover from a fall.
Prioritize sleep. Allow as much sleep as your body demands today, today.
Intermittent fasting, cold showers, reasonable exercise.
Take good care of all your constituents, including your microbiome.
Practice intentional gratitude and positive thinking.
Remember mental and emotional health as well. Invest time and effort into personal relationships and experiences which bring you joy.
Think for yourself and err on the side of caution. Imagine, for a moment, living in the 1950s and 1960s. You may have heard that cigarettes are unsafe, but then there are other opinions who say that's nonsense. Do you smoke cigarettes because it's the thing to do? There are all sorts of newfangled food technologies that your ancestors have never experienced. Are they as safe as their creators say they are? Do you drive a car, even though it makes you go faster than your ancestors have ever gone, and one split-second lapse in attention can ruin you for the rest of your life? Now, transpose this mental exercise onto today's world. Is there something you may be testing in production, so to speak, that you may later regret?
As you age, strong legs will keep you walking longer. Run and jump; loading your bones with more than 1x your body weight is crucial for maintaining bone density and avoiding those broken hips later in life. Leg strength has even been correlated with brain health.
Source: a Zoom seminar with a doctor that I watched a while back at my company.
While I can mostly get on board with the idea that it’s better to consume less processed foods and beverages, if I remember correctly there’s never been a human study that showed a causal relationship between consuming zero calorie sweeteners and negative health outcomes.
I’m on my own journey to optimize my diet, and eat less processed foods, but Diet Coke is something I’ll probably never cut out.
and it could just be their guilty pleasure - better than the "normal" coke
Then the question become "what should you be doing to be healthy now".
Make the most of today, everyday.
That said, even with your interpretation, imagine that if you didn’t do something, somebody else would have to shit on the bus —- you’d have to be pretty selfish not to spend a bit of time to spare the other person of the embarrassment.
I think of it as setting my future self up for success. Go to bed early, go for groceries, have some food prepared, make plans to do something.
https://thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2818%293...
Find a good MD to be your primary care provider.
If you lose confidence in your MD, find another one. Until that happens, don't try to be smarter than your doctors (you will probably have several before too long), and do what your doctors say. Let all your doctors know that you trust them, follow their advice, and respect and rely on them.
Find a good dentist and give them the same treatment that you give your MD.
Do balancing exercises -- broken bones reduce your mobility and vitality; they are often the cause of a downward spiral in health. Don't shun using a cane, walking stick, or walker when there is any chance you might fall, but scrupulously avoid riding around on one of those damned electric carts if you are lucky enough to be able to walk, however slowly.
Have friends and enjoy life.
Exercise as much as you can; eat as little health-damaging food as you can; get 8 hours good sleep every night if you can.
Most of my older friends have Medicare "advantage" plans which I assume are what you're speaking of by "managed care plan". They seem to prefer those plans to plain Medicare.
Why do you suggest Medicare instead of a managed care plan?
- Avoid excessive alcohol consumption
- Avoid fast food, excessive salt and sugar, deep fried dishes
- Avoid excessive stress and worrying
Besides that, focus on the basics:
- Consistent and restful sleep
- Healthy, balanced diet
- Regular exercise
- Novel and mentally-stimulating activities, continuous learning
- Strong social connections (not just online social networks, but actual friends and family you can hang out with in-person)
If you want even more, there have been studies about 5 blue zones where inhabitants regularly reach ages of 100 or more, and 9 habits they follow: https://www.bluezones.com/2016/11/power-9/
1. Move naturally: build exercise into your daily life
2. Purpose: a reason to wake up in the morning
3. Downshift: Routines that shed stress
4. Only eat until you are 80% full. Consider occasionally fasting.
5. Plant and bean-based diet
6. Moderate (1-2 cups/day) consumption of alcohol
7. Faith
8. Close family connections
9. Social circles that support healthy behaviors
https://www.faculty.umb.edu/alexandrine_noel/AlexINFO/newsta...
If you're looking for books, search for Adventist health books, there are a lot of free resources online.
I see a lot of good advice in the comments but the one I don’t see which has had an amazing effect is an annual (or perhaps once every 2 year, if you’re still in your 20s) physical exam with a good physician.
My physician is an accomplished runner and we geek out on things during my physicals. He goes the extra mile on stuff like blood tests as indicators and whatnot.
Aside from that I’ve traditionally been into extreme endurance sports and while I wouldn’t change a thing, except perhaps doing more when I was younger, I’m questioning whether that’s wise or sustainable (injuries and wear-and-tear) for my ongoing health at this point.
It used to take a day or two to recover, but as I get older, it’s in terms of weeks not days.
FWIW I asked the Australian doctor who was inspecting me, top-to-tail, in my 37th year, whether I should be doing this every year.
“Do you feel healthy?”
“Yes.”
“Then no. No need while you’re young.”
If you are in your fifties, read both Starting Strength and The Barbell Prescription [2].
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Basic-Barbell-Train... [2] https://www.amazon.com/Barbell-Prescription-Strength-Trainin...
The book Lifespan [2] from David Sinclair is also a fantastic source. Finally, if you can wade through some of the questionable statements and claims, the book The Longevity Paradox [3] from Steven Gundry does have some useful info.
[1] https://peterattiamd.com/ [2] https://www.amazon.com/Lifespan-Why-Age_and-Dont-Have/dp/150... [3] https://www.amazon.com/Longevity-Paradox-Young-Ripe-Plant/dp...
You may say, sure, I care about physical health, but why do I care about conditioning or training? Because when you're 30, conditioning is whether you can sprint or run marathons or play sports. When you're 80, it's whether you can walk without pain.
Note: By "conditioning" here, I don't mean that you have to reach 10% body fat or 20 inch biceps or elite VO2 levels or anything like that. I don't mean obsessive levels - those can cause injury and/or result in shorter life span. I mean, though, that you make some effort to work on your body's condition (strength, aerobic, or both) in a consistent, long-term way.
You will die eventually so facing that honestly is good but how does it affect your assessments? Are you going to give up and hedonist? or are you going to try-hard and conservatist? My 2c is to find some balance between the two and find stability in the habits that you enjoy.
Key idea though is to find relaxation, the less you regret or worry, the quicker you can calm down. The more rest you can grab during intermissions the more comfortable you will be. Don't idle on your phone, find peace in boredom.
1) Minimize stress 2) Good sleep 3) Eat home cooked meals mostly (by this i don't mean microwaving stuff). Even in my late twenties i would proudly boast that the only thing i can cook is an egg. Now i can cook for myself, stuff i enjoy eating and stuff that doesn't take too long. 4) Reduce alcohol intake to no more than 3 beers once in a while. 5) Exercise 2-3 times a week. 6) Have a healthy social life, whatever that means for you.
Staying healthy is not the goal here, it's simply one of the methods to reach the actual goal, which is ensuring that you are not a burden to others when you get old. One other method is making so much money that you can pay someone to take full care of you. Those are all valid methods; so is not getting old in the first place.
'The Whole Foods Diet: The Lifesaving Plan for Health and Longevity':
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X6LPQH9/ref=dbs_a_def_r...
I suspect that this is one of those things where the correlation falls apart as soon as you start training explicitly for it.
Many clinicians use grip strength can be used as a proxy for overall strength[1], but the actual correlation is often moderate, at best[2]. Grip strength is just much easier to measure than, say, someone's max deadlift, so some inaccuracy is allowed.
But _only_ training grip shouldn't have much effect on hip fractures. You can use one of those squeeze handles all day, every day, and not improve your overall survivability. Likewise, squats would have little effect on your grip strength, but should correlate highly to surviving a fall.
All of which is to say, ignore all the stories about how grip strength, or the sitting-rising test[3], or any other "trick" that is supposed to correlate on long life, and focus instead on being overall strong and limber. For most people, yoga is probably sufficient. Adding in some basic weight lifting would be excellent, too, for most people.
[1]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6778477/
[2]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29935982/
[3]: https://www.artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/health/take-th...
The three leading causes of attributable deaths in this age group were
tuberculosis (1-4% [95% UI 1-0–1-7] of total deaths),
road injuries (1-2% [0-7–1-9]),
and self-harm (1-1% [0-6–1-5]).
As always people are projecting their own behaviour on others. You have more chance to die in a traffic accident as a pedestrian, just because modern cars are ridiculously safe. I've in an accident, I was in the car on passenger seat. If I was not in the car - I would post here, because at that collision speed pedestrians doesn't survive.
It absolutely doesn't matter if I drunk that day or not. Or just was on my way to drink a lot.