Living Better, Living Longer: The Secrets of Healthy Aging
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
AN EXCERPT FROM THIS REPORT
Just a century ago, life expectancy in America was nearly three decades shorter than it is today. The idea of blowing out 100 candles on a birthday cake fit better in the realm of fiction than fact. Currently, experts estimate the average 65-year-old has another 18 years to live. The ranks of people age 85 or older are swelling rapidly. In fact, 85-94 year olds are the fastest growing segment of the population, followed by people age 95 and older. Whether you eventually join that club depends upon how healthy, active, and alert you stay as the years go by.
Fortunately, successful aging — a term coined by MacArthur Foundation researchers who have delved deeply into that topic — is well within your grasp. What does it require? The desire and means to sidestep disease, sustain a high level of mental and physical function, and engage actively in life. The wealth of well-documented information in this special report on healthy aging can help you do just that.
We designed this report to help you avoid common health woes of aging, such as heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and sight and hearing disorders. Its pages pose and answer many questions. Which fats and what vegetables can significantly influence your health? What supplements should you take and which ones might endanger you? How does exercise affect your body and mind? What steps can you take to stay sharp? When is memory loss normal and when is it a sign of more serious trouble? How does sexuality change over time? Whether you read this report for yourself or with an older relative in mind, you'll find many tips that can enhance life and help with planning for whatever the future brings.
Prepared by the editors of Harvard Health Publications in consultation with Anne Fabiny, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Director of Geriatrics Education, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. 52 pages.
Table of Contents:
Pushing the limits of life span
Genes and your biological clock
The secrets of centenarians
The role of cell senescence
Biochemistry and aging
Wear and tear and DNA errors
Immune system slowdown
Nine steps toward a longer, healthier life
Smoking: An enemy of longevity
Diet and aging: Gaining a nutritional edge
Healthy eating recommendations
Watching your weight
Calorie-restricted diets: Can they add years to your life?
Staying active
Fifteen ways to burn 150 calories
Is there an anti-aging substance?
Women and hormone therapy
Human growth hormone
DHEA: Much hype, few answers on safety
An ounce of prevention
Enhancing your sexuality
Staying sharp
Staying connectedk
Heart disease
Keeping your cholesterol and blood pressure in check
An aspirin a day?
Stroke
Spotting the warning signs of two leading killers
Alzheimer’s disease
Osteoporosis
Ten ways to prevent falls
Vision problems
Sight savers
Hearing loss
Understanding advance health care directives
Planning for long-range care
Organizations
Here's an Excerpt from this Healthy Aging Special Health Report
Just as there is a limit to how fast the mile can be run, there is probably a limit, too, to how far the human life span can be extended. But in every race, runners cross the finish line at different times. And every now and again, the strongest runners completely transform our ideas of what is possible.
Nowadays, life expectancy at birth is about 77 years in the United States. This is a great leap forward from a century ago, when the average newborn couldn’t expect to reach age 50. When the numbers are crunched more carefully, though, there are obvious differences between men and women and people of different races. A newborn boy born in 2001 or after can expect to live a bit more than 74 years, while his sister can expect to live to nearly 80. Life expectancy measured from birth is approximately five years shorter for a black person than a white one, although the gap narrows to two years for those who survive to age 65 and still further to about three-quarters of a year by age 75.
If you live to celebrate certain milestones of age, your life expectancy expands (see below). On average, a 65-year-old has roughly 18 more years to live, while a 75-year-old has about 11 years longer. In other words, the longer you live, the longer you’re likely to live. Because a large number of people who have chronic ailments or engage in behaviors that raise the risk of accidents or illness get cut from the herd much earlier, the oldest old are often remarkably healthy.
Antibiotics, better sanitation, and improved medical care claim much of the credit for the expansion in life expectancy. If promising avenues of research on cancer and heart disease pay off, the numbers could continue to climb. But is there a biological cap on how long humans can live?
Some researchers believe the answer is yes. Their theory draws on cross-species comparisons. The oldest ages observed in a variety of organisms suggest the biological life span of any species is roughly six times the stretch between birth and maturity. Using this formula, the figure most often advanced for humans is 120 years. That’s quite close to the span of one well-documented contender for the title of longest-lived person, a French woman believed to be 122 years old when she died in 1997.