Diet and Fitness

As the summer draws to a close it’s not uncommon to start feeling your energy level drop a bit.

No fear, though! You can re-vamp your energy level by eating a few key things at the right time!

There is a lot of advice out there about what to eat, but luckily I have weeded through the complicated and long-winded stuff, and found a great little blog post that offers simple advice.  

 Check it out here on the FitnessTown blog!

p.s. notice the post references our very own book The Good Mood Diet by expert Susan Kleiner!

Filed under: Books • Diet and Fitness

Despite the possibility of universal healthcare and the natural rise of the senior demographic, we are always looking for ways to lengthen our lives. The most recent solution seems to lie in the idea of simple caloric restriction. Many people are already aware that reducing one’s calorie intake by 30% postpones aging, and yet many people still lack the disciple to do it.

 

…Enter science!                                                    

 

In today’s New York Times Nicholas Wade wrote about how scientists have now found a way to eat less without really eating less. In other words, scientists are now testing a drug that allows people to eat their normal amount, but only absorb 70% of the calories. One of the drugs currently being explored is called Resveratrol. Discovered in 2003, Resveratrol can be found in grape skins and red wine. It is one kind of sirtuin activator, an artificial calorie restrictor. Laboratory tests on mice placed under this drug have been found to live 30% and 40% longer than their counterparts.

 

Tests on Resveratrol are ongoing, but many scientists are already optimistic. Among them is Dr. David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School, who believes that sirtuin activating drugs would postpone diseases that come with aging, such as Parkinson’s, leading to healthier years down the road, and the possibility of a longer life.

 

If these developments continue to be successful, the results could be astronomical for baby boomers. Who knows—in twenty years’ time it might be possible for seniors to be leading life to the very fullest!

 

 

Filed under: Boomers • Diet and Fitness

Last month, coffee lovers rejoiced when studies came out indicating that a daily dose of caffeine may help cut down on the buildup of protein on the brain that causes Alzheimer’s. Now, devotees of crossword puzzles, card games, and other brain-tickling activities can be glad. Reuters reports that a new study by New York’s Albert Einsten College of Medicine followed 488 healthy people between the ages of 75 to 85 for five years, tracking their mental decline and their daily participation in six different activities: doing crossword puzzles, reading, writing, playing board or card games, playing music, and having group discussions. The researchers discovered that for each additional mentally stimulating activity that their subjects did on a daily basis, accelerated memory loss was delayed by approximately 2 months. Those who participated in 11 activities a week were able to stave off the point of no return (so to speak) for 1.29 years longer than those who only engaged in 4 activities a week.

Here are some great online resources (all free) that we recommend for exercising your brain:

Weekly puzzles from the NY Times Crossword’s archives

Online Sudoku puzzles (also from the NY Times)

MSN games online: Bridge, Hearts, Texas Hold’Em, TextTwist

Facebook’s Scrabble and Chess Applications

Orisinal’s series of beautifully animated online games

Starting a blog through LiveJournal, WordPress, or Blogger

Participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

Checking out a book from the NEA’s The Big Read list

Reading the poem of the day at Poetry Daily

Following The Two-Way, NPR’s news blog

Reading about, or creating articles for, unusual locations at Atlas Obscura

Solving a Virtual Rubik’s Cube. (Need help? Check out this tutorial by one-time world record holder Leyan Lo)

Learning to play a new instrument by searching for video tutorials on YouTube

Filed under: Boomers • Diet and Fitness • Fun