IS IT THE PANDEMIC OR GROWING OLDER? I’ve tried to keep active over the past 3 years through the pandemic. Still, I stopped going to my weekly yoga class and quit swimming at the Y for many months because of Covid fears. My jogging pace also slowed, and I shifted from running half marathon to 10 K events. I told myself the reason for these is probably my “growing older.” Yet, I used to exercise 5 or 6 days a week—but lately only 3. Instead of jogging for an hour plus, these days it’s more like 45 minutes. Same with...
PAXLOVID: THE WONDER PILL Sooner or later, everyone is going to catch Covid. This is what JoAnne and I have been saying for nearly three years. Well, It finally caught up with me. Ten days ago, I had a runny nose, had developed a cough, and felt a general lack of energy. I took the Covid do-it-yourself home test and, damn, it was positive. I immediately phoned my doctor. She didn’t waste a minute—and prescribed Paxlovid. JoAnne drove to the pharmacy, picked it up and I was soon taking my first dose. After 10 doses of three pills each—one dose...
NICOTINAMIDE HELPS PREVENT COMMON SKIN CANCERS l Basal-cell carcinoma, I recently found out, isn’t only the most common type of skin cancer, it’s the most common cancer, period. I visit my dermatologist 3-4 times a year for a skin screening. Each time she finds more basal cells—usually on top of my balding scalp but also on my ears, neck, and arms—and removes them using liquid nitrogen. On my visit last July, she recommended I begin taking a vitamin B3 supplement called nicotinamide. She told me that her patients who take the supplement twice daily greatly reduce the incidence of this skin...
INFLAMMATION & CHRONIC PAIN Recent research suggests that our using anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids to relieve acute pain may increase our chances of this becoming long-lasting chronic pain. For decades, we’ve been advised by our medical practitioners to treat pain with anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve). We reach for these when we strain our back or sprain an ankle. But in fact, inflammation might actually be good for us. After reading a short piece with this surprising news in a popular magazine, I went online for the original research at McGill University in Montreal. Here are...
SLOWING DOWN The senior-fitness sense of slowing down is part of the process of aging; our running, biking, even walking speeds slowly decrease as we climb through our sixties, seventies, and eighties. Lately, however, I’ve been reading about an alternate definition of slowing down: the Slow Living lifestyle. This is a behavior which encourages a slower approach to aspects of our everyday life. The origins of this style come from the Italian Slow Food Movement, which was a response to the growing popularity of fast food. The movement emphasizes regional food traditions and preparations. Likewise, slow living for us seniors...
DEMENTIA MYTHS Dementia—especially Alzheimer’s disease—is a topic I often post about. I try to share the latest news on this because it’s one of the most threatening things about aging; at least one third of us will develop dementia by age 85. Still, I’ve subscribed to various misconceptions about the affliction as perhaps have you. To help us look at some of these false notions in an easy-to-read form, I’m offering this recent (November 1, 2022) online article by Heidi Godman in the Harvard Health Letter: 6 myths about dementia. Here are excerpts: Learn the facts so you can be...
HANGING IN THERE Even in a wetsuit the water was so friggin’ cold—54 degrees—that I almost quit before I’d begun. Fog also filled my entire panorama: I could barely see the first buoy I needed to swim to; and the furthest one—the one I’d have to go round before I could return to the beach—I couldn’t see at all. Still after five minutes, I’d somewhat acclimated to the ocean cold and decided I could hang in there for the rest of the swim. This was the Morro Bay Sprint Triathlon last Sunday: 1/2-mile ocean swim; 13-mile bike ride; 3-1/2-mile run....
OXYTOCIN—THE LOVE DRUG Last week I posted on Endorphins (Endorphins—Our Natural Painkiller); two weeks ago on Dopamine (Dopamine—The Pleasure Hormone); and three weeks ago on Serotonin (Serotonin—Our Natural Antidepressant). These are three of four feel-good hormones that affect our mind, mood and body. This week I’m featuring oxytocin, a hormone your body releases to promote bonding with loved ones; the reason it is called the love drug. My listening to the Billie Ellish song “Oxytocin” is what initiated my research into the several “feel good hormones.” A couple of lines from the 20-year-old Grammy winner lyrics of this song are:...
ENDORPHINS—OUR NATURAL PAINKILLER Last week I posted on Dopamine (Dopamine—The Pleasure Hormone), and two weeks ago on Serotonin (Serotonin—Our Natural Antidepressant). These are two of four feel-good hormones that affect our mind, mood and body. This week I’m featuring a third: endorphins, a hormone your body releases as our natural painkiller plus promotes happiness. Dopamine is also a pleasure hormone, but endorphins function differently. Endorphins relieve pain naturally. When they attach to your brain’s reward center, dopamine is then released. Endorphins naturally sooth the runner’s aching muscles, then dopamine gets released to produce the well-known runner’s high. (You can also...
SEROTONIN—OUR NATURAL ANTIDEPRESSANT Last week I posted on the hormone Dopamine (Dopamine—the Pleasure Hormone), one of four feel-good hormones that affect our mind, mood, and body. This week I’m featuring Serotonin, a hormone that acts as a natural antidepressant. For us seniors who at times experience insomnia, serotonin is additionally important because our brains need it—and dopamine—to make melatonin, the hormone that regulates our sleep-wake cycle. I’m sharing excerpts from the 2nd of Stephanie Watson’s July 20, 2021 Harvard Medical School online articles on feel-good hormones, Serotonin: The natural mood booster. Serotonin can stave off depression and provide a feeling...
