OptimalAging Strategies

Corporal Health
Corporal health is defined by a normal resting and exercise EKG, no history of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, or high blood pressure. In order to maintain that health the following Health Maintenance Strategies should be entertained.

Adequate Sleep - Sleep deprivation leads to a whole cadre of spirals; depression, insomnia, chemical imbalances, increase accidents, decrease in immune function, etc. For adults this is 6 to 8 hours a night.

Exercise - The better the shape a person is in physically, the greater their odds of enjoying a healthier and longer life. Work up to walking 45 minutes three times a week for the rest of your life. Walk around 5 PM. This walking in the late afternoon seems to reset a circadian rhythm that lets us sleep better. Do weight lifting muscle workouts on the days you are not walking. Lifting weights makes strong bones as well as muscles. When you have strong muscles your balance is better and you suffer less falls.

Fall proof your home - The older you get, the more important this simple action is. Install and use night lights. Try not to use medications that are sedative in nature. These may lead to an increase in falls. Use handrails. Remove rugs that are not slip proof. Cage the cat if the furry thing likes to trip you. Beware of ice. Canes were a status symbol in the past...we can bring back this elegant art form.

Good Health Habits - This covers a multitude of concerns, from washing hands, brushing and flossing teeth daily, wearing a hat on a cold winter day, changing bed linens every two weeks, wearing clean underwear every day, to looking both ways before you cross the street at the traffic light, and not microwaving in plastic containers!

Reduce Toxic Exposures - to electromagnetic fields and environmental toxins. Don't live around high power fields or lines. Buy and eat organic whenever you can. Drink purified or distilled water. Eliminate bug sprays and harsh chemicals in your living environment. Check the environmental habits in your place of work. Sick buildings do exist and are a danger to your health.

Safe Sex - Everyone needs to realize that any time they engage in sexual activity, they are having sex with every person their partner has ever had sex with. STD's now include cervical cancer. Data is also accumulating that implicates Chlamydia as a cause of coronary artery disease.

Sunshine - Get at least 1/2 hour of sunshine per day. Sunshine is a natural antidepressant. But if you are out in the sun for longer exposures or have sensitives use UVA and UVB sunscreen. Sun damaged skin cancers and melanomas are on the rise.

Medical Health Maintenance Strategies for Women-

Bone Density - Gold Standard is a DEXA scan in your 40's as a baseline, followed by a repeat scan during the first year of "no menses." Future scans being determined by DEXA results and following Osteomarks.

Osteomark yearly thereafter to monitor for bone loss.

EKG (Electrocardiogram) & Blood Pressure Check (BP) - Since coronary-artery disease kills more women than cancer, this is nothing but the minimum. Obtain a baseline between 40 to 45. Your BP should be minimally checked yearly.

Hearing Screening - Begin at 45 and repeat every 5 years.

Immunizations - Stay current!! If you are less than 50 years old get your tetanus every 10 years, or every 5 years if you cut yourself badly. For those older than 50, tetanus once after this age is currently believed to protect you for the rest of your life; but as with younger persons, with a bad cut, a booster won't hurt. Pneumovax for those 65 and older, and Hepatitis B for high risk persons. If you are 65 or older, get an annual flu vaccination.

Lab Tests

	Fasting Glucose Test - This blood sugar test can evaluate your chances of having diabetes. Since 16 million people have the disease and only 1/2 are diagnosed, the complications of vision loss, nerve and kidney damage, and increase of heart attack are severe enough for everyone to check for this disease. People who are high risk, obese, family history of DM, are African-American, have delivered a baby > than 9 lb, have high blood pressure or cholesterol should start testing at a younger age than 45..for others start at 45 and repeat every three years. Weight loss and early lifestyle changes do make a difference.
	Lipid Profile - A complete cholesterol screening measures your cholesterol (CHOL), high-density lipoproteins (HDL's) and triglycerides (TG's) and calculated low-density lipoproteins (LDL's). Lifestyle changes, supplements, and/or drugs can made a difference in your long term health status. Screening should be done in adults every five years. Children of parents with elevated cholesterol should begin testing at 7 years of age.
	Stool for Blood (Hemoccult) - Starting at the age of 40 and yearly, have a rectal done to check for masses and a stool for blood.
	ThinPrep Pap smear which is 65% more diagnostic than traditional Paps. Addition of Hybrid Capture looking for the DNA of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) if your pap is anything but normal. Pap smear frequency being determined by your sexual habits and those of your partner.
	Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) - After the age of 65, especially in women, yearly TSH's should be done to check for hypothyroidism.

Mammogram - Baseline at 35, or sooner if you have a family history of the disease, followed by every 2 to 3 years from 40-50 then yearly after 50, until 65 when Medicare will only cover every 2 years.

Self Breast Exams (SBE) - Practice SBE monthly the week after your menses. Just be sure what you feel is the same thing you felt last month! If not, see your doctor.

Sigmoidoscopy - Begin at 50, sooner if family history of colon cancer, and do every three to five years as determined by your findings.

Skin-Cancer Screening - Start at 18 years of age and have your primary care doctor monitor your skin with a follow up to a dermatologist every three years. By teaching children to stay out of the sun or to use sun blocks, these cancers that may take 10 to 20 years to develop will have less of a chance to complicate our lives.

Vision Screening - Vision screening not only considers your vision but also determines if you have glaucoma and if done by a physician can pick-up high blood pressure and diabetes. Have you eyes checked at least every 5 years.

Weigh yearly with a scale that will also give you body fat content.

Chemical Health

Health Promoting Diet

	Keeping blood sugar levels under control, high dose Vitamin E and C,and adequate doses of B6 Direct intervention of the glycosylation damaging theory of aging
	Caloric restriction - persons either overweight or severely underweight have the shortest life span while persons whose weight is just under the average weight for height have the longest life span. Be no more than 10% over your ideal weight.
	High Fiber, consume 25 grams of fiber per day. Stay away from refined flours and sugars.
	Nothing out of a can or bottle, all fresh or frozen & organic if possible.
	Eat 5 serving of fruits and vegetables per day.
	Low fat, <30 Gm/day
	Fit For Life, by the Diamonds. This is a special way of combining foods that you eat so that you maximize the enzymatic digestive juices in your stomach. This simple alteration in your diet can eliminate bloating, nausea, gas, reflux that seem to plague us as we age.
	Enzyme, HCl replacements when necessary. These compounds normal decrease as we age and simply supplementing our diets with them can help us digest and absorb our food and nutrients.

DON'T SMOKE

Ideally don't drink. Alcohol is a depressant and if you have a tendency to depression or come from a family with problem drinkers, do not drink. Drinking and a higher than normal incidence of cancer seem to be associated. So, if there is a history of cancer in your family avoid alcohol. Also, the benefits of red wine can be obtained by drinking red grape juice!

Nutritional Supplements

Calcium Citrate, Magnesium Citrates, Vit D, Boron, Silica - All needed for adequate bone health.

	Calcium Citrate & diet, 1000mg/day on HRT, 1500mg/day no HRT
	Vit D, 400 IU/day
	Boron, 3mg/day
	Silica

Antioxidants - Vitamins C & E, selenium, beta-carotene, flavonoids, sulfur containing amino acids, and coenzyme Q10
    ACTION: Direct intervention of the free radical theory of aging.
    We know that antioxidant nutrients reduce the risk for cancer, heart disease, & many diseases related to aging - including cataracts, macular degeneration, and arthritis.
    Tissue carotenoid content is the most significant factor in determining life span in mammals, including humans.
    Consumption of foods rich in carotene (green leafy vegetables, yams, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc.) or supplementation with palm oil carotene complex or carotene complexes from algae (as opposed to isolated, synthetic beta-carotene), are the best methods of increasing tissue carotenoid levels

Flavonoids
    ACTION: Direct intervention of the free radical theory of aging
    In humans, functions as "biological response modifiers" to allergens, viruses, and carcinogens. They are anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antiviral, and anti-cancer in function.
    Eat diet rich in fruits and vegetables, citrus fruits, berries, onions, parsley, legumes, green tea, and red wine.

Ginkgo Biloba - The Ginkgo tree is a "living fossil" and is associated with longevity and helping us deal with the environment. Gingko is used for cerebral vascular insufficiency, dementia, depression, impotence, inner ear dysfunction, multiple sclerosis, neuralgia and neuropathy, peripheral vascular insufficiency, PMS, retinopathy, and vascular fragility. All diseases that are a result of decreased blood and oxygen flow.

Sulfur-Containing Amino Acids - As people age the sulfur containing amino acids, methionine and cysteine decrease. Both of these amino acids are involved in determining the level of glutathione peroxidase which acts as part of a free radical scavenging enzyme. This substance combines directly with toxic substances to help eliminate them from the body. The higher the toxic load in the body, the more sulfur containing amino acids the body needs.

DHEA - DHEA decreases as we age. Decrease in DHEA is associated with an increase incidence of DM, obesity, elevated cholesterol, heart disease, arthritis, and autoimmune disease. DHEA shows promise of enhancing memory and improving mental function in the elderly. It also induces anabolic growth factor, increases muscle mass and strength, activate immune function, and enhances quality of life in the aging. None of these functions leads to a longer life just a better quality of life. DHEA levels are normal in progeria. DHEA should not be used unsupervised due to it's stimulation of the sex steroids...7-keto may be safer. DHEA [7-keto] should only be used in people over 40 or those younger with documented low DHEA levels. In perimenopausal women, DHEA may actually rise, so usage postmenopausally should be cautious at 5 to 15 mg unless the woman has autoimmune disease or diabetes.

7-keto- 7-keto may be used in place of DHEA. It is the same as DHEA but without the sex steroid stimulation. It may prove safer than DHEA.

Melatonin-discovered in 1958
Melatonin is a hormone made from serotonin and secreted from the pineal gland. The exact function of melatonin is unknown but it is involved in the synchronization of hormone secretion. It is a biological timekeeper and helps control time periods of sleep and wakefulness. It is stimulated by darkness and suppressed by light. It also has been shown to have antioxidant properties. Melatonin has helped in the treatment of jet lag, insomnia, and some cancers. Supplementation is 0.1 to 0.3 mg/day or 3mg at night for insomnia. Higher doses for antioxidant effect are not presently recommended.

Augmenting Immune System

	Calcium-D-Glucarate - We all know increasing our fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy lifestyle is important in reducing the risk of certain cancers. D-Glucarate is made by humans and is found in some fruits and vegetables. Its action in the body is to deactivate or block (glucuronidation) an enzyme that allows potentially damaging chemicals to stay in the body. Once blocked, the toxic substances become water-soluble and then can be eliminated from your body via the kidneys. D-Glucarate then amplifies detoxification pathways in the body thus increasing the clearance rate of toxins and carcinogens.
	Inositol Hexaphosphate (IP-6) - Dr. Shamsuddin has researched IP-6 a natural occurring antioxidant for over 15 years at the University of Maryland. IP-6 is used to increase natural killer cell activity.
	Indole-3-Carbinol or DIM - This is the active anti-cancerous substance contained in broccoli and cabbages.

Medical Treatments

Hormone Replacements (HRT) and their Alternatives - Educate yourself as to your options. HRT works the best when you find a physician that will take the time to prescribe specific therapies for you! The "doc-in-the-box" 5-minute exam and office visit is not worth your insurance premiums. If something really happens, they will treat you the same way! Be sure your physician is comfortable with alternative therapies and is not just pacifying you....all women don't need to be on HRT and some should not...and in some, alternative therapies properly monitored are better than HRT!

Pharmaceuticals

	Estrogens
	Progestins

Natural Products

	Estrogens
	Progesterones

Phytohormones

	Estrogens
	Progesterones

Baby ASA
We know that taking 160 mg of aspirin per day for women over the age of 65 decreases the risk of heart attacks. Many medical advisers still encourage men and women to take one baby aspirin per day. For men this is ok but for women it is not.