Accidents excepted, it’s beginning to look as if your life is in your own hands in more than the metaphorical sense. A recent BBC post outlined research that seems to prove that the ‘an apple a day’ adage may be true, and that healthy living can add around 14 years of quality life.

This has always been a bit of a no-brainer for me, I feel better and function more efficiently when I’m fit (yes, I know that ‘fit’ is a relative term when you’re getting on a bit, see my earlier post), I enjoy eating fruit, I have a low salt diet, I don’t smoke, etc, etc. Keeping the booze levels down is a bit more of a problem, I enjoy red wine and a dram of a quality single malt seems like nectar to me, two of the pleasures of life and something to be savoured.

Another BBC report seems to support these viewpoints. A study of the lifestyles of twins found that individuals with a physically active life appeared to be biologically younger than their more sedentary siblings. The most important conclusion from the research seems to be a confirmation of earlier speculation on the role of ‘telomeres’, DNA sequences that appear on the end of chromosomes and appear to shorten as a consequence of the aging process. Modern research shows that telomeres can in fact be restored and lengthened as a result of physical exercise, thus turning back the biological clock. Click here for further insight.

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It’s a tricky little thing, the prostate. Usually, the doughnut-shaped gland functions for an entire lifetime without evident problems, busily producing part of the fluid that carries the sperm during ejaculation. Since we can’t see it, men are generally unaware that they have such a thing, with only a hazy notion of where it is or what it does – many people can’t even pronounce the name correctly – how many times have you heard someone talking about ‘prostrate’ problems!

Things seem to be changing, a huge increase in diagnoses of ‘enlarged prostate’, (or Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BHP ) to give it the full medical monty) and a sinister upturn in the incidence of prostate cancer in the UK are signs that prostate problems are on the increase; probably because men are living longer, but also perhaps as a result of modern diet and lifestyles.

As an elderly member of the ‘at risk’ group, I spent a bit of time trawling the available advice, sorting the real from the fanciful, and in the process turning up some stuff that will make you smile. Here is a summary of my findings:

1. Consult your Doctor if you develop any of these symptoms
2. Check these Frequently Asked Questions
3. Ask your Doctor for a Prostate-Specific Antigen test (PSA)
4. Ask your Doctor for a Digital Rectal Examination
5. Don’t get obese
6. Stop smoking

As for causes and cures, the juries are still out on:

• Not enough sex
• Too much sex
• Masturbation
• Statins help
• Statins don’t help
• Exercise helps
• Blueberry and grape punch may help
• Pomegranate juice looks promising too
• Selenium looks worthwhile
• Quack remedies

Don’t delay. Consult your Doctor if you think that you may have prostate problems; early diagnosis brings a very high probability of a complete cure.

It makes sense to think about developing a strategy for staying healthy, for staying alive while maintaining a good quality of life. In my case, 50+ years of hill-walking and jogging has just about destroyed my knees, so a new approach was indicated, something that would allow a good cardiovascular workout without undue strain on the joints.

‘Cycling, thats the answer’ my son-in-law said. “Get a road bike and some spandex shorts and get out there pedalling, you’ll get fit and have lots of fun ‘. This was all the excuse I needed, I bought myself a new road bike and started some secret cycle trips around the back roads near where we live, keeping out of the traffic and avoiding very steep hills so that I wouldn’t be embarrassed by having to get off and walk!

I soon discovered the pleasure of cycling on a modern lightweight bike, something that had passed me by in earlier life (a Raleigh three-speed doesn’t have quite the same fun quotient) and something that has become quite addictive. With time to think about it, I bought one or two books on cycle training (The Ultimate Ride by Chris Carmichael is the best) and tried to get some science into my training runs.

As training levels increased , I began to think about just how much exercise is suitable and/or appropriate for an elderly man in his late sixties, how to measure progress and how to read warning signs about overdoing things.

Attitudes towards exercise and the elderly have undergone something of a sea change, but quality information about optimum exercise levels for the elderly is both hard to find and is something that changes quite rapidly as scientific knowledge increases.

Nowadays, the advice is that cardiovascular exercise has long-term physical benefits that can help protect against the onset of dementia by maintaining a healthy blood flow to the brain. It is claimed that regular vigorous exercise can restore strength levels and can even reverse the effects of aging of the muscle fibres!

It’s a favourite topic in Saga Magazine – demographics and the need to keep elderly people in employment have focused on this area, with the introduction of initiatives designed to bring about major improvement in coronary heart disease statistics, particularly in the areas of cholesterol, strokes, and high blood pressure.

A key therapy in these vital areas concerns the use of drugs called statins, described as enzyme inhibitors that reduce the production of cholesterol in the liver. My guess is that the medicos have gone a bit gaga over the benefits of these low cost ‘wonder drugs’, and while the following list shows some of the pros and cons, you really have to determine the risk/benefit analysis for yourself

• Statins reduce incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease, strokes and heart problems
• Statins – the case for taking them
• Statins – the case against
• Statins – usage merely substitutes one cause of death for another
• Statins – don’t eat grapefruit when taking this drug

Blood pressure seems to be a key element in monitoring how we’re doing, it’s certainly one of the very first things that the Doctor measures when/if we make a visit to the surgery.

Blood pressure is quoted as two numbers, one above the other. The first number Systolic Pressure is the pressure produced when the heart contracts, the second number Diastolic Pressure is the blood pressure when the heart is relaxed. Ask your Doctor or Practice Nurse to tell you your blood pressure numbers, then check what the numbers mean by comparing them against this chart.

Blood pressure is usually shown as millimetres of mercury equivalent (mmg), for the engineers amongst us, this equates to 0.019337 pounds/square inch. Since a ‘normal’ BP is usually in the range 120/80 this means that 2 p.s.i. is good, but 3 p.s.i. is bad!

So there it is, you can save your knees, save (hopefully!) your wits and maybe rejuvenate your muscles by getting more cardiovascular type exercise. My experience is that it will make you more cheerful too, it’s hard to sweat and worry at the same time!

As a ‘late developer’, I have an interest in just what it is that enables some folk to continue at a reasonable level of intellectual involvement as they age, while many (most?) other people appear to lose their performance edge as time ticks away.

This is not just about memory. Almost everyone suffers from some degree of short-term memory loss as they grow older, something that leads to jibes about ‘senior moments’ and the like, but some older people appear to hold on to their intellectual functions and to remain fully involved in life until the day they die. My mother was a prime example, even in her 90′s she was an avid reader of newspapers and a stern critic of the government of the time; she could instantly recall the names (and the failings!) of most of Her Majesty’s Ministers and key members of the Opposition and she had firm opinions on current events and foreign policy matters.

From a purely personal angle, understanding more about this subject suddenly became important when I officially became ‘elderly’ – now, several years later, it has become a race against time and has assumed a wider importance given the UK demographic profile.

Reading The Wisdom Paradox by Elkhonon Goldberg helped fill in some of the gaps in my understanding of this key area. This very readable book refers to some interesting research, including the Minnesota Nuns and London Taxi Drivers studies, topics that I have been following for the last couple of years. These studies cast significant doubt on the old notion that the brain is somehow fixed quite early on in life, with limited powers of regeneration and even less hope of measurable improvement in cognitive function. Another recent study shows that bilingual people have added protection against the onset of senile dementia, supporting earlier research findings that intellectual challenge is beneficial at any age and that the brain can ‘rewire’ itself to cope with new stimuli.

Barring genetic susceptibility or head trauma, it looks as if we can do quite a lot to help ‘keep our marbles’ and protect ourselves against the dreaded dementia, including:

• Don’t smoke, smoking narrows the arteries and restricts blood supply to the brain
• Keep active physically, especially in social situations like rambling and dancing
• Stay active mentally, any type of sustained mental activity helps the brain to repair and renew itself
• Avoid trauma, wear a helmet when cycling, skiing or during any exercise where the head may be damaged

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