10 years of The Age-Well Project! What we’ve learnt (part 1)

It’s hard to believe, but this month The Age-Well Project celebrates its 10^th birthday! What started as a small-scale blog to help Annabel and I track our own health has spawned a decade of writing, a worldwide community of many thousands (thank you!), multiple books and new careers.

Annabel and I became friends when two of our daughters were at nursery together. Both of them are now well into their university degrees. We had family histories plagued with the chronic conditions of ageing, and I was caring for my mum, who had dementia. Both of us were reading all we could about longevity, and making sense of the research in our own lives. The blog was a way to hold ourselves accountable and share what we learnt as we went along. Originally, we called it Kale & Cocoa – kudos to you if you remember those days! We renamed it The Age-Well Project when our book of the same name was commissioned – a book which went on to be a UK best seller.

The early blogs were very simple as we got our heads around the research, and they were heavy on recipes. I’ve shared some of my favourites from the last decade below. The blog found an audience and grew. Annabel suggested we write a book. Getting a literary agent, and then a book deal, at 50 was a midlife plot twist I didn’t see coming. But I’m very glad it did – I’ve now written three books and am five years into a career as a health coach helping women over 50 reduce dementia risk and optimise brain health.

So what have I learnt in 10 years of ageing well:

My age-well project started in the kitchen. With a young family at home at the time, I was doing a lot of cooking. And I thought that longevity really came down to nutrition: if I ate the right things, I’d be ok. One of the biggest learnings for me in the last 10 years has been how many other factors are at play, and how we must think holistically to extend our healthspan. The concept of healthspan – the number of good years ahead of us, as opposed to lifespan – was also new to me 10 years ago.

Plants and animals

Looking back at the early posts, I was grappling with whether a purely plant-based diet was the route to ageing well. At the time I thought it was, now I don’t. If you choose a vegan diet for ethical reasons, you have my complete respect, but I wouldn’t advocate it for longevity reasons alone. In the last decade I’ve come to appreciate the simplicity of consuming meat, fish, eggs and dairy to help me hit my protein targets (one gramme of protein per kilo of lean body weight per day). I’ve also learnt much about importance of consuming oily fish (preferably wild if funds allow) for omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. These support brain health and reduce dementia risk, among other benefits. DHA works with choline: found in eggs, meat and fish – and in smaller quantities in beans, broccoli and nuts – to build the cell walls of our neurons, vital for brain health.

These nutrients can be obtained from supplements, I know. But the whole foods from which they originate work in synergy to reduce inflammation, one of the key drivers of poor health as we age – so much so that researchers now talk about ‘inflammageing’. Not a term I was familiar with 10 years ago.

Menopause and ageing well

There have been so many other learnings in the last 10 years but the other one I must flag here is the role of menopause in how we age. I hadn’t given it much thought when we started writing a decade ago, neither had Annabel. If we did, we understood it to be the end of our fertile years. Now we understand it’s a major health transition for women which impacts our bones, inflammation levels, cardiovascular system, genitourinary health, skin, hair metabolism and – particularly – our brains. This understanding led to my book, The Power Decade: How to Thrive After Menopause.

When we’re pre-menopausal we’re protected by our very own wonder-drug, oestrogen (or, specifically, the form known as estradiol). When it declines, it’s up to us to power up and take control of our health. Which brings me to my biggest learning of all over the last 10 years: there’s no plan B. Our ability to age well is our hands – we may be dealt better or worse hands along the way but there is much we can control. And if the cards don’t fall in our favour (to continue the analogy) we can be the healthiest version of ourselves with the limitations, illnesses or conditions we have. That’s always worth aiming for.

We’d love to hear how the blog has helped you, and your favourite recipes. Do let us know in the comments below.

SLEEP RESET EVENT

The importance of sleep as we age has been another key learning for me in the last decade. I didn’t give it much thought 10 years ago. Life, and the menopause, have forced me to pay it more attention.

I’ve teamed up with Yoga Nidra teacher Kanan Thakerar, for a deeply relaxing afternoon focussed on recalibrating your relationship with sleep. It’s an in-person event in White City, West London on Saturday May 11th at 2pm.

We’re combining a one-hour, interactive coaching session from me on good sleep habits for better brain health, with a restorative Yoga Nidra session from Kanan, where you just lie back as she guides you to deep conscious rest. It adds up to a relaxing, informative afternoon retreat to leave you reset and restored. The last event was a wonderful experience for all!

Click the link below for all the details and to book your ticket:

SLEEP RESET RETREAT TICKETS

Some of my favourite recipes from the last 10 years:

No-bake granola

Porridge pancakes

Almond-ginger dipping sauce

Sweet paprika salmon

The best black bean chilli 

Warm chicken liver salad

Turkish red lentil soup

Kale shakshuka

Spiced fruit loaf with green tea

Healthy sticky toffee pudding cake

Susan