The talk in geroscience circles over the last fortnight has been all about selenium: can selenium supplements give us the longer healthier life we want? The excitement was sparked by an experiment that found mice given selenium supplements had an improved health span (a longer disease-free period at the end of their lives). How does…
MYSTERIOUS REASONS FOR WORKING OUR MUSCLES
A doctor friend recently messaged me to check I was still doing the odd plank or lifting the occasional weight. I confessed that I’d missed a few days in the aftermath of my father’s death. But explained that I’d also felt a strange compulsion to do bicep curls as I grieved. Lifting weights, I added,…
FOLLOW THE DATA: MUST WE? AND AN ESCAPIST GIVEAWAY…
I don’t know about you but I’ve become increasingly disillusioned with science – facts, data, graphs. Funny really, because this blog was predicated on a belief in science. To be honest, my loss of faith began before COVID. I suspect the pandemic merely confirmed what I was beginning to suspect. Of course there are lots…
BRAIN-BUILDING, PREVENTING OSTEOPOROSIS, WHAT CARDIOLOGISTS DO FOR HEART HEALTH… AND THE NEW CANADIAN EATING GUIDELINES
I was at a boxing day party of cardiologists this year, many of whom had come straight from the local hospital where they’d been treating Christmas day heart attacks as well as looking after the usual heart-diseased in-patients. I noticed (glumly) that none of the cardiologists were drinking or snatching at the canapes, so I…
BUILD MUSCLE OVER 50, LIVE LONGER
How are your muscles? If yours are anything like mine, they could do with a little work. Yesterday England’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) weighed in on the state of the nation’s musculature, recommending strengthening exercises twice a week to help us age well. The guidelines advise that we build strength and improve balance to help…
What you need to know about sunscreen this summer
I’m conflicted about sunscreen. How about you? Of course, I don’t want to get skin cancer, wrinkles or sunburn, but on the other hand, slathering myself with a concoction of chemicals which block essential longevity nutrients doesn’t fill me with joy either. But, as I’m about to head off to somewhere hot and (hopefully) sunny,…
THE ASTONISHING POWER OF SUNLIGHT: PART 2
I’ve broken a bone in my foot, which means I’ve spent a fair bit of the week in hospital and a fair bit of time hobbling around, very slowly, in a big plastic boot or weird and deeply uncomfortable, back-to-front footwear. In the same week that Vitamin D made headlines, it’ll come as no surprise…
WORK OUT, AND YOUR GUT WILL THANK YOU
Get more exercise, take more care of our gut health: two of the most important things we’ve learnt on our Age-Well Project. And so it was no surprise to discover that one influences the other. Our gut bacteria can help us get fitter, so looking after them is as key as a good pair…
GOOD NEWS FOR OLD MUSCLES
If any of you have children or grandchildren (especially teens) who aren’t getting enough exercise (think Fortnight, social media, Netflix box sets… you get the gist), today’s post is the fuel you need to turn the wifi off. It also offers hope to anyone temporarily bedbound, injured or in a sedentary job. And so I’m…
THESE VEGETABLES WILL STRENGTHEN YOUR BONES – AND KALE SHAKSHUKA
Growing up, I was very close to my paternal grandmother. She was widowed young and filled her life with a cohort of doughty female friends and relations. They became, by extension, my ‘aunties’. They played whist, shopped and shored up the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service together. As time passed they all started to break bones,…
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next Page »
