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THE HEALTH CHECKS – AND FOOD – YOU NEED NOW

January 11, 2019 3 Comments

Are you up to date with your health checks? A report last week revealed that fewer than half of those eligible for a free NHS over-40 check up actually take it. So, if it’s not too late for another New Year’s resolution, now’s a good time to make an appointment and get checked over!

It’s a simple, routine check, usually carried out at your GP’s surgery, testing blood pressure, weight and height. It’s designed to identify people with an irregular heartbeat or high blood pressure. Treating these issues can reduce stroke risk and heart conditions, which in turn reduces the risk of vascular dementia. The test also screens for other problems, like diabetes and kidney disease.

Treatment can be prescribed following the health check, and – even better, as far as we’re concerned – patients are given advice on improving diet, taking more exercise, weight loss and giving up smoking. This combination of testing, treatment and lifestyle intervention is what we need to keep us healthy as we age. We’re incredibly lucky to have the NHS, and we need to use it to help reduce the risk of disease and the chronic long-term conditions of ageing.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

As part of our Age-Well Project we’ve undertaken a range of health tests, and they’re a key recommendation in our forthcoming book. We’ve found it empowering to know what’s going on in our bodies: we have our cholesterol, Vitamin D levels, blood sugar and bone density tested in addition to regular blood pressure checks (at our gym). Even if you’re super-fit now, knowing your measurements gives a baseline for the future so you can assess if, and by how much, your readings are changing.

OTHER TESTS WE’VE TAKEN

As part of our Age-Well Project, we’ve also both undertaken DNA analysis to understand our genetic risk factors. Mine revealed that I carry a variant of the ApoE4 gene that increases my risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. Not an enormous surprise, as both my mother and grandmother suffered from the disease. It’s a lot to take on board and I’ll blog about this more in the near future. The DNA test also showed that I have an increased risk of macular degeneration, again, not a huge surprise as my father suffered from the condition. But now I have this knowledge, I’ve had further (rather expensive) tests on my eyes, from my optician. Luckily my eyes are in pretty good shape now, but I’m pleased to have established a baseline against which to compare future tests.

So, have you had your over-40 NHS health check yet? What about your loved ones? Please do share this post with them so more people can get checked out and get a clearer picture of their health.

 

AND THE FOOD THAT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE….

A wide-ranging report published today reveals that eating enough fibre could reduce the risk of death from all causes by 15-30%. The new research will inform forthcoming World Health Organisation guidelines and comes from the same team as the major review which led to WHO guidance on the need to dramatically cut sugar intake. (We blogged about that here.) So, as the researchers point out, this isn’t about the latest fad diet, but a major shift in emphasis on what we should be eating for health and longevity.

Fibre plays so many roles in our body – including helping to lower blood pressure. It helps keep us full for longer, keeps the digestive tract moving so toxins don’t build up in the colon and – most importantly – feeds our microbiome. And, as we’ve blogged about many times before, a happy, well-fed microbiome has a huge impact on our long-term health.

But what is ‘enough fibre’? It’s around 30g a day – which is a lot. As part of our Age-Well Project, I’ve kept a fibre ‘diary’ to see how close I can get to the magic 30g. I found I needed to include a portion of pulses and oats in my daily diet to hit the target. Not a hardship as I love both. Here are a few of our favourite high-fibre recipes from the blog to get you working towards that magic 30g per day:

Chia seed parfait 

Lentils in a lemon and tomato sauce

Black bean soup 

No-bake granola 

Lebanese baked beans 

Lentil and herb soup

Susan

  • Conditions: Ageing, general, Heart disease, High blood pressure, Hypertension
  • Ingredients: Lentils, Oats
« WHY EVENING IS THE BEST TIME FOR EXERCISE: CELERIAC AND RADISH SALAD
WHY WE NEED MORE LUTEIN: GREEN BUTTERBEAN SOUP »

Comments

  1. Gaynor says

    March 6, 2019 at 8:49 am

    Hi Susan, another great post, with good reminders.
    I have a question about fibre intake. There is plenty of fibre in your recipes, such as lentils and beans. However, I was wondering do fresh fruit and vegetables count? I like nothing better than chewing on a crisp tart apple and at boarding school when others had bread and jam, I had a celery stick (strange I know). I have never eaten much in the way of dried beans and lentils. Also since I am a coeliac and since I moved to Australia, the coeliac society there (I am not “there” at the moment) do not recognise oats as being gluten free. That was a blow.
    Lentils and chick peas and fava beans are big business for farmers in Australia now and there is no problem getting locally grown nuts either. How do we measure the 30g?

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      March 24, 2019 at 4:44 pm

      Hi Gaynor
      Fruit and veg are indeed a terrific source of fibre. There’s around 4.5g of fibre in a medium sized apple and 4g in a banana. Working out fibre intake is a bit of a faff. I kept a fibre diary as part of our age-well project and I found it helped to have some of the key figures in my head. For example, a cup of cooked lentils has around 15g of fibre, and a sweet potato has around 4g. Oats are a brilliant source of fibre (10.5g of fibre per 100g) so it’s such a shame you can’t eat them. What about gluten-free oats? They don’t count? So I knew that if I’d had porridge for breakfast and a good portion of pulses in one of my other meals I was pretty close to my target. I found it hard to hit 30g in a day if I didn’t eat pulses. Popcorn is a good source too and fun to eat! Good luck – let us know how you get on. Susan x

      Reply
  2. Laura Newman says

    May 27, 2019 at 4:02 pm

    The NHS health check for all is available in England but not Scotland.
    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/over-40s-at-risk-without-checks-2vtvl62jp

    Reply

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Welcome to The Age-Well Project

Welcome to The Age-Well Project!
Here you’ll find easy changes for a longer, happier life. We’ve immersed ourselves in the science of longevity and distilled the research to make it work in our everyday lives. You can change the way you age: here’s how.

Favourite Posts

WHY I’VE THROWN OUT ALL MY BEAUTY PRODUCTS (nearly…)

Why Alzheimer’s Is A Women’s Issue

HOW HAVING A DOG CHANGED MY LIFE

GREEN SPACE IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, SADNESS AND BRAIN-BOOSTING BISCUITS

WHY ‘INFLAMM-AGEING’ COULD START IN THE GUT AND HARISSA-ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD

POLYAMINES – THE NEW SECRET WEAPON FOR AGEING WELL & MOROCCAN SPINACH AND CHICKPEAS.

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Everything we’ve learnt about ageing well points Everything we’ve learnt about ageing well points to a time (for women at least) in their mid-60s when the chronic conditions of ageing, like diabetes, heart disease and dementia, are - statistically - more likely to kick in. 

And we know that our reproductive hormones do so much more than prepare us to have periods and babies, we have receptors for them throughout our bodies and brains. 

Oestrogen, in particular, helps keep bones strong, blood vessels flexible, brains firing and inflammation levels low. Essentially, it wraps us up in a cosy protective cloak to keep us safe and healthy while we're able to reproduce, but once the eggs have run out - we're on our own! 

Between the average age of menopause at 51, and that time in our 60s when the chronic conditions of ageing are more likely to kick in, we have a decade or so in which it’s vital to focus on our health.

And how to do that? It’s on the blog - link in bio

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #menopause #menopausehealth #postmenopause #postmenopausefitness #postmenopausal #oestrogen #hormonalhealth
If you’re lucky enough to have good metabolic he If you’re lucky enough to have good metabolic health you might want to thank your Mum today. Recent studies have found that women who move around during their reproductive years and during pregnancy and then breastfeed for a bit pass on a compound in their milk called 3SL which provides lifelong protection against poor metabolic health. The offspring of moving, breastfeeding Mums appear to have a lower lifetime risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other chronic metabolic disease. Even gentle strolling during pregnancy and while nursing can produce this compound. So today we thank our Mums for that - as well as everything else.  Susan’s mum in the hat. Annabel’s mum in the pony tail. 

#mothersday #mothers #move #agewell #goodhealth #longevitylifestyle #longevity #walk
There’s been lots of good news for walkers recen There’s been lots of good news for walkers recently. A study published last month found that over-60s who walked between 6000 and 9000 steps a day cut their risk of heart disease (including strokes and heart attacks) by 40-50 percent, when compared to a more typical 2000 steps a day. In fact this study found that for every additional 1000 steps walked, the risk fell still further. 

How far are you walking to age well? Let us know in the comments and there’s more on the power of walking on the blog - link in bio

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #walking #womenwhowalk #womenwhohike #reversewalking #backwardswalking #walkingbackwards
A big hug from us to you to mark International Wom A big hug from us to you to mark International Women’s Day! 

The campaign this year reminds us to embrace equity as a way to recognise that each of us has different circumstances, and we need different resources and opportunities to reach an equal outcome. Of course, this is as vital in ageing and health outcomes as in every other field.  

So we’re embracing our age and hoping to grow older in a more equitable society ❤️

#internationalwomensday #embraceequity #embracequity2023 ##longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #iwd2023 #madformidlife
We’ve learned to love walking backwards! So many We’ve learned to love walking backwards! So many benefits when it comes to ageing well. 

If you’re not sure how to start or are worried about looking silly (we were) - there are lots of tips on the blog, link in bio. 

If you’re a backwards walker, let us know in comments below! 

If you’re planning to start, save this post for when you’re ready for some reverse walking 

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #walking #womenwhowalk #womenwhohike #reversewalking #backwardswalking #walkingbackwards
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