Compared to others, elderly type 2 diabetics are more afflicted with lower leg muscle mass, leg strength, and functional capacity. Click for details.
The right exercise program can counteract these problems and improve quality of life.
Steve Parker, M.D.
h/t Bill Lagakos
Diabetics show a greater decline in muscle mass & strength, and functional capacity with aging. http://t.co/TdgkaUWcjg #Need2exercise
— Bill Lagakos (@CaloriesProper) February 24, 2014
Comments Off on Yet Another Reason to Exercise as You Get Older
Filed under Exercise
Neurology last year reported that the proper diet seems to help prevent age-related brain shrinkage and cognitive decline.
From the press release:
People with diets high in several vitamins or in omega 3 fatty acids are less likely to have the brain shrinkage associated with Alzheimer’s disease than people whose diets are not high in those nutrients, according to a new study published in the December 28, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Those with diets high in omega 3 fatty acids and in vitamins C, D, E and the B vitamins also had higher scores on mental thinking tests than people with diets low in those nutrients. These omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin D are primarily found in fish. The B vitamins and antioxidants C and E are primarily found in fruits and vegetables.
So the dietary pattern linked to preservation of brain size and function in this study is: high omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins B, C, D, and E. I don’t know if study participants were getting these nutrients from supplements or from food or a combination. (I haven’t read the full article.)
Note that the time-honored Mediterranean diet is also associated with lower rates of dementia and slower rate of age-related mental decline.
I previously reported that a supplement cocktail of three B vitamins slowed the rate of brain shrinkage.
Reference: Bowman, G.L., et al. Nutrient biomarker patterns, cognitive function, and MRI measures of brain aging. Neurology. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182436598
h/t to Randall Parker at FuturePundit
Filed under Dementia, Health Benefits, Mediterranean Diet
Exercise is not supposed to be fun. If it is, then you should suspect that something is wrong.
That quote is from an essay by Ken Hutchins posted at the Efficient Exercise website.
When I was a young man in my 30s, I was jogging 20 miles a week and ran a couple marathons (26.2 miles). I enjoyed it and didn’t do much else for exercise or overall fitness. I thought I was in pretty good shape. You can get away with that when you’re 35, but not when you’re 50. At 57 now, I can’t think of any single recreational activity that can help me maintain the overall strength, functionality, and injury resistance I want and need as I age.
I’ve come to view exercise as a chore, like flossing/brushing teeth, changing the oil in my car, and sleeping when I’d rather not. I’ve got my current exercise chore whittled down to an hour three times a week. OK, sometimes just twice a week.
Skyler Tanner takes a thoughtful and in-depth look at the exercise versus recreation dichotomy at his blog. If you have comments, more people will see them at his site than here.
Steve Parker, M.D.
Filed under Uncategorized
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Diabetic Mediterranean Diet 