age

By Johan Galtung
March 13, 2017
Wikipedia has much to offer under “aging”. Highly recommended are the 10 points by the world’s oldest living man, 114, Walter Breuning.
However, older persons, like me at 86, know their own aging best. Less trouble with “oxidant stress” as a major cause, having used anti-oxidants based on blueberry skin – no chemicals – for decades. 20,000 blood stem cells renew my blood, but they are dying. Problematic.

A new study, published in the journal Genome Biology, suggests that despite a pre-disposition to a variety of health issues, Latinos age much more slowly than their counterparts of other races. This is partly due, scientists say, to their shared ancestry with the Native American population, who also age a bit more slowly than others.

The fertility rate in the United States has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded. It has been recorded since 1909, and has dropped more than 10% just since 2007. [1]
The findings are based on population data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that track birth and fertility statistics.

A new study has shown that pomegranates may actually be able to help slow down the aging process. The superfood fruit can prompt cells to recycle and rebuild themselves, increasing endurance and slowing down aging.

The average age of a medical student is 24, making it incredibly difficult for them to empathize with some of their older patients. New doctors may be able to sympathize with their elderly clientele, and may be able to give them medically sound advice, but they likely never experienced the symptoms they will be treating on a daily basis. Enter “We Are Alfred,” a virtual reality program that allows medical students to experience what it is like to be an elderly person with audio and visual issues first hand.

Seniors represent only 13% of the population, but they take over 40% of pharmaceutical drugs in the US. In the UK, 45% of prescriptions are doled out to individuals over the age of 65 years. The practice of polypharmacy has never been more acute than it is in the modern era. So why are we drugging the elderly so profoundly?

Someday soon, a simple blood test may be able to predict a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
A new blood test has been developed that allows scientists to estimate how quickly someone is aging; they hope that it will eventually serve as a predictor of dementia. The test may also be able to determine the “youthfulness” of donated organs for transplant operations. [1]

A naturally occurring compound found in red grapes, raspberries, dark chocolate, and red wine may halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, the results of a new trial suggests.

You may feel young at heart, but your heart may be aging faster than the rest of your body, according to a new CDC study.
Using data from an online tool that determines the age of a person’s heart based on factors like weight, smoking, diabetes, and high blood pressure, CDC researchers found that 3 out of 4 Americans’ hearts are older than their chronological age, putting these individuals at risk for heart disease, stroke and premature death. [1]

If you like spicy food, then keep eating: recently released research shows that super-hot foods like chili peppers may help you live longer.

“There is accumulating evidence from mostly experimental research to show the benefit of spices or their active components on human health,” said Lu Qi, an associate professor at Harvard School of Public Health and co-author of the study published this week in the BMJ. [1]