While we can't do anything about our numerical age as the years go by, we can do something about our biological, physical age.
If your chronological age is 50, you could have a biological age of 40 or 65.
Cork GP, Dr Phil Kieran, recognisable from RTÉ’s You Should Really See A Doctor and Channel 4’s How To Stay Well is helping people live longer, RSVP Live reports.
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Here, he highlights the best methods for keeping on top of your biological age.
Reversing Ageing
The aim of reverse aging is to live longer and healthier, with those at 90 hoping to have the health of 70 year-olds.
We can see it happening already; for instance, a 70-year-old would have been considered old 30 years ago, but today they are active and sharp and showing no signs of losing their independence. That is a huge change already.
Key to living longer
Smoking is a major factor, with those who smoke advised to stop.
Studies show lung capacity improving when people stop. It is never too late to stop.
The website quit.ie has some really good advice for anyone who wants to give up.
Vaping is marginally better than smoking but what I say to patients is that it’s healthier in the same way that being shot in the leg is better than being hit by a train! If you do it as part of a plan to stop completely then that is reasonable, but if you are just replacing one addiction with another then it’s not good.
Exercise
Being active is essential. We know that you need a certain amount of muscle strength and fitness to do everyday things like climbing the stairs, carrying laundry and opening jars.
One of the things that leads to frailty in ageing is either a loss of muscle strength and muscle mass (the technical term for that is sarcopenia).
Resistance training helps you keep your muscle mass, so from the age of about 30 we should all be doing some resistance training.
This doesn't necessarily mean very heavy weights, just some form of lifting.
Loss of endurance or fitness is another contributing factor. We recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise a week or 30 minutes a day, five days a week. This can be broken into 10-minute sessions of something that gets your heart rate going.
Diet
It is essential to look at upping your protein intake to keep your muscle mass high and a diet rich in fruit and veg is also important.
"I believe we should be teaching nutritional literacy in primary school. Everyone knows that a pizza or a burger and chips is not healthy, but if you see a home-cooked meal advertised in a shop you may not be aware that it is loaded with salt and sugar.
"You don’t know about the quality of the produce in the meal to begin with or the process it has undergone to increase its shelf life. Looking at the back of packets can take a lot of time but it is worth educating yourself. Knowing what is going into your food by preparing it yourself has many benefits.
"I’m opposed to diets that exclude complete food categories, particularly fads like low carb or keto diets. We need representation of all of the food groups to make sure you are getting enough protein, good fats and healthy carbs. It’s about balance," Dr Kieran said.
Supplements
Vitamin D over the winter months is all you need if you have a good diet.
As we move into our 60s, it’s important to be getting enough protein. If your diet is not giving you enough you may have to look at supplementing.
Regular checks at the doctors
One of the reasons that we are seeing healthier people into their 70s and beyond at the moment is that we are treating conditions earlier and more aggressively.
A lot more people in their 60s are on blood pressure medication now than before. There are huge benefits in having that controlled from your 50s and 60s into your 80s.
"I am seeing with my older patients an exaggeration of underlying conditions – for my smokers, it’s chest problems, and for my non-smokers, it tends to be an increased rate of diabetes or skin problems.
"Patients are presenting with gut issues who don’t have healthy diets or who drink too much alcohol so their bacterial balance gets skewed leading to problems with constipation, diarrhoea, low energy and this can be addressed by healthy eating.
High fibre foods with plenty of fruit and vegetables promote a healthy gut bacteria balance that will not only improve your immune system but will also enhance your mood and fatigue levels," Dr Kieran concluded.
