Aging with a Vengeance

The most difficult part of adult learning is choosing to learn.

That’s the closing line from a recent Seth Godin blog. If you want to read it in its entirety, click the link below. Reading it double-tapped the nail on the head for me. There are definitely some courses and areas of study I would love to learn more about; I just haven’t chosen to spend the time doing it. One course would be on where and how to use herbs in cooking. The other is learning how to make sauces of all types. As Seth suggests, I just haven’t decided to do it for a myriad of reasons.

The other nail on the head was for you as readers to take the time to learn about aging, regardless of your current age: what you can do now, if you’re not older, and what you can do when you’re there. The earlier you start in life, the more you can accomplish and the better you’ll be able to meet the challenges of aging.

Meanwhile, I’m preparing the next component of Aging with a Vengeance. That will be another opportunity to learn more about changes in your body as you grow older, and even better, what you can do about it based on the latest science. Before I announce the date for the next webinar, I’m going to give you the opportunity to get the first three Aging with a Vengeance videos so you can learn about Reclaiming Your Power, Taking Back Your Muscle, and Managing Pain at a reduced rate. I’m lowering the price of these webinar replays to just $9.95. That’s an opportunity to learn a lot at your own pace. Then you can take another opportunity with the next Aging with a Vengeance later this month.

Insiders: Remember you can download free copies of the MP3 or PDF for all topics of The Bottom Line. Subjects include Alzheimer’s disease, migraines, sucralose, and more.

“You don’t know what you don’t know” is a common expression. Isn’t it time you take this opportunity to learn?

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

Reference: https://seths.blog/2025/01/honesty-about-better/

This year’s Super Bowl Webinar focused on aging with a vengeance—becoming the best version of yourself, no matter your age. The study we just reviewed on the proteome suggests that the people were healthier who were biochemically younger than their actual age. Here are the actions I believe can help at the three critical phases of aging that were identified in proteome study. As I find out more, I’ll be more specific.

31 to 37

If you have weight to lose, now is the time to lose it. Take it from me and my decades of experience with weight loss programs: it becomes more difficult the older you get. Find a way to eat that will maintain a reduced body weight and stick with it.

Reduce your protein intake. That may seem a little odd, but this is a time to focus on vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and quality oils.

Focus on your cardiovascular system by doing aerobic exercise on a regular basis. Use interval training to make the most of your time, and when you’re fit enough, you can add high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to your routine.

57 to 63

The kind of 80- to 85-year-old you’re going to be is dependent on what you do now. If you haven’t achieved a normal body weight, that’s a high priority just as it was in the prior age group. I know how difficult this is because it’s eluded me throughout my life; I lost a lot of weight and kept it off for years, but I’d still like to weigh less.

Increase protein intake to 1–1.5 grams per kilogram body weight per day.

Supplement your diet with essential amino acids. While the amounts are still not absolutely clear from the research, 10–20 grams per day is a good goal.

If you’re not already doing so, add weight training to your exercise routine. Start with using your own body weight, then add exercise tubes or light weights, and then use machines or free weights. Now is the time to retain or even increase your muscle mass.

75 and Older

If you haven’t achieved a normal body weight, there’s still time. My wonderful mother-in-law lost a significant amount of weight at this age, and she was an overweight diabetic in a wheelchair.

Increase protein intake to 1.5–2 grams per kilogram body weight per day. It’s difficult because appetite decreases and protein makes us feel full. It will help reduce the muscle loss that’s happening.

Supplement your diet with essential amino acids; the amounts are still between 10–20 grams per day.

Add weight training to your exercise routine. It will help you to retain or even increase your muscle mass. Stay within any orthopedic or other limitations, and get some help if you need to, but do it. Your primary caregiver will probably be glad to refer you to a physical therapist who can get you started safely.

The Bottom Line

For all that’s been written about healthy aging, we still don’t know very much. Healthy aging begins the day we are born, but we realize that only when it dawns on us that we’re aging. No matter your age, no matter your current state of health, it can be better. You can learn more in the replay of this year’s Super Bowl Webinar, but it will be available for only a little while longer.

The simple things I’ve talked about in this Memo are a beginning. When I know more, so will you. Inevitably, it comes back to a single question:

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

Reference: Nature Medicine. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0673-2

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Dr. Chet