Getting Older Can Be So Much Fun!
Getting older can be a significant challenge. I will always remember the time one of the Green Apple Members said to me” Victoria, getting old is no fun!” Since then, I have heard this comment or similar comments many times as each person faced some health issue that their doctor attributed to “age”.
It certainly made me think about the multitude of things that happen and start to manifest any time after 50. Once we get into our 50s, our bones and our muscle mass no longer replace themselves at the pace they did when we were younger. In fact, bone mass and muscle density decline through our 50s and 60s and 70s and 80s and thereafter unless we make an effort to stem the loss.
If this topic resonates with you, I can really recommend the Osteoporosis and Muscle Wastage workshop that Bridie will deliver over two 90-minute sessions, on April 7 and April 14. Not only will Bridie explain what these conditions are, and how they will affect you, she will talk about what you can do to counteract the conditions.
As we age, we can either put up with age-related issues or we can look for opportunities to invest time and effort in managing the things that are happening to us. Conditions like osteoporosis, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Zombie cells, along with a multitude of other conditions that may make our old age very challenging and definitively not fun, are all under the microscope in modern research.
I believe that the wonderful thing about ageing is that we have less concern about how we are perceived by the world. We can be more the person we believe we are without feeling judged.
I believe that we may have a better understanding of what we want in life and how to go about achieving it.
And generally, I feel that we have the time to do things in a way that we didn’t when we were younger, with families and work and other responsibilities.
The article/paper written by Sarah Amandolare on “The Furure of Anti-Aging Therapy“ in the online Medscape Science and Technology News, shares her knowledge on “Senolytics: Zombie cells, Longevity and “What’s Possible”. A fascinating topic and well worth investigating.
Zombie cells for instance are senescent cells in the body which usually accumulate with age. These cells are damaged and unable to repair themselves, but not so damaged that they self-destruct, and they hang around in the body creating widespread inflammation.
In this Medscape article, the Director of Robert and Arlene Kogod Centre on Aging at Mayo Clinic, Nathan K LeBrasseur was reported as a “proponent” of this.
Quote from the article: “Proponents like LeBrasseur aren’t preaching about extreme longevity, but the health span/lifespan argument. They speak in practical terms about making life easier for people as they get older.
“We’re really not interested in making drugs to help us live until we’re 120 and feel like we’re 120″, he said.” If we have no effect on lifespan, that’s perfectly fine, but let’s increase the number of active and productive years that are not overly burdened by disease and disability”.
Much of the research that is being done has been in mice and it would be nice to think that the benefits can eventually be applied to us as humans. There will be information you can source on this subject on the Internet and pills and potions you might be encouraged to take however we need to be discerning about what we expose ourselves to.
In this Medscape Medical News, published March 28, 2025, written by Sarah Amandolare, she provides more information on LeBrasseur’s research which provides some guidance on how we can help ourselves while we wait for more definitive solutions to the question “what can we do about reducing our Zombie cells?”
Quoted from the article,
“In the meantime, of course there’s exercise. LeBrasseur’s research has shown that higher levels of habitual physical activity ~ daily activities like walking and getting up out of your chair that make you a little less sedentary ~ is associated with lower biomarkers of senescence in adults in their 70s and 80s
“Exercise can prevent senescence from occurring,” LeBrasseur said. “And there’s a lot of favourable data to show exercise can help optimise immune health and function, creating healthier environments and tissues for immune cells to recognise, target, and eliminate senescent cells.”
We are all on track with our exercise in the Green Apple! I am hoping to keep up with appropriate levels of activity for as long as I possibly can because I want as few Zombie cells roaming around inside me!
Perhaps that is why I believe Getting Older Can Be So Much Fun!
Victoria Gill
Founder of the Green Apple Wellness Centre since 1980