Future-proofing in your 40s
I’ll be 47 next week. Time passes. Generally speaking I’m pretty happy with the whole getting older thing, sometimes I look in the mirror with a bit of a uurgh, sigh. But all in all I’m good with it.
Grace Dent recently wrote that after a certain age you see everything you eat and drink on your face. I certainly do. If you’re anything like me you’re probably noticing that what’s always worked for you isn’t getting quite the same results these days and thinking it might be time to reassess the strategy.
After speaking with a couple of friends about health at our ‘age’, I’ve been thinking a lot about this ‘time’ being all about future-proofing. In your 20s and 30s you can get away with a lot, eat too much, drink too much, sleep too little. BUT we need to be a bit smarter in our latter 40s, as it will have an impact on how we spend our next decades, what our energy levels will be like, our brain function, the diseases we will develop.
Best to turn up to our 50s and 60s in the best shape we can, right? So that we can live the life we want, rather than accepting a slow decline. And if you’re a woman then getting yourself ready for that menopause could save you whole lot of pain. It’s all about having a plan now so that we can reap the benefits later.
Weight management
It’s much easier to gain weight as we get older, a lot of people notice that they can’t eat the same way they could when they were younger and stay slim. But keeping your weight within a good range, (and that might well not be as it was in your 20s and 30s) is important. Being overweight or obese is a risk factor in cardiovascular disease, inflammation, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and some cancers.
But life’s too short for deprivation and you’re old enough to know that diet’s don’t work. So ditch the diet! Eat predominantly whole foods with plenty of fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains and get rid of the saturated fats, refined sugars and processed foods. Go for quality over quantity and really enjoy your food. You can’t go wrong.
Eat plenty of anti-oxidants
These are the compounds which will mop up the mess from debris created by the body in its general functioning, as well as any external nasties, to prevent cell damage and ultimately disease. Reduce the amount of damage being done by quitting smoking, reducing alcohol, removing toxins, removing processed foods (toxins), sun damage, saturated and trans fats and sugars and increase the amount of anti-oxidants available to the body.
Eat as broad a range of fruits and vegetables as possible (go for lots of different colours), nuts, herbs and spices (especially turmeric, green tea, oregano and cloves), dark chocolate, coffee and grape juice.
Maintain muscle mass
I’ve become a little obsessed with this one personally. I have bought a kettle bell. I love it! We start to lose muscle mass between 30 and 40 at a rate of between 3% - 8% per decade. Hello bingo wings! Muscle loss or sarcopenia, increases from the age of 60 onwards and gradually leads to a weakening of the body as we age which is associated with mortality. However research does suggest that this can be greatly mitigated through resistance and strength training, the rate of muscle loss being greatly reduced if not prevented altogether. So, it’s time to pick up the weights and build in ‘resistance’ style training.
If you are a woman, prepare for menopause
This is a whole other post in itself, the menopause can be so debilitating for some women and even though there are lots of things we can do to soften the blow, some women suffer terribly. So it’s something to get a head start on. Some things to think about heading into menopause are weight control, stress management and resolution of any ongoing health issues.
Approaching the menopause with stress well managed could help you massively. The body has to rely on the adrenal glands to produce sex hormones once the ovaries stop and they find this difficult if they are already overworked, so make sure you pay attention to stress levels in order to support adrenal function to make for a smoother transition.
Higher levels of lignans have been associated with lower adiposity (fat cells) and better metabolic profiles in women with menopause, so make sure you are getting plenty of these polyphenols found in seeds, whole grains and plants. A predominantly plant-based diet will serve you well.
Soy products contain phyto-oestrogens which mimic oestrogen in the body and can buffer the symptoms of hormonal fluctuations.
Vitamin E has been shown to reduce hot flush symptoms in women.
Herbs like sage and black cohosh have also been used for generations to lessen menopausal symptoms.
Manage your stress
Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease, so stress management has to be part of your future proofing programme. You may have lived a life fuelled by adrenalin up until now, but know that as you age this becomes more and more detrimental to your health. Stress can often be the hardest thing to resolve and the one that people tend to leave until last because it may involve making a big change or asking for help.
You may think you can handle it, but your body knows different. Adaptogenic herbs, things like ashwaghanda and rhodiola can be a help support you in the short term, but in the longer term you’ll need to remove stressors and find something which helps you to unwind. Ring fence some time for you and do something you love away from your phone.
Get regular Omega 3
Not only good for joints and lowering inflammation, good fish oils will keep your skin smooth and your brain functioning well as you get older. Fish oils reduce levels of cortisol and so soften our stress response. Other studies have found fish oil to be protective against heart disease and certain cancers. Fish oils are our friends as we age. Eat oily fish regularly (2-3 times a week), that’s salmon, sardines, anchovies, tuna, mackerel or take a good supplement.
Look after your bones
With age we lose bone density, women in particular struggle with loss of bone mass after menopause because of the drop in oestrogen. Calcium is a crucial component of bone mineralisation. We all associate dairy with calcium but there are plenty of non dairy calcium rich foods as well, e.g. seeds, canned sardines/salmon, beans and lentils, almonds, leafy greens, edamame and tofu. Vitamin D facilitates calcium absorption in the stomach and decreases with age.
In the UK we have a hard time getting enough vitamin D from the sun so it’s wise to get it checked regularly and top up through supplementation where necessary. Vitamin K2 is the primary co-factor in the enzymatic reaction for calcium uptake, many Vitamin D supplements have K2 included. Soy has an oestrogenic effect on the bones.
Weight bearing exercise and good muscle mass also helps to protect the bones as we age.
Prioritise sleep
Getting enough good quality sleep keeps us healthy and our minds alert as we get older. I’m sure you’ve noticed that where you used to be able to skimp on sleep, a poor night’s sleep is a killer these days. Or is this just me. Sleep is protective for all of the systems of the body but is particularly important for cognition and as we get older it’s a vital component of our protection against dementia and Alzheimers. Some tips for better sleep:
Get up at the same time each day to help maintain a regular sleep cycle.
Aim for seven to eight hours’ sleep a night.
Create a bedroom environment conducive to sleep.
Keep regular bedtime routines.
Be physically active during the day.
Get 30 mins exposure to daylight in the morning, walk outside or sit in the garden. This will set your melatonin clock for later.
Don’t get exposure to too much light before bed, particularly screens or bright overhead lights. A darker environment signals that it’s time to release melatonin to go to sleep.
The long and short of it
Heading into our 50s, and for us women the menopause, we can be clever about what we do to get ahead of the ageing process and ensure we take a good run-up at it. We should also be smart enough by now to know that faddy diets are not the answer. There are no quick fixes. Building in the right habits now could save you a whole lot of pain later.
If you’d like more information or to discuss your personal future-proofing get in touch.
