Wearables and JFKjr

I'm no expert on data collection, privacy, or health, but I think this is the dumbest idea ever to come out of the Trump Administration. Every American should be required to measure their health with a wearable? Or maybe, it means you can't take the Democrat out of a Kennedy even if he's a Republican appointed cabinet member. I have no problem with wearables if people choose them, but I've seen a lot of very unhealthy people with terrible eating and exercise habits that own them, and they either keep them in a drawer, or never look at them. They may have an addiction, a family tendency or an underlying problem, but looking at graphs and numbers to change behavior hasn't made them healthy.

I never took a college course in nutrition, but I know that a dessert of fresh fruit is healthier for me than a slice of "death by chocolate" cake at a restaurant. I've seen the "science" on eggs, coffee, cholesterol, etc. come and go. I know the trend to take a shot at 60 to make up for overeating as a teen/young adult is not going to end well for health care costs. I learned as a pre-schooler that I should be outside in the sunshine even when I didn't know about vitamin D and I still prefer not to get sweaty.

I know that I have 2 implanted devices (not called wearables, but I'm wearing them) right now and I really don't know anything about the data being collected and where it is going. Meanwhile my cell phone tells me I haven't walked enough this week. With AI already in our lives, I just don't like this government intrusion after our experience with the required, "good for you" so "do it or else" covid vaccine.

I also like Casey Means, think she's done good things, but she's invested in a "wearables" company (Levels) and she's also been nominated for Surgeon General. If it smells fishy when it's Pelosi or Warren, it also smells of fish for Kennedy and Means.

RFK Jr.'s Public Health Plan? Get Every American to Buy a Wearable Device | PCMag

Casey Means MD

Casey Means, Levels Health, on maximizing human potential - Levels

Advantages of physical activity for older people

 The new study, published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, found that, on average, people aged 50 to 83 who did more moderate to vigorous physical activity than usual on a given day did better in memory tests the day after.

Associations of accelerometer-measured physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep with next-day cognitive performance in older adults: a micro-longitudinal study | International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity | Full Text

Guess I better go to the gym today.  When it's cold or raining, that's a tough haul for me.

Children and exercise--the gym or outdoors?

I go to Lifetime Fitness (I call it the gym) about 5x a week. Sometimes parents bring their children--I think they need to be 12 to be a guest. They are well-behaved and no trouble--but I do feel sorry for them, especially the young girls who are probably already a little over concerned about their bodies.

No one wants to hear that we knew better in the "old days" but here it is. I hated school PE classes, I admit it. I did avoid all organized summer sports although the town had community leagues. But I certainly had a lot of exercise. Watching a little kid on one of those machines today I recalled:

• climbing trees
• riding horses
• biking on no-speed, manual brake bicycles
• playing hop-scotch
• raking leaves in the fall
• mowing the lawn in the summer
• pulling weeds in the garden in the summer
• digging dandelions in the yard in the spring
• running during recess
• swinging on the monkey bars in the school yard
• roller skating with strap on skates on the sidewalks
• catching tadpoles and frogs in creeks
• playing softball in the street with neighborhood kids
• delivering newspapers on a morning route
• running just because
• and we walked because our mean mothers wouldn't drive us everywhere we wanted to go!

Most of these with the exception of newspaper delivery were social activities--done with friends or a group.

Predicting the outcomes of the pandemic lockdowns

 This blog by a woman named Pam was published 6 years ago, well before the pandemic lockdown, but it shows what was going to happened multiplied 1000 times over. How Not To Let Yourself Go (Especially If You're Over 40) - Go Retro!

But then I was laid off in August last year and guess what? I did kind of start to let myself go, at least on some days. And let me tell you, it can be a dangerous slippery slope.

Getting up later then usual and lounging in my PJs on my laptop until 10:30 AM on most mornings became the norm.

I went quite a few days without wearing makeup, especially if I wasn't planning on leaving the house that day (who was going to see me? Before you answer "the UPS man" I can assure you we don't order much online and there really have not been many through the years that I would consider attractive.)

I normally wash my hair every other day, but sometimes I let that go an extra day because I was simply too lazy to deal with detangling and drying it. I took to throwing on an old rag of a top and jeans. With no employer to go to and nowhere I needed to be, there seemed no point in making myself look presentable.

Worst of all, I slacked off with my exercising routine...and ended up gaining 12 pounds.

And the saddest part is, I had no real excuse for it. I'm not a mom and I'm not holding down a job outside of the house. I'm also not depressed, so I have no explanation for it other than sheer laziness.

Read more--she comes around and makes suggestions for getting back on track.

Added the kettlebell to my morning exercise

My arms and hands are weak, and my fingers struggle to open a package of cheese or squeeze the toothpaste tube. Today I added kettlebells to my morning routine at Lifetime Fitness. I started with 5 lbs, the smallest they had. The kettlebell is a round-shaped steel or cast iron weight, commonly described as resembling a cannonball with a handle. I only walked around the outside of the workout area once, so in case it's not comfortable, I shouldn't feel awful tomorrow. They are much more comfortable than carrying groceries in a sack with handles, which is usually the only weight I carry like that. When I looked it up I found it is a popular sport, especially in Europe and is used in physiotherapy in everything from metabolic syndrome to osteoporosis to hip fractures in the elderly.  I did my usual search for articles, using "ncbi" and elderly.  Not much out there, but in finding a review article I learned some new words, and discovered that what I did this morning is called "farmer's walk" I suppose because you look like you just carried 2 buckets to or from the barn.

For my morning walk around the condo grounds, I've added a water bottle attached to my waist to squirt at dogs that aren't on a leash.  I only met one dog this morning, but she was on a leash.  She looked eager to greet me with a jump on my legs, but fortunately Bobbi my neighbor (her owner) restrained her/him.  They used to have two 15-year-olds of the same breed, but they have died and this friskier one seems to be a rescue and younger.  God bless dog lovers who rescue their pets.

The word on exercise

A quote from my new book, "Outlive," by Dr. Peter Attia (c. 2023).

"So if you adopt only one new set of habits based on reading this book, it MUST be in the realm of exercise. If you currently exercise, you will likely want to rethink and modify your program. And if exercise is not a part of your life at the moment, you are not alone--77% of the US population is like you. Now is the time to change that. Right now. Even a little bit of daily activity is much better than nothing. Going from zero weekly exercise to just 90 minutes per week can reduce your risk of dying from all causes by 14%. It's very hard to find a drug that can do that." p. 218

 
Dr. Attia has a podcast. Interviews interesting people.

Bob had an appointment with his cardiologist this morning and he said something very similar. Although Bob never took a pill before 2020, he now has a handful every morning. His doctor said that his regular exercise program is worth more than all of them.

Physical Exercise as a Preventive or Disease-Modifying Treatment of Dementia and Brain Aging - PMC (nih.gov)

Exercise, lactate and brain health--introductory material

"It has been well established in epidemiological studies and randomized controlled trials that habitual exercise is beneficial for brain health, such as cognition and mental health. Generally, it may be reasonable to say that the physiological benefits of acute exercise can prevent brain disorders in late life if such exercise is habitually/chronically conducted. "

 

 Title:  Effect of Exercise on Brain Health: The Potential Role of Lactate as a Myokine
Takeshi Hashimoto,1 Hayato Tsukamoto,1 Soichi Ando,2 and Shigehiko Ogoh3,*
Metabolites. 2021 Dec; 11(12): 813.
Published online 2021 Nov 29. doi: 10.3390/metabo11120813  PMCID: PMC8709217
PMID: 34940571
Norbert Nemeth, Academic Editor

Effect of Exercise on Brain Health: The Potential Role of Lactate as a Myokine - PMC (nih.gov)

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"Population aging has become a worldwide phenomenon. Degenerative changes in brain structure and function occur with aging, causing a cognitive decline in older adults. In addition to aging, vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson's disease, Huntington and other neurodegenerative diseases, as well as some metabolic diseases such as diabetes, are accompanied by an increased risk of cognitive impairment or dementia. This poses a great challenge to public health and socio-economic development in many countries. However, due to the difficulties in developing new drugs for cognitive impairment, especially in AD, and the lack of drug-specific therapeutics available for the treatment of AD dementia stage, more and more researchers now focus on non-pharmacological intervention.

As an economical and practical non-pharmacological therapy with no toxic side effects, regular exercise was proved to be an effective means for preventing and treating cognitive impairment or dementia, which could reduce the risk of dementia in healthy people and even higher risk gene carriers. The comprehensive health benefits of exercise are systemic, multi-dimensional and multi-organ, including skeletal muscle, cardio-respiratory system, vascular system, liver, fat, and brain. Hormones, exerkines, and metabolites produced by different tissues, and organs during and after exercise are secreted into the blood circulation and then act on brain tissue, thereby playing a neuroprotective role. The discovery of novel mediators associated with exercise and their mechanism of action will be an important development direction in this field."

Title: The potential mechanisms of lactate in mediating exercise-enhanced cognitive function: a dual role as an energy supply substrate and a signaling molecule

Xiangli Xue, Beibei Liu, Jingyun Hu, Xuepeng Bian & Shujie Lou
Nutrition & Metabolism volume 19, Article number: 52 (2022)

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16,000 miles

I learn a lot at the gym. The exercycles are about 2 ft. apart. So, I could overhear the conversation of 2 retirees, maybe 10 years younger than me. So, I learned about the karaoke places and where to go ball room dancing in Columbus, OH. I also learned which local bands (really crazy names) have split or are having problems with venues. One guy had lost 30 lbs, but was having eye problems, so all the directions to the venues he told his friend involved side roads because he doesn't do freeways anymore. There were the usual complaints about safety, so they are both shopping in the daytime. Seems they don't like President Trump personally, but when they ran down the list of policies and programs like immigration and military, they were right smack in the middle of MAGA.

 
Meanwhile, my log sheet rolled over to 16,000 miles yesterday. I think I started tracking in January 2015 and I record both walking and cycling. 

My new log book for exercise

 My Strength and My Shield: A Realtree™ Journal by Ellie Claire | Goodreads

This is a cute little journal in a camo style with inspirational messages inside. My old exercise journal has no design or flair and I think I bought it in Spain at a "dollar store" run by foreigners.  The Spanish just call them "the China store," instead of Dollar Tree.  That one is dated September 5, 2018, with about 6,500 miles ending with about 15,500.  I think my first one was around January 1, 2015. My new one is made by Ellie Claire Gift and paper Expressions c2016. I bought it at Marc's for maybe a dollar or $1.49, but you can find it at Thrift store sites on the internet for about $5.00.

At first when checking this journal I found a page for Ella Claire, who had a blog, recipes, poems, etc.  Not the same person.  There is also a St. Ella Claire and she's not it either.  

Motion is lotion for the joints

I just heard a marathon runner, age 69, who started running because his father died at 55, say that on the radio show, "Doctor, doctor" EWTN. We know that obesity is a big factor in Covid deaths. What about sports? Are marathon runners doing better than joggers? Hockey better than tennis? Swimmers better than bikers? I did find research comparing athletes with couch potatoes in the Covid survival race. I get about 30 minutes a day.

 
Also, I learned that knee injuries are the most common for runners, but runners that land on the mid-foot have half the injuries.

 
Kaiser Permanente (California) did a study including 48,000 of its clients, not by type of sport, but by level of activity. "Even after correcting for all of those characteristics (age, sex, race, smoker, etc) , people who were consistently inactive had a significantly higher risk of hospitalization, ICU admission, and death after getting COVID-19 than those who were active for at least 150 minutes per week. Additionally, those who were active for over 10 minutes per week had some protection against severe illness or death from COVID-19 — though not as much as those who got the full 150 minutes. The highest rates of COVID-19 were among those who were Latinx: 65% compared to 18% (whites), 7% (Blacks), and 6% (Asian or Pacific Islander). It’s worth noting that people who were white were somewhat more likely to meet physical activity guidelines — a discrepancy that should be acknowledged and addressed."

Does exercise help protect against severe COVID-19? - Harvard Health

So my friends (on Medicare), time to check to see if your insurance plan includes Silver Sneakers.

Exercise and cognitive benefits

FNDC5, Fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5, the precursor of irisin, is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein that is encoded by the FNDC5 gene. Irisin is a cleaved version of FNDC5, named after the Greek messenger goddess Iris.

 
Researchers found that irisin, an exercise-induced hormone, improves cognitive performance in mice.
The hormone, which is identical in people, could potentially be used to treat cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Hormone links exercise with cognitive benefits | National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Related links:

Exercise-Induced Protein May Reverse Age-Related Cognitive Decline
Exercise and New Nerve Cell Growth in Alzheimer’s Disease
Shivering Triggers Brown Fat to Produce Heat and Burn Calories
Moderate Exercise May Improve Memory in Older Adults
A Well-Aged Mind: Maintaining Your Cognitive Health
Dealing with Dementia: When Thinking and Behavior Decline
Exercise and Physical Activity
Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias

My walking routine--no rain today

No one has ever accused me of being an athlete, but I do walk 2 miles every morning along the lake front and maybe another 2-3 miles during the day. Or maybe it's a stroll. However, this morning on my walk I fell in step with a younger woman, about 65 maybe, and she was really stepping. I changed my pace because we live on the same street and it seemed rude to fall down on a park bench to catch my breath. I barely made it to my front porch before I collapsed.

Exercise in the afternoon? I'm ready for a nap

Afternoon exercise instead of morning? I'm ready for a nap!

"Exercise training elicits superior metabolic effects when performed in the afternoon compared to morning in metabolically compromised humans." https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.14814/phy2.14669?

"Compared to participants who trained in the morning, participants who trained in the afternoon experienced superior beneficial effects of exercise training on insulin-stimulated peripheral glucose disposal, insulin-mediated suppression of adipose tissue lipolysis, fasting plasma glucose levels, exercise performance, and fat mass. In addition, exercise training in the afternoon also tended to elicit superior effects on basal hepatic glucose output."

Well, I'm not metabolically compromised, I hope.

The myth of food desserts

Yesterday I blogged about dollar stores and how the woke blokes are sounding the alarm that they target poor and minorities (Google/FB blocked my link when I tried to post it to Facebook). But while watching the show on Cheddar, I noticed again how often the food nannies complain and alarm us about "food desserts." That was disproven about a decade ago, when it was a common myth. I think it was a hobby horse ridden by Michelle Obama. Too many fast food and convenience store businesses was the complaint. Here's a recap by Rod Dreher, from 2012.

"But two new studies have found something unexpected. Such neighborhoods not only have more fast food restaurants and convenience stores than more affluent ones, but more grocery stores, supermarkets and full-service restaurants, too. And there is no relationship between the type of food being sold in a neighborhood and obesity among its children and adolescents.

Within a couple of miles of almost any urban neighborhood, “you can get basically any type of food,” said Roland Sturm of the RAND Corporation, lead author of one of the studies. “Maybe we should call it a food swamp rather than a desert,” he said."

Obesity is a growing (no pun) problem for all Americans, but particularly in "underserved neighborhoods." Thousands of academics have earned promotion and tenure by siphoning off our tax supported grants from the federal government to try to change the food culture of minorities. They develop exercise programs, food plans and diets. We get fatter and they get richer. Meanwhile they want more and more women to leave their homes and children, and sit behind a desk with a computer. Go figure. I know several of my inches belong to Blogger (Google) and Facebook.

The good news is I passed the 11,000 mile mark on my exercycle (since January 2015).  The bad news is that it makes little difference in how my clothes fit, so I'm hoping its good for the heart and lungs.

Reality shows—muscle cars

I wonder who writes the scripts for "reality shows?" This morning at the gym I started watching a show about muscle cars and the guys who love and restore them. It might have been Counting Cars, a spin off of Pawn Stars, but not sure, since this was the first time I saw it and I didn't see the opening. I was sort of tired of politics, and wanted to go 10 miles. Fox was showing clips from the last debate, usually Biden bloopers about fossil fuel or Covid.

I didn't watch a whole program but it took in a car show (some restored cars $150,000), the 2 characters stopping a guy on the freeway and eventually buying his Dodge Charger to restore it (it deserved better, they said), and later we'd see it restored and the guy who was going to buy it. But the cutest human interest story was when the muscle bound, bandana head, full of tats guy brings in his two tiny dogs to the shop, sweet talking them, and hands them over to the Hungarian immigrant wash and detail guy to give them a bath. That was laugh out loud funny, and I'm not sure all of it was in the script. You know it wasn't real because no one I know would hand over their 3 lb mixed breed Chihuahua to a novice to bathe in a yellow floor bucket with a wringer. But it was good theater. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_Cars And I got my 10 miles + in.

Toledo isn’t very healthy

Holy Toledo!  It’s at the bottom of 100 cities for heart health. 100.  It’s about what we eat, and how much we exercise, and our smoking and drinking habits. It's lifestyle, and we have control over that.

https://www.13abc.com/video?vid=571489272

Detroit is Number 99.

In the summer, we’re close by in Lakeside and our TV local news comes from Toledo.

Cutting back after the shut down

After the lock up/ shut down/ shut up is over, half the adults will be going on a diet (my estimate). Here's some tips:

My observation is that diet drinks and special diet foods make people fat. They don't taste right and create a craving for more food. Use less, or just add your own water or milk, which is often the first ingredient.

EPA reports if you remove 100 lbs of junk from the trunk or back seat, your car's fuel efficiency will improve by 2%. Same with your body. Remove 10% of your body weight from your trunk or back seat and it will improve your own energy efficiency. I think I'll try that 10% and I still might weigh more than Bob .

Women who weigh themselves every day are on average 7-8 lbs lighter than those who don't.

Move! Obese people tend to sit for 150 more minutes a day than their lean counterparts.

Losing the sloppy jeans and t-shirt and getting a good haircut will make you look 10lbs thinner, even if you don't lose a pound.

Eat less, move more. ELMM. Shop the outside aisles at the grocery store.

And remember: A BMI of below 25 can't be normal if so few people are there.

I’d planned to start today, but had 2 slices of peanut butter toast for breakfast.  Maybe tomorrow. . .

Stop the insanity

Old people like me are at risk for Covid19. But no more so than the flu, falls and pneumonia. The shut down/lock up is hurting us more. There are shelves of research showing that being social is key to being healthy in old age; that moving even 45 minutes a day can extend your life, maybe more than 3 hours at the gym. Mall walking with a friend or shopping or a stroll in the park help us more than it helps young whipper snapper reporters opining about the evils of people who want the lock down to end. We may not remember the sermon, but we need our Sunday School class or choir participation or working with the ladies in the kitchen to connect. And yes, Alzheimer's doubles every 5 years after 65, but it's those tiny little strokes, the ones you can't detect on the phone, that really slow down our brains over time.

Governor, stop the insanity. You're killing us.

At the fitness center

I met a wonderful guy at the gym this morning. Kind, articulate, interesting, athletic and it turns out he was at St. Ann's hospital in the OR when our son had his surgery last October. Small world. The only draw back was we talked for such a long time I peddled for over seven miles instead of my 4 or 5 and now can hardly walk.

Working out at Lifetime Fitness