On July 12, 2023, ‘Dr. Ruth” died at age 96 of complications from a stroke that she first suffered a year before. She was a sex therapist and talk show host who at age 52 in 1980 started her radio show, “Sexually Speaking”, on WYNY-FM in New York City. The show became so popular that at age 56, she hosted several television programs on the Lifetime TV network such as “Good Sex! With Dr. Ruth Westheimer.”
Up to 70 percent of North American adults will develop diabetes or pre-diabetes, usually from insulin resistance caused by excess fat in the liver and muscles. Exercise helps to empty fat from the liver and muscles, so exercise helps both to prevent and to treat diabetes. A study of 6,718 diabetics, average age 58, followed from 4-96 weeks, found that exercise reduced HBA1c (a blood test that measures cell damage from high blood sugar levels). The more a diabetic exercised, the greater the reduction in HBA1c.
Actor Donald Sutherland died on June 20, 2024, after suffering from prostate cancer and severe lung damage from smoking up to four packs of cigarettes per day. Several year before he died, he stopped smoking and wouldn’t let anyone smoke near him. He kept smokers at least 100 yards away from his movie sets. In his last years, he had to breathe from an oxygen tank all the time.
Having a fatty liver is associated with a marked increase in heart attacks and liver damage, even in people who are not overweight (Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2017 Oct;15(10):1604-1611). Getting both obese and normal weight people to lose weight helps them to get fat out of their livers and markedly reduce their chances of being diabetic.
Extensive research has found that a plant-based diet is significantly less likely than a meat-based diet to be associated with increased risk for heart attacks or diabetes (American J of Preventive Cardiology, Sept 2021;7:100182). Entrepreneurs in the plant-meat industry have stepped in and added chemicals to processed parts of plants to make a plant-based food that looks and tastes like meat. However, very recently, Singaore researchers found no evidence that plant-based meat substitutes are less likely than animal meats to increase heart attack or diabetes risk
The track world has lost an epic coach, and society has lost a man who helped to develop leaders among his aspiring athletes. Johnson died of prostate cancer on June 29, 2024, at age 89. He coached athletes in track and field for more than fifty years, with accomplishments that included Track coach at the University of Florida (1975-1979), Stanford University (1979-92) and California Polytechnic State University (1993-96).
Everyone loses muscle size and strength with aging, to increase risk for disability, accidents, diseases, loss of independence and premature death (J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 2018;9:3–19). Loss of muscle is called sarcopenia. You lose about 10 percent for each 10 years from age 50 to age 70, and about 15 percent per decade after age 70. A healthier lifestyle helps to slow loss of muscle size and strength as a person ages
Some of the bacteria growing in your colon may help to protect you from getting infections throughout your body. Researchers cultured stool samples from more than 10,000 people, including more than 600 people hospitalized for serious infections. The stool was specifically checked for 16 types of bacteria that produce Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs). They found that over six years, those who had 10 percent more colon bacteria that produce SCFAs were 15-25 percent less likely to be hospitalized for serious infections.
It is never too late to adopt a healthful lifestyle. Researchers followed the records of people over age 80 (61 percent women) for an average five years and found that those with the most healthful lifestyle (no smoking, regular exercise and varied diet) were most likely to live to be 100 years old, be free of chronic diseases, have higher physical and cognitive function, and have far less mental illness. Less likely lifestyle factors for living from age 80 to 100 were: where a person lived, years of education, marital status, having chronic medical conditions, u.sing alcohol or being obese. In this study, 1454 people lived to be 100 and 3768 died before reaching 100 years
