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Neurologist and professor at the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Claudia Kawas, is searching for the secrets to living a longer, healthier life.
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Dr. Kawas and her team have been conducting a major study of aging Californians for more than two decades. She talked about the study and shared some of the secrets that can lead to a longer, more active life with Sunday Morning.
She says estimates range from 30 to 70 percent for the importance of genes in a person’s longevity, yet the environment matters at least as much.
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Much of their research has been carried out at a Florida resort, Laguna Woods, which has around 18,000 older residents and a selection of 400 clubs that they can join.
You have surveyed them about lifestyle: diet, exercise, activities, and medications. The findings so far include that no vitamin supplement makes a difference, a modest intake of coffee and alcohol helps lead a long life, while their “favorite” is that gaining a small amount of weight is also positive.
Losing weight is not good, being thin is not good when you are in your eighties and nineties.
Gaining about eight pounds each decade after age 65 is associated with the best outcomes in terms of mortality, says Dr. Kawas. Some stores of fat and vitamins that remain there can be an advantage, especially if the person becomes ill. It remains a mystery, but she’s sure a little “extra filler” will help.
More than 2,000 people in their nineties have signed up for his study, “Ninety Plus.” They are interviewed in person every six months about their mental and physical functions, undergo tests including blood tests and MRIs and CT scans, and are asked to donate their brains after their death so that more research can help others people to age well.
While some people can’t remember things or take care of themselves very well, there are some on the other end of the spectrum who are “dazzling.”
Just 15 minutes a day of exercise can help you live longer, but the maximum benefit is 45 minutes a day, she says.
An American research shows that 45 minutes a day is optimal for good health and a long life.
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Those who live the longest are not Spartans in their approach to life and they are proud to say so.
“Attitude matters. Attitude is also associated with longevity and I think most of the people who have reached that age have actually shown some kind of spark that I think has a lot to do with that and with depriving themselves or being too strict. at any time. of those parameters is generally not a characteristic that we see in these people. “
‘It is not healthy not to participate’
Socializing and participating in activities we enjoy are crucial, he says.
“It uses a lot of parts of your brain; it moves it. I think it makes all kinds of connections and changes all kinds of hormones and I think at the end of the day, on average, it is a very important part of brain and body health.
“It is not healthy not to relate to people.”
Those participating in the “Ninety Plus” study are not representative of the general US population, he says. The people are mainly white, have a higher education level and have a higher socioeconomic status.
Another study in Northern California, “Life After the Nineties,” covers the same age group and includes more blacks, Asians, and Latinos. However, some aspects of their study, such as the value of exercise, would apply to other ethnicities.
Alzheimer’s surprise
The study of the participants’ brains has revealed that 40 percent of people who die without dementia have enough Alzheimer’s disease in the head that doctors would have thought they should have had dementia. This is a surprising result, he says, because they had been functioning normally in their daily lives.
On the other hand, some people who had been diagnosed with dementia had no visible signs in their brains when viewed under microscopes, which meant that the doctors were missing something.
“There is much more going on … I think we need to understand why these pathologies are more toxic to some people or why some people seem resistant to them and can move on and others cannot.
After the age of 65, your chances of getting dementia or Alzheimer’s double every five years, but you’ve met people up to 108 years old who have maintained “good cognition.”
Dr. Kawas says that many of the people enjoy participating in research and want to contribute to the well-being of future generations even if they do not have children of their own. She asked a man if he would be willing to donate his brain when he died and he replied, “Sure. I won’t need it then.”
