Staying Healthy

 As my birthday approaches, thoughts of aging creep into my brain. Margan and I try to take measures that are healthy and she found one among the docs we follow on Twitter (I refuse to use the awful name the sociopathic owner of that platform has given it). TheLiverDoc (@theliverdr on Twitter and instagram@theliverdr) posted nine “simple life hacks” for better liver health. They are supported by a medical study which is in the original tweet. In thinking about them, they are a reasonably good guide to health in other areas such as cardiovascular fitness and cognition. Here are his nine recommendations:

Daily walking – at least 30 minutes daily and 6000 to 8000 steps for the elderly crowd. The following figure shows this effect in those older and younger than 60, with a “sweet spot” of 8000 steps daily for us geezers.

Brisk walking – walking 100 steps per minute decreases liver fat; 150 minutes per week is recommended.

Running – personally, I left running behind when I retired from the Navy, but the study he cites mirrors others. Running, even once per week, seems to decrease all-cause mortality. I will stick with brisk walking.

Active video gaming – also called “exergames” these activities combine physical movement with a video game. An example would be the family of Wii Sports games but there are many others. This is something I have not done but I have spoken with others who used them in the context of physical therapy following an injury who thought they were both helpful and fun.

Conventional video gaming – “Conventional and five days a week video gaming after work improves mindfulness, reduces post work fatigue and stress, and increases productivity.” This one stresses the often overlooked mental health needs of stressed people. The cited paper says that for such activities to be successful, 4 factors should be operative: psychological detachment (ability to forget about work and stress), relaxation, mastery (gaining skills in a new activity), and control (experience of having control of something). 

Sleep – this one is especially important in my view. At least seven hours of sleep per night without prolonged daytime naps and no catch-up sleep during the weekend. While the author makes this recommendation in the context of preventing fatty liver, adequate quality sleep also positively impacts cardiovascular health and cognition. 

Coffee and tea – coffee is beneficial for the reduction of risk of fatty liver, reverses liver fibrosis, and reduces the risk of fatty liver progression to cirrhosis. Three cups of black coffee is the recommendation. While tea did not seem to have the same activity, I still enjoy a cup or two of green tea daily. 

Alcohol – the news here is less cheery if you like to drink. It is becoming clearer that in addition to liver disease, alcohol is not good in terms of the risks to other problems, including heart problems and cognition. Think twice about that cocktail or glass of wine or beer.

Night time eating/snacking – the references the author provides in his tweet are very good. The message is, don’t eat at night. Margan and I have transitioned over the past three years to eating lunch and supper with nothing after supper. Better for your metabolism and weight and also a great way to deter gastroesophageal reflux (GERD).

Our retirement community is great because they provide activities for both the body and the brain. I guess you could condense this down to a simple statement: stay active! That means physically (no, you don’t need a gym but use one if you have access) and mentally (read, write, use video games, do puzzles, etc.). The calendar is relentless. We can all push back.