Positivity. This one attribute can predict one’s ability to bounce back from life’s inevitable stresses. Taking time to learn skills to self-generate positive emotions will help us become healthier, more resilient, and more connected to others and the world around us. Attitudes are more important than facts. Strong mind/body connection. Possessing greater optimism can lower the risk of developing chronic diseases. Pessimism increases inflammation in the body. Activates a “fight or flight” response in our system, which over time can wear our bodies down. 40% of happiness is under our control. Chapter details eight strategies to help foster positive emotions. Research shows having faith and a strong spiritual life can amplify our longevity and happiness. How we respond to aging is more than circumstances. It is a choice we can make in our minds.

For both men and women, Incontinence is one of the surest ways to reduce our quality of life. A very common concern. Many adults don’t drink enough fluid for fear of incontinence. This can have dangerous ramifications and can lead to dehydration, which is a serious concern. Older adults have decreased awareness of thirst. Chapter explains actions we can do to help decrease chance of developing incontinence. Keeping kidneys healthy. Medications to avoid. Explains what is healthy vaginal tissue.

Connection with nature offers physical and mental benefits throughout our life. Older individuals with access to nature have improved mental health and cognitive function, fewer physical complaints, and increased social interaction, all of which are key to our well-being. But four out of five Americans and over half of all people globally, live in urban areas with limited access to natural places. Americans spend more than 90% of their time indoors, and many spend nearly half their day on screens working or consuming media. Individuals who are more connected to nature are happier and feel more vitality. Chapter details 16 evidence based health benefits of nature. Fewer complaints about pain and sleep. Nature connections reduce stress, agitation, anger and depression—therapeutic for people with mental health problems or Alzheimer Disease

For many diseases, the Mediterranean Diet is better at reducing the risk of developing heart disease, cancer, dementia, osteoarthritis, and other causes of disease and mortality than any pills a doctor can prescribe. 80% of Americans are not eating the foods they need to give them these benefits. Beginning a Mediterranean diet early can bestow life-long advantages. Following the Mediterranean Diet has been shown to reduce the risk of developing frailty by as much as 70%. Food consumption the most important contributor to changes in intestinal microbiota. Studies of the intestinal microbiome of people between 105-110 years of age reveal their similarity to younger people, rather than to old people. Good news is that intestinal microbiota has been found to be highly adaptable. If you change your diet, your intestinal world will rapidly change. Your microbiota could begin protecting you from risk of disease within just 2-3 weeks.

More than any other organ system, our blood system undergoes some of the most complex changes of aging across the life span. This chapter outlines normal changes with aging. As much as 70% of heart disease can be prevented or delayed with a healthy lifestyle. This chapter provides recommendations for changing blood pressure. Before adding any pills to bring down blood pressure try lifestyle modifications first. Explains blood pressure medications. Good news for older people: Making it to the age of 75 heart problem free, is an indicator that you may be less likely to suffer from a heart attack in the future. Chapter outlines five actions that are guardians of your blood and heart: Lose weight if overweight. Do not smoke. Eat Mediterranean Diet. Manage cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes. Exercise.

Chapter discusses practical things seen in her practice that make people afraid of dying. She offers tips from many of her patients who have died a peaceful, comfortable death. Don’t be afraid to talk about dying. Chapter explains 5 things that dying looks like. If we work through our fears, plan as best we can, and talk with our primary care provider about getting hospice in a timely way, we can die comfortably with a good ending and leave our family feeling peaceful about our death.

Ageism is the stereotyping, inequity, exclusion, and discrimination of people on the basis of their age. At the same time the older population is growing rapidly—over 2 billion people will be over 60 by 2050—ageism is rampant. An astounding 80% of older adults report ageism has impacted their lives. Even more serious, many heallth professionals may assess older people incorrectly—diagnosing problems such as cognitive impairment or psychological disorders as the result of their age rather than the real culprit: too many drugs, some unsafe being prescribed; undiagnosed medical problems. 2020 Global research report of 7 million people worldwide from 45 countries showed that ageism led to worse health outcomes in 95% of the studies. Studies also document that having positive feelings about aging can add 7.5 years to your life. This chapter gives 5 action items you can do to reduce Ageism in general and in your own thinking.

Healthy aging is a hot topic. The baby boomer generation is changing the face of aging around the world. Baby boomers are turning 65 at startling rates: 100 people every 13 minutes—a trend replicated globally. Our book describes normal changes of aging at 80, 90, 100, and how we can successfully adapt to these changes.! Today we are acting 20 years younger than our parents did at the same age, and have the bodies and brains to go with it. It is possible, if we begin planning now, to thrive in our later years, and to live with joy until life’s end.

Best places in the world to grow old based on income, employment, health, education, and environment. In Sweden, health has improved in the older population over the last decades, so Sweden’s health care needs have decreased overall. Sweden has the largest health care workforce in the world serving citizens over 65. 94 % of people over 65 live at home! Elders receive in-home assistance when needed. Only 4% of all care—health care or home care-is paid for by patients themselves. Municipal fixers—people who can come and do chores to help reduce falls, such as change a lightbulb. They come to your home. Totally free. If your needs are high enough, someone can come in every two hours around the clock to help care for you—totally without cost to you. High satisfaction. No stigma around dementia. Swedish government develops list of drugs that older people should not be prescribed. Sweden has implemented community-based care and practical approaches to older adult safety.

Half of people over 65 have pain that limits their daily function. Pain can lead to problems with sleep, mobility, falls, depression, appetite, social isolation and memory. Many reasons older adults have pain: arthritis, nerve pain, headaches, poor teeth, injuries and fractures, back problems. Is pain a normal part of aging, and just something we have to get used to as we age? Is it better just to tolerate pain, or is it better to take pain medication? Will pain just continue to get worse as we age. The answer is no, no, no, no. If you start young to prevent aging-related illnesses, you will have a much better chance of remaining pain free as you age. It is probably not possible to be pain free all day every day but with good pain relief strategies, practiced daily, , it is possible to do everything you want to do. It may not be possible to relieve all your pain 100%, but the goal should be to retain 100% of your function. Pain reduction strategies are explained

Our immune system is our greatest ally when it comes to protecting us from harm. It is designed to fight off infections, heal our wounds, and protect us from malignancy and autoimmune disease. Like all the other systems of our body, this system changes progressively through our lives. Unfortunately, its performance and skills of detection wane as we grow older. This makes us more vulnerable to infections. Some of these effects are inevitable. Others are not. There are things we can do to protect our immune system and mitigate some of the normal forces of aging. This becomes especially important when we reach 70 and older. Chapter outlines seven actions we can do to strengthen our immune system: Mediterranean Diet. Exercise. Keep up to date on vaccinations. Practice good hygiene. Sleep. Lower stress. Practice optimism.