Your Health is Now the National Conversation
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Aging is a challenge and I enjoy writing about and sharing the (sometimes hidden) angles and agency that can change our trajectory. It’s rewarding to see the national conversation finally discuss an underlying problem that accelerates disease as well as the aging process. Sunday Night’s 60 Minutes is worth sharing and repeating. Former FDA Commissioner, David Kessler said “Over the last 40 years, the United States has been exposed to something that our biology was never intended to handle. Energy-dense, highly palatable, rapidly absorbable, ultraprocessed foods that have altered our metabolism and have resulted in the greatest increase in chronic disease in our history, type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, hypertension, abnormal lipids, fatty liver, heart attacks, stroke, heart failure.” Bill Whitaker: “From our food.” David Kessler: “From our food.” Here are some highlights. Please excuse my novice editing.
This is more evidence that lifestyle and daily choices can either build or impede health. The entire story is worth repeating over and over!! Stay Well Friends! Read more on Substack. Gert in touch with your ideas, suggestions and comments. Forward this newsletter to anyone you know who may enjoy it. |
Fly Fisher Fitness
Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, Montana Muscle is your engine for aging well. It allows you to climb stairs, carry groceries, pick up the grandchildren hike trails, recover from a stumble, and remain independent. As we age, that engine slowly loses horsepower—but it doesn't have to. Muscle mass shrinks with age. We lose strength and power—all the things that fuel an active life. Beginning around age 35, most adults begin losing muscle at roughly 1–2 percent per year unless they actively work...
In the past, I shared with you research that shows the genetic contribution to health and longevity accounts for an estimated 25% contribution. As recently as 2026, another researcher quantified heritability at 50 %, mentioning that researching human life is challenging and full of confounding factors that are difficult to pin down. My personal experience (and maybe yours too) points directly to this challenge. I have outlived my dad and my older brother by 20-plus years. In addition, my...
One Thing to Age Better One of the most worthwhile efforts I make is cutting through the noise—the pseudo-fitness gadgets, miracle supplements and time-wasting trends. The problem is, most people don’t have the time or the patience to separate what works from what’s nonsense. So I do. At age 40, I needed medical clearance to qualify for arduous duty as a wildland firefighter. Because of my family history—my father died of a heart attack at 53—I was required to pass an exercise stress test. I...