The Environmental Impact of Healthy Aging
June 30, 2009
Last October, the Today show ran a segment on a powerful report exploring the role that our environment plays in how well we age… and especially in the risks of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The idea is one you’ll find repeated often both here: how well we age isn’t just a matter of “good genes” or inherited risk factors, but something that is largely in our own control.
Check out the clip here:
I tried to embed the video, but couldnt get it to work… bummer. Really, you should go check it out, and come back.
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Are you back yet? Good!
I loved the “rusting car” metaphor: rust happens, aging happens. And just like some car makes & models are more prone to rust damage, some of us are genetically predisposed to specific age related disorders. But far more important are the environmental factors… regardless of make, a car exposed to salt (from living near the coast, or road salt used on ice) will rust far earlier, and more severely than one driven in a salt free desert.
In the same way, environmental factors have a powerful impact on our cognitive health risks in aging - regardless of the “make and model” that are our genetics.
Some of the factors explored in the report include:
- Lead Exposure
- Air Pollution .
- Pesticides
- Dietary risk factors
- Dietary protective factors
- Physical Activity
- Psychosocial stressors,
- Education
- Socio-economic status
The good news is that all of these elements can be controlled, for both the benefit of the currently aging population, and generations yet to come.. The authors go on to recommend both individual and collective steps that can be taken, including encouraging healthier alternatives to industrial farming, reducing exposure to toxic chemicals in air, water, and food, and on the personal level, eating healthy staying physically and mentally active, avoiding harmful toxins, and staying socially engaged.
Some of that should sound familiar 
You can download the full report here: http://www.agehealthy.org/ — there’s even a nifty chapter by chapter option that allows you to browse the information more easily.
So go. Read. Learn new Anti-Rust Strategies
Entry Filed under: Supporting Science & Medicine. Tags: Alzheimer's prevention, healthy living, senior brain fitness.
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