Coffee as an anti-aging therapy? Every coffeehound knows how important that beautiful brew can be. It wakes us up in the morning, it’s the midafternoon pause that refreshes, and it’s the ideal accompaniment to after-dinner everything, from dessert to discussions. We know coffee makes us feel better … but can it actually help our brains function better?

It looks like the answer is yes. A University of North Carolina study on the effects of drinking coffee concluded that caffeine is a safe and reliable drug that could potentially play a role in the therapies against neurological disorders. It is even believed that drinking coffee could help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, one of the most wide-spread and devastating of all age-related disorders.

How coffee protects the brain
Coffee’s protective powers center on what medical experts call the “blood brain barrier”, a natural filter that guards the central nervous system against potentially dangerous chemicals that may be carried through the rest of the bloodstream. It is believed that high cholesterol levels in the blood have an adverse effect of this filter, weakening the barrier against these chemicals and leaving the brain vulnerable to damage.

The University of North Dakota study showed that after three months of a high-cholesterol diet, the blood brain barrier in rabbits that had ingested the equivalent of just one cup of coffee per day was far more intact than the barrier in those that had been given no caffeine.

Research on Alzheimer’s disease indicates that a weak or “leaky” blood brain barrier that makes cholesterol damage to the brain possible is among the factors that can trigger or contribute to the disease.

Caffeine shown to reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms
A recent University of Florida study even suggests that caffeine could actually reverse some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. The study used mice bred to develop symptoms of the disease, which were tested to confirm that they were exhibiting the same kind of memory impairment that human Alzheimer’s sufferers experience.

Half the mice were then put on a daily regimen that included the caffeine equivalent of five cups coffee added to their drinking water, while half the mice had no caffeine added to their water.

After two months both groups of mice were retested, and it was found that the mice that had been drinking the caffeine-added water performed significantly better on memory and thinking skills, actually testing as well as mice that had not been bred to develop dementia. The mice that had been drinking non-caffeinated water showed no improvement in the tests.

Even more encouragingly, it was found that the brains of the mice given caffeine showed as much as 50% reduction in levels of beta amyloid protein, which is the basis of the destructive plaque that builds up in the brains of dementia patients. The research suggested that caffeine had this effect because it suppresses brain inflammation that leads to over-production of the protein.

Experts warn that while these results are extremely positive, more research is needed to determine whether caffeine has the same effects on people.

The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease reports that recent research using a combination of vitamin D and curcumin offers new possibilities in the treatment of AD. The research, conducted by UCLA and the Human Biomolecular Research Institute, focused on boosting the immune system in an effort to clear away plaque buildup in the brains of AD patients.

The study tested both natural and synthetic forms of curcumin in combination with vitamin D3. It was discovered that that administered together, the nutrients worked in tandem to clear away brain plaque.

The curcuminoids enhanced the binding of the plaque material to macrophages, which are cells that act as the immune system’s “clean up crew”. Macrophages circulate through the body, binding to and absorbing waste products including the beta amyloid proteins that turn into plaque in the brains of AD patients. The vitamin D strongly stimulated the macrophages’ ability to absorb the beta amyloid and other waste products.

Synthetic curcumin was found to be more effective than natural curcumin, the researchers said, noting that the natural form was less readily absorbed and tended to break down more quickly. New forms of synthetic curcumin could improve therapeutic efficacy. The scientists stressed that while the results were extremely positive, more research is needed before the vitamin D-curcumin combo can be considered a reliable therapy or treatment for AD.

Alzheimer’s disease one of the most common and devastating of all age-related illnesses
More than 4 million people in the US have the deadly and progressive brain disorder, which impairs memory, cognitive function, and physical ability. Though symptoms differ, Alzheimer’s is characterized by a degree of dementia, which is defined as intellectual impairment significant enough to have an adverse impact on daily activities and social interactions. In fact, Alzheimer’s is the number one cause of dementia in people over 60.

In the past 25 years the number of people with Alzheimer’s has doubled and the incidence of the disease is expected to increase rapidly over the coming years as the baby boom generation ages.

Though research is discovering more clues to the puzzle of Alzheimer’s, it remains frustratingly mysterious. No cause has been identified, and though there are some drugs that are thought to slow its progression, as yet there is no cure.

Have all the warnings about potential risks got you hiding from the sun this summer? Rethink the duck and cover routine. Research shows that the vitamin D benefits we get from sensible sun exposure far outweigh the dangers.

A growing body of evidence implicates vitamin D deficiency in a host of age-related ailments and disorders, ranging from bone diseases and diabetes to cardiovascular problems, increased risk of many forms of cancer, suppressed immune function, and even depression. Studies indicate that as many as two thirds of US adults and teens are actually deficient in this crucial nutrient, and many experts say the trend to avoiding the sun is making matters worse.

Sun exposure is actually the most important source of the vitamin, which is often referred to as “the sunshine vitamin” because though dietary sources of it are limited, the sun’s ultraviolet-B rays triggers the body to produce its own supply; it’s believed that given adequate sun a healthy human body can synthesize as much as 90% of the amount it needs. By avoiding the sun we could be eliminating one risk only to incur many greater ones.

A joint study by U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and Norway’s Institute for Cancer Research in Oslo concluded that the health benefits from some sun exposure are far larger than the skin cancer risk. As little as 20 minutes of sun exposure to the face and hands daily can trigger the synthesis of the vitamin, and exposure that limited is highly unlikely to result in the development of skin cancer or premature aging.

A combination of sun-limiting lifestyle and a natural decrease in the aging body’s ability to synthesize the vitamin make D vitamin deficiency a major health hazard for older people. Sufficient amounts of the vitamin are believed to boost aging health in many ways, including the following:

Helps prevent hip and other bone fractures A 2009 study by the University of Pittsburgh determined that low levels of the vitamin can increase post-menopausal women’s risk of hip fracture by as much as 70%. One of D vitamin’s primary functions is to regulate the absorption of calcium, making it crucial to the prevention of bone softening diseases such as osteoporosis.

Protects against cancer The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that a four-year clinical trial involving 1,179 healthy post-menopausal women showed that improving calcium and vitamin D levels substantially reduced risk of all cancers in postmenopausal women.

May help prevent and treat depression It is known that the vitamin plays a key role in a number of neurological and hormonal processes, and feelings of depression are identified as one of the symptoms of D vitamin deficiency. Research indicates that low levels of the vitamin are distinctly related to depression.

Boosts energy and improves physical performance A recent Wake Forest University School of Medicine study found that physical performance of people over 65, including walking speed, grip strength, and ability to rise from a sitting position to standing, was 10 percent lower among participants with deficient blood levels of the vitamin.

May help prevent autoimmune diseases Research has shown unmistakable associations between deficiencies of the vitamin and autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Outstanding antioxidant properties
When it comes to antioxidant power, it’s hard to beat prunes. In fact, according to the USDA, it’s impossible. Prunes are actually rated number one on the USDA’s Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) scale, which measures the antioxidant effectiveness of plant-based foods.

Antioxidants are substances that can neutralize free radicals, which are unstable molecules produced by the process of cellular oxidation.  Free radicals damage the cells with which they interact, and are believed to be the primary source of many age-related problems; free radical damage has been implicated in everything from Alzheimer’s to age spots. That makes antioxidants a primary tool in the anti-aging arsenal. And prunes are just loaded with ‘em.

High in fiber, low in sodium
At least the prune is just about universally recognized for providing plenty of dietary fiber – that’s where it’s reputation for correcting or preventing “irregularity” comes from. But fiber is good for more than the digestion. Many studies have shown that dietary fiber is important in the prevention of many types of cancer, notably colorectal cancer. In addition, a long-term study of more than 50,000 Swedish women indicate that a diet high in fruit and cereal fiber can reduce the risk of breast cancer by as much as 50%.

The fact that prunes are low in sodium makes them heart-healthy, promoting normal blood pressure. They’re also believed to be effective in stabilizing blood sugar levels.

Vitamins and more
Prunes are a naturally rich source of vitamin A, which the body uses to produce collagen. Because the breakdown or loss of collagen leads to wrinkled skin, vitamin A is an important part of anti-aging. They also contain vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant.

Prunes also contain copper, which promotes youthful skin, and potassium, which is crucial to muscle strength and heart health.

Most over-50s are fairly defensive about naps, which we tend to associate with either the very young or the very old. But in terms of effective anti-aging therapies, napping is hard to beat. There is solid scientific evidence that a brief period of mid-day sleep can provide a whole host of anti-aging benefits, ranging from enhanced cognitive function to decreased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Though we tend to see sleep time as limited to the overnight period, in reality we’re programmed to also enjoy a brief sleep during the day. We often write off that drowsy feeling we experience in the afternoon to a large lunch, or to having slept poorly the night before, but it’s actually a natural physiological reaction that happens whether we’ve eaten or not, or whether we slept well or poorly during the previous night. It’s simply a fact of physiology: sometime between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. most people experience a period of drowsiness, characterized by diminished alertness, memory, coordination, and mood.

The perfect antidote to this natural low is a nap. A brief afternoon sleep has been shown to significantly improve alertness, mood, and cognitive function for the remainder of the day, and it also reduces the stress that can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and perhaps even unwanted weight gain.

The key to turning a few minutes of shut-eye into an effective anti-aging tool is to nap efficiently.

- Plan your nap. Set aside a half-hour during which you won’t be taking calls, etc.

- Find a private spot. Worrying about being interrupted can make drifting off very difficult.

- Lie down if possible. Falling asleep sitting up is possible, but it generally takes much longer.

- Darken the room if possible; bright light has a tendency to keep us alert.

- Set an alarm. Science has divided sleep into five separate stages of increasing depth, and a good refreshing 20-30 minute nap takes us only into stage two, or light sleep. If your nap goes much longer than a half hour you are likely to enter deeper stages of sleep, which can leave you feeling tired and groggy when you awake.

Can eating a diet rich in certain foods actually be a viable anti-aging therapy? Yes, if you go with the grain. Whole grain, that is.

Whole grain foods such as wild and brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat and rye, bulgar, and even popcorn can be a very effective part of an anti-aging diet. Whole grains are an outstanding source of B vitamins and antioxidants and they provide iron, magnesium, and fiber as well – all of which are important at any age, but absolutely vital to health and well-being as we get older.

Here are just a few ways in which whole grains play an anti-aging role in diet:

Reduced risk of colon cancer – A mammoth 16-year study that monitored over a million participants concluded that consumption of whole grains was inversely associated with the risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Better weight control – A Dutch study of nearly 5,000 older adults found a direct link between increased whole grain consumption and reduced risk of overweight and obesity. Increased whole grain intake was also associated with lower Body Mass Index.

Lower risk of diabetes – An ongoing joint U.S. – Norwegian study has found that whole grains are an important part of what they term a “low risk food pattern” that has been found to lower risk of developing diabetes by as much as 15%.

Improved heart health - A 20-year Harvard study of more than 20,000 physicians concluded that that those eating two to six servings of whole grain cereal a week reduced their risk of heart failure 22%, while those eating whole grains daily reduced risk by 28%. In addition, a massive Wake Forest University study of more than 285,000 participants found that eating as little as 2.5 servings of whole grain foods daily can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease by almost one-quarter.

Decreased incidence of gum disease – The findings of a 14-year study of more than 34,000 Canadian men conclude that the risk of periodontitis, a serious inflammation of the gums that frequently leads to tooth loss in adults, may be significantly reduced by eating three to four servings of whole grains daily.

Go ahead and pop that cork. Science may have discovered a fountain of youth, and it’s right there in that bottle of vin rose.

Though for over-50s “if it feels good, do it” has been largely replaced by “if it feels good it’s probably bad for you”, medical science has pitched us a delightful change-up: it seems that drinking wine, and red wine in particular, is actually pretty darn good for you. In fact, it may even help keep you young.

The key is resveratrol, a natural antibiotic produced by plants to help them ward off disease. It’s present in many plants but is particularly abundant in the skins of grape species used to make red wine. Some have suggested that resveratrol is the secret behind the “French Paradox”, which refers to the fact that though the Gallic diet is typically high in fat, the French have a low incidence of heart disease. Could the French wine-with-everything ethic be why?

Yes, probably. Resveratrol is a potent antioxidant, and as such is a powerhouse of health benefits. Antioxidants are substances that can neutralize free radicals, unstable molecules that scavenge and damage other cells. Antioxidants can not only prevent free radical damage, they can sometimes even reverse the process and repair damages already done.

Since recent research indicates that free radical damage is either a cause of or contributor to most age-related diseases and disorders, antioxidants are particularly important for the over-50 crowd. The body does produce some antioxidants, but our ability to synthesize them decreases with age.

In a nation where more than 8,000 people are turning 60 every day, it’s easy to see why resveratrol is a hot research topic. Though so far all resveratrol research has been cellular or animal studies, the initial findings are promising: it looks like that glass of wine could be protecting your heart, boosting your immune system, and perhaps even protecting you from cancer and Alzheimer’s.

Most intriguiging of all, however, is connection between resveratrol and sirtuin, a substance some have called a “longevity gene” which can actually make life longer. Since 2003 a number of studies have proven that resveratrol activates sirtuin in a number of life forms, and has effectively extended the life span of yeast, fruit flies, worms, and certain fish. Interesting, yes – but downright exciting in view of the fact that it has been proven that there is a human version of the longevity gene.

So drink up – moderately, of course – and bask in the knowledge that you may be adding some time to your stay on the planet. Of course there are other ways to get resveratrol – but why would you want to?

Americans 50 and over control 70% of all US wealth, bring in $2 trillion in annual income, own more homes than any other age group, account for 50% of all discretionary spending, and purchase 41% of all new cars.

16 million over-50s exercise at least three times a week.

People over 50 spend more per capita on groceries, over the counter and other health products, and travel and leisure than any other age group.

Adults 50+ spend an average of $7 billion online annually (Source: SeniorNet).

People over 50 represent 27% of the US population, and more than 50% of them live in the following nine states: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and New Jersey. (Source: US Census Bureau)

Population of Americans over 50 using internet in 2006: 58.2 million. Estimated population of Americans over 50 using internet in 2011: 68.3 million (Source: Tech Crunch)

Adults 50+ account for 80% of all luxury travel spending (Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project).

Japan has the highest rate of middle-age suicides (44% of Japanese suicides are middle aged) while the Philippines has the lowest at 12%. The US comes in tied with China at 27%. However, middle-age suicides in the US are currently at the highest rate in the past 25 years. (Source: US Centers for Disease Control)

There are expected to be 57.8 million baby boomers living in the year 2030, 54.9% of whom will be female. (source: US Census Bureau)

40 percent of people between 45 and 60 anticipate that their adult children will move back in with them. 30 percent anticipate that their parents will move in with them. (Source: Met Life)

14.2% of boomers are divorced. 12.6% of boomers never married. (Source: US Census Bureau)

20% of single men over 50 say sex on the first date is fine. 2% of single women over 50 are OK with sex on a first date. (source: AARP)

Four out of five boomers see work as playing a role in their retirement years, with only 20% anticipating retiring and not working at all (Source: AARP)

And the most encouraging statistic of all: There are now 70,000 people over 100 years old. By 2050, demographers estimate there will be 834,000. (Source: University of Nevada)

If you’ve been doing any reading the health and wellness area, you’ve no doubt heard of CoQ10, sometimes called “Vitamin Q”. And you’re probably wondering “what is this CoQ10 stuff, anyway? And why do I need it?”


The short answer: CoQ10 is a naturally-occurring substance that helps cells produce energy. And you need it because you’re over 50.

The long answer: Coenzyme Q10, commonly known as CoQ10, is a vitamin-like substance that occurs naturally in every cell of the human body.  CoQ10 is crucial to good heart health and vascular function. It is used to treat Parkinson’s disease, to help patients recover from heart surgery, and to manage adult-onset diabetes. Keeping CoQ10 levels high  can help prevent heart attacks and high blood pressure, increase energy and stamina, and boost immunity.

CoQ10 is also believed to play an important role in the prevention of many age-related disorders, including macular degenration, high cholesterol, inflammatory vascular disease, and even Alzheimer’s.

How does it work?
CoQ10 is essential to the production of energy at the cellular level, and the organs that use the most energy – the heart and liver – have the highest concentrations of CoQ10. The actual “work” that CoQ10 does takes place in a part of every cell called the mitochondria, and its job is to help transform fats and sugars into energy.  Adequate amounts of CoQ10 are necessary to healthy metabolism and organ function. (For more info, watch video below)

If it’s a natural part of every cell, why would I need a CoQ10 supplement?

The body’s production of CoQ10 decreases as we age. Normal aging can reduce the CoQ10 levels in the heart by as much as 72%. In addition, a group of frequently-prescribed drugs knows as statins (used to reduce LDL and cholesterol levels) also deplete CoQ10 levels.

But I’m healthy and I feel great. Do I still need supplemental CoQ10?
If you’re middle-aged or older, the answer is probably yes.

Is it possible that something as simple as a daily morning jog could offset the effects of aging?

Could  stopping by the gym a few times a week enhance sexual performance and increase libido?

Could hiking, biking, swimming, or just lifting weights in the garage be the “cure” most midlife men are looking for?

According to a recent study by the New England Research Institutes, the answer is a resounding “yes”.

The study, which followed 1,667 men ages 40 through 70 for 16 years, indicated that as men age the importance of weight control through regular exercise becomes vital. The reason? Because even moderate increases in weight led to major decreases in the production of testosterone, the primary male hormone.

As weight and BMI go up, testosterone production goes down

Most people are aware that there is a normal age-related decline in testosterone production, but in reality the amount of age-related decrease is surprisingly small. In normal healthy men testosterone production generally decreases about one percent per year after the age of 40. But the New England research revealed that as the Body Mass Index or BMI rose into the level of obesity, the production of testosterone dropped off dramatically. In fact, moving from a non-obese to an obese BMI category was linked to a reduction in testosterone equivalent to 10 years of aging.

Low testosterone linked to a host of mental, physical, and sexual problems

Low testosterone levels undoubtedly play a role in many of the symptoms and syndromes associated with male aging, male “menopause”, and the classic male mid-life crisis. Low levels of this crucial hormone are believed to contribute to a host health conditions, including diabetes, osteoporosis and impaired sexual function.

Both mental ability and sexual function are markedly effected by major drops in testosterone levels. A French study by the Saint-Etienne University Hospitals found that lower levels of testosterone are definitely linked to measurably poorer results in cognitive tests.

Other studies have demonstrated that low testosterone is linked to Alzheimer’s disease, but it is still unclear whether the drop in testosterone levels lead to the disease or are a result of the disease process.

Good nutrition + regular exercise = fitness over 50

While changes in diet and lifestyle play an important role in maintaining a healthy weight (and therefore a healthy production of testosterone) in middle aged men, research is reaffirming that at midlife exercise is absolutely crucial. In addition to promoting weight loss, fitness over 50 has been repeatedly proven to dramatically lower most major health risks and to increase energy, alertness, and libido.