Living long starts with eating well

Advanced aging (okay, old age) is a blessing. But even better than this is staying healthy in one’s golden years. Of what use is old age if the elderly can’t go malling with their grandkids, if they’re rotting in bed, watching Netflix or listening to the radio?

Blessed are the young who sit on lolo or lola’s lap to hear stories of the good, old days coaxed from their razor-shop memory. Privileged are the toddlers who watch Netflix under the watchful, cataract-free eyes of a grandparent who makes sure the little one is exposed only to kid-friendly content (read: no foul language, violence and obscenities).

These are the fruits of graceful aging, a modern-day Holy Grail that has given rise to a burgeoning industry.

Dr. Joel Lopez, a holistic and integrative medical doctor with 25 years of experience in Healthy Aging and Regenerative Medicine, is a standout in this field.

One rainy afternoon, the president of the Preventive Regenerative Integrative Medical Association (PRIMA) gave eye-opening insights on this natural phenomenon called aging.

“The underlying causes of aging and chronic illness are the same,” he begins. It all boils down to the food we eat.

Lopez cites Nobel prize winner Dr. Otto Warburg’s discovery of sugar as one of the causes of cancer. This means that illnesses, even something as grave as cancer, can be addressed through something as basic as one’s diet.

Yes, it’s all about lifestyle. A hefty 90 percent of chronic illness, Lopez points out, stems from how we live our life — the food we eat, our sleep patterns, relationships, habits, etc. Only 10 percent — even less — springs from our genes or family history.

It’s common knowledge, for instance, that low vitamin D levels make for brittle bones. While early-morning and late-afternoon sunlight are okay, Lopez laments that we’re not getting enough of this vitamin D source, which we also find in food.

It doesn’t help that many avoid the sun and stay indoors. Seniors, especially, are prone to age spots, those dark areas on the face, hands, arms and shoulders that belie sun overexposure.

Lopez recommends natural, chemical-free sunscreen or sunblock, which one can apply directly to the skin, or take orally.

Speaking of skin, Lopez warns that a deficiency in estrogen, which drops drastically during menopause, not only dries the largest organ of our body— worse, it shrinks the brain and may lead to dementia in women.

The good news is that estrogen-rich foods are available.

So is food from the farm, since ours is a country blessed with agricultural crops. But even these are no longer as safe as they used to be. Farming practices that use lots of pesticides and chemicals, says Lopez, wreak havoc on our health. So, too, does planting the same crop for long stretches of time.

“This depletes the soil of nutrients,” Lopez explains.

The oil we use in cooking is just as crucial. Coconut oil, states Lopez, can tolerate higher temperatures than olive oil (the former is easier on the pocket, too).

Deep frying and repeated heating are no-nos, because these easily degrade cooking oil, and form free radicals and potentially harmful compounds. Then, too, Lopez points out, "oils easily turn rancid.”

He warns against taking deep-fried food and meat, which causes inflammation or swelling. The process releases harmful chemicals and adds fats that lead to various illnesses. Frequent body swelling can open a Pandora’s Box of diseases, cancer, heart problems, diabetes, arthritis, etc.

How to avoid this scourge in one’s golden years? Choose a plant-based diet, Lopez urges.

And while you’re at it, add generous amounts of water as well. Too little water, and you get dehydrated, prone to a lot of the scourges of age.

But before you take the prescribed eight-to-10-glasses-a-day standard, remember: it’s not for everybody.

“Six glasses of water a day is okay for those with small frames,” Lopez states.

To find out how many glasses of water you need to drink a day, Lopez advises dividing your weight in pounds by two. This gives you the right amount of water (in ounces) you need a day.

Drinking water before bedtime has its pluses and minuses, but melatonin before signing off for the day has many things going for it. Even if melatonin, the sleep hormone, can be sourced from food, and even if our body manufactures it, production slows as we age.

“Melatonin production decreases with age,” Lopez points out.

By the time we hit 80, the melatonin level is almost zero. The pineal gland, which produces melatonin, calcifies. No wonder Lolo and Lola sleep fitfully, and a lot less than everyone else at home. Some are up as early as 3 a.m.

Melatonin supplements, he adds, are good, not only to get enough zzzs, but for cellular health, too, because they penetrate the blood-brain barrier.

In fact, Lopez believes supplements are fine for boosting food supply.

“We need supplements in the form of vitamins, minerals, herbs, and even homeopathics. These come in tablet, topical or injectable forms.”

Couple that with the other pillars of health — exercise, sleep, good relationships, and a positive mindset — and our lolos and lolas can look forward to enjoying the rest of their lives with their grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.

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Dr. Joel Lopez’s clinic, CHARM by JLopezmd, is located at LG05 Greenhills Tower Mall, Greenhills, San Juan. For inquiries, call or SMS 0917-1167422.