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Aging, Health and Genetics



Staying home during this Coronavirus, I've had a lot of time to think and watch stuff on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and research on the Internet.  I turned 49 this year.  Being in my thirties or forties never bothered me.  But I'm looking at 50 a year from now and I want to work even more to set myself up for a long, enjoyable life. I know genetically, I won the lottery on looking younger than I am, but I want to know what I can do to maximize those lottery earnings.

I watched the Goop Lab episode on Netflix yesterday about aging and it was really interesting and provoked a lot of thoughts.  Some of these episodes are not my cup of tea - magic mushrooms and cold-therapy, not really my thing.  I'm petrified of drugs and I hate to be cold more than anything!  This episode on aging was right up my alley.... In the beginning of the episode, they asked the three ladies (Gwyneth was one of them) what scared them about aging.  I thought about that for myself.  I fear losing my brain as well as losing my mobility.  My grandfather died of Alzheimer's.  He was very physically fit, but he didn't know anyone around him at the end.  I'm really afraid of going this way.  I'm very proud of my brain and how it functions.  I want it to stay with me until the end ... like my teeth. Unfortunately, the episode didn't focus on how to preserve your brain health.  I'll have to do more research on that on my own.

There were other things that were interesting in the episode. I'm really curious to do some research into the blood test the ladies had done to test their biological age.  I'd love to know who could do that for me.  Most people that meet me guess I'm in my early 40s, but they say they only skip the 30s because they know I have a college-age daughter.  I'd love to know what that blood test would say!

What I really liked was the three nutrition plans they had the ladies on:  Gwyneth tried the 5 day calorie-restricting, nutrition supported fasting, another had a 3-week vegan diet and the third had the pescatarian, vegan diet.  I don't think I could ever go full vegan.  My body (and blood-sugar) does better making sure I'm supported with protein.  Granted I do a lot of nuts, nut butters and beans, but I like more variety to my protein sources.  However, I'm also thinking of trying a 3 or 5 day fast of some kind while we are stuck at home.  They are always so much harder to do when you are going into the office, so now would be an optimal time to try it.  I'm thinking about it.  But if I did one, it would not be a purchased plan like was shown in the show. It would be more like a Goop-detox food-wise.  I'm not sure when yet.  I think we at least have two more weeks at home, so I'm going to do more research this week and think about it for next week.  Right now, I'm enjoying getting back to using the elliptical machine at our house every morning for at least 45 minutes every day.  I can't do that when restricting calories.

The last thing I really liked in the show was the different types of facials or the one low-invasive plastic surgery treatment they showed.  I haven't done anything plastic surgery-wise with my face ever and I'm petrified to.  I don't want to look unnatural.  I'm not really interested in looking into doing any of those treatments anytime soon, even if we weren't homebound, but it did inspire me to do a coffee grounds and coconut oil facial and followed up with a sheet mask yesterday afternoon.  Now if something could help me figure out how to get rid of the dark circles under my eyes!!!

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