I want to keep my muscle mass. And my vision.

This is my two cents’ worth of thoughts on what I’ve learned lately. If you’re under 35, you probably don’t care about any of this. But you might have a parent or grandparent you can pass it on to. Or if you plan to live past 40, you might find it interesting. I used to think that after 45 or so, your body betrays you. But it's really the other way around. If you don't exercise, you betray your body.

People generally increase in strength up to the age of 30 and after the age of 35 approximately, we lose about 1% per year of muscle mass. After the age of 45, we lose about 1% per year of bone mass, too.  Astronauts can lose 1% of muscle and bone mass per MONTH when subjected to conditions of no gravity. You’re not an astronaut, though, right? So no big deal.  But, what we need to know is that sitting for long periods has the same effect as living without gravity. So if you have a desk job or sit at the computer or on the couch for several hours a day, your rate of muscle and bone mass is much closer to that of astronauts. Yikes.  The very simple fix is to stand up at least every 10 minutes. That’s it. You don’t have to run around the block. Just sit back down. Working an 8 hour shift, this means you would stand up 48 times. That’s about 2 minutes per day of your time to slow down the aging process significantly.

I think a one mile walk every day is important, too. But it’s the standing and sitting back down during sedentary periods that really affects muscle and bone mass.

Sources: http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/age.html  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/6098.php http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02720/Osteoporosis.html http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.com/regular-exercise-in-middle-age-protects-against-muscle-weakness-later-in-life/benefits-exercise/

Also, this is the year that I pretty much NEED my reading glasses, rather than using them because it’s a little easier to read stuff if I have them around.  Keith is right there with me.

My in-laws were here visiting last week and my father-in-law can’t drive anymore due to macular degeneration. I don't think he can read a computer screen anymore either.  He admonished us to wear sunglasses to prevent UV ray damage. You probably know there are expensive vitamins out there for it.  Of the 600 carotenoids found in nature, only two are deposited in high quantities in the retina (macula) of the eye: lutein and zeaxanthin. (http://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/caring-for-your-vision/diet-and-nutrition/lutein)  

A single serving of cooked, frozen spinach contains close to 30 milligrams of lutein and zeaxanthin, which is the maximum amount present in any food, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database. The quantity of these two nutrients varies based on method of preparation, but cooked, frozen, fresh and canned dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, turnip greens, collards, dandelion greens, and mustard greens top the list with 8 to 25 milligrams of lutein and zeaxanthin per serving. (http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/foods-containing-lutein-zeaxanthin-4259.html)

Yeah, not everyone’s favorite foods. No wonder macular degeneration is so common! Also, interestingly, the raw greens have lower levels of lutein and zeaxanthin than cooked. So put it in spaghetti sauce, lasagna, stew, chili, soup, etc. Colorful vegetables are also good sources, just not as high as leafy green stuff.