Member-only story
Is Exercise/Building Muscle (not Anti-Inflammatory Pills) the Gold-Standard for Seniors?
As I look down the gun-barrel of next week’s annual physical (for my 68th year), I am pondering a seldom-asked question that may fly in the face of recent anti-inflammatory orthodoxies…should a Senior increase workouts while avoiding anti-inflammatory pills, do the opposite, or do both? The background of all this may surprise you!
Ok, I’m 68 and work out about 6 hours per week, doing 30 minutes a day on treadmill, rowing 3 times per week, and swimming twice weekly. My diet is good (about 30 gm of fiber per day, 70 gm protein, 60 net carbs), and yet my BMI is about 27 and I have some belly fat. I generally feel pretty good and have no back or joint pain. Like many, I have been seduced as of late by the promises of life-extension by taking supplements such as Statins, Metformin and Rapamycin, along with Metformin mimics Ashwagandha and Chondroitin/Glucosamine (inflammation inhibitors). Meanwhile, there’s growing evidence that maintaining muscle-mass into old age may be a key to longevity, but also that inflammation inhibitors work against the building of muscle mass. What to do? (Luks,2021),(Borst,2021)
Working Out Makes me Feel Good, if I Can Avoid Injury: Working out as a Senior presents a few dilemmas:
