Slowing the ageing process

Most of us do not feel our age, and like to think we are five, or 10 or even 20 years younger than our real years.

Nothing wrong with the above, of course. But usually – and sadly – whatever we ‘feel’ is not reflected in the way we actually look thanks to wrinkling skin, difficult to shake-off extra fat and the occasional memory lapse.

Don’t bury that feel-good factor just yet, however. According to American biochemist Bruce Ames showering our bodies with a little TLC and a daily dose of vitamins could slow the ageing process. He believes many ageing-related illnesses, from cancer to heart disease, could be linked to not taking enough common vitamins and minerals.

As a biochemist who invented one of the first tests for cancer causing substances, Bruce Ames in 1998 was awarded the US National Medal of Science for his ‘creativity, resolve and restless spirit of innovation’ by President Clinton. And despite being in his late-70s, he is still driven by research, overseeing experiments to slow the body’s response to time and gravity.

At an American Association of Advancement of Science’s conference in Boston a few weeks ago, Bruce Ames noted how studies showed that shortages of vitamins and minerals are linked to a host of ageing related diseases, including bowel cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes as well as prostrate and bowel cancers. He said his own work shows lack of nutrients may accelerate ageing itself.

Bruce Ames said he did not think that the decades of effort to improve people’s diets had succeeded in our fast food era. Instead, he proposes it would be easier to convince everyone to take a vitamin pill a day.

In some other news from the health front for us mature folks, a French study just published in the American College of Cardiology found that blood pressure drugs may help people who also suffer from irregular heartbeat.

One person in 20 aged over 70 suffers from irregular heartbeat, which can cause palpitations, shortness of breath and tiredness. And increase the risk of a stroke.

Involving almost 3,600 patients who had experienced irregular heartbeat or were at risk of developing it, the study found that those taking blood pressure drugs, or statins, were 61 percent less likely to develop the condition than patients not taking such medications.

Hope this all helps, folks. Live long, live well.

Fun week With Wanobe Make-over: Cooler Design, Easier To Use, More Fun

Wow, I can hardly believe that six months have passed since we launched wanobe.com as the lifestyle place for folks over fifty in the UK and elsewhere. It has been hectic but huge fun, especially as more and more people choose to join the Wanobian community.

To celebrate this minor milestone, and to show we’ve been listening to you, we’ve redesigned our website to create a simple and more user-friendly interface. We have added improved and new features enabling you to stay more easily in touch with family and friends or make new contacts. And you can have fun playing great classic games (remember Pacman?) or Suduko as well as comment on restaurants and bars.

I hope you like what you see. From the start our single aim has been to be age positive. We do not believe that just because we have passed fifty we want to be told how to tackle a lack of dexterity. We want cool stuff not geriatric tools. Our view at Wanobe is that most women and men who have celebrated passing fifty want to live life out loud, just as loud as they can, as couples or singles.

Frankly it’s not strange that any of us born during the 30s, 40s and 50s should think that way. After all, we are the trendsetters who walked on the moon, staged the first summer of love in 1967 and made the Beatles and Rolling Stones icons.

Why should we cut back on our lifestyles just because we’ve turned fifty or sixty or seventy? Okay, money may be in shorter supply than most of us would have hoped, but we all enjoy going to shows, taking trips and enjoying drinks and dinner with friends.

Wanobe is here to help you reap the rewards of all your years of hard work, whatever your financial or emotional reserves, by delivering fun things to do, providing support and sharing knowledge. We are determined to help you have a good time whatever your life stage or lifestyle – and I pledge we will never knowingly treat any of you as ‘old’.

Relax, enjoy and keep on rocking!

Thumbs up for defensive aging

Staying forever young is not just a state of mind for a growing number of people who have celebrated turning fifty years. It is also very much about signing up for the surgeon’s knife in the relentless hunt for a beautiful body – by both women and a growing number of men.

New figures from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) reveal a 12.2 percent increase in surgical procedures last year compared to 2006, with 32,453 women and men opting for cosmetic surgery. While facelifts for women rose 37 percent last year, more men than ever before were trying tummy tucks to reduce waistlines and breast reductions to get rid of ‘man boobs’.

The top five surgical procedures for men in 2007 were: rhinoplasty (716), liposuction (582), eyelid surgery (558), ear correction (418), and face/neck lift (230 – rise of 21%).
The top five surgical procedures for women in 2006 were: breast augmentation (6,487), eyelid surgery (5,148 – up 13% on last year), face/neck lift (4,238, an impressive rise of 37%), liposuction (3,990 – up 15%), and breast reduction (3,178).

With anti-aging surgery on eyelids and brows growing in popularity for both women and men, the aesthetic trend is pretty clear. According to experts, Britons will be spending almost one billion pounds this year on cosmetic surgery and non-surgical treatments such as Botox and dermal fillers.

According to Nigel Mercer, consultant plastic surgeon and BAAPS President-Elect: “When considering aesthetic surgery it is essential to be selective in choosing the right surgeon as the results of good surgery may be long lasting, but no procedure is without some risk. When performed under the right circumstances, aesthetic surgery can have a very positive psychological impact and improve quality of life.”

Rock on, folks, we only live once, after all.  Live long, live well, laugh a lot.