What can I do when I’m young to keep healthy when I’m older?

@christian101 I'm pretty basic and have used Coppertone Sport cream for the last decade. Spf 30 or 50 for outdoor sports and the beach. I am very pale.

Daily use is important too! My moisturizer is spf 30 and I use a body lotion with spf 15 on my arms and legs (I have a 15 min walk from my car to work). I also have a bottle of sunscreen at work so I'm prepared for impromptu happy hours on a patio.
 
@hneed41 Yes goddamn please. Having seen my mom go through the wringer with skin cancer (surgery, liquid nitrogen, electrified melon baller), slap that shit on. The sun is a deadly laser.
 
@burialchoice Just keep moving! Walk every day. (Cardio/yoga/weight lifting is great too.)

When I look at my grandparents, who lived a very sedentary life after 70, the lack of movement was so obvious. They had so many aches and pains and absolutely no endurance.
 
@dawn16 My grandmother lived to 92. Up until age of maybe 12ish, I used to stay a week with her over the summer. We used to walk EVERYWHERE. 2 miles to the grocery store - walk. 4 miles to the movie theatre - walk. 3 miles to the tennis courts - walk. Not kidding. So much walking to the point I would complain to my mom when she called.

This all when she was in her 60s, and she showed zero signs of exhaustion after all this walking. Our family contributes her longevity to that. Well, that and she was a stubborn Irish woman :)

Of course, when I was a kid, I wasn't fond of it. But I look back at it now, and I cherish those walks with her when all she would do is be quiet and listen to me talk. I miss her very much.

Don't underestimate the benefits of walking.
 
@dawn16 Yup, my 80 year old Italian grandmother still insists on walking, stretching, and gardening any day that her arthritis is not too bad. She insists that the end she stops moving will be the day she dies.
 
@1stbrownhorse Your nonna is correct. People who become sedentary after retirement or injury (eg, a fall) go downhill a lot faster.

This is why you need to worry about bone density, declining balance, and fall risk in the elderly: that initial broken hip might not kill them, but the resulting immobility could.
 
@1stbrownhorse This is probably true. My 86 year old grandma has been doing very poorly both physically and cognitively since the COVID restrictions came in. She lived alone, in a condo building, couldn't drive, wasn't able to socialize. Now she's doing much worse than she was at the start of 2020 and her aging has really accelerated.
 
You totally nailed it. I knew an elderly, in his 70s, who owns a farm. His stamina is excellent thanks to daily walking around the hills for farming.
 
@dawn16 My Grandpa is 86. He has farm animals that he tends to all day, every day. He's a horse trainer. He still cleans out his horses stalls on his own. He can load and unload his horses from the trailers. Feeds them, waters them. Tends to his cattle, chickens, goats, etc. He's done this for like, 70 years.

My Grandpa never smoked and the only alcohol he's ever had, is my Great Grandma's eggnog she made for Christmas. Used to go to bars and order a glass of milk lol. He's been physically active with his horse training and out in the sun his entire life.

He moves slower now and idk how much longer he will be able to keep this up but he's not going to stop until he has to. I hope to be like that when I get older lol.
 
@letsgohome That’s so awesome. It’s kind of weird but I love role models who don’t drink. I don’t care much for alcohol and I look for role models who don’t drink, especially people who don’t drink by preference and not for religious reasons.

If you don’t mind my asking, How is your grandpa’s skin?
 
@deseret I feel you! Alcoholism runs through my family and I have emotional scars from someone else's addiction. I don't drink, sans the very rare occasion I might take a sip of my husband's drink, which he also rarely does. I personally HATE the taste of alcohol and the culture surrounding it. But I don't judge, I can see the appeal of responsible drinking and the social aspect. It's just not for me.

My Grandpa's skin looks like any old person's skin lol. HOWEVER, he never wore sunscreen. A long time ago a piece of hail clipped his ear and went untreated. Constant sun exposure eventually lead to skin cancer in his late 70s/early 80s. I forget when. He lost a good chunk of that ear but other than that, he's fine. So uh, wear sunscreen lol.
 
To be fair, post 70 is a perfectly reasonable time in your life to naturally be more sedentary, and inevitably have some aches and pains.
 
Sure, but why would you want that if you can avoid it? My grandma is now 96 and still sedentary. All she does is sit and watch TV or read. It is a sad life IMO.
 
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