Eight signs that somebody over the age of 65 is aging very well indeed. How many of these can you get? And you might be surprised by some of these things. For anybody who enjoys our discussions, please make sure that you are subscribed to this channel. Hit the subscribe button down below. Let's dive right in then. Dr. Ben, what have we got? Number eight on the list. >> Well, this one I think is surprising indeed and that is your sense of smell. That's weird. Why is that? Well, the olfactory nerves are cranial nerves that are the only ones that have a direct line to the brain that don't stop by a relay station first. Why is that important? Well, it's important because if you are having some degeneration in the brain, you often can see it here first. So, sometimes, not always, please don't have a panic attack if you're losing your sense of smell, but if you're use losing your sense of smell, it could mean there are some problems beginning in terms of degeneration in the brain. So, what we look for, are you losing your sense of smell when it comes to kind of strong potent things? And Dr. Peter's going to tell you about a test you can do at home. >> That's true. So, this is a really good point and we do see a rise in heart disease in people who have a loss of smell and everyone loses a bit of smell as you age, but it's really a more dramatic loss that we get more concerned about. So, what I think is always a great thing you can do is pick five things, coffee grounds, peanut butter, cinnamon, mint, and an orange peel. All right, have your eyes closed and have someone give you each one one by one and see if you can identify it. And if you can't identify roughly about two out of those five, it's something maybe to bring up with your primary care next time you see them because there is some basis to it of not being able to recognize these potent smells. >> Yeah, I've seen that research. It's why it's fascinating. A strong correlation. And obviously there are other things that can make people lose their sense of smell. Some infections can do it. If you've got sinus issues, uh but hopefully, and we hope that you will got a very strong sense of smell. This is a very subtle marker that is not talked about anywhere nearly enough. >> And you make a great point. It doesn't have to be a degenerative process in the brain, but it's one of those markers in combination with others that we like to look at is this an early warning sign that we need to make some changes and we need to start looking out for various changes that are occurring. >> Absolutely. Thank you, Dr. Mann. That was a great one to start with. Number seven on the list, walking slower. Have you lost the ability to walk fast, to have a brisk walk? This can be rather insidious, but there is a ton of research out there. Obviously, as anybody gets older, walking speed will slow down, but is is there a marked slow down? We're all familiar, and we hope you're there as well, with that vibrant person in their 80s who's still walking a lot, going along nicely. Now, arthritis can play into it, maybe back problems will creep in. But this is a very good sign, and I'm a huge believer in it being very difficult to stop someone who's always on the go, who's moving, who's walking a lot. Isn't that there uh law of physics as well, one of Newton's laws, a body in motion. So, can you still walk fast? Can you do so feeling relatively good? It's really important with each passing year to not become more sedentary. I cannot stress that point enough. When people stop walking, assuming there's no physical limitation, that's when big problems start to creep in. So, if you can do that, it's a good sign. >> It sure do. Now, walking does maintain muscle mass, and that is a longevity marker. And so, a really a good way of kind of gauging how you're doing is if you go to, say, an intersection in a city or in your town with a crosswalk, so when the crosswalk symbol goes up to walk across intersection, can you make it across that intersection before the countdown ends? And so if you can, I think overall you're in pretty good shape. >> Yeah, exactly. And you see this a lot, I'm sure in primary care when people stop walking, it's a bad sign when they slow down a lot. >> Yeah, and you have to ask the question why. So are you slowing down because you're in pain? Are you slowing down because you're becoming confused? Are you slowing down because you've lost strength or you're losing your balance? But it's one of those things that you're really good indicator that means hey, it's time to take a look, something's changed and not for the better. Now, when I do see a patient that walks quickly and their family's always rolling their eyes because they can't keep up with them, I'm always very happy with that cuz that usually means they're doing very well. >> That's right. And there's actually a strong link as well with neurodegenerative processes, dementia, Parkinson's disease in people who can't walk as fast. All right, what have we got next on the list, number six, Dr. Peter? >> Heart rate recovery. So think about your heart as an engine and so I break it down in two ways. You have the gas pedal and the brake pedal. And so the gas pedal is when your heart rate increases with exercise or your stress response and that's basically your net your body's natural physiological response to exercise. And your brake pedal is really run through your parasympathetic nervous system, which is your vagal fibers. And that is basically when you stop exercising and cool down, how fast does your heart rate recover? And that is a really good sign of overall cardiovascular health and resilience and really showing how well you've trained your body. And so I love this really marker because this is something unlike other things that you can change and you can even change it by like the end of the month if you start exercising regularly. So we know just as a general rule in the first minute after exercise, if you can drop your heart rate by 20 beats a minute, you're in really, really good shape. That's great. If you drop it and it goes less than 12 beats per minute, then it's just an eye-opener of what can I do to get that in a better recovery time. And so, that's just regular walking, regular exercise, working your core muscles. >> Thank you. Well, isn't it great we got America's best cardiologist here, very appropriate to tell us that. Thank you. So, what we're talking about to to clarify, and it's very easy to track this now on a device like a watch, phone can do it as well. If you're not into, personally I'm not into a wearable device all the time, but you can do it for this purpose. So, you're talking about after exercise basically your heart rate coming back down again. And people who whose heart rate stays up, that's a sign that they haven't got a strong heart. That's it in a nutshell, right? >> It is, and it's a differentiated from heart rate variability, which we find on a lot of wearable devices now. So, heart rate variability is a beat-to-beat variation in time, which goes gives you a sense of how your autonomic system is working. But, heart rate recovery specifically is your body's resilience to exercise. So, basically you work out or do what you do, walking, walk up a hill, going upstairs, and see how fast your heart rate comes down in the minute after your exercise. And our goal is 20 beats or more. But, you can work your way up if you're not there yet. >> I really like that. That's such an interesting sign. Have you heard that anywhere else before? Would that correlate very well with feeling tired as well? So, people whose heart rate is up, they obviously visibly they've stressed themselves >> It does. Well, then we know that people who have elevated heart rates have some underlying process going on, especially if the heart rate is above a certain level inappropriately. So, inappropriate elevations in heart rise and heart rates actually can be a sign of underlying disease as well. Or elevated heart rates can be a sign of increased cortisol circulating stress. And these are all just things that just really tears at your body. So, a good lower heart rate is great when people are exercising regularly, but it's really you could have two people who are are nice and strong and exercise regularly. But really the person who has a better recovery time overall we've seen does the best in reducing heart disease long-term. >> Okay. That's actually that was an excellent one. Okay then, uh Dr. Ben, what we have next on the list? Number five. >> A great appetite. So, when I see patients that come in the office and they say, "My appetite's great. I'm hungry at the right times. I'm eating well. I am happy about food. I still have a positive relationship to it." I often see they're doing very well physically and mentally. What makes me nervous is when people stop eating. They say, "I just don't have an appetite anymore. I'm starting to lose weight. I just don't have any interest in food. It doesn't smell or taste good to me anymore." So, that goes back to smell. I start to get nervous because it's never good when one of us just stops eating altogether or loses interest in food when we used to really enjoy it. That's something that really pricks my ears up and I start asking a lot of questions. >> Yeah, that's one of which can be subtle, but I am a great believer in appetite being a a huge mark. Now, obviously this has to be balanced against the fact that now we have a metabolic health catastrophe going on. So, if you're eating a lot and also overweight and suffering metabolic dysfunction, that's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about people who are maintaining an appetite, doing other things, but I always find it's a very ominous sign when somebody above a certain age, 65, 70, when they suddenly start eating less. And I'm sure you've seen this happen before in people. It can be a quick decline. People can get malnourished. Their albumin protein levels can drop on their blood tests. And they just get weaker and weaker. And I always I personally love it when I see someone who's like 90 years old even in the hospital and they've got a great appetite. They can't wait for for their next meal. And you think that's somebody who's doing well. They they need to keep eating. >> There's nothing better than that. And so remember like when people lose their appetite, it could be something physically or mentally going on. So they could be on the line of depression which can really cause people to retreat and have lost of appetite. But also inappropriate weight loss is something that we worry about as well. And so, you know, appetite I mean you are what you eat. So if you're not getting food in, your body is just not going to do well on turf. >> Yeah, appetite is a a great marker. In fact, it reminds me of a very interesting study that I saw once where they were looking at the best marker for somebody when somebody's recovering from an infection. I believe this study was done in Japan. They obviously do common sense studies. So they So they were looking at everything. Blood tests, different markers, fevers. And do you know in the end what the number one way was that they found when they know people are recovering from infection? It was they got their appetite back. >> Ah, there you go. >> Not surprising. And everyone knows this as well with family members. When you're recovering from illness, when you start eating again, you feel better. That's when you're better. >> I know that as doctors too. I've seen that in patients when we round in hospitals and and see patients at their when they're eating or and really have a good sense of appetite, we know that they're on their way to recovery. So that's >> Right. Okay, next up we have a question. We always have a question or comment from the week before from one of you fine people. And we so appreciate all of you who watch our videos. We want to help as best we can. And we had a comment from Camille saying that out of all medications antibiotics are probably the only medicines that truly cure people. All other medicines are designed to treat symptoms. What a profound statement. >> I think that's a fascinating comment and I actually love that in a lot of ways. She's not wrong in many ways. Antibiotics actually treat and cure a disease usually fairly quickly. When you have a bad infection, you take antibiotics and that infection is gone. Now, that also has to do with the nature of the disease itself. But, it is such a good point. There's so many medications out there that we think we're taking them really to cure us or to get us through the disease, but really what we're doing is just managing kind of the symptoms of the disease, right? I mean, if you think about heart failure and many of the medications you take for heart failure, they're just keeping the symptoms at bay. >> Yes, Troy. I think we totally under appreciate the power of antibiotics and how simple they are and how they work, but they're really measurable and how I can see how they work. So, you can have an infection and then within 7 days you can see what that infection has cleared. And so, there is something about that is so true and such a good thing to pick up on. >> It is. Thank you, Camille, for that question. And in fact, I I totally agree. I can't think of many medications that actually cure people. I think Well, I remember in medical school one of the professors said, "If you want to cure people as a doctor, become a surgeon." Because they actually do. You know, you have a broken bone, orthopedic doctor fixes it. You have a ruptured appendix, surgeon takes it out. Very few cases, I mean, maybe steroids I can think of which will actually you could make the argument if somebody has a bad inflammation or even during the pandemic, we saw this it can really like reverse that very quickly. But again, it's kind of just suppressing a process, but antibiotics are wonder drugs and I don't think we should ever take them for granted when Sir Alexander Fleming in his small London lab accidentally discovered penicillin, that was a game changer. I mean, humanity then longevity, people's life expectancy shot up after that and then more antibiotics were developed. And think about it, for most of human history, simple tooth infection a simple skin infection would kill people. >> Think about the black plague that was caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis, which can be treated with penicillin. But we didn't know, and that wiped out an enormous portion of Europe. Had they had penicillin, things could have been different. Clyde, it is really fascinating. You're right, people died from tooth infection, urinary tract infection. Antibiotics have changed the world in so many positive ways. Great comment, today. >> I consider them miracle drugs. Every week I come in the hospital, somebody will come in with overwhelming sepsis. They're barely awake. 24 hours of IV antibiotics with other things like fluids and they're awake and talking. It It is a honor and a pleasure to work with antibiotics and know that we we talk a lot about polypharmacy and the ridiculousness of the current situation with too many meds, but they are one group of medications that have my utmost respect and also shouldn't be overused, either. >> Oh, that's so true. >> All right, what do we have next on the list? Number four. Dr. Peter. >> Grip strength. So, I feel like a good, strong handshake is such a good predictor of really of how you are in in the aging process. So, we know that muscle mass is a longevity marker and when you lose muscle mass, which is called sarcopenia, it really shows that actually your nutrition may not be good. There could be some underlying neurodegenerative process going on that's been unidentified yet. So, grip strength has been just a sign that we know time after time and is a very simplistic sign of how are you doing. We know that someone with a weaker handshake can really be an underlying an underlying sign of just frailty. >> Okay, everyone, quick pause in that great conversation for a moment. As many of you know, I have been passionate about health and wellness for my whole life. Certainly my whole medical career. And it's been fantastic working with an absolutely amazing team to create our line of wellness products. Ohai wellness, if you're in the USA North America, head to ohaiwellness.com. If you're in the UK Europe, go to ohaiwellness.co. All the links are down below. Our immune support formula has been getting amazing feedback recently. And we also have products supporting a vast array of body systems including memory, heart health, bone health, sleep, healthy aging, plus our new male vitality support formula. We're also very excited to be expanding our food and beverage range including functional wellness teas. And especially our organic chai mix which people have been loving. We've had so many great reviews for. Delicious and relaxing. So, if you want to support your health naturally with products that we as doctors genuinely believe in and we consume ourselves, check out the links below. All right, back to the discussion. >> Yeah, I've seen that research as well. Grip strength. Obviously there can be other reasons for not having a strong grip like maybe arthritis could creep in. But there it is a fascinating marker. Would you say Dr. Bennett correlates well with general muscle strength? >> It certainly does. But what I think's important to consider is it's the change that matters. So, some people never had a very firm handshake or they just kind of didn't do that. And then their handshake remained the same. So, that doesn't worry me so much. But somebody that had a very strong handshake, yes, it means they're first of all might be losing some of their balance, certainly probably losing some of their muscle strength. And that correlates well to our muscle strength loss in the rest of your body and in important areas that are important with keeping you upright. So, you know, that can actually correlate well with the risk of falls cuz it means that your muscle strength is deteriorating overall. >> Yeah, that's right. And this is another reason why if there's a decline, it can be slowed down by focusing on muscle strength thing. No excuses. I've seen people in wheelchairs do dumbbell exercises, resistance bands. Surely you have time for 20 minutes day. Hopefully you're doing more than that. Hopefully you're a superstar, but it becomes crucial, especially above the age of 60, not talking about becoming a bodybuilder, but maintain that muscle strength as much as you can and you can do dumbbell exercises while you're watching TV. However often you can do them, please commit to that. Okay, number three on the list. Too many medications. We touched upon it there in the discussion on antibiotics. So it's a very good sign for longevity and you aging very well if you're on fewer medications. Obviously sometimes medications can't be helped, but there are pretty strong statistics that correlate more medications with more problems. And now we're in an absurd situation where so many medications are prescribed to treat side effects of the original medication. So the more that you can keep focusing on your metabolic health, hopefully avoid medications. And if you are prescribed a medication, hold your doctor to account. Ask them what the exit strategy is from that medicine. >> Exit strategy is absolutely vital. You know, there are few medications that should be lifelong. So most of the time, vast majority of the time, if you're put on a medication, you just say, "Okay, when are we reassessing? What has to happen for me to be able to come off of this blood pressure medication, this diuretic, this pain medication, this nerve?" Whatever it be, there should be an exit strategy and that needs to be talked about right away. I will tell you with older patients that I've had, they are very careful with adding new medications. If you try to add something in somebody who's very healthy, has done well for many, many years, they're usually very aggressive. They say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what are we talking about here? Why do I have to do this? How do I get off it if I start?" And I love that. I think that's great. >> Yeah, I think really just being on less medication. We know that so many people end up in the hospital from over being over medicated. And once you enter the hospital, you always come out with another medication. And that's a whole really bad prescribing cascade. And so, less medications always means less side effects. People feel better on less medications. So, if you feel better, it's a whole positive reinforcement. You're going to You're going to work out more. When people work out more, they have less health problems. You eat better. So, without a doubt, I am a true believer that few medications really equates to better longevity. >> Yeah, we really hope you can stay away as much as possible. And if you do need to be on medicines, hopefully you're able to be weaned off those medications. Polypharmacy is a a huge red flag out there. And in fact, coming back to what you said, Dr. Ben, I tend to find that what extremes of age, like people in their like late 80s, 90s who are doing great. If I try to prescribe a medication, obviously if they're in the hospital, they know they need it. But even upon discharge, it's absolute music to my ears to hear, "Doc, I don't want to be on this pill. How am I going to get off it? Can you not let me be on this forever?" Because often these 90-year-olds are not on any medicines. And they've lived life in their right ear very skeptical. And they're saying, "Why do you need to give me this medicine?" I mean, my I just shudder at the thought how many 90-plus-year-old patients in America were prescribed a high-dose statin, for instance, today when these groups weren't even studied. I mean, what we do? >> I would say that most of my patients who are in their 90s are not on a lot of medications. >> Yeah. >> I'm trying to think now, and I just don't have a lot that are on the whole slew of medications. And that population is is fascinating to begin with and I always say that I could learn from you now you learn from me. But is if you do try to talk to about being on some things, they're I feel like they question you more than than anything which is fascinating. I think it's there there is is this something about medications as you get older it's not a natural process of aging to be on medications. >> Yeah. >> Well, I find that that group often has one shared characteristic and that's they almost always take responsibility for them their lives, themselves, their health. It is their problem and their responsibility and they see more as a guide. They might respect you, they might say nice things, they might appreciate your opinion, but it is their body and you're not putting anything in it without making damn sure they need it. They're very clear on that and I love that. I think that's a a healthier way to approach a relationship with health care. >> Yeah, and I've actually gotten to a lot of debates online. Debates would be a mild word as you can imagine with various establishment doctors out there who when I talk about this they always say, "Oh, there's survivorship bias there. People who make it to 90." No, that's nonsense. You're talking complete and utter rubbish. I've actually told doctors online that because there's much more to it. People are going in with a certain attitude, they're taking charge of their health and it's a pleasure. The best doctors should always want their patients not to be on medications. Dr. Ben, what do we have next? Number two on the list. >> This is making future plans in being adaptable. What does that mean? It basically means you're not throwing in the towel, you haven't give it up, you're still planning for the future. So, when I see somebody saying, "Oh, yeah, I'm thinking about going to Italy or we're thinking about going to this country or I'm going to go see the grandkids or we're going to go view this site I've never gotten to see before. I'm so excited cuz they're living, they're making plans and they're adapting with change. So, that could really hard as time goes on. That's really hard. Now, it gets harder as time goes on as well. But, it's important because the world keeps changing in the obstacles in your way keep changing. But, if you can stay adaptable to a degree, you're far better able to handle what comes to you. >> I think that's such a good point because people in terms in times of of great stress when they have sudden change their lives, really I see it all the time people get high blood pressure. So, I do think that being able to be adaptable and having future plans is really a good sign not only of good like mental health, but good physical resilience and a good training of your autonomic nervous system. So, people again who can react to stress and still feel well, really are are training themselves and increasing the resilience of their body. >> Yeah, exactly. And almost touches on purpose, doesn't it? It's What is purpose? Purpose means different things to different people, but I'm a great believer, as I know all three of us are, that you have to have purpose to have a reason to keep going. And I find that the people who look very vibrant above the age of 65 always have these plans. And it can be something as little as going with your grandchild to a sports game next month or going and making your garden really nice, entering a competition, whatever works for for you, whatever your interests are. Vacations are a big one as well, but always have that future plans. And always have that future plan and in ability to adapt as well because a lot of people get set in their ways, but I find that people who are comfortable with change, as the saying goes, the one constant in life is change. People who are very comfortable with that, oh, we need to move house, no big deal, we'll get around it. Or this big change is happening, family's moving here. We'll deal with it. Like it's a really good attitude to have. >> Absolutely. Continuing to grow and adapt, that doesn't need to stop at any age. As as matter of fact, that should continue forever for your whole life. You should continue to grow and adapt and learn. And there's no reason to let that stop. And people that continue to behave in that way, I see do very well. >> Yes, thank you. Doctor Ben to that. Good one. All right. Number one on the list is a quick recovery from illness. This may surprise you, but this is absolutely huge. And I want you to understand the importance of this. Above a certain age, it's inevitable that things are going to happen. How quickly do you bounce back? Because the people who are capable of bouncing back very fast, it is an excellent sign of healthy aging and longevity. And I always like to say that you take say a 25 or 30-year-old and you give them a hit, they go down like this, imagine. They will come right back up. But above a certain age, a fair chunk of people will take a hit. Could be something like a fracture, uh reas- another reason for hospital admission, an infection, and they take longer to recover and don't get back again. And there's a lot that can be done to make sure that anybody bounces back. Are you getting up and moving as quickly as possible so that you don't get deconditioned, weak muscles? Are you optimizing your nutrition? So when you're in the hospital, don't do sadly what most people do, which is well, it's also the fault of hospitals, get fed processed food, carbs and sugar. Are you focusing on protein and antioxidants? Are you having an attitude of determination? That's key as well. But the ability to recover quickly from an illness is a superb sign that you have it in you to have an excellent aging process and good longevity. >> Yeah, these can be pretty bad insults when you end up getting hospitalized for a fracture, you can end up getting hospitalized for a heart attack or an infection, but if you can work aggressively at your recovery, you can have a nice bounce back. Now, how you went in is very important. So, as Dr. Sunil said, if you go into the hospital very poorly managed, you have very bad metabolic health, you're not walking a lot, you don't eat well, you're insulin resistant, your your chances of bouncing back and doing going to be very poor, but if you're strong, you're determined, you eat well, you're going to continue those habits, you're going to bounce back a heck of a lot better. >> And so, quick recovery actually kind of encompasses a lot of what we just talked about. So, if you have good grip strength and good muscle mass, you had really great heart rate recovery time before meaning that you were exercising regularly, you're eating well, these are all really are are just signs that you will have a quick recovery. And I can see even my patients that are about to go under open heart surgery that there are good predictors of who recover better, and those are the people that are going in who have really tried to take care of themselves and are maybe going under heart surgery not because they're unhealthy, but because there's some other condition that was discovered. And so, these are all things that really funnel down to to a quick recovery. >> That's right. Well, we hope you found that list helpful. The closing statements then from each of us. Dr. Ben, want to go first? >> It's not necessary that you have all of these, just think about working toward the right goals. Keep up your strength, make sure your diet is good, make sure you're continuing to enjoy the activities that you're doing, continue to be excited and explore the world. It's still a fun place out there. There's still a lot of good stuff to do. And if you really take care of yourself and learn, you can do very, very well. >> It's all about being proactive. These are all little subtle signs, and these subtle signs that I find fascinating can be predictors of possible things in the future that could be health issues. So, by really identifying them now, it doesn't mean that everything we listed, if you have any of those, that something bad will happen, but it's just again about being proactive. And if there are some subtle things that you noticing, it's good to talk about it with your doctor to see like what may happen down the road or years from now, cuz again, we don't want to wait until you're sick to go back and realize that these signs have been there for the past 10 years. >> Exactly. Yeah, nothing is inevitable. Aging is a process, and it's a fight. Let's be quite honest, it's a battle, but we know that you are champions. That's why you're here. We read your comments and we so appreciate all your kind words. Our goal for you is very simple. We know that you see what we see. We have a pretty [snorts] terrible system that may or may not be there for you. A doctor, standard doctor, will have 5 minutes with you. You are going to have pharmaceutical products showered upon you, which may or may not even be beneficial for you. It's a very sorry state of affairs. Doctors are not bad people, we're not saying that, but it's an awful system. You have to be proactive. And if any of these signs apply for apply to you, then perhaps you can work on them. And we know you're here because you want to age fantastically, and that's what we wish for you. We want you to live your best possible life every single day. Enjoy yourself and have many happy and healthy years ahead of you. So, thank you for watching. Do feel free to leave a comment down below. Also, check in the links down below for our natural health and well-being store, which we are very excited to be expanding all products based on compounds personally formulated and crafted by ourselves, and we consume these compounds every day. Check that out down below, ohiwellness.com. If you're in the USA, North America, ohiwellness.co. If you're in the UK, Europe. If you enjoyed this video, we believe you will also enjoy this video right here. Take care everyone, keep going, and we will speak to you very soon.