Stand strong
I don’t buy into the idea that just because I’m aging, I should expect to come apart at the seams—and neither should you. We need to dig deeper into these myths of aging, and see what truth we can discover.
For instance, as we age, we have a greater risk of falls. Why? A big reason is because our muscles and bones aren’t as strong as when we were younger. I don’t think this is an excuse. It’s a reality, but one that we can take action to counteract—and the studies bear this out.
Some researchers decided to take a look at nursing home residents and test a theory as to why some were more inclined to fall than others. It turns out that out of 124 residents, the ones who were taking 800 units of vitamin D on a daily basis were 72 percent less likely to fall during a five-month period than those who were taking placebo. And interestingly, those residents who were on lower doses of vitamin D had an equal risk of falling as those taking placebo!
It’s not enough to just take vitamin D, but to take an adequate amount that’s actually going to do your body some good. The rate of falling during that five-month period ranged from 44 to 60 percent for those who took placebo or 200, 400, or 600 IU of vitamin D daily. But those who took 800 IU daily had only a 20 percent incidence of falls. Those taking less than 800 IU daily were actually found to be overall deficient in vitamin D, so it all comes down to hitting the right number.
The actual daily recommendation for vitamin D is at least 1,000 IU’s. Some people require 2,000 IU’s a day, and some require even more than that—but only under the close supervision of an experienced doctor. It’s all about getting your blood levels up to the right level. Your 25-hydroxy vitamin D level should be above 40 nanograms per milliliter. That means you have to request a 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood test—not a 1,25-hydroxy vitamin D level, which is generally useless. More and more doctors are catching up with the scientific literature on this subject, but some are still lagging behind the curve.
Refuse to fall for that rubbish about “a part of aging.” We might not be able to stop the aging process, but there’s plenty we can do to slow it down, and even compensate for some of the inevitable wear-and-tear that occurs.
I’m not going to sell myself short—and don’t you, either—when there are plenty of vibrant, healthy, fully mobile seniors laughing in the face of such ridiculous notions of what aging is!
