Latest news with #aging
Fox News
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Heather Graham's secrets to fountain of youth as she admits she's happier than ever in her 50s
Heather Graham navigates the pressures of staying youthful in Hollywood with ease. Graham shared her secrets with Retreat Magazine about her philosophy when it comes to aging. "I think what matters most is how you feel inside. Decide that you're hot and enjoy your life. What other people think of you is none of your business. If you feel good about yourself, no one can take that away from you. Pursue the things that fill you with joy, and surround yourself with loving people," the 55-year-old actress said. Graham continued, "I don't drink or do drugs, and I get a lot of sleep. Eating healthy makes me feel good. I like cooking for myself and other people. And I love it when people cook for me. Basically, I like eating! Also, I do affirmations. I think they are very powerful. I work on strengthening my inner loving parent muscle, so I can be supportive and loving to myself. One of my affirmations is: 'This is the best time of my life.'" During an interview with People in April, Graham admitted to being a happier person after she turned 55. "I feel like as I get older, I just care less about things that don't matter. Everyone gets upset sometimes, but I think that I'm happier. I've done enough hard work on myself that I feel like I'm a happier person now," Graham, who turned 55 in January, told the outlet. "Decide that you're hot and enjoy your life." The "Boogie Nights" star has been focused on wellness since she was 21. Graham works out, eats healthily, does yoga and meditates. The actress told Retreat Magazine that even incorporating those things into her daily routine does not compare to having "loving people around you." "I have some wonderful friends, and I am so grateful for them." "I think the most important thing is to love yourself, because then you have more love to give. Fill up your cup first before you give to other people. Also, it's so good to have a sense of humor!" Graham said. Along with her wellness secrets, Graham does not drink or do drugs. However, she is part of an AI-Anon, which is a 12-step group for people who have a friend or family member who struggles with addiction. "I have never had a problem with drinking or drugs, but sometimes I have problems with relationships. Or if you have any difficult people in your life, it can help you learn how to deal with them better, in a more loving way, and most importantly, to take better care of yourself," she told Retreat Magazine. During her interview, Graham shared that she is "ahead of her time" when it comes to embracing her sexuality. "Nowadays, so many women are enjoying their sexuality, but when I was coming up, there was definitely judgment around that. It's great to watch younger women feel freer to be sexual and not to worry about cultural bias," she said. Graham got her start in the entertainment industry when she left her parents' home at 18 and moved to West Hollywood, California, with a roommate. At the time, her father warned her that Hollywood would "claim [her] soul." "He regularly told me that the entertainment industry was evil and that Hollywood would claim my soul," Graham said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in 2024. She noted that her parents "were part of a generation that didn't believe in therapy or discussing personal things, so I never felt I could talk to them." Following the premiere of her movie "License to Drive" in 1988, Graham knew it was time to move out of her parents' home. "When the movie came out, I was 18, living at home had become more difficult," she said. "I said to myself, 'I've got to get out of here, I've got to be successful, and I've got to be a movie star.'" Graham graduated from high school with a 5.0 GPA and went on to study English at UCLA. After her junior year at the university, she decided to drop out to focus on her acting career. At this time, Graham landed major roles in the films "Austin Powers" and "Swingers," which made her realize she was "self-sufficient," and she began to reevaluate her relationship with her parents. "I stopped talking to my parents when I was 25, and I'm estranged from them now," Graham admitted. "My friends are proud of me, and I'm proud of myself. I have really good friends." The actress is proud of the life she has created for herself. "I live in Los Angeles in a house I bought last year. I also have a loft in New York," she said, noting that her West Coast home "has views of the Pacific."
Medscape
2 hours ago
- Health
- Medscape
Epigenetic Clocks: New Types, New Promises, New Skepticism
Will birthdays go the way of the Betamax and Blackberry? Our culture is always eager to move away from old things toward new things and these days if you want to know how old you are, the number of candles on your cake is just one clue — and maybe not even the best clue. Epigenetic clocks measure what's happening inside you on a cellular level and they might say you're aging faster (or slower) than you thought based on changes to your DNA. First developed in 2013 as research tools, epigenetic clocks are now widely accessible through direct-to-consumer test kits. Send in a sample of your DNA and receive your results — your 'biological age' — within weeks. Can this give the average layperson valuable insights? Should doctors be using them to help predict how one patient might get sick or how long another might live? Yes, no, and maybe are all legit answers here depending on who's asking and who's being asked. Right now, epigenetic clocks are in the same spot as other highly hyped medical tech — like artificial intelligence, like wearables, like implantables — in that they're not really 'there' yet and yet everyone wants them to be. Researchers already use them, of course. They have extensive clinical potential and simultaneously excite health-conscious consumers: How quickly can I know how old I really am? The tests have evolved quickly and will continue to do so. For example: Some tests require you to draw a little blood or spit in a tube, but one of the latest tests uses an at-home cheek swab instead. In a study published in Frontiers in Aging , US company Tally Health showed its CheekAge epigenetic clock can predict the risk for early death. For every SD increase in CheekAge score, study participants faced a 21% higher risk for death before their next check-in with researchers, which was scheduled every 3 years. 'We believe that epigenetic aging clocks currently can serve as useful indicators of health and lifestyle, which is often missing from the care conversation, and should be part of routine preventative care,' said Max Shokhirev, PhD, head of Computational Biology and Data Science at Tally Health. Epigenetic clocks can also help researchers compare populations over time, track users in specific contexts, or stratify clinical trial participants into high-risk or low-risk groups, Shokhirev said. However, some experts say there is plenty of room for improvement as the science behind epigenetic clocks advances. Although companies tout the accuracy of their clocks, results can vary by years or decades, leaving test takers confused. Sometimes the test results come with suggestions for boosting longevity, including products the testing companies want to sell you. Then there's the biggest question: If you can improve your score, will you truly live better or longer? How to Build a Clock Instead of tracking time, epigenetic clocks detect patterns in DNA methylation, a chemical reaction that attaches molecules called methyl groups to DNA. All your cells have the same DNA, and methylation determines which genes get turned on and off, said Eric Verdin, MD, president and chief executive officer of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. For example, the gene for hemoglobin is turned on in red blood cells through methylation. The same gene is switched off in other cells, such as neurons. 'As we age, the precision of this epigenetic mechanism gets a little loose,' said Verdin. Cells lose some specificity, and genes turn on and off in the wrong places, a phenomenon known as epigenetic drift. 'Now we can measure this epigenetic drift during aging, and that's what the clocks are based on,' said Verdin. Methylation happens in about 28 million spots, known as methylation sites, in our genomes. To make the first epigenetic clocks, the Hannum and Horvath clocks, researchers analyzed blood samples from hundreds to thousands of people. They examined DNA methylation in a small fraction of methylation sites. They used the data to build a mathematical model that predicts age based on DNA methylation. The math behind the first clocks revolved around age. Today, scientists use second-generation epigenetic clocks such as PhenoAge and GrimAge, which also incorporate health-related variables, such as white blood cell counts and smoking history. One clock, DunedinPACE, reveals a rate of aging rather than a set number. Second-generation clocks likely have more predictive value for your health than earlier versions, said Verdin. Research suggests epigenetic age can foretell some health outcomes, such as working memory or surviving a stay at the intensive care unit, better than chronological age, the number you celebrate on your birthday. However, more research is needed to see how epigenetic clocks stack up to more established tests and screening tools. In one new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association , PhenoAge and GrimAge were not as good at predicting cardiovascular disease as the widely used Framingham Risk Score. Marketing to consumers is the most predictable advance in the tech. The cost for a single test runs between $250 and $500. Some companies also offer monthly subscriptions including repeat testing and recommended supplements. Insurance companies don't cover these tests for healthy people. Some insurers, like Aetna, will cover epigenetic tests when someone has symptoms of a specific disease and knowing the results could affect treatment. But these tests are different from epigenetic clocks — they detect specific epigenetic disease signatures instead of the markers that give an overall picture of health. (And it's difficult to get coverage for these, too: In one study in Genetics in Medicine , insurers covered just 11% of methylation-based genetic tests ordered by physicians for people with a diagnosis suspected to have a genetic component.) Clocking Test Results Some longevity testing companies use one or more second-generation clocks to estimate age. Some use their own proprietary clocks. So let's say you take a test: How much stock should you put in your results? As Verdin said, 'I've done all of my clocks, and my age varies from 40 to 67, all DNA methylation, which is, in my opinion, an indication that these tools are not ready for prime time.' (Note: As of publication time, Verdin is 68 years old.) Results vary because each clock has its own math, based on a unique combination of methylation sites and study participants. The numbers on your reports might not be useful in isolation, said Verdin. Instead, think of them as variables you can track over time. 'Where they have more value is if you use always the same clock, and you introduce a number of interventions,' said Verdin. 'For example, you start intermittent fasting, or you start metformin, or you do this intervention or that intervention, and if you see your clock moving in the right direction, that will be a good sign.' If you try this method, time follow-up tests carefully. DNA methylation isn't as static as people assume, said Verdin. Like measuring cortisol or blood sugar, it varies by time of day, skewing clock results by up to 5 years. 'You should always do them at exactly the same time, and hopefully, do it the same kind of day,' he said. 'You don't want to do one on a Sunday, when you're well rested, you're not stressed versus the Tuesday or Friday morning when you're super stressed.' Timing isn't the only problem that can affect your results and how to interpret them. 'Emerging research shows that there are race and ethnic disparities in terms of how the clock performs,' said Andres Cardenes, PhD, an assistant professor of epidemiology and population health at Stanford University, Stanford, California. Blame a lack of diversity in the data used to develop many epigenetic clocks. Most samples came from White people in the western part of the world. Cardenes' team is collecting more DNA methylation samples from underrepresented groups so future clocks can be applicable to all. The Lure of Slow Aging and Cheating Death An interesting way to think about this: Getting old is very new to the human experience. And some humans handle it better than others. An epigenetic clock can signal how well you are aging. But no one has figured out how to cheat death forever, so the question remains: How much can you realistically increase your life expectancy? A new study in Nature Aging shows that improvements in human life expectancy have slowed since 1990. Study author S. Jay Olshansky, PhD, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Illinois, Chicago, said this isn't bad news — it reflects how dramatically we improved survival during the 20th century through developments like antibiotics and refrigeration. 'This slowdown in the rate of increase is a product of us doing our job exceedingly well in medicine and public health and enabling people to live long enough to experience aging,' he said. Olshansky's team said it's unlikely that more than 15% of women and 5% of men will live to 100 unless we find a way to slow down biologic aging drastically. 'The problem is that when you succeed so well as humanity has, you expose the population to the underlying biological process of aging when they get to older ages, which is currently an immutable process,' he said. That's not for lack of effort. Many scientists are searching for ways to reverse aging. Epigenetic clocks might help people measure the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving health and extending life, said Olshansky. But pay attention to what else testing companies are selling, like dietary supplements, he said. 'As long as they're not accompanied by embellished claims that you can somehow reverse your biological aging, or slow your biological aging, or live longer and healthier as a result of whatever it is that they're selling, then I think they're okay,' said Olshansky. 'I think they can actually provide some useful and valuable information.' The results might simply push you to do things that have already been shown to help people live healthier and longer, such as eating well and exercising. 'What we need to understand is that these biomarkers are becoming attractive because they track with general things that we know are helpful and healthy as well,' said Cardenes. 'For example, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, particularly vegetables, has been shown to decelerate some of these clocks.' Research in Aging Cell also suggests that exercise slows down aging as measured by epigenetic clocks. On the Clock: What Does the Future Hold? The science behind epigenetic clocks is evolving fast. Researchers are working to make them more accurate and useful. For example, using epigenetic clocks, Verdin's team noticed that SARS-CoV-2 infections increased people's biologic ages by about 15 years. Postinfection, people had influxes of memory T cells that mirrored age-related changes in immune function. Verdin's team then made a clock that excluded methylation sites sensitive to these changes. It's now available through TruDiagnostic. More opportunity lies in the millions of DNA methylation sites yet to be tapped, said Verdin. Today's epigenetic clocks only probe hundreds to thousands of them. 'There's going to be even more interesting data coming in the future,' he said. Also new will be what and how clocks measure. A study in Aging late last year showed strong results of cell-specific clocks analyzing brain cells for Alzheimer's and liver cells for liver disease. Meanwhile, a new blood-based clock measures 'intrinsic capacity,' the sum of mobility, cognition, mental health, vision, hearing, and nutrition/vitality. All aimed at improving function in aging patients (and perhaps addressing health span and lifespan simultaneously). Researchers have also developed phenotypic clocks that examine biomarkers like blood pressure and cholesterol. The organ-specific clocks look to be most useful in detecting early deterioration by body part. 'Your longevity is determined by your frailty point,' said Verdin. 'In your case, it might be your heart, and some other person, it might be their liver. The first organ that's going to fail is going to determine your longevity.' Cardenes and others are also exploring how environmental factors affect clocks. 'We want to understand the very early marks that either chemical or social environments might leave in our genome,' he said. Will epigenetic clocks make their way into routine clinical practice? Probably, proponents say, but in what form? 'In the future, patients might be prescribed a low-cost biological age test for their doctors to know the rate of biological aging and detect any organs that need particular attention, years before the patient develops a disease of aging,' said David Sinclair, PhD, professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Boston, co-founder of Tally Health, and chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board at InsideTracker. 'The test could also be used one day to confirm lifestyle and health factors such as smoking history and alcohol intake.' Verdin sees potential in pairing epigenetic clocks with other new clocks based on blood proteins and metabolites. 'My argument is that for these clocks, as clinical tools, to become important or more relevant, you have to use several,' said Verdin. 'I would not rely only on epigenetic. I would use proteomics, metabolomics, and hopefully get to a picture that is sort of a comprehensive picture.' More research is still needed to determine the value of epigenetic clocks, said Cardenes. 'What does it mean for people to get this test?' he said. 'Is it changing outcomes? At the end of the day, are people going to do things that will improve their health and longevity? It's still unclear whether this is helpful or not.'
New York Times
15 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- New York Times
In Singapore, Grandmothers Dive Into Aging With a Splash
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. Last year, I came across an article in Rice Media, a news outlet based in Singapore, with the headline ''I'll Play Till I Die': The Rowdy Ah Mas Confronting Mortality Through Water Polo.' In the article, Michele Pek wrote that her grandmother was one of the first members of the Ah Ma Flippa Ball team, a group of women mostly in their 60s, 70s and 80s who started playing flippa ball — a version of water polo that does not require treading water — in Singapore in 2016. 'Ah ma' means grandmother in several Chinese dialects. It was 'the first time I've seen an 80-year-old lady dive headfirst for a ball,' Ms. Pek wrote. I was born and raised in Singapore, one of the world's most rapidly aging countries. For years, I kept track of the government's various initiatives to engage older residents. The National Silver Academy, for example, offered courses teaching them how to use TikTok. This month, two 'silver generation ambassadors' — volunteers who help Singapore's government connect with seniors — visited my 83-year-old mother to ask about her chronic diseases and if she had friends. They encouraged her to exercise and told her that she could play Rummy-O with other seniors. And recently, the city-state hosted the World Aging Festival, which featured a cheerleading squad made up of seniors. I have always been interested in how seniors live. I previously covered demographics in China, where I was based for a decade. There, I wrote about people in their 70s and 80s who went to parks to find love. When I started covering Southeast Asia in late 2021, I was keen to continue that focus. I am always searching for new ways to tell the story of demographic shifts in the region. I knew that the story of the Ah Ma Flippa Ball team presented an opportunity to highlight Singapore's dynamic, aging population. So I contacted the coach, Ting Kum Luen, and asked if I could watch the team play at the Yio Chu Kang Swimming Complex. Mr. Ting told me how skeptical he was when an official from Sport Singapore, a government agency, asked him in 2016 to try to teach flippa ball to seniors. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
The simple lifestyle changes helping midlife men have better sex than in their 20s and avoid ED... and you don't need blue pills or TRT
When you reach midlife, it can suddenly seem like all the things that kept you fit and well in your younger years are no longer cutting it. Well, you're not imagining it.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Do you struggle to lift five kilograms? Your health could be at risk, study finds
Scientists at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates have devised a simple test that they can say can predict an increased risk of developing a host of health problems in older adults. All you have to do is try to pick up a five-kilogram weight. Struggle with that, they say, and you have a significantly higher risk of experiencing a lower quality of life, higher rates of depression, chronic lung diseases, hip fractures, joint disorders, high cholesterol, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, osteoarthritis and more. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports under a no-nonsense title: 'The simple task of lifting five kilograms serves as a predictor of age-related disorders in old adults.' The large-scale study involved 51,536 'geriatric adults' — that is to say 50 and older, a definition that may annoy some — from 14 European countries as well as Israel. It was a roughly even split between men and women, with about a third of the group aged between 60 and 69, another third between 70 and 79, and the rest younger or older. (About 4 per cent were 90 and above.) Participants were asked to report if they had difficulty lifting five kilograms in 2013 — 80.5 per cent said they did not — and were then followed for several years to see which diseases developed among each group. For a given disease, participants were excluded if they already had it in the baseline year. Take high blood pressure. In 2013, just under 60 per cent of the group were free of a diagnosis of high blood pressure. Of those, 21.5 per cent went on to develop it. But among the participants who had trouble lifting the weight when the study began, that number amounted to 26.2 per cent. For hip fractures, the overwhelming majority (97 per cent) did not have one when the study started. But in the years that followed, 3.5 per cent of those who had trouble lifting the weight experienced a hip fracture, versus just 1.5 per cent of those who did not struggle with the weight. Parsing the data between younger and older ages, the researchers found that men and women under 65 who had trouble lifting five kilograms were most at risk of developing depression, low quality of life, low hand-grip strength (which can also indicate risks of other diseases) and Alzheimer's. For older men and women who struggled with the weight, risk of Alzheimer's dropped somewhat while the other three conditions remained top of list. But for almost every condition the researchers tracked, struggling to lift five kilograms at the start of the study was a clear indicator of greater risk at the end. The only diseases that didn't fit the pattern were cancer and diabetes, where risk did not change. The reason for the design of the study was simple. 'Muscle weakness is a risk factor for multiple diseases,' the researchers wrote in their report. 'However, most protocols to assess muscle weakness require clinical settings. A difficulty lifting 5 kg may be a simple measure of muscle weakness in domestic settings. However, no relevant study on assessing muscle weakness has been reported.' They aimed to fill that gap. 'We suggest that difficulty lifting 5 kg may be a valuable indicator of muscle weakness and poor health in domestic settings. Our findings strongly suggest that this simple, everyday test could be a valuable early indicator of overall health and potential future health challenges.' If you're looking to try this test at home and don't have a five-kilogram weight handy, there are a number of household objects that come in at about the same mass, including a metal folding chair, a gallon of paint, two reams of printer paper or two bags of flour (conveniently marked 2.5 kg each).The average house cat also tips the scales at about five kilograms, if you can get your hands on one. Multivitamins are mostly useless, finds study of nearly 400,000 participants More than 46,000 people observed in a coffee study. Here's what happened to the ones who took theirs black Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here.
