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Diminished Capacity and Frailty

I know. It's a dismal title. Who would want to read gloomy junk like that? But, as our very bizarrely tightened and plumped-in-just-the-right-places yet inevitably aging Joan Rivers says, "Gimme a break and let's tawlk...". As I age, I realize that I am losing capacity. This is kind of discouraging, but very real and there isn't much I can do about the calendar pages flipping faster and faster. (You "...hit 30 and then it's a fast slide to home plate." Adjashanti.) I can't run 4 miles like I used to even in my 50's. In fact it's a push for me to hike for 3 miles up and down the mountains now and I consider myself in pretty good shape. I notice that I walk slower. I have various aches and pains that I didn't have when I was 30, let's face it, even 50. I think I'm a little teetery and tentative at times and it looks like my muscles are getting smaller. Most annoying, I can't open a jar now for the life of me.

This is all part of my diminishing capacity and you can probably see yourself in these scenarios as well, that is, if you are of a certain age, like I am. Soon I will hit the "#%OMG" milestone and although age phobics are yelling annoying things like "60 is the new 40!", you can't really trick the body's Hayflick limit for very long. (However, Gary Null, the 1,000 Year Old Man seems to have done it...) I think that Big- I can accept the fact that I have diminishing capacity and wrinkles and all of the attendant aging nonsense, but it's the bothersome Little-I, or my mind, that's having trouble with all this aging stuff. Let me explain.

You can't (or rather, shouldn't) at my age hold onto the idea - which is a mind thing - of the person I thought I was 10 years ago or at 40 or whatever. You cannot continue to define your aging self the same way you did when you were younger because you simply aren't there anymore. So, if my idea of me is one who runs 4 miles effortlessly, looks smooth and unwrinkled in the mirror and can stand on one leg with her eyes closed for more than one second, then I will be sorely disappointed in my aging process and either ignore it or fight it with all the diets and surgeries available to me.

This is a whole bowl full of fierce grace that we aging people are being asked to swallow and as Pema Chodron says there is (there has to be) a certain wisdom in no escape. One must come to some sort of resolution about the whole thing. I suppose I could Botox myself into the smoothness of a bowling ball, and tighten myself into looking like a freaky 20 year old, but I can't avoid the fierce grace of aging. I can learn to accept the inevitable, and at the same time do all that I can to be a healthy and happy oldster.

Try this and you might feel better. I know I did. Imagine yourself as you were when your first memory appeared. Let's say you were three. Now go up your life by 10's and imagine yourself as you were at 13 then 23, then 33 etc. I found that the me having the earliest memory at 3-ish and the me who I am now are identical! I am exactly the same as I was then but just not in the same capacity. I am still the me of my first memory and the memory at 23 and 33 and 43 etc. and so are you. That enduring something (Me-ness) is who you really are, the part of you that always remains the same and that never ages.

You are not your mind. It-Mind - not the real enduring you - is making you miserable about aging. Mind is just chattering away non-stop at you saying really stupid things most of the time and you unfortunately tend to believe whatever this idiot spews at you. Don't believe anything your mind says. It's just a computer that can't be turned off, and moreover, it doesn't have a delete button. In fact, your mind can be likened to your digestion - it goes on and on whether you are aware of it or not. You can't tell it to stop because it won't. And that's all O.K. Just don't believe a word it tells you. Keep focusing on the enduring you - that part of you that has always been there and never goes away.

I am interested in avoiding frailty in my aging process not because I can prevent my aging (the calendar pages will still flip) but because this part of aging is essentially preventable. Everyone wants to be a vital and energetic old person; no one wants to be hunched over and break bones and have limited mobility because of pain or weakness. Life Extension Magazine had a good article on avoiding frailty (March 2010 issue) and here's the skinny on that. The authors maintain that the key to avoiding frailty lies in five basic strategies:

1. Replacement of basic nutrients. They feel that two nutrients are key and they are vitamin D and Iodine. I've written a lot about D so I won't go into that., but iodine, if low, could cause energy depletion since it is so related to the thyroid. Iodine could be taken on a daily basis, conservatively anywhere from 3 mgs to a bigger 12.5 mgs dose from a good product called Iodoral. Also, make sure your TSH is around 1.
2. Restoration of hormones like DHEA and Pregnenolone. By age 70, DHEA blood levels are usually 20% or less of youthful levels. Gary Null loves DHEA and since we all want to live for 1,000 years like him, get your levels tested and if low, take some DHEA. Pregnenolone is an adrenal gland hormone and is the precursor to almost all sex hormones. It also enhances acetylcholine which is the main neurotransmitter involved in thinking and memory.
3. Enhancing Physical Capacity and preventing muscle wasting (sarcopenia) with products like creatine and amino acids.
4. Boosting your energy with products like L-Tyrosine, an amino acid which influences most neurotransmitters and the thyroid gland, rhodiola which is an adaptogen and increases stamina and mental focus, D-L-Phenylalaline which is a hormone modulator and treats depression, taurine which helps the heart and endurance.
5. Enhance your ability to sleep: A book could be written on sleep, but suffice it to say, work on finding your own personal formula for a good night's sleep because if you don't sleep, you age. Period. I like Min-Tran and Magnesium before bed myself. Others use herbal remedies like Valerian, and others use hormone modulators like L-Tryptophan or melatonin. Black out curtains are essential.

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