156 | 4 Things You Can Do to Support Aging in Midlife

What if you could slow down the impact of aging on your body? Join us on this enlightening episode of Moving Through Midlife as we unpack a groundbreaking study from Nature Aging, revealing how our bodies transform significantly in our mid-40s and early 60s. We'll explore changes in cardiovascular health, metabolism of caffeine and alcohol, immune regulation, carbohydrate metabolism, and kidney function. Learn how these shifts might explain why you can't handle caffeine or alcohol like you used to, and get practical tips on adjusting your lifestyle to better cope with these changes.

But that's not all! We'll also discuss the benefits of strength training and how embracing the burn during workouts can lead to substantial growth and transformation. If you're new to weightlifting, we've got advice on finding a trainer and safely increasing your weights. Plus, discover natural ways to boost skin health through supplements and a nutritious diet. Finally, I invite you to join our supportive Facebook community, Moving Through Midlife, where we share experiences and tips for navigating midlife together. Don't forget to leave a review on Apple to help others find our podcast and join this journey towards aging gracefully.

Here is the link to the Nature Aging Study

Chapters

• 0:01 Aging Molecules Study Findings
• 20:35 Strength Training and Skin Health
• 28:05 Podcast Review and Community Invitation

Transcript

Courtney: 0:01

Today I am excited to talk to you about a study I read recently and just thought it was so fascinating. It has to do with how we age as humans, and I'm going to share four things that we can do to help with the aging process. So let's get started. Welcome to Moving Through Midlife. I am your host, courtney, a personal trainer and movement specialist who wants to help you move through midlife with more grace. Each week, we will discuss ways we can show up better for ourselves and our children without the burnout. We will focus on overall health through habit stacking to help increase energy, provide movement snacks to help you move more throughout the day, while also moving your body more, and learn from professionals on moving through midlife with ease so that you can feel confident with aging. Gracefully, grab your earbuds and join me on a leisurely walk while we discuss moving through midlife. Okay, first thing is we have to talk about this study. It is fascinating. You may not be like me, but I geek out on this stuff and there was a study I'm going to get the information through. I believe it was called Nature Aging. Yes, nature Aging. There was a study on how humans age. Now I want to make sure I preface this that this was a US study taking 150 people out of California, but I do want to say it is important to note that the people that were studied were all different ethnicities and men and women that they looked at. So I feel like that is important. It is not maybe a genetic thing. It could be the way we live here in America. I can't be sure. It would be interesting to see a study done somewhere else to see if they're finding the same types of things occurring at these age points. But basically what it is saying is that there are two times in our life where we will age the most, and that is what I think many of us kind of already know this 44 years, right around that time, that mid 40ss time frame, and then again in your 60s. Those are the two biggest points where aging there is crew aging differences. So what they're noticing is that there is accelerated bursts that are occurring in different molecules in our body at the age of 44, right around the age of 44, and right around the age of 60. And what they did is they took 150 people aged from 25 to 75, and they started taking different samples from them 25 to 75, and they started taking different samples from them. These samples were blood, stool, skin, oral and nasal swabs, and they were doing this every few months for between one and nearly seven years that they did this, and they were assessing 135,000 different molecules, so RNA, proteins and metabolites, and then microbes so think the bacteria, viruses and fungi living in the gut and on the skin of these individuals and what they found y'all I'm so excited. This is just so fascinating.

Courtney: 4:26

What they found is that most of these molecules and microbes didn't shift in a gradual. It wasn't like, oh, they slowly started to disappear or change. Right, it wasn't that kind of thing. It was big shifts at these two different times, these mid-40s and early 60s. Now I know what you might be thinking. So because I myself, as I was reading through this, I'm like, oh well, of course, for us women, yes, hello, hormones, perimenopause all these things are changing with estrogen and everything. Hormones, perimenopause, all these things are changing with estrogen and everything. But they thought that too, and there were men a part of this study and they were dealing with the same types of things changing. So, yes, they do believe that the hormones do play a role for us women, but they were also seeing a lot of the same things happening in men. So they realized that it's not just that it is truly something that is occurring at that age of our lives that changes these microbes, these molecules within us. Okay, and what they found for these is that the first wave of changes so that mid-40s timeframe, 40s timeframe what they noticed was molecules that are linked to cardiovascular disease and the ability to metabolize caffeine, alcohol and lipids changed. And then the second wave of changes were including the molecules in regard to immune regulation, carbohydrate metabolism and kidney function.

Courtney: 6:42

Now, during this time as us. So if you are in your early to mid 40s, or even if you're just after your 40s, well, I will say, if you're after your mid 40s, you're like, of course, hello. I knew this Because two things that occur in your mid-40s that you will have noticed is you can't drink alcohol quite like you used to, and caffeine starts to have different effects on your body as well. So those are two things that I am going to discuss with you and maybe try to find a way to ease up on it. I do not think we need to live in a world where, if you understand that this is not just a me problem. This is an aging thing. You might be more apt to try something different. But then also, I always want to say that, even though it is something that is happening to all of us at this age, if it's not bothering you like if you really are listening to your body and it's not bothering you, then keep going. So always caveat that, always listen to your body first, but I don't want you to ignore those signs because you like it. Okay, and I'm speaking to myself right now as well, because I don't have the issue with alcohol, but if you've listened to me long enough, you know that I love my coffee in the morning. So these are two things that we really need to work on.

Courtney: 8:56

We need to decrease our alcohol consumption. I know it's not fun, but you will probably have noticed that things are feeling a little bit different when you drink. Maybe you have that one drink and you feel like you're hungover the next day. That is a sign that your body is not metabolizing that alcohol quite the same. So we do need to work on decreasing our alcohol consumption, and I have a few things that you can do for that. One is cut the alcohol. So if you like to have a glass of wine at the end of the day. Maybe you cut that alcohol with some sparkling water to kind of help decrease the amount that you're drinking.

Courtney: 9:57

Maybe you put some fun ice cubes in, so like sparkling water, ice cubes in with the wine, so that you know you're not drinking as much, if you can understand what I'm saying. So normally we wouldn't put ice in our wine, right? But if you put ice with, that has been like sparkling water, some sort of fancy water. However you want to make your ice cubes, you put that in the level. The amount of wine that you can have in that glass is going to be less and then as it melts, it's going to be diluted by the liquid within that ice cube, which will then, you know, make the overall amount of alcohol that you drank less. Or if you are not one who drinks a lot, you can say, like, when I go out, I'm only going to have one glass On the weekend, when I go out on a date night or out with my friends, and I will make sure that I'm not drinking any wine during the week. You know, those are things that you can do to help reduce the amount of alcohol that you are drinking.

Courtney: 11:20

The same thing is true with caffeine. So I do notice for myself that when I drink caffeine in the morning, especially if I drink two cups back to back, I will not usually feel well. I will start to feel that anxiousness in my chest or even sometimes heart fluttering. So I know that I can't do that, and that is one reason why in the episode last week I spoke about making sure that you eat first, because that is going to lower the effect that the caffeine has on your system and it helps with metabolizing the caffeine as well. Sure that you're eating something before you drink coffee? But also and I'm assuming it's coffee, you know, maybe tea, depending on what type of tea you have. You know, if you're not drinking a black tea, maybe change the amount of caffeine.

Courtney: 12:26

Same thing with coffee. Like, we can move towards more of a decaf, and that's one thing I would say is do like a half-calf. So if there's a coffee that you really like and maybe this is something I'm going to do as I'm thinking about it right now is buy the caffeinated version and a decaf version and instead of going completely decaf right away, just put, you know, half of the caffeinated and then half of the decaffeinated coffee together, the ground coffee together, to make your coffee. So that would be one option. Or you could do say, on the week or on the weekdays I'm going to have decaf and on the weekend I'm going to have caffeine, whichever.

Courtney: 13:17

But learning how to try to find different ways to cut the amount of caffeine you're having, maybe it's instead of drinking two cups of coffee, I'm just going to have one cup of coffee in the morning and then on on the weekends I'll enjoy two cups. And that's a great way as well, because usually many of us are busy in the morning. And I don't know about you, but for myself that first cup is the one that is the satisfying one, it's the one that kind of, it's that pleasure that I get from drinking you know, quietly drinking that coffee while I'm eating my breakfast. I enjoy that one much more than the second one. So maybe really just only making as much as you need for that one cup. And you know, maybe you're on three cups right now. I know there was a time when I was drinking three cups as well and I'm down to two cups now. But for myself I'm now thinking, okay, maybe if I cut it down to just one during the week and then I can enjoy two on the weekend. That might be the route that I personally go, and maybe something that you might want to consider as well. So that is in regard to the metabolizing, the caffeine and alcohol.

Courtney: 14:42

And then let's talk about lipids as well. So for lipids, you want to think about this is like your cholesterol, about this is like your cholesterol triglycerides, things like that. You want to think about fried foods, animal fats, dairy products, cream, butter and cheese, more of your high fat dairy products. So those are lipids, those are the foods with lipids. So you may have noticed I myself have noticed fried food. I don't eat it. I don't eat it anymore. I just don't feel good for myself eating it. So you may have noticed that as well. In your mid-40s, those are things that you're not able to enjoy as much. So those are the three things that I would recommend kind of moving away from eating less of.

Courtney: 15:41

One thing I did like to see is carbohydrates were not as big of a deal at this stage as they are when you hit your 60s. So if you are, you know if you like your carbohydrates and you're not having any ill effects from them and you're not dealing with, you know, like any kind of health issues or midsection weight gain, those types of things. You can still keep them and I encourage you to always have some form of carbohydrates, especially your fruits and vegetables, but maybe looking at that again at age 60, not meaning the fruits and vegetables portion, but maybe high carb intake at 60. But don't worry about it quite as much at this point, and there's a lot of information about how carbohydrates are really good for us right before. If you still have a period which most people, hopefully you still do in your midlife because you know, menopause usually is not occurring until 49 to 51. I think 51 is the average age for menopause where you've stopped having your period for a whole 365 days. So as long as you're still having your period, if you've looked at any hormone cycling or cycle syncing that week right before your period, you do want to eat more carbohydrates to keep your hormones happy, like that is something we should be doing. We should not be restricting those during that time frame. Okay, so now the other thing that we need to look at is this skin and muscle aging that is occurring at this time Now if you have not hit your mid-40s. Please, please, please, start working on muscle building now. Don't wait, because it drops quickly.

Courtney: 17:57

I have always been very active and I have, you know, I have been in the fitness industry since I was 30 years old. Prior to that, I did work out. I've always been someone who's worked out, even, you know, as a child I was a dancer. So I've always been very active in my life, been very active in my life, and I feel as if I now I was not lifting heavy, heavy weights, but I was always doing some form of resistance training and once I hit 40, I really saw a shift in my body and the muscle. It was much harder to keep it on. So this is one area I would not wait to start. You need to be lifting heavy and heavy safely, right. So we don't just start walking out and trying to lift 50 pounds no, that doesn't make any sense. And trying to lift 50 pounds no, that doesn't make any sense. Start where you are now and start challenging yourself to lift a little bit heavier.

Courtney: 19:11

And I do want to say one thing, because I was speaking to a client Now, mind you, I do work with a lot of older women and she was talking about. We were discussing her weights, how much she was working with, and she was on three pounds. And I said have you ever thought about kind of doing five pounds just to kind of challenge your body a little bit differently? And she commented that when she did five pounds she was only able to do like six. She wasn't able to do 15 like she does with three. And I said but that's not a bad thing, like you're challenging your muscles differently. So and the reason I'm telling you this is if this is a situation that you notice for yourself, take out the three and five, do 10 and 15, whatever. And she said yes, but when I do six, my muscles start to hurt. And here is where I want to really drive home this point. The question I said to her was does it hurt like hell or is it just uncomfortable? And she said it's uncomfortable. And I said yes, and that's where you need to go.

Courtney: 20:35

So if you are lifting and those of you who have been in fitness or you know have been working out, you already know this, you know what that uncomfortable sensation is, that burn that is you start to look for that. If you're one who likes to lift weights. You probably already know that, but for some of you who are just starting in this world of thinking about wanting to lift weights, you may stop as soon as you feel that burn, that uncomfortableness, and I want to let you know that is where you need to move into. You need to feel that a little bit. That is where the growth and the change starts to occur. So if it's an ow, we don't do it. But if it's a burn like I don't like the sensation, but it doesn't hurt me, it's not like, oh, I got to stop. It's a oh, please don't make me do another one of these. Then I'd say do another one, okay, one of these. Then I'd say do another one, okay, just to make sure we all are on the same page with understanding what that sensation is and how that might not be a bad thing. Okay. So making sure to lift a little bit heavier, get a little bit uncomfortable with what you are lifting.

Courtney: 22:02

I always encourage you to find a trainer, to work with someone who can help you. It does not mean that you need to be with someone for an extended period of time. There are many times where you can work with someone. This is something I am happy to help you with, if you're interested is work with someone, get the foundations down, make sure you're doing things with proper form, and then you can go off on your own. That is something I would be. I'm happy to do that if any of you need me to. You can get the information you need, learn how to do it properly, and then I would give you a month of workouts to do on your own, okay, and there's many trainers who would be willing to do that for you. So just find someone that you like, that you resonate with, and work on some strengthening. Some of you might prefer to go somewhere to work on strengthening as well. Going to a gym perfect, because a gym is going to provide you more weight, and for those of you that are nervous about injuries, those machines are perfect for that, because you can put a lot of weight on those machines and they're going to keep your joints safe, rather than you trying to do lunges with barbells or dumbbells. So being in a gym is a great option as well. If you're nervous or want to try to work on increasing weight without possible injury, okay. So making sure that you're adding some strength training into your program.

Courtney: 23:55

And then the other thing that it spoke about was skin aging. And here is where we go back, like how can we naturally work on our skin health? And one is collagen, because we want to work on the elastin and the collagen of our skin. One is strength training, like that's naturally going to help you to turn the fat into muscle, which is going to change the skin surrounding the muscle as well. It's going to help tighten everything up. The elastin will help to tighten it up a little bit. So strength training, collagen I get mine through Thrive Market. I'll put a link in the show notes for you. If you'd like to try Thrive Market, you can do that through my link. But collagen is a great one. I know there's a lot of different people. You know there's so much different collagen out there, so just find one that you like and that you notice. I'd give it a little bit of time, about a month, of trying the product before you decide this one works or doesn't work.

Courtney: 25:14

The other thing that I like and this goes along with the muscle building is creatine. Creatine will help support the muscle. It helps to boost, say, muscle mass, your strength, exercise efficiency. It is, hands down a supplement that, if you are in your mid 40s, you need to be taking every single day. So that is one thing I would recommend. And then also fruits and vegetables that is also going to help with the skin, you know. Phytonutrients, all of those things, antioxidants all of that is going to help with the overall health of your skin. And then hydration making sure you're drinking plenty of water to ensure that your skin is plumper.

Courtney: 26:10

So that is what I wanted to share with you today an interesting study that I found fascinating, and then things I would recommend you work on. If you need help with any of that, feel free to reach out to me. You can always head to our community Moving Through Midlife. I would really love for people to comment in there, add their own information in there. I know it always is awkward when you come into a community to kind of like make yourself known, but it's very one-sided right now. I share a lot of information in there, but then no one responds and I feel lonely. So it'd be really great if you came over there and spoke up and shared your information and knowledge and ask questions and kind of like let's lean on each other.

Courtney: 27:02

None of us are going through this midlife alone and it would be nice to find some people that you could talk to and kind of gather knowledge and information and just all of the frustrations that midlife can bring ah, frustrations that midlife can bring. So you know, being able to lean on one another is a great thing during this time because sometimes I don't know about you, but sometimes it can feel really lonely Not lonely as in. You know, I have my family, but they are not women dealing with the emotional roller coaster that midlife is bringing. And it'd be nice to be able to talk to others and kind of share the stressors and not commiserate. I don't want to do that. But you know, to be able to have people to lean on and feel supported and seen, that's a big one, feeling seen at this stage of life.

Courtney: 28:05

So again, I'd love for you to join me over there moving through midlife on our Facebook. That's our Facebook community. Also, if you would like to leave a review, that would be amazing. I do want to say that when I went through the name change, all of my reviews under the Raising Healthy Humans kind of disappeared. They're still attached to that, but now that it's moving through midlife I have no reviews. I think I have like three.

Courtney: 28:36

So if you would please head over to Moving Through Midlife in Apple and leave me a review there, that would be so great and it allows for more people to find this podcast and be able to help share it with more people. So I hope you all have a wonderful day and make sure to keep moving. All have a wonderful day and make sure to keep moving. I hope you enjoyed this episode and found something to take away to help you practice healthier habits, move more or handle the midlife and aging with grace. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or leave us a review to help us reach more moms just like you. Head to movingthroughmidlifecom to join the free community or learn how you can move more and feel better in your daily life.