I'm disappointed when I see someone prematurely fragile. Fragility is associated with a shorter lifespan, and with being put into care earlier - losing your independence.

It disappoints me because, with some simple additions to your lifestyle, you can significantly delay fragility caused by loss of bone and muscle mass.

I did a bone density scan last year, and it showed me having 25% better bone mass than males my age, and 5% better than the average 25-year-old male.

I've always been interested in how exercise might help our brain. That's why I became excited when I got a copy of Spark, by John Ratey. It's been around since 2008, yet many of its findings are still not widely know.

The subtitle of the book is "The Revolutionary New Science Of Exercise And The Brain".
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The book is now heavily underlined. I like to underline key passages in books as I read them. The act of underlining helps me remember. 

Viruses cause inflammation.

An over-exuberant inflammatory response characterises both coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Moderate exercise helps fight the inflammation. 

In particular, exercise fights age-related inflammation. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and several other chronic diseases  - are now known to be strongly linked to inflammatory processes.

Exercising has been found to reduce chronic low-level inflammation i.e. exercise keeps us healthy and helps minimise the negative effects of age-related inflammation.

It seems that one of my quirks at the gym is that I do quite a few balance exercises. Not many others do. Like stretching, people seem to think that balance exercises are a waste of time.

This disappoints me, as those I see about me don't show signs of having good balance - I'm talking here about those over 50.

If they could put their socks on while standing, I'd be very surprised.
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I'm disappointed because falls cut people's life short by 5 years on average.

I am a big fan of the Harvard Health blog. I enjoy reading it - it's science-based and trustworthy.

That's why I was disappointed with the article "Six ways you can help your immune system".

Of the "six ways" five were rather trite. I immediately thought of four better ways than the article suggested, especially in these days of Covid-19.

[Copy of my weekly newsletter] Here are my hand-picked 4 Most Valuable pieces of content that I found this week, to help you live longer better.

These four topics stood out to me (click the links in the body below):

1. Apple cider vinegar - does it really help weight loss?
2. How cognitive fitness makes it less likely that you will fall
3. The most powerful antioxidant has a clean bill of health
4. What to eat to give you more glowing skin

I go to gym 3 times a week, but I also like training outdoors. Running 5km twice a week adds more than just fitness; it also gets me out into the weather and nature.

A little little bit of rain; a hot, sweaty day; wind pushing into your face; a new sandtrap on the trail; a family with a dog that you have to navigate safely past - all make you feel as if you are alive.

But it is not running that will give your fitness a big boost.

Most people outdoors are walking or jogging. There are a few runners, and also, rarely, someone adding in a bit extra - perhaps running up a ramp.
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With a little bit of imagination, you can add in some training that will significantly boost your fitness.
It is free pure no-equipment exercise available to everyone.

We've all noticed as we age that we become a little less steady on our feet. This loss is due in the main to the deterioration of our neuromuscular capability to balance. But our fast-twitch muscle responsiveness - or lack thereof - also plays a crucial part. 

When we lose balance our fast-twitch muscles act quickly to steady us and put us back into balance. If they are weak, then we potentially take a fall.

There's good news. You can rebuild your fast-twitch muscle capability with less effort than you might have imagined.

​The French have always known it.

The scientists have long doubted it.

Nutritionists have gone for the latest political correctness.

People just kept doing what they wanted.

Although democracy often shows that the people can be wrong, in this case, they were right.

We all get old, but we can make choices about how we age.

Our muscles and tendons stiffen and shorten as we get older. This tightening of our musculoskeletal system causes pain and also tautens us into an older-looking posture -- before our time. 

You might be as surprised as I was to learn that our hip flexor muscles play a significant role in making us appear older and more fragile.

You can postpone the onset of an aged posture, and its associated pain, with just a few simple exercises each day.