FEATURE NUTRITION AND FITNESS Stay young Aging: more benefits of exercise R Muscle by dr . don fitz -ritson , dc esearchers have shown that a compression of morbidity that improves healthy aging is more valuable than further increases in life expec-tancy, and that targeting aging offers poten-tially larger economic gains than eradicating individual diseases. They showed that a slowdown in aging that increases life expec-tancy by one year is worth US$38 trillion, and by 10 years, US$367 trillion. Ultimately, the more progress that is made in improving how we age, the greater the value of further improvements. “They state that it would reduce the inci-dents of cancer, dementia, cardiovascular disease and frailty. In total, the U.S. is spending 17 percent of everything we generate on health care – and largely that’s spent in the last year of life.” Currently, a person who turns 65 in the next few years will spend anywhere from $142,000 to $176,000 on average on long-term care during their lifetime, accord-ing to a recent report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (1) For Canada, we divide those numbers by 10. Physical exercise has been shown to benefit the aging person. It is cheap and anyone can partake. Physical exercise represents a powerful tool, doable with few or no side effects and produces a multitude of benefits. This article will high-light some of the lesser known, but still significant benefits of exercise for everyone, including the aging population. Exercise easily stimulates young muscle compared to aging muscle. More genes are expressed in the young muscle com-pared to the aging muscle. (2) These gene changes are necessary DR. DON FITZ-RITSON is a chiropractor and a rehab specialist. He was an Assistant Professor at CMCC. He published 17 papers and 3 chapters on chiropractic.He co-invented a laser and it received 7 Health Canada Approvals. He is focused on helping the aging population live better lives. 16 Chiropractic and Naturopathic Doctor September/October 2022 to protect the integrity of the aging muscle. (3) The Mediter-ranean diet can help the telomeres which protect the genes, (4) and exercise can help rejuvenate muscle stem cells, providing new muscle cells. (5) This means that due to decreased gene expression, the aging muscle has to work harder to achieve the same effects as the young muscle. Aging people therefore have to keep their muscles as healthy as possible, so they re-spond better to exercise or physical activity. (6) Neuromuscular junction With aging there is loss of motor units which make up the neuromuscular junction. By age 80, these loses start to become functional impairments. Lifelong physical activity has a protective effect on the motor units. (7) Physical activity/exercise can, through biochemical signal-ing encourage the cross-talk of bone to muscles and this will help to delay osteoporosis and sarcopenia. (8) Muscles can affect bone by releasing myokines when stimulated. These myokines regulate muscle metabolism, bone and more distant tissues such as liver and brain. (9) Exercise/activity can also affect bones by stimulating them to release proteins which affect muscle and other organs in the body. This is mediated via the immune system, and enhances aging mus-culoskeletal health. (10) Because of the important effects of www.Cndoctor.ca Muscle-bone interaction Photo: lordn/Adobe stock
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