Healthy Eating Archive

Anorexia of aging affects about one-quarter of older adults, and women more often than men. The condition is marked by diminished appetite and can prompt a breakdown of muscle and bone mass that can lead to frailty, falls, delayed recovery from illness or surgery, and earlier death. Risk factors include changes in smell and taste, swallowing problems, slower digestion, medications that lead to dry mouth, dental problems, cognitive decline, and loneliness or social isolation. Treatments can include exercising, boosting protein intake, and medications.

A 2024 study found that people who follow a diet with a higher ratio of plant-based protein to animal-based protein may have a lower risk for cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease compared with individuals who eat a lower plant-to-animal protein ratio.

A 2024 research review suggested that drinking more water can help people stave off a variety of health problems as well as promote weight loss.

In a large 2024 study, people who ate more plant-based proteins than animal proteins had the lowest risks of developing cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease, compared with those who ate more animal proteins than plant-based proteins.

Social media sources may share misleading information about canola, soybean, and other seed oils. But these oils, which consist mostly of unsaturated fat, can be a good source of heart-healthy fat when combined with whole, fresh foods rather than in processed foods like crunchy, salty, or sweet snack foods. Consuming unsaturated fat in place of saturated fat (found mainly in animal-based foods) is linked to a lower risk of heart attack and death from heart disease.

We can learn much from people who continue to live productive lives into their 80s and 90s. Doctors in this demographic have a unique perspective as they have the lessons from their decades of medical practice and their personal experiences dealing with Father Time. Here, two Harvard physicians — Dr. Marshall Wolf, 87, and Dr. Mitchell Rabkin, 94 — share lessons they've learned over the decades from their practice and personal life about how they keep their body and mind strong, healthy, and thriving.