Write a 1-2 page description of an individual over age 65 who demonstrates aspects of healthy aging.
Please use Kris Jenner, Dolly Parton, or Oprah Winfrey
The individual’s attitudes about aging and his/her motivations for practicing preventative habits must also be addressed
For the healthy aging project, I interviewed my grandmother, Marlene. My grandmother
is 70 years old and has was diagnosed with high blood pressure in addition to developing arthritis
in her 60’s. My grandma follows a variety of healthy lifestyle choices in order to mitigate her
current health issues as well as decrease her risk for others.
One of the methods in which my grandmother leads a healthy life is through nutrition.
My grandmother rarely eats takeout or prepared meals, and instead cooks everyday for her and
my grandfather. This way, she can monitor her salt, sugar, and fat intake to keep her blood
pressure and cholesterol under control; and she happily reported that as of her doctor’s
appointment last week, her current total cholesterol is 169. My grandmother follows a strict
gluten free diet that has significantly reduced the chronic inflammation in her body, and as a
result has rid her of her arthritis symptoms almost completely. She makes sure to include a
variety of fruits and vegetables with each meal, and drinks at least one cup of decaffeinated tea
each day. Her antioxidant rich diet will help to decrease her risk of oxidative stress throughout
her body, and reduce her chances of developing cognitive decline or worsened hypertension. She
drinks milk with each meal of the day in addition to eating yogurt for breakfast, which is
extremely important given her age and gender. By getting enough calcium each day, she is
decreasing her risk of osteoporosis and fractures. She makes sure to eat a small volume of food
for dinner at night so that her quality and length of sleep is not impacted by a large meal.
Another way in which my grandmother leads a healthy lifestyle is though functional
health. She and my grandfather take a brisk walk each day for 30 minutes through their
neighborhood. She uses weights to strengthen her arms, and spends 90% of her day on her feet
accomplishing tasks like grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, or visiting my great-grandmother
in the nursing home. Through these activities, my grandmother is stimulating her muscles and
decreasing her risk of sarcopenia. Furthermore, placing loads on her skeleton is also helping to
increase and maintain her bone density to prevent osteoporosis.
My grandmother is the most socially active person I know. Twice a month she meets with
two different groups of women to stamp all-occasion, handmade cards. She attends all of the
town sporting and community events, calls each of her friends on the phone to catch up, and
even has them over for lunch. Her highly social lifestyle significantly reduces her chances of
isolation and depression. These activities are also cognitively stimulating, which again decreases
her risk of dementia. Adding in her cognitively stimulating job of being a nurse, along with her
favorite pastimes like doing jigsaw puzzles, baking cookies for the holidays, and learning about
the different birds and deer in her backyard, my grandmother significantly reduces her risk for
cognitive decline.
Despite her high blood pressure, my grandmother has an excellent medical assessment.
She takes cod liver oil supplements to support cardiovascular and brain health, and does not
smoke or drink. Since she is not introducing these toxins into her body, she is greatly reducing
her chances of respiratory diseases, peripheral neuropathy, osteopenia, and osteoporosis. She
sees her primary care doctor, eye doctor, dentist, and gynecologist regularly to keep tabs on
every aspect of her health. She also actively tries to keep her stress under control by praying each
day, and choses to live by the statement that laughter is the best medicine.
My grandmother has many motivations to practice preventative health habits. She loves
to be close with all of her grandchildren, and wishes to be part of their lives for as long as
possible. Visiting my great-grandmother in the nursing home, she witnesses the effects of many
of the aforementioned diseases and conditions, most commonly dementia. She knows that many
conditions her peers suffer from are preventable, and this gives her the motivation to practice
healthy habits. Every single one of her relatives passed away from either a heart attack or stroke,
so she has seen firsthand the effects of unhealthy lifestyles. She knows that aging is inevitable,
but if there are practices that she can implement to mitigate the problems that arise from aging,
then she will absolutely follow them.
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