Beyond Age 60: Common Health Challenges

The golden years of a person’s life can and should be filled with an abundance of health. Sadly the ‘Golden Years’ are often one of very ill health for many. Much of the pharmaceutical propaganda is aimed at the aging baby boomer generation, as the lack of real ‘healthcare’ and knowledge about what constitutes true health is absent for many.

The baby boomers were raised in an era where it was customary to trust one’s doctor. At one point in history there were actually doctors who made house visits and included some kind of nutritional therapy. As medicine today has distanced itself further from what real health is, many baby boomers continue to take advice from pill pushing legalized drug dealers. It is no coincidence that the drug companies are the most significant contributors to the financial backing for medical schools. You get what you pay for: Drugs, drugs, drugs, followed by more drugs, and huge financial incentives to peddle them.

Meanwhile the current model of healthcare lacks any real semblance of “health” at all. Even if a medical doctor had any understanding of nutrition, which is very rare, they are likely practicing nutrition the same way they would practice medicine, from an allopathic, symptom-based model. This should not denigrate the very small percentage of MD’s and DO’s who have a real handle on Functional, non-disease specific healthcare. It should however elucidate the desperate need for Patient-Specific, Functional Healthcare, one that takes into account the highly integrated nature of the individual.

60 Years On: Common Problems & Solutions

Disease is not a normal part of aging. Disease can occur at any age. Health is not the absence of disease. Health is the continual practice of improving one’s quality of life by supporting the body’s natural rhythms and biological processes. Health is not a given, it is something that must be worked for.

There are numerous complications that can arise as people age. Age does not guarantee disease but it does mean that the body’s production of metabolic enzymes decrease. This can lead to numerous problems in the body. Many enzyme reactions in the body are dependent on the minerals zinc and magnesium. If our diet is deficient in these minerals, or if illness causes depletion of these minerals, then many different health issues can ensue.

The prostate gland contains the highest concentration of zinc in the body. Men with prostate hypertrophy should have adequate zinc in their diet, among many other things. Zinc is also a very important mineral for the production of hydrochloric acid (HCL), the vital acid in the stomach which sterilizes food, and prepares for digestion by triggering the release of pepsin.

People with low levels of hydrochloric acid are at a high risk of developing chronic bacterial and parasitic infections. H-Pylori is a common bacterial infection. This can become a vicious loop because H-Pylori can shut down HCL production as it proliferates. This can allow for the proliferation of other bacterial infections in the gut causing potentially debilitating breakdown in gut function, immunity and digestion.

Deficiency of HCL begins after age 45. HCL deficiency also can alter the body’s ph due to the fact that HCL deficiency can result in metabolic alkalosis and a loss of chloride, calcium and potassium. These minerals are essential for proper ph regulation. When there is a loss of chloride and sodium, the adrenal glands struggle to produce sufficient cortisol. The result is chronic fatigue and adrenal exhaustion.

Needless to say, it is common for many people age 60 and older to suffer from zinc deficiency, HCL deficiency, chronic infections, iron and B-Vitamin anemia (due mostly to digestive dysfunction) and chronic fatigue. The solution: support the body’s normal biological processes and eliminate precipitating factors of dysfunction.

Testing gut function for leaky gut (gut permeability) is a big step in the right direction. So is testing for gut pathogens through a stool analysis. Another major step is to test for HCL deficiency. This can be done in a number of ways such as analyzing a blood test and observing the chloride, BUN and co2 values on it. Hair analysis is by no means a definitive marker to identify HCL deficiency, but certain patterns on a hair test correlate directly with HCL deficiency, such as the “4 lows pattern“.

Its important to point out that if certain infections are detected, HCL therapy cannot yet begin, even though one may be in need. The chronic infections need to be addressed first. There are other indirect ways of raising HCL in the body such as through malic acid supplementation and supplying the correct type and amount of electrolytes.

When dealing with the issues discussed above, it is most important to support the body’s most basic functions such as:

• Hydration
• Digestion
• Elimination

This is done through the correct supplementation for your Metabolic Type needs, as well as supporting gut function and repair (if necessary) with high quality probiotics and gut repair nutrients if needed.

Patient-Specific Not Disease-Specific

Healthcare should be about health, not about drugs or disease maintenance. Health is about eating high quality food, getting the right exercise, having the right understanding and the right attitude, one that is positive and encourages new understanding and insight.

Health also is about addressing the highly specific needs of the individual, rather than viewing your health from a ‘one size fits all’ perspective. Overcoming health issues is only possible when you address the needs of the individual and learn how to deal with issues as they arise.

With these insights, I wish you vibrant health as you age.

In health,
Michael McEvoy