Live Healthy Longer with Dr. Jim Polakof
Amazing Podcasts Created & Hosted by Dr. Jim Polakof to Stimulate Your Body, Mind and Soul! It's in our nature to explore opportunities that can improve our well-being. As a celebrated podcaster with thousands of listeners, Dr. Jim Polakof continually surpasses normal limits to explore new horizons in creating a better life for his listeners and readers. ‘Live Healthy Longer’ covers a wide range of topics including new advances in health and medicine; the possibility of having past lives and reincarnation; unique perspectives on entertainment, and ‘hot topics’ debates which present both sides of key issues.
Live Healthy Longer with Dr. Jim Polakof
Aging with Purpose: Navigating the Second Fifty
In this enlightening episode, Dr. Jim interviews Dr. Debra Whitman, Chief Public Policy Officer of AARP and author of “The Second Fifty”. Together, they explore the transformative journey of aging, breaking down societal misconceptions and focusing on how to thrive in the "second fifty" years of life. Dr. Whitman shares insights from her book, offering practical advice for living a fulfilling, purposeful, and healthy life post-50.
Tune in to discover how to make the second half of life your best chapter yet!
Links Discussed in the Episode:
“The Second Fifty” Book page: www.aarp.org/secondfifty
AARP’s Living Learning and Earning Longer Collaborative: https://www.aarpinternational.org/initiatives/future-of-work/living-learning-and-earning-longer
AARP’s Employer Pledge Program: www.aarp.org/employerpledge
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Do you wonder what the second half, or retirement stage, of your life will be like, what challenges you'll face, how to deal with them? You're about to discover the answers on Live Healthy Longer. And here's our host wellness expert, author and popular podcaster, dr Jim Polakoff.
Speaker 2:Welcome to another episode of Live Healthy Longer. I'm Dr Jim Polakoff and do we have a very exciting and stimulating program for this episode. Now, if you're a Gen Xer in the 44 to 59-year age range wondering what's ahead 44 to 59 year age range wondering what's ahead or a baby boomer between the ages of 60 to 78, already retired or soon ready to live the good life, or perhaps you're even somewhat older yet seeking to live to 100 or more in good health, well, this program may have the answers you've been searching for. My guest for this episode of Live Healthy Longer is Dr Deborah Whitman, a leading expert on aging issues. She's the chief public officer of AARP and leads a global policy and research to help communities, lawmakers and the private sector improve our lives as we age. Debra also serves as an AARP spokesperson on issues such as long-term health care and caregiving, financial security, health and even longevity. Additionally, debra Whitman is the author of a new dynamic book.
Speaker 2:The Second Fifty Answers to the Seven Big Questions of Midlife and Beyond. Certainly, debra is a must-hear guest and if you're a Gen Xer, baby boomer or beyond, this is a must-read book. But now it's time to get into these important questions and answers. So welcome, dr Deborah Whitman.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me today.
Speaker 2:It's my pleasure. I think this is going to be a very interesting interview. In just a few years, Deb, one in five Americans will be 65 years of age or older. So what do you feel are the most pressing issues that are actually facing aging adults?
Speaker 3:I have been working on aging issues for the last 25 years, throughout my career, and it covers so many different areas, from our health to our financial security, our cognitive health, our living situations, our cognitive health, our living situations, our need for care and end-of-life issues, and so one of the reasons why I wrote the book was to cover all of the breadth of things that affect us in later life.
Speaker 2:All right, but if you were to pick one or two issues that seniors and I'll just label them as seniors as opposed to aging adults- what would you say they were?
Speaker 3:What's really pressing right now? I wish I had just one, because I think we have a struggle for financial security. There's a lot of people that have nothing saved for retirement and worry about the long-term viability of social security. There's a lot of people that have physical health or cognitive health issues, so I count that as a bucket and I think we have a care crisis in this country where care is really expensive, even though most of us will need it as we age.
Speaker 3:So I'm going to dodge your answer a little bit, because I don't think it is just one thing. I think that we have an aging society that we haven't prepared for, and we really need to think comprehensively about how we build a society that makes aging easier for everybody.
Speaker 2:Oh boy, I think you hit the nail on the head, because I don't think we are prepared for that. I've done a little bit of research in the field as well, and I have to tell you we are definitely unprepared, and it's good to have someone like yourself involved. Now, I was very impressed with your book, the Second Fifty. We're going to talk a little bit more about it a little later, but it's not only well written, but I found it to be very well-organized. You've pretty much broken all of the comprehensive information down into eight chapters, very easy to read, very well-read.
Speaker 2:The first magic question, of course, being how long will I live? And, of course, the second part. I mean, I have to say, per my podcast theme, it's important to live. If you're going to live longer, it's important to live healthy. So that's something that I think we need to touch on. But, as you state in your book, in the early 1900s Americans only lived to about 47 years of age, but then, by 2016, I believe the number is that number jumped to 81 years for women and 76 for men. So today there's evidence that good, healthy habits, eating, living right, etc. Many people can even live to 100 and beyond. I've had some guests on who contend they can live to 100. But the question is in your first two chapters of the book you address how long will I live and will I be healthy as long as I live? Can you talk a little bit about that?
Speaker 3:Yeah well, thank you, james, for talking about the book. I'm really excited that this has just been launched. I wanted to start with kind of the basic questions that people had about their second 50. Is it going to be 50, I think is one of them and will they be healthy? And so I really looked at the data, talked to researchers and tried to break apart what influences our lifespan, how long we're going to live, and most of it, most of us think it's our genetics. We're going to live as long as our parents or grandparents did, but our genes play only about 20% of the role influencing our longevity. Healthcare is another 20%, but most of it is what we call the social determinants of health or social drivers of health. These are the things like our education, our income level, where we live, all of the things that go into having huge differences across this country in life expectancy. So just a couple of facts that women, as we know, live longer. I actually spent a month trying to figure out why.
Speaker 2:That's a good question. It worries me.
Speaker 3:We live six years longer and the vast majority of that is behavioral differences. So men are less likely to go to a doctor, you're more likely to go to war, you're more likely to engage in risky behaviors and drive too fast. But our biological differences also protect us. I found an interesting study of monks and nuns in Bavaria who lived very similar lifestyles so cutting out the lifestyle differences and the women still lived two years longer than the men.
Speaker 2:Even though the famous adage live like a monk. I mean, that doesn't help you that much. Then you gain a few years and that's about it. Women still have the edge.
Speaker 3:Women still have the edge, and it's true. You know from animals and you know in much of the natural world, and this difference between men and women has held for quite a while, although women used to die more in childbirth. So we also know that you know things like our education level plays a role. College graduates live about seven years longer than those without college graduates, and we're coming now to a point where our zip code really pushes down the relevance of our genetic codes, right?
Speaker 2:That's one of the questions I'm going to get to a little bit later, because I thought that was very interesting in your book about the zip code. But I mean, you bring up some good points, some facts that I think most of us aren't aware of and, as reading through your book, you go into far more detail than what you've just outlined now. So again, I'm encouraging our audience definitely to pick up a copy of your book. I found it very intriguing, compelling, to use the right word, I think. Now, unfortunately, more and more aging adults are facing different forms of dementia, with Alzheimer's disease, of course, being the most significant your book mentions. I found it interesting that dementia in general was about 13% in terms of the aging adults in 2011. But by 2019, that had decreased, actually to 10%, which that number kind of amazed me. But in doing a little further research, alzheimer's disease, which is now just under 7 million in the United States, in the next 25 years or so is projected to almost double to about 13 million. That's pretty scary.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we have a growing aging population, so the number of people who have cognitive decline, dementia, Alzheimer's will increase, but the risk of getting it is actually going down, largely because the higher education of the baby boom and there's one of the things that I talk about in the book is there are things that you can do to lower your risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. In the same way it affects your regular health and longevity things that probably won't surprise your listeners. Sort of the five healthy habits of eating right, exercising, not smoking, not drinking and maintaining a healthy body weight can add over a decade to your longevity but also lower your risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia by up to a third. And so we know that personal behavior can affect the rates of cognitive decline and dementia, but also public policies. So if we had less air pollution, for example, that would lower rates of dementia and Alzheimer's as well.
Speaker 2:So your climate change has a great deal to do with actually how we age, and many people don't take that into consideration. Of course, now we're beginning to realize quite significantly what impact climate change has in our country and the world. But in terms of Alzheimer's in particular, for example, are there any programs and talk about how you get into it in your book? In terms of how do we prevent really succumbing to this disease to where it overtakes us?
Speaker 3:So I can't prevent it. I can just talk to you about how to lower your risk. As you know, people have genetic predispositions and we don't have a cure for Alzheimer's. At this point to do is to really take, um, take stock of their cognitive health. Do those healthy habits that I was talking about, um. In addition, watch your sleep, um. Make sure that you're socially connected, um, we know that isolation is the same as smoking 15 cigarettes a day oh my goodness. Make sure you're using your brain. So, um, do cognitively stimulating activities oh my goodness yours. But we should also look and have assessments over time and particularly talk to your primary care physician if you think that things have changed.
Speaker 3:I talk in the book. You know I often will walk into a room and forget what I was there for. That is normal. Forgetting If I forget where my house is as I'm driving home that's not normal. And those are the types of conversations that you should have with your doctor, because it could be not even dementia. Recently, my father was prescribed a new medication and started to see trees growing out of the wall.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 3:And we were very worried about him until he stopped the medication and he was fine. And so you know you want to make sure that the cause of your memory issues can't be something simple that can be easily treated.
Speaker 2:Good advice. I want to get to something that I know is important to our listeners understanding who they are. Many of them want to remain active even though they've obviously aged quite a bit. Many of us, including myself, want to work beyond the once typical retirement age. In some cases, it's a question of making ends meet. In my case, I still believe I have more to contribute. So we all have different reasons. But in your estimation and I'll get into the second part of this question as well your estimation how long can men and women who are in their 60s and 70s work effectively, who are in their 60s and 70s work effectively? And there's so much emphasis on youth that I'm uncertain that major corporations really understand the value of experience and wisdom that seniors offer, not to speak of the work ethic of many older Americans that the youth, today's youth, do not necessarily share. So does AARP, getting back to your AARP hat host job opportunities for seniors? And, as important, has your organization identified companies that understand the value in hiring seniors?
Speaker 3:So, absolutely, we have employer pledges that employers pledge not to discriminate against older workers and to look at the value. But, more importantly, we've been working with over 100 companies to really look at the value of a multi-generational workforce. So we've done some research with the OECD that shows that companies are more productive if they have an age diverse workforce. So if you have older workers who can mentor and have experience and contacts, mixed in a team with younger workers who have maybe new ideas or ways of doing things, you are more productive than if you just have single age teams.
Speaker 3:And when we actually interviewed employees, they want to work with people of all generations too, and you know, as you said, james, people want and need to work as they age. So there's a number of people who get lots of joy, like I do, out of my, out of my job. There are other people that just need the money, and so we need to make sure that we don't have age discrimination in the workplace that is pushing people out unnecessarily. One study we did shows that age discrimination costs our economy $850 billion in losses.
Speaker 3:So age discrimination doesn't just affect the individual, it affects our entire society.
Speaker 2:Boy, that's an important point. I was not aware of that. But in terms of, for example, you say you've been working with like 100 companies AARP has, are those identified? So if someone wants to more or less, shall we say, get into finding out which companies might be more appropriate or interested in hiring them, are those companies identified on your website or somewhere within AARP?
Speaker 3:They are. There's a program called Living Learning Earning Longer L-L-E-L in shorthand, living Learning Earning Longer and if you type that in, and it's a global program. So we have multinational companies that have millions of workers behind them that have been participating in this for the last several years.
Speaker 2:All right, good, good information. Many, of course, seniors I mean getting to the other aspect of this many seniors who are unable to work or not in position to work for whatever reason. One of the main concerns and you bring this up in your book is financial security. So let's face it oftentimes social security falls short of meeting an ends meet. Unless you have a great retirement pension plan of some type, it can be very, very difficult for aging adults in terms of financial security. Can you hit on that, mention a couple of points that might be helpful or interesting?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so work is becoming a key part of most people's retirement plans, particularly if they haven't had a chance to save their whole life.
Speaker 3:So one of the issues I talk about in the book is only half of all American workers can save through their paycheck on a regular basis.
Speaker 3:That's through a 401k or another similar program, and it's really hard to do on your own consistently every year, day in and day out, to put money aside. It's a lot easier if it's just taken out before the money even hits your checking account. So we're trying to expand programs across the country. In fact we have 20 states that are setting up savings programs, retirement savings programs for workers who employers don't offer them, and we've seen we're doing that because the traditional pension is becoming more and more rare and fewer and fewer people sort of retire with that and it will track. The move towards having retirement savings accounts has really shifted to help people remain financially secure when they retire. And you're right, social Security while it's the bedrock of financial security as we age, it was never intended to be the only thing that you live on, the only source of income. So people generally need a little extra from somewhere, if it's not their savings than from work.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Just out of curiosity and you don't have to answer this directly because I don't want to put you on the spot, but you know we're in the midst, obviously, of a political election Different thoughts, different philosophies and ideas. Does AARP take any position on what's going on politically or is this something you attempt to stay neutral on?
Speaker 3:We are fiercely nonpartisan. We don't endorse any candidate. What we try to do is ask the candidate the things that matter to our members, including on Social Security or Medicare. So in our magazine and online we'll be publishing questions that we've asked them about things like Social Security and Medicare and caregiving all of those issues. So we try to educate people on where, when and how to vote, but not who to vote for.
Speaker 2:And I think that's an excellent position. Can I presume, then, that our listeners can go to the AARP website and somewhere in there find the position of the different candidates to understand where they're coming from and what's at stake?
Speaker 3:They can, and we have great information about where to find polling places in your area, how to vote, all of those types of things. So that's a huge priority for us as an organization to empower people with their civic ability to vote.
Speaker 2:All right, good to hear. Now I'm going to get to this zip code issue that you had brought up a bit earlier at the beginning. Of course, we're well aware, as we age, that our living environment is very important. Unfortunately, there are a few seniors who can afford beachfront or lakefront living and just to kick back and enjoy life wherever they might want to live. So I understand you found that your zip code, the actual zip code that you live in, is just as important as your genetic code.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we're seeing huge differences in life expectancy across the country and even within cities. The shortest-lived county in South Dakota it's the Ogallala-Cota County, home of the Pine Ridge Reservation. There's 20 years differences in life expectancy, my goodness. And it's not because the people who live in Breckenridge and the people who live on the Pine Ridge Reservation are biologically different. It's the type of experiences that they've had their whole life. The access to healthcare, the ability to have good jobs all of those things affect how long we live and we're seeing, jim, differences huge across states and some of that difference is due to public policy, is differences in the states? Do we provide broad health care? What's our minimum wage? Those types of things can actually affect how long we live and we always think that that's either due to our genetics or due to the activities that we do. But I was really shocked at how much they vary based on the policies and programs that are around us.
Speaker 2:Well, I know you go in depth on this in your book, but, just as some highlights, I mean are there any particular places once you considered living over others states communities?
Speaker 3:So I want to be clear. It's not like I moved to Breckenridge and suddenly my life, I will live longer. It's the behaviors of the people within that area, as well as the access to health care and things, that make us live longer. Same way, if if I move to a blue zone, I don't necessarily live longer if I still maintain my diet and exercise levels of wherever it was that I left, um, so so I I want to push that just to make sure that the listeners understand um, but it does mean that we could have programs everywhere that make people live longer. Right, if it's not our biology, if it is access to health care or the ability to have enough income to help support ourselves to buy healthy food, then those things can be changeable across the country and we could have everybody living longer and healthier lives.
Speaker 2:Well, big issues. Among seniors in particular, loneliness is a significant issue I'm aware of. Obviously, depression certainly falls into a category of concern when you think about social interactions, how important do you think that is? For example, should people consider living in a mobile home park where they have tons of social activities and everyone is interlinked with everyone else? Are things like that answers that people should look for?
Speaker 3:Social connection is huge in our health span and our lifespan. I talked to Bob Waldinger, who has run the Harvard Study of Development, which looks at people over the course of their lives, for many, many, many decades, and he looked at what was the difference between healthy people in their 80s and unhealthy people, and he looked back to their 50s and what the difference was was healthy relationships. So, yes, I would say having lots of connections is key. I grew up in a small town and while my dad only practices one of the healthy habits, he stopped smoking when my brother was young, he is really connected to his community.
Speaker 3:So in our town mail isn't delivered to our house and so he goes up to the post office and he'll be up there for an hour just talking to every single person that comes in. That he's known for years and so you know the relationships can't be need to be a part of our health behaviors. And let me tell you one other that really came out in the research and that's our mindset. So if you have a positive view on aging, you see aging as a time of connection and wisdom and the ability to give back you live seven and a half years longer. Not only do you live longer, but you have lower rates of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease and even your brain volume is great. And this comes out of Dr Becca Levy's research at Yale and you know it holds up across different countries. It holds up through multiple studies that your mind is as powerful as anything else in keeping you healthy and living longer.
Speaker 2:Well, and that's important. That's the theme, of course, of my podcast, live Healthy Longer. There's a chapter in your book that I found to be very interesting. So let's face it regardless of technology, advanced medications, even in good health, there comes a day we're going to pass on. In your book, the Second Fifty, you address how will I die? Can you tell us about this?
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that was a learning opportunity for me. Again, writing the whole book was even though I'd worked on these issues. I talked to some experts because, again, this is an area that I haven't personally touched and then I talked to an expert who is a palliative care expert and has done the research and she said actually, the advanced directives, most people don't have them followed. And sometimes when you're young and healthy and you check a box that says I don't ever want to be on a ventilator, you don't realize that COVID could come and you could be put on a ventilator to save your life for a period of time and then you could come off it being healthy. And so she recommends and I recommend, you know, finding somebody that you can talk to about what is meaningful to you in case you become incapacitated and can't make decisions for yourselves. That's the making decisions about the situation, not about what type of equipment you would want to be on or off is a far better way to plan for your final days.
Speaker 2:Well, that makes sense. And, of course, getting your affairs in order. I would imagine so many of us say, oh, it's not going to happen to me, but then it does happen and you're not prepared for it. So I imagine having everything in order, being prepared, is important.
Speaker 3:Yeah, only half of Americans have a will, and that leads your heirs to either fight with courts or with each other, rather than be able to give them the gift of transferring your wealth in a way that is something that matters to you. So I encourage people to do that and even have conversations about what they would like at their funeral. Just writing this book, I would ask my parents every question in every chapter, and we had some really open conversations where I learned things about them that I wouldn't have, that were meaningful to them for their funeral.
Speaker 2:Good suggestions. Now, Deb, the final chapter of your book deals with a better second 50. Can you describe the highlights so we can make the remaining years of our life better?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I wrote all the questions and people, hopefully, will learn both something about themselves and things they can do. But I also want to engage the readers to be frustrated of why the systems aren't better and supporting them in a better way as they age. So the last chapter is really how do we need to fix the programs and policies that affect us all, like making social security solvent with enough income so that we can be secure in retirement, both for current retirees and future generations? I also propose what's called a national plan on aging, a plan for aging better in America. That would address a lot of the issues that I bring up.
Speaker 2:You actually have highlights of that plan in the book, correct?
Speaker 3:I do, and many other countries have thought comprehensively about demographic change and what they need to do and how they can put things in place to help people work longer, to help people stay healthy, to make sure that they have housing as they age all of the things that I talk about in the different chapters and we need to do that too, and I'll say the good news is unbeknownst to me as I was writing, as this was being published. A strategy is being put together by the administration and they put out their first sort of a roadmap, and so AARP and others are commenting on it. They're doing listening sessions across the country to get input on what a plan should entail.
Speaker 2:Well, that's good news, and I think there's you mentioned one thing that filled in, I think, the last blank, and that is, in addition to aging, seniors should remain proactive, in other words, getting involved with these issues. They just don't happen by themselves. There's a force of nature and a force of humanity that's required to really make it happen. So I'm sure my listeners will agree that it's been a very enlightening interview.
Speaker 2:We're just about out of time at this point, but since we've just touched on the surface of so many issues, I'm going to encourage my listeners, please, to get a copy of your book. I mean, I found it again very compelling. It's something that anyone certainly midlife on, gen Xers, baby boomers and those beyond need to read your book. So we're going to have information about your book on our website. Fortunately, many of my listeners visit our website on a pretty regular basis, so we're going to have links on how to get it. But just to make sure that everyone understands that, I want to get your input. Your insightful book is the Second Fifty Answers to the Seven Big Questions of Midlife and Beyond. So, deb, where can our listeners find your book?
Speaker 3:So they can go to their local bookstore or if they want to find other places to buy it, they can come to aarporg slash second 50.
Speaker 2:All right, we're going to have those links on our website, so that's something I think very, very important, and, of course, you can also get it on amazoncom.
Speaker 3:You can get it through all kinds of different booksellers.
Speaker 2:So many yes, so many are going to Amazon these days for books. Dr Deborah Whitman, deb, as we know you, thanks for sharing your time, your knowledge, and again we're going to encourage our listeners. Please pick up a copy of your book, but thanks for sharing time with us.
Speaker 3:It's been a great conversation. Thanks, Jim.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:More information about Dr Deborah Whitman and her book the Second Fifty. Dr Deborah Whitman and her book the Second Fifty Answers to the Big Seven Questions of Midlife and Beyond can be found at our informative website, jamespolikoffcom. Also at our website, you can find many excellent, lively podcasts, as well as discover secrets of living to 100 and beyond in Dr Polikoff's new book. Live Healthy Longer with Dr Jim. Dr Jim's new book provides you with insights to preventing heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's. You will also discover ways to lose weight for good, eliminate back pain and arthritis and manage stress. Since there is now proof, with intimacy and sexual fulfillment you can live longer and healthier. Dr Jim has devoted three exciting, stimulating chapters to these subjects. Live Healthy Longer with Dr Jim is now available on Amazon. For further information, visit our website information. Visit our website, jamespolakoffcom. That's.
Speaker 2:James P-O-L-A-K-O-F dot com. Now back to Dr Jim. Thanks again to Dr Deborah Whitman from AARP for joining us and be sure to get a copy of her book the Second Fifty Answers to the Seven Big questions of midlife and beyond. But now it's time for my health tips. As a certified nutritionist, I heartily recommend you consider a pescatarian Mediterranean diet. Now. Portions of this diet includes choosing whole foods over processed foods, eating fish two to three times a week, using a heavy dose of olive oil when cooking or even when eating some foods and forget the butter or margarine. Instead, use nut or seed spreads on whole grain toast or on an apple. Now, these are just a few components of a healthy pescatarian Mediterranean diet and, as stated earlier, you can discover numerous health eating tips in my new book Live Healthy Longer with Dr Jim. It's now available on Amazoncom and be sure to tune in to new podcast episodes of Live Healthy Longer. This is Dr Jim Polakoff, wishing you a long, healthy life.
