50, the new 30

Is 50 the new 30?I have three years to find out. If I do everything this article says, I'll have a fighting chance:
From the St. Louis Post Dispatch piece:

Skin
Problem -- Skin thins with years. This bag that keeps everything together needs more care and feeding over time.Remedy -- Use moisturizers, eat more fruits and vegetables and drink a lot of water, up to more than a gallon a day.

Digestion
Problem -- If you try to eat as much as when you were younger, you'll get fat. Scientists disagree as to why. Some say the metabolism slows. Others say that the older you get, the less movement you employ so you burn fewer calories. On the flip side, some people lose interest in food and become anorexic.Remedy -- The character of your eating should change as you age. Again, eat better food -- fruits, vegetables, grains -- and keep the servings of meat to about the size of your palm. Aging anorexia happens most often when the taste buds dull. Use spices to pump up the flavors.

TK: One good sign for me: no sign yet of "aging anorexia." Here is a story that looks at how new gizmos are measuring antioxidant levels and whether people should care.
From the LA Times story:

When a fender oxidizes, it's called "rust." In your body, oxidation plays a key role in aging and disease. Antioxidants such as vitamin E, vitamin C and beta carotene can offer protection, but you may wonder if you have enough to keep the rust away. If you're concerned — or just curious — you can always try a high-tech palm reading.Just stick your hand in a BioPhotonic Scanner, a laser device that will scan your skin for carotenoids, antioxidant pigments found in colorful fruits and vegetables. The tally is then translated into a "Body Defense Score." Doctors, chiropractors, nutritionists, personal trainers and a few doctors across the country offer carotenoid scans as part of their services, often at little or no cost to customers. According to Kara Schneck, spokeswoman for Pharmanex, the company that manufactures the scanner, more than 5 million people worldwide have already been scanned.

Pharmanex markets an antioxidant supplement to help people boost their scores. Schneck says the scanner "helps people make well-informed choices about nutrition."Antioxidant test kits claim to promote "optimal wellness and optimum nutrition." And they offer the chance to avoid disaster: "If your antioxidant status is low and is allowed to go undetected, it could seriously affect your health and performance," one site warns.Bottom line: It may sound farfetched, but a laser scan of your palm really can detect antioxidants, says Ronald Prior, a nutritionist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Little Rock, Ark. The antioxidant carotenoids that add color to many fruits and vegetables will also add color to your skin, and the laser can measure the subtle hues. (Or not so subtle: Eat a pound of carrots every day for a week and your skin will turn orange.)The carotenoids in your skin reflect the carotenoids in your diet, Prior says. "If that number is low, your consumption of fruits and vegetables is not what it should be," he says.

But although the scan can provide a wake-up call for people who skimp on their greens (and yellows and oranges), it doesn't say much about their overall antioxidant levels, Prior adds. Carotenoids are just one part of the antioxidant arsenal. It takes sophisticated — and pricey — blood tests to get a full picture.
Handelman adds that most Americans already get plenty of antioxidants. The real problem is that we're falling short on fruits and vegetables. The world of broccoli and bananas, he says, offers benefits that go far beyond antioxidants or anything else that can be captured in a pill.


TK: Thank you Mr. Handelman. "The real problem is that we're falling short on fruits and vegetables." My mom says I should ask Fresh Talk readers whether they (honestly, now) eat 5 a day. Look for it soon.