Three ways for the elderly male cat owner to improve their health and lifespan

Me and my girlfriend, Michelle. Touch wood I am healthy at 75. The frog?! Michelle loves him more than me. He is Jezza.

I am an elderly male cat owner! In The Times newspaper today, in a single publication which I think is unusual, there are three tips about one's health, one of which is directed at the elderly male and the other to anybody.

24-hour fasts

You may have heard that the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, likes to indulge in 36-hour fasts at the beginning of each working week. The man has extraordinary self-discipline. But he is convinced that it improves his health. He has a great BMI.

This ties in nicely with a story today in The Times about 24-hour fasts and how they may help to lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Regular periods of fasting with 24-hour is between meals could reduce the risk of diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer's according to a Cambridge University study.

This must interest elderly people or even younger people for that matter. In fact people of any age because a lot of old people die of Alzheimer's disease which is a form of dementia. My dad did for example.

And apparently it works like this. Fasting increases the production of arachidonic acid, a fatty acid. This fatty acid reduces the activity of an inflammasome specifically the NLRP3 inflammasome. And therefore there is less inflammation which is why a person is healthier. This particular inflammasome is very important in a number of major diseases such as obesity and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Kimchi

Daily kimchi is linked to leaner waistlines. This is a traditional Korean diet and has been for centuries. It's based on cabbage which is soaked in salt and allowed to ferment. Fermentation is when the bacteria that is naturally present in foods breaks down into their compounds providing a sour flavour and releasing lots of probiotic bacteria which can contribute to a healthy gut microbiome. There you go.

Get 3% fitter to cut the risk of prostate cancer by 33%

A study found that improving fitness by just 3% (a tiny amount) can reduce men's chances of developing prostate cancer by more than one third. There are numerous ways to get fitter by 3%! And prostate cancer is highly prevalent among older men. And it can kill men. The King has just gone to hospital to have his prostate shrunk. It was not a cancerous prostate but it was enlarged which is very typical for old men and it was stopping him peeing normally.

There you go, three little tips to improve health, two of which are for anybody and the third is for old men! I would recommend them.

I'm going to try fasting for 24-hours once per week but it will be very difficult for me. I try and keep fit by doing exercises and walking a lot and I will probably try kimchi but I do take probiotic tablets to ensure that my gut bacteria is in good condition! Good gut bacteria helps to maintain a good immune system. It is important.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.