Healthy Living in the Golden Years
- English film icon Michael Caine, the two-time Oscar-winning star of films Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and The Cider House Rules (1999), turned 92 on Friday.
- In the past, the London-born star has credited his later-in-life lifestyle changes, and some ‘accidental’ healthy habits in his youth, to be his secrets to aging healthily, with the goal to stay around as long as possible for his grandchildren.
- While many people believe in a life of moderation with an occasional splurge, and there’s nothing wrong with that, reducing inflammation in your body is a science-backed way to help avoid cancer and other serious health issues as you age.
- Staying up on your health screenings (prostate cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer and skin cancer) is another way to lock in those golden years, as catching any disease early tends to result in a better prognosis. Speak with your doctor today about your family health history and lifestyle risks to make sure you’re staying on top of your health.
The husband, father, and grandfather spoke about his health overhaul in 2017, lightheartedly telling The Sun that he knows his “days are numbered” and therefore is all about preventative health these days to help reverse some of the damage he did in decades past.
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“I’m one of the most family-oriented men you’ll ever meet,” Caine previously told PEOPLE.
Continuing his interview with The Sun: “You know I’ve lost 30 pounds just because I want to see my grandchildren,” he said, explaining how he trimmed up by cutting out salt and sugar.
Reminiscing on his earlier years, Caine, on second thought, did talk about some “accidental” elements of his youth that may have worked in his favor with his overall health.
“Thinking back on it, health wise I was very lucky. And my mother insisted I ate porridge for breakfast for 15 years. We also had fresh vegetables because we lived on a farm so we would go and nick a cabbage,” he added. “The food was wonderful.”
“Another accidental healthy thing for me was the Second World War,” Caine continued, “you couldn’t get any sugar, you couldn’t get any of those drinks you have now with all this sugar in it.”
Plus, for 15 years, he said “I ate fish, every kind of fish you can imagine and I later realized it was a very healthy thing.
Alcohol and Cancer Risk
If you’re contemplating reducing or stopping your alcohol consumption, like Caine has done over the years, you should consider how this can impact your cancer risk.
The American Cancer Society warns that alcohol consumption can increase your risk for many different types of cancer, with cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box and esophagus, for example.
RELATED: 6 Tips to Help You Avoid Alcohol When Faced With Stress of a Cancer Diagnosis
The ACS notes that drinking and smoking together puts you at a much higher risk for these cancers than drinking or smoking alone.
“This might be because alcohol can help harmful chemicals in tobacco get inside the cells that line the mouth, throat, and esophagus,” the ACS website states. “Alcohol may also limit how these cells can repair damage to their DNA caused by the chemicals in tobacco.”
When it comes to liver cancer, “long-term alcohol use has been linked to an increased risk.” When you regularly drink a lot of alcohol, liver damage can occur and lead to inflammation and scarring a possible explanation for the increased risk.
Eating Healthy Food Reduces Inflammation
A diet that reduces inflammation in the body can help reduce cancer. Take it to the bank. That’s what the Cleveland Clinic says.
Normally, when your body recognizes something as being foreign or potentially dangerous alcohol, bacteria, or pollen inflammation helps the immune system fight off these invaders. What actually happens is that damaged cells start releasing chemicals like histamines that sound off an alarm. They cause blood vessels to leak fluids into tissues. The tissues start swelling. Then white blood cells rush toward the damaged cells and help get rid of the toxins and dead tissue.
Cutting ‘Pro-Inflammatory’ Foods From Your Diet Can Reduce Cancer Risk
But if your body stays inflamed this way, it can be a problem. Chronic inflammation is linked to several diseases. It can lead to cancer. It also causes heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and Alzheimer’s, according to Krista Maruschak, a registered dietician at Cleveland Clinic.
The encouraging news here is that you can reduce inflammation by reducing your intake of foods that cause inflammation. These so-called “pro-inflammatory” foods include white breads, pastas, pastries, sodas, red meats and processed meats.
You’ve heard it before, but the science is there.
Eat more “anti-inflammatory” foods instead, Maruschak recommends.
- Incorporate as many fruits and vegetables as you can throughout the day.
- Replace refined carbohydrates with whole grains like whole wheat bread and brown rice.
- Replace high-fat red meats with lean meats like chicken, turkey and fish.
- Incorporate more plant-based proteins, like beans and lentils,
- Add spices to your diet that have various anti-inflammatory properties, like cinnamon and turmeric.
Staying Up on Your Health Screenings
Seeing a doctor regularly and sharing your family health history is important so they know what health screenings to order for you and when.
For prostate cancer, the current recommendation is to begin screening at age 50 if you have an average risk. Those that are at a high risk of developing prostate cancer, should start screening at age 40 or 45, depending upon your specific circumstances.
Communicating with Your Doctor to Determine Cancer Risk
Colon cancer screenings are done via colonoscopy, which is a procedure doctors use to look inside your colon.
This procedure requires your colon to be “cleaned out.” To clear out your colon, your doctor will prescribe a “bowel prep,” which is a liquid you drink the night before the procedure. The prep acts as a laxative that causes you to have multiple loose stools before your procedure.
RELATED: Colon Cancer—Introduction to Prevention and Screening
Once your colon is cleared out, the gastroenterologist performing the procedure can have a clear look to evaluate if any polyps or masses are present.
The American Cancer Society recently recommended that beginning at age 45, patients undergo a colonoscopy every 10 years. However, more frequent colonoscopies are recommended if a polyp (a sort of pre-cancerous growth) is found. While most major national organizations put no maximum age limit on colonoscopy screening, government guidelines suggest people 76 and over talk to their doctor about whether further screening is needed.
What to Expect During a Colonoscopy
Depending on the size and number of polyps found, it is recommended that patients undergo a repeat colonoscopy within three to five years.
To stay ahead of a potential lung cancer diagnosis, one very effective way to find lung cancers early is with a low-dose computed tomography (CT) scan. This test uses a very small amount of radiation to create highly detailed pictures of your lungs. It can reveal cancer long before your very first symptom appears.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) — an independent expert panel that makes evidence-based recommendations about screenings and other preventive services — recommends yearly low-dose CT scans for people who:
- Are between 55 and 80 years old
- Have a history of heavy smoking, and
- Smoke now or have quit within the past 15 years
“In about 70 to 80% of patients who are diagnosed with lung cancer, unfortunately the cancer has spread outside of the lung and is not suitable for surgery,” Dr. Patrick Forde, thoracic oncologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
CT scans are able to pick up cancer “at an earlier stage and potentially cure them at a higher rate than not doing screening,” Dr. Forde added.
It’s also important to get in for annual skin cancer screenings where doctors can scan your body for anything out of the ordinary. Be sure to speak with your general practitioner who can steer you in the right direction to stay up to date on your overall health.
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