Health
Three women — ages 41, 55 and 64 — share their secrets to better health and longevity
For an increasing number of women over 40, age really is just a number.
It may not be possible to stop the passage of time — but certain healthy habits can help slow down biological age, experts say.
“As we age, our abilities to perform certain physical and cognitive tasks decline, while our risks for disease and ultimately death increase,” Chris Mirabile, CEO and founder of NOVOS, a longevity supplements company in New York, told Fox News Digital.
“Although these changes are correlated with chronological age, biological age is a more accurate predictor, because it looks at individuals and how well – or poorly – they are aging.”
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If a 40-year-old woman has a biological age of 35, it implies that she is biologically in the same place as an average 35-year-old, Mirabile said – which means a significant reduction in risk for disease and death, plus an increased capacity for activities associated with a high quality of life.
Left to right, Julie Gibson Clark, Amy Hardison and Lil Eskey shared the lifestyle habits that help them slow down biological aging. (James Lee; Amy Hardison; Lil Eskey)
For Women’s Health Month, three mothers at three different stages of life shared how they are defying age through simple lifestyle practices and interventions.
The women all participated in a six-month-long trial of NOVOS Core and Boost, supplements that are designed to slow down the aging process. Over the course of the study, they took three epigenetic tests, which analyzed DNA via a small blood sample to measure their “pace of aging.”
Lil Eskey, 41 years old, still has young kids
Lil Eskey, 41, is a stay-at-home mom and former fitness instructor in Phoenix, Arizona.
Growing up, she frequently had allergies and a constant sore throat.
“The way that my mom handled it was to put me on antibiotics so many times when I was a kid,” she told Fox News Digital.
Lil Eskey, 41, pictured with her son, is a stay-at-home mom and former fitness instructor in Phoenix, Arizona. Maintaining a more youthful energy level is important to Eskey, as she is still raising young children. (Lil Eskey)
“I also had gut issues most of my life, so my path into health and wellness stemmed from trying to figure out what was going on with my body.”
Prioritizing her sleep is the biggest thing Eskey does for her health, she told Fox News Digital.
“Good sleep is so underrated,” she said.
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“Having a consistent bedtime and wake-up time is so important for overall wellness. Everything works so much better when you’re well-rested, including any stressors in your life or anything going on with the mind.”
Eskey also tries to incorporate movement into her life wherever possible.
“When my son goes to preschool, I pull him on a bike trailer. The same goes for anything that’s a few miles away, like grocery shopping.”
“I want to be completely present for my kids and maintain a level of energy and vitality in life.”
After dinner, the family often goes out on bike rides or jumps on the trampoline.
“We do anything to make it fun,” she said.
When it comes to mental health, Eskey has made the decision not to use social media.
Pictured on a hike, Eskey said she incorporates movement into her life wherever possible. (Lil Eskey)
“I hear about anything that’s super important, and I’ll check the news occasionally to see what information I need, but to me, social media just seems like an additional stressor on the body,” she said.
Eskey and her family often experiment with different health practices, she said.
“I listen to different podcasts on health and fitness to hear about new science or new ideas, and then we’ll test it out to see what works,” she said.
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“For example, I realized I feel way better when I have a couple of hours between having my last meal and going to bed.”
She’s also experimented with using a continuous glucose monitor to track her blood sugar.
“We’re always just doing different experimental things to see what makes the biggest change,” Eskey said.
Prioritizing her sleep is the biggest thing Eskey does for her health, she told Fox News Digital. “Good sleep is so underrated,” she said. (Photo Illustration by Ute Grabowsky/Photothek via Getty Images)
She has also been using anti-aging supplements from NOVOS. During the course of the study, Eskey’s biological pace of aging was reduced from .99 to .77.
“The time we’re here on this earth doesn’t always have to reflect the cumulative stress on our bodies. Rather, it’s stress that causes aging,” she said.
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“It’s more important now than ever, with all the toxins and stressors we’re facing.”
Maintaining a more youthful energy level is important to Eskey, as she is still raising young children, she said.
“The biggest thing is being able to keep up with my kids and be totally active,” Eskey said. (Lil Eskey)
“The biggest thing is being able to keep up with my kids and be totally active,” she said.
“When my kids want to play at the park, it’s important to me that I’m not just sitting on the bench watching them. I want to be completely present for my kids and maintain a level of energy and vitality in life.”
Julie Gibson Clark, 55 years old, focuses on movement
A recruiter who lives in Phoenix, Arizona, Julie Gibson Clark said she focuses on seven key areas to help slow down biological aging.
The first is movement, both strength and cardio. “I focus on full-body strength training twice per week and a mix of zone 2 and Vo2Max training the rest of the week,” she told Fox News Digital.
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In her diet, Clark focuses heavily on veggies.
“I mix cooked greens and veggies, about 1 pound total every day,” she said. “I started small (about 4 ounces) and added about 1 ounce per week.”
Clark also prioritizes 90 to 100 grams of healthy protein each day: a mix of vegan protein, collagen and healthy, pasture-raised meats and eggs.
Julie Gibson Clark, a recruiter who lives in Phoenix, Arizona, said she focuses on seven key areas to help slow down biological aging. (Julie Gibson Clark)
Sleep is also a big priority for Clark. “It’s hard to perform well at anything without proper sleep,” she told Fox News Digital.
Saunas and cold showers are another part of Clark’s regular routine. “This is my natural antidepressant and helps with focus during the day,” she said. “For anyone struggling with low mood or stressful times, I highly recommend trying this.”
Clark also began meditating in 2019, which she described as “a game-changer for stress and sleep.”
“I like to think of longevity practices like a braid with three strands — exercise, eating right and prioritizing sleep.”
“Twenty minutes every afternoon improves my sleep and allows me to recalibrate stress levels during the day,” she said.
Clark also takes NOVOS supplements, which she credits with increasing her energy levels and slowing her pace of aging by 8%, according to the study results.
“When you start moving, you’ll likely be more motivated to eat well, and your sleep will be better. When you sleep, it’s easier to stay on track with your diet and fitness plans,” Clark said. “They all work together.” (James Lee)
“I like to think of longevity practices like a braid with three strands — exercise, eating right and prioritizing sleep,” she told Fox News Digital. “And there’s an extra colorful strand in there: supplements. Each of these works together to help the others.”
She added, “When you start moving, you’ll likely be more motivated to eat well, and your sleep will be better. When you sleep, it’s easier to stay on track with your diet and fitness plans. They all work together.”
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Clark said she adheres to the motto, “It’s not the years in your life, but the life in your years.”
“I want all the years I have to be full of mobility, vibrance and vitality.”
Amy Hardison, 64 years old, makes exercising fun
A writer and grandmother of 11 in Mesa, Arizona, Amy Hardison has always had consistent health and exercise habits.
“I have exercised aerobically an hour a day, six days a week for 50 years and have rarely missed a day,” she told Fox News Digital.
“I always listen to an audiobook while exercising, making it even more fun.”
Amy Hardison’s favorite exercises include swimming and working out on the elliptical. “I love working out at home — other people love going to a gym and having a trainer. Do whatever works for you and then do it consistently,” she advised. (Amy Hardison)
Hardison’s favorite exercises include swimming and working out on the elliptical.
“I love working out at home — other people love going to a gym and having a trainer. Do whatever works for you and then do it consistently,” she advised.
Regarding nutrition and exercise, Hardison’s philosophy is to find something you love that you can stick with long-term.
“Aging will take you places you have never been.”
“Some people totally cut out sugar from their diet, often because they tend to eat too much once they start,” she said. “Others, like me, eat small amounts each day.”
Hardison had never been into vitamins and supplements until she got involved in the NOVOS study.
“I really liked that the study included bloodwork at the beginning, middle and end of the year-long trial,” she said.
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“My bloodwork revealed that at the beginning of the study, I was aging at .86 biological years for every chronological year. At the end of the study, I was aging at .74. That is compelling empirical data.”
Although Hardison does what she can to stay physically healthy and mentally sharp, she acknowledges that there is a limit to what she can control.
“Life is to be lived and enjoyed,” said Hardison, pictured hiking with her husband. (Amy Hardison)
“There is even a limit to how much I am willing to invest in longevity,” she said. “Life is to be lived and enjoyed.”
“Aging will take you places you have never been,” Hardison continued.
“There is so much to learn and experience. Embrace the normal and natural decline with humor and perspective. Thank your body for taking you on the journey.”
A biohacker’s 5 quick tips for healthy aging
Melanie Avalon, health influencer, entrepreneur and host of The Intermittent Fasting Podcast and “The Melanie Avalon Biohacking Podcast,” agreed that women can take proactive steps to slow their pace of aging.
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“The ever-growing online bloodwork and genetic platforms allow women access to personal data, providing a deeper view of their aging on a cellular level, including monitoring their biological age, which may differ from their chronological age,” she told Fox News Digital.
“Women can then make dietary and lifestyle choices to optimize these markers.”
1. Optimize sleep
One of the biggest issues aging women experience is restless sleep, often characterized by tossing, turning and hot flashes, according to Avalon.
One of the biggest issues aging women experience is restless sleep, often characterized by tossing, turning and hot flashes, according to Avalon. (iStock)
“Women can implement a ‘sleep sanctuary’ to best support a restorative night, including sticking to a consistent wind-down routine and sleep schedule, in a cool, dark environment,” she advised.
Using a cooling mattress, avoiding late-night blue light exposure, and finding the optimal sleep position are some ways women can achieve better sleep quality, Avalon advised.
2. Seek hormonal support as needed
“Women often dread the perimenopausal years for their seemingly inevitable rollercoaster of hormonal issues,” Avalon said.
“Women can support healthy hormonal levels and natural transitions into the menopausal years by nourishing their bodies with micronutrient-rich whole foods, getting ample sleep, addressing stress levels, and reducing their exposure to toxins.”
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For some women, hormone replacement therapy may be an option.
“Many women may find that the benefits outweigh the risks,” Avalon noted.
3. Optimize muscle mass
Maintaining muscle mass is crucial for healthy aging, according to Avalon.
“Declines in muscle mass and strength are intrinsically tied to mortality, playing a causative role in falls and metabolic issues,” she said.
The maintenance of muscle mass is crucial for healthy aging, according to one expert. (iStock)
“Aging typically leads to reduced muscle protein synthesis,” Avalon noted.
“Women should pay careful attention to getting ample protein as they age, with a particular focus on the amino acid leucine, which stimulates muscle protein synthesis.”
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Aging women should aim for a gram of protein per pound of body weight, Avalon recommended.
“Women can also engage in strength training to further support muscle growth and maintenance,” she added.
4. Monitor essential markers
“Aging women should embrace the agency to take their health into their own hands,” Avalon said.
Women should work with conventional doctors to regularly check key health metrics, such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels, cholesterol and bone density, along with other markers of disease, an expert advised. (iStock)
She recommends working with conventional doctors to regularly check key health metrics, such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels, cholesterol and bone density, along with other markers of disease.
5. Achieve proper glycemic control
Poor glycemic control is linked to a myriad of degenerative diseases, from prediabetes and diabetes to cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline, according to Avalon.
“Aging women can implement an unprocessed, whole-food-based diet, low to moderate in carbs, depending on their tolerance,” she said.
Women can also opt to wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to monitor their blood sugar levels.
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Long before the Black Death killed millions across Europe in the Middle Ages, an earlier, more elusive version of the plague spread across much of Eurasia.
For years, scientists were unsure how the ancient disease managed to spread so widely during the Bronze Age, which lasted from roughly 3300 to 1200 B.C., and stick around for nearly 2,000 years, especially since it wasn’t spread by fleas like later plagues. Now, researchers say a surprising clue may help explain it, a domesticated sheep that lived more than 4,000 years ago.
Researchers found DNA from the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis in the tooth of a Bronze Age sheep discovered in what is now southern Russia, according to a study recently published in the journal Cell. It is the first known evidence that the ancient plague infected animals, not just people, and offers a missing clue about how the disease spread.
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“It was alarm bells for my team,” study co-author Taylor Hermes, a University of Arkansas archaeologist who studies ancient livestock and disease spread, said in a statement. “This was the first time we had recovered the genome from Yersinia pestis in a non-human sample.”
A domesticated sheep, likely similar to this one, lived alongside humans during the Bronze Age. (iStock)
And it was a lucky discovery, according to the researchers.
“When we test livestock DNA in ancient samples, we get a complex genetic soup of contamination,” Hermes said. “This is a large barrier … but it also gives us an opportunity to look for pathogens that infected herds and their handlers.”
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The highly technical and time-consuming work requires researchers to separate tiny, damaged fragments of ancient DNA from contamination left by soil, microbes and even modern humans. The DNA they recover from ancient animals is often broken into tiny pieces sometimes just 50 “letters” long, compared to a full human DNA strand, which contains more than 3 billion of those letters.
Animal remains are especially tough to study because they are often poorly preserved compared to human remains that were carefully buried, the researchers noted.
The finding sheds light on how the plague likely spread through close contact between people, livestock and wild animals as Bronze Age societies began keeping larger herds and traveling farther with horses. The Bronze Age saw more widespread use of bronze tools, large-scale animal herding and increased travel, conditions that may have made it easier for diseases to move between animals and humans.
When the plague returned in the Middle Ages during the 1300s, known as the Black Death, it killed an estimated one-third of Europe’s population.
The discovery was made at Arkaim, a fortified Bronze Age settlement in the Southern Ural Mountains of present-day Russia near the Kazakhstan border. (iStock)
“It had to be more than people moving,” Hermes said. “Our plague sheep gave us a breakthrough. We now see it as a dynamic between people, livestock and some still unidentified ‘natural reservoir’ for it.”
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Researchers believe sheep likely picked up the bacteria from another animal, like rodents or migratory birds, that carried it without getting sick and then passed it to humans. They say the findings highlight how many deadly diseases begin in animals and jump to humans, a risk that continues today as people move into new environments and interact more closely with wildlife and livestock.
“It’s important to have a greater respect for the forces of nature,” Hermes said.
The study is based on a single ancient sheep genome, which limits how much scientists can conclude, they noted, and more samples are needed to fully understand the spread.
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The researchers plan to study more ancient human and animal remains from the region to determine how widespread the plague was and which species may have played a role in spreading it.
Researchers (not pictured) found plague-causing Yersinia pestis DNA in the remains of a Bronze Age sheep. (iStock)
They also hope to identify the wild animal that originally carried the bacteria and better understand how human movement and livestock herding helped the disease travel across vast distances, insights that could help them better anticipate how animal-borne diseases continue to emerge.
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The research was led by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, with senior authors Felix M. Key of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology and Christina Warinner of Harvard University and the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology.
The research was supported by the Max Planck Society, which has also funded follow-up work in the region.
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Cases of gout are rising in younger individuals, according to a global study.
The condition, which is a type of inflammatory arthritis, steadily increased in people aged 15 to 39 between 1990 and 2021, researchers in China announced.
Although rates vary widely between countries, the total number of young people with the condition is expected to continue rising through 2035.
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The study, published in the journal Joint Bone Spine, investigated 2021 data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), spanning 204 countries within the 30-year timeframe.
The data measured gout prevalence, incidence and years lived with disability, tracking global trends over time. The results showed a global increase across all three outcomes.
Gout is expected to continue rising in young people through 2035. (iStock)
Prevalence and disability years increased by 66%, and incidence rose by 62%. In 2021, 15- to 39-year-olds accounted for nearly 14% of new gout cases globally, the study found.
Men from 35 to 39 years old and people in high-income regions had the highest burden, but high-income North America topped the list for highest rates.
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Men were also found to have lived more years with gout due to high BMI, while women tended to have the condition as a link to kidney dysfunction, the study noted.
The total number of cases is expected to increase globally due to population growth, but the study projected that rates per population would decrease.
The researchers noted that data quality, especially in low-income settings, could have posed a limitation to the broad GBD data.
What is gout?
Gout is a common form of arthritis involving sudden and severe attacks of pain, swelling, redness and tenderness in the joints, according to Mayo Clinic. It most often occurs in the big toe.
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The condition occurs when urate crystals accumulate in the joint. These form when there are high levels of uric acid in the blood, which the body produces when it breaks down a natural substance called purines.
A gout flare-up can happen at any time, often at night, causing the affected joint to feel hot, swollen, tender and sensitive to the touch.
Urate crystals, described as sharp and needle-like, build up in the joint, causing intense pain and swelling. (iStock)
Purines can also be found in certain foods, like red meat or organ meats like liver and some seafood, including anchovies, sardines, mussels, scallops, trout and tuna, according to the Mayo Clinic. Alcoholic drinks, especially beer, and drinks sweetened with fruit sugar can also lead to higher uric acid levels.
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Uric acid will typically dissolve in the blood and pass through the kidneys into urine, but when the body produces too much or too little uric acid, it can cause a build-up of urate crystals. These are described by the Mayo Clinic as sharp and needle-like, causing pain, inflammation and swelling in the joint or surrounding tissue.
Risk factors for gout include a diet rich in high-purine foods and being overweight, which causes the body to produce more uric acid and the kidneys to have trouble eliminating it.
Experts urge patients to seek medical attention for gout flare-ups. (iStock)
Certain conditions like untreated high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome and heart and kidney diseases can increase the risk of gout, as well as certain medications.
A family history of gout can also increase risk. Men are more likely to develop the condition, as women tend to have lower uric acid levels, although symptoms generally develop after menopause.
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Untreated gout can cause worsening pain and joint damage, experts caution. It may also lead to more severe conditions, such as recurrent gout, advanced gout and kidney stones.
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The Mayo Clinic advises patients to seek immediate medical care if a fever occurs or if a joint becomes hot and inflamed, which is a sign of infection. Certain anti-inflammatory medications can help treat gout flares and complications.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.
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