9 More Positive Things About Ageing No One Tells You
Plus: A New Life-Changing Study On Butter Consumption
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9 More Positive Things about Ageing No One Tells You
Part of society’s ageism problem stems from the embedded notion that old people are not contributing to society, and are therefore a dead weight. But despite what people believe, we are useful to society: we have greater political participation, we provide family support, we commit fewer crimes, we participate in the voluntary sector and many of us contribute to the economy by still being in work.
Our spending habits boosts the economy. People aged 65 and over in the UK last year contributed £61bn to the economy through employment, informal caring and volunteering, according to the charity, Age UK. Lastly, we possess a wealth of knowledge and experience that we can and do share with society.
We have fewer accidents. Older drivers have fewer accidents than younger drivers according to research.
We have a greater sense of acceptance of self and others.
We learn resilience. As we navigate the changes of ageing we become more resilient.
We gain a wider perspective, more able to appreciate the bigger picture.
Relationships with others become deeper and more meaningful.
We have a greater sense of appreciation and of gratitude.
We can provide positive, active role models for the young. Psychologists Rowe and Kahn created a three-part model of successful ageing that's popular today. They focused on staying healthy, keeping your mind and body working well, and staying connected with other people.
Their ideas started new conversations about successful ageing. Before them, researchers only talked about getting sick and declining as you got older. No one had really considered that older people could actually flourish and enjoy their later years. So they paved the way for the new positive model of ageing that today’s older influencers are living by and promoting.*
Our creativity can be enhanced by our life’s experiences and the knowledge we’ve gained. This can lead to new ideas, which is good for the brain, and a commitment to our creative output, giving us a sense of purpose.
*I’m writing an article about this model to delve deeper into the concept of successful ageing and when it began. It’s for members of the Second Half Collective, my paid subscribers. If you’re interested in receiving it into your inbox, upgrade now.
A New Life-Changing Study On Butter Consumption
Researchers analysing data from more than 221,000 adults over several decades have found a link between butter consumption and increased mortality risk. Conversely, those who consumed a higher intake of plant based oils in the study had a lower mortality rate.
Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, said of the study: “This is an important study that shows that people who choose to eat butter don’t live as long as those who choose to eat vegetable oils.
Butter is high in saturated fat, contains some trans fatty acids but is very low in polyunsaturated fats.
Whereas unhydrogenated soybean, canola and olive oils are low in saturated fatty acids but high in unsaturated fats.”
He went on to say that vegetable oils have received much negative publicity on social media, which are based on unfounded claims of potential harmful effects, but the take home message from the study is that it is healthier to choose unsaturated vegetable oils rather than butter. The authors of the study say: “Substituting butter with plant-based oils may confer substantial benefits for preventing premature deaths.”
If, like me, you follow the Mediterranean way of eating, extra virgin olive oil will be your primary source of oil. There are many studies that show how healthy this oil is for you. It’s not easy replacing butter with oil, especially if you live in the UK and use butter in so many ways. We spread it on our bread and our toasted teacakes and scones, put it in a baked potato and mash our boiled potatoes with it, and use it to bake cakes.
Since reading of the study, I’ve tried to cut down on butter intending to remove it completely eventually from my diet. I have a gene that puts me at risk of diabetes, so I need to cut back on some fats, anyway. I’ve tried using garlic flavoured olive oil for baked and mashed potatoes and liked it, and not using any spread on bread. There are many cake recipes that don’t use butter. So it is possible to replace butter with oil.
What do you think about this study? Have you found ways to use less butter for other reasons?
Discussion
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Thank you so much for this post. A co worker and I constantly rail against the ageism at work. It’s in both how people over 50 (particularly women) are treated in house and in publications. Of particular irritation are the almost senile cute elders with bottle glasses and bad perm hair on the covers of large print for seniors (though with the eye issues screen obsessed youth are having they could eliminate senior)We also think instead of “guide for —— phone for seniors “ it should be BASIC guide (cut out seniors). Very appreciative of your work. Am requesting your book for (US) Mother’s Day. Thanks again!
yes, butter, lovely delicious butter. For years, I would buy it when on sale, pounds of it, and store in the freezer. When the price began to rise a few years ago, I kept my eye out for sales, and stocked up. I did a good job! Then, life caught up with me and told me that perhaps it was better to quite the 'high protein, low carb' way of eating that I'd practiced for years. The last few years have been mostly 'plant based' but every now and then I have butter. I solved a few medical issues in my body, from quitting meat, flesh, etc (well, I still cheat ocassionally) dairy and increasing lovely vegetables. I have read that seed oils are not a miracle cure and they are still not good or you if used too much; especially if you do have certain medical issues or whatever. This is not a warning or a lecture to anyone. Do what is right for you. At one point in the past, I had 40+ lbs of butter in my freezer! This was when both my kids and late dh lived here. Now, it's me, one adult child and Jim, a sweet man who is moderate in butter consumption.