New Year, New Challenges, New Focus

My Health Priorities for 2025

Happy New Year! You may remember that I’m not one for conventional resolutions… but the turning of the calendar in January gives us a natural opportunity to refocus our health habits. I’m reminded of when our son was a baby: just when we thought we had the right combination of rituals, it all changed!

You may think my health habits are perfectly dialed in, but I am still a work in progress. The relentless march of time means that my body is in a perpetual state of change, and I must evaluate and adapt accordingly. In addition to changing strategies as needed, I also need to incorporate a steady stream of new information, different perspectives, and novel discoveries in the longevity field. Lastly, I, too, experience the very human element of the ebbs and flows of commitment and discipline—I often have conversations with myself about the need to recommit to doing better…and I see a few of these conversations in the future!

To that end, I thought I’d share the health priorities that will be my focus this year in hopes that they may also help focus you.

Mitochondrial and cellular health
This is the core, the genesis, the fountainhead of cellular energy and good health, and therefore my number one priority. When I evaluate what I eat or do through the lens of “Is this good for my cells?” I’m bound to make better decisions.

Heading into the new year, I’m focusing on strengthening the following habits for optimum metabolic health and exploring a few intriguing new ones.

Full range of motion
Until recently, I considered stretching and range of motion to be one issue. But I’ve realized that they are two very separate and different matters. Flexibility is necessary because it allows for a full range of motion, and this full range of motion will enable an active, full-functioning life as we age.

A while back, I was walking behind a little boy and his dad when I noticed the boy wasn’t walking at all; instead, he was twirling his way down the sidewalk. My son used to be just like him: he hopped, skipped, and jumped from point A to point B. Compare that to the plodding pace of most elderly people, and it becomes abundantly clear that, among other things, we lose our range of motion as we age.

This reduced range has a cascading negative effect on joints, tendons, muscles, the pelvic floor, and, yes, even our cells. In the last couple of months, this has hit home for me, with this very strange sciatica issue and lower back pain that took me by complete surprise. Admittedly, I had not been doing as much stretching as I had in the past, but as I dug a little deeper, I realized that it is more complex than simply being flexible.

Built to Move author and mobility pioneer Kelley Starett firmly believes that range of motion is the cornerstone of being a durable human being. While he and his wife, Juliet, have developed a formal program that supports this philosophy, you can weave simple habits into your routine, such as sitting on the floor for 30 minutes a day—a common practice in countries with the highest longevity rates.

Ultimately, I’d love to move like a child, but my goal is at least to have the mobility of a young adult. Stay tuned for more mobility information this year.

Variety of strength training
Just as important as having a full range of motion is maintaining strength. I feel passionate about being strong as we age because strong skeletal and smooth muscles have metabolic and hormonal functions that have cascading effects on health, well-being, and, ultimately, our quality of life.

Although strength and resistance training has been part of my weekly routine for about 30 years, I’ve noticed a decrease in my grip strength as well as overall strength, which is a wake-up call I need to heed.

It’s essential to challenge muscles in various ways, so in addition to resistance training, I will incorporate body-weight exercises such as good old-fashioned calisthenics, hanging (from a bar or rings), and focus on building my grip strength. Fist push-ups are a good place to start.

Jumping
This notion has been “jumping” into my mind lately. In the past, when a thought repeatedly entered my mind, it was usually a sign I should pay attention.

It began when I noticed that rebounders were, well, rebounding from the 1980s. (I should have kept mine!) I remember rebounding fondly; it would make an engaging addition to my repertoire. Aside from the fun factor, I have noticed that simple jumping is part of many mobility routines: side-to-side, forward and backward hops, and leaping onto boxes.

Recently, I was in our backyard, and before I stepped back up to the porch, I thought, “Can I jump up onto this tiny 6” step?” Much to my dismay, it was the strangest sensation…as if my feet were cast into the concrete. Clearly, it was more mental than physical, but I struggled to talk myself into this puny hop. Although I finally prevailed, the unexpected difficulty has got me seriously pondering what the heck is going on… this clearly is a very weak link.

Interestingly, I came across an old Russian proverb that translates to "When you stop jumping, you start dying." I’m remembering my son perpetually hopping, skipping, and jumping.

I’m going to start jumping, and I’ll keep you posted on my step-jumping progress.

Lymphatic maintenance
Maintaining our body's natural waste management system is at the top of my priority list. As a reminder, the intricate lymphatic network resides just under the skin's surface and does not have a built-in pump, so it requires movement of some kind to function. Exercising is one way; manual encouragement is another.

You all know my devotion to dry brushing, and I wholeheartedly believe that it has been integral in boosting my immunity to seasonal maladies. But the benefits extend beyond immunity to health in general. Now more than ever, in light of the mountain of toxins we encounter, we need our miraculous lymphatic system to function at peak performance to mitigate damage to our cells and mitochondria.

I’m prioritizing more tapping, whisking, the aforementioned jumping, and full range of motion movement. (It’s all tied together!)

Plastics be gone
Speaking of toxins…I’ve warned about the prevalence of microplastics, but the danger bells are getting exponentially louder in the public square and my mind. Studies show an increasingly alarming amount of microscopic plastic accumulation in our bodies, coming from various food sources (even baby formula), clothing, and household items, impacting nearly every foundational system, including the diminishing rate of male fertility.

While we can’t control the outside environment, we can control what happens within our homes. It’s common knowledge that plastic never stops curing and becomes brittle over time, so long ago, I eliminated nearly all plastics from our kitchen, except for a few straggler storage lids for the glass containers and flexible baking spatulas.

A couple of weeks ago, as I was baking for Christmas, I scraped down the sides of the mixing bowl and noticed a little corner of the spatula had broken off. That was the last nudge I needed: I immediately threw it away. The same goes for the cracking glass container storage lids. I’m on the hunt for silicone replacements for both.

The episode reinforced that I need to become even more diligent than I have been. I told my husband, Andrea, that my goal over the year is to replace all of our clothes made of technical fabrics (why are we wearing plastic bottles?) with performance wool and cotton. I’m especially keen to swap out my son’s synthetic wicking underwear for all cotton. Wish me luck.

A wide assortment of whole, organic foods
I’m a creature of habit, sometimes to my detriment. I tend to get into deep ruts and stay there for weeks, sometimes months. This frequently happens with what I eat, even though I know that a well-rounded diet is essential for good health. Eating a wide variety of organic foods will ensure I get the nutrients my body needs from the most bioavailable source, which is central to good cellular energy.

I’m vowing to make a concerted effort to incorporate a wider variety of proteins, greens, and the all-important cruciferous vegetables into my overall diet. I’m creating a specific list of foods I will frame so they stay at the top of my mind. Making more soups will help, and frequenting the Farmer's Markets regularly will assist my efforts.

Fermented foods
Full confession: I am a food baby. I’ve never been one to try new foods, and fermented foods fall into that “no, I don’t want to try that” category. Now, in my 60th decade, it’s even harder to break dyed-in-the-wool habits, but I need to tackle this aversion.

The critical role of the gut microbiome in our overall health—including the brain—has many people gobbling up prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. But I’m not sold on the efficacy of any of those. Instead, I look to cultures where people live to 100 the old-fashioned way. Known as the Blue Zones, they share a common thread of fermented foods that are natural suppliers of maintaining an ideal microbiome balance.

Fortunately, I like olives, kefir, raw milk parmesan, Good Culture cottage cheese, miso, and sourdough bread…but I have to expand my fermented horizons. Somehow, I have to work in one of the most recommended foods: sauerkraut. I saw some at the Farmers Market that looked promising. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Consistently restful sleep
Because the body repairs and restores during sleep, it is foundational to good health and longevity. I’ve done quite a bit of work in this area, and I’m about 85% there in getting consistent 7-8 hours of sleep…but it could be better. I’ll work on two issues: darkening my room because small streams of light seem to wake me up and solving our dogs’ insistent scratching and licking, which I haven’t been able to resolve yet. (My husband and I rue the day we didn’t train our dogs to sleep in the mudroom.) But I’ll keep trying!

On my radar

• Grounding is evidence-based to moderate stress, improve sleep, and strengthen cellular function. I’ve heard positive anecdotal feedback on sheets, and of course, standing outside barefoot is free. I need to mindfully add it to my day.

• Light therapy fascinates me, particularly the red-light panels used for healing and skin health. I’ve also just started reading about light patches that purportedly work at the molecular level for the entire body. They are a bit splurgy, though, so a little more research is needed.

• Saunas have many proven health benefits…hopefully, 2025 will open the door to one!

• EMFs (Electromagnetic Fields) undoubtedly impact our health, and mitigation is necessary. I’m researching the wisest course of action, whether patches, shields, coils, etc…

• Clean water is a concern, and while we have a whole-house system, I’m not sure which chemicals it’s actually filtering out, so I will investigate this further.

• We need to improve the air quality in our home this year. Between the dirt clouds created by the crazy blowers used by our neighbors’ gardeners and our drafty 110-year-old windows, we have a lot of irritants in the house. I need to mitigate the effects, and our simple room air cleaner is not entirely effective. I think we need an air scrubber.

Phew! This may sound like a lot of work, but it’s really not. It’s just a matter of making mindful and purposeful choices with the goal to live well, age great.

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