New York’s US Senator: Hearing On Most Current Research On Aging, Preventing Chronic Diseases, Optimizing Health

Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Gillibrand to Hold Aging Committee Hearing on Optimizing Longevity: From Research to Action

Editor’s note: During the hearing, many topics were covered.  Most important, we learned about the incredible value of exercise, and how just a little bit each day reducing the risk of most chronic diseases.  The Plant-Forward diet is discussed, where patients are instructed to focus on getting good nutrition, mainly from fruits and vegetables, in order to meet their nutrition requirements.  Satiety, and the lack of the same when consuming packaged and processed foods, was also discussed as a hidden cause of obesity, and by extension, diabetes.  

Satiety is that feeling of fullness that one gets when they have had a nutritionally dense or valuable meal.  When there is enough protein and fat in a given meal, then you will feel sated afterward.  However, if one consumes mostly packaged foods and gets low nutrition from their meal, they will not feel sated or full.  Instead, their bodies continue to seek nutrition even when their stomachs are full, so they continue to eat and eventually gain weight.  But this is not the kind of weight gain you want; it is fat, not muscle.  

Building good muscle tone and mass is also discussed as important, particularly as they relate to independence.  If you don’t have good muscle tone or mass, you don’t usually have independence.  They need to rely on someone else to cook their meals for them, lift and move things, or perform other activities that people who have good muscle mass and tone are able to do on their own.  It isn’t that difficult to build this mass, either. It requires a commitment to moving and possibly doing weight-training or resistance forms of exercise in order to maintain muscles.  As we discussed with Dr. Cheng, an experienced cardiologist at the Orthomolecular News Service, most people over a certain age eat less.  This eating less translates to having lower muscle mass and poorer overall health outcomes.  They have a higher incidence of chronic disease and other health issues.  

We also discussed similar topics with Dr. Pippin, with the Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine.  In this physician’s view, many diseases of the heart can be reversed or slowed with a proper diet, which in his view was a plant-based diet.  A plant-based diet can, by itself, reverse some of the conditions that affect the heart, including Coronary Artery Disease.  The diet the panel discussed has also been shown to reduce the incidence of many cancers, reverse arthritis and Type II diabetes, and, perhaps most importantly, it is a nutrient-dense diet.  This means you will be sated after eating, and the body will be able to repair itself, as well as have a strong immune system.  

One of the important points they covered was how people can take care of their own diets.  Many of our elderly residents, especially those who live alone, find it difficult to cook for themselves.  If they can cook for themselves, it is difficult (due to limited mobility) for them to get to the grocery store to purchase the foods to cook.  Many of our elderly residents, up to 30% by some estimates, are living below the income level required to be food secure.  This leads to food insecurity, as well as people consuming less food due to being unable to afford to buy enough to meet their needs.  One very crucial, and often overlooked fact, is that elderly persons who care for other family members, especially children, will give their food to the child if there is not enough for everyone.  This led to discussions on providing food for all members of a senior’s household, so that they can then care for their own needs and those of their loved ones.  

Most of the information covered in this hearing is not well know.  It is an emerging field, with new discoveries coming out on a regular basis.  Since so many members of our community are elderly, and since we are ALL aging, it is important to know how we can best care for ourselves and the older residents of our community.

Washington, D.C. –  Wednesday, February 12^th at 3:30PM, U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Rick Scott and Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand will hold a hearing entitled “Optimizing Longevity: From Research to Action.” During the hearing, the Aging Committee will hear from expert witnesses and discuss components of healthy aging including longevity research, the positive impacts of nutrition and exercise, and disease prevention and health promotion.

Witnesses for the hearing included:

Dan Buettner, Founder, Blue Zones, Miami, FL

Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Founder, FoundMyFitness, San Diego, CA

Dr. Eric Verdin, President and CEO, Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA

Dr. Sarah C. Nosal, MD, FAAFP, Physician, President-Elect, American Academy of Family Physicians, New York, NY

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Following are Senator Gillibrand’s opening remarks at the hearing:

Chairman Scott, thank you for calling today’s hearing.

We all want to live a long and full life. Longevity brings people so many wonderful things like opportunities to spend time with their family or to travel.

Ensuring that we remain healthy as we age is of the utmost importance.

Today, we’ll hear from four witnesses who represent four components of healthy aging – research, nutrition, exercise, and medicine.

We all know we should eat a healthy diet, remain active, seek preventative care, and avoid habits that contribute to disease.

However, the implementation of those habits is difficult in a system that doesn’t support them.

As we’ll hear from Dr. Nosal, so many Americans do not have access to affordable health care, stable housing, financial security, or even walkable communities.

We know that these factors, often called social determinants of health, are often more important than lifestyle choices, accounting for up to 50 percent of health outcomes.

These structural barriers make it hard to achieve health at any age, but especially difficult for older Americans.

Congress must do more to ensure all people are able to meet their basic needs. Only then can we begin to discuss how to optimize health and longevity.

That’s why I led the introduction of the Strategic Plan for Aging Act last Congress.

This bill would provide states with critical funding to transform their infrastructure and build communities that meet the needs of older adults and future generations.

It would address everything from housing to health care to food insecurity, making sure these systems are able to support our aging population.

I’m proud that my home state of New York is in the process of developing a strategic plan.

These plans are a positive step to helping older adults achieve longevity.

But still, there are too many older adults whose basic needs are unmet—like having enough food to eat.

That’s why access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits for older adults is so important.

Older adults must have their basic needs met in order to age well. Cutting critical benefits that allow them to put food on the table and pay their rent is not the way to making sure people can achieve longevity.

We are all aging, which is not in and of itself a disease, but a natural process. We have a duty to ensure all Americans can age well.

Today, I hope that we’ll discuss how access to affordable health care, federal programs that combat hunger, and robust research funding all lead to improved longevity.

And we should have a candid conversation about how cuts to any of our social safety-net programs negatively impacts Americans and their ability to live long and healthy lives.

I look forward to hearing from today’s witnesses about how we can support all Americans as they age.

New York’s Senator Aging Committee Hearing On Preventing Diseases, Optimizing Longevity, Long-Term Health

The ranking member of the Senate Committee on Aging, New York’s Senator Gillibrand (D), held a hearing with Chairman Scott (R) titled “Optimizing Longevity: From Research To Action.”  The hearing focused on current research on healthy aging, in particular as it relates to diet, nutrition, and exercise, and their role in preventing illnesses and promoting ideal health.  Social determinants of health is also an important topic in this discussion.

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