The modest helpers are low risk and possibly worth it
The things that move the needle are cheaper and less exciting. Before we get into a few of them, a few nutritional trends do have modest evidence and are low risk enough to consider.
- Creatine: A small boost for strength training. Creatine helps muscles quickly replenish energy during exercise. In older adults, taking creatine monohydrate, the usual form of the amino acid on the market, alongside strength training may modestly improve strength compared with training alone. Many studies also show gains in lean body mass, though evidence for increased muscle size is less consistent.
- Protein: Most older adults need more, not less. “Proteinmaxxing” is everywhere right now (cue protein soda), and I’m not convinced we need it in everything. Animal research and one observational study in people suggest the right amount may depend on age, but nothing proves that increasing protein intake extends life. What we do know is that many older people don’t get enough, and protein plus regular strength training helps preserve muscle. If you’re active, you may need even more than the baseline recommendation.
- Fiber: Good for your heart, metabolism, and gut. “Fibermaxxing” is one trend I can get behind. Eating more fiber-rich foods is linked to a lower risk of early death, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer. Randomized trials show it modestly reduces cholesterol and blood pressure. Reach for beans, lentils, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts, and check food labels for fiber content. Increase fiber gradually to limit gas and bloating.
What I actually tell my patients
Trends come and go; I have many tried-and-true ways that I recommend to my patients to maximize healthspan. The goal is resilience: a reserve of strength, brain health, and connection that helps you bounce back from illness, a fall, or a loss and, most importantly, keep living the life you want.
My tips are:
- Ignore your “biological age.” This number on fitness trackers estimates how your body is aging based on markers like heart rate and fitness. Blood tests look at proteins, inflammation, or chemical tags on DNA. But no single method is accepted as standard, and different tests can give you different results. These tools help researchers, but they can’t tell you your “real” age or how long you will live. If a result motivates you, great. Just don’t treat it as a diagnosis or a verdict.
- Eat a mostly plant-based, whole-grain, healthy-fat diet. People who eat this way over decades are more likely to reach an older age free of major chronic diseases and with their physical and mental abilities intact. Choose unprocessed foods and get your protein mainly from lean animal sources like chicken or fish, or from plant sources such as beans, lentils, tofu, and nuts. And drink less alcohol.
- Stay busy in three ways: with people, with your mind, and with your body. Loneliness and social isolation are linked to high risks of disease, dementia, and early death.
- Social: strong social connections and time for connecting with people. This improves social networks and can prevent loneliness.
- Cognitive: learning something new and feeling your cognitive abilities engaged or stretched. This signals cognitive engagement and growth.
- Physical: including aerobic and resistance training with a goal of some activity most days for 150 minutes of aerobic activity a week and two days of resistance training, according to current guidelines.
- Protect your sleep with good sleep habits. This lowers the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, and earlier death. Good sleep means enough of it (7-8 hours for most people), good quality (falling asleep fairly easily and staying asleep), and consistency (a regular schedule).
- Bonus recommendation: Ask to be screened for hearing loss. It usually starts in middle age, and is underdetected and undertreated. When treated, there is evidence for improved brain health, reduced dementia risk, and reduced social isolation.
Bottom line
You can’t stop aging, and for most of my patients, and for me, that isn’t the point. The goal is a long healthspan: being strong enough, sharp enough, and connected enough at 80, 90, or 100 to live a life that matters to us.
That means building health at every age, whether 23, 54, or 79, so we can rely on it now and later. Aging rarely comes free of illness or disability. But my work has shown me that our greatest asset is resilience, and that is ageless.
Love, AC
Anna Chodos, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Medicine in Geriatrics and Internal Medicine at UCSF. She is the Executive Director of Dementia Care Aware and on socials as @wordsonaging. Please connect if you are interested in fostering better information and communication about healthy aging.