Can You Afford to Live to 100?

 

Today’s life expectancies hover just below eighty years, and if you reach the milestone of seventy they jump to the mid eighties. Due to advances in medicine and healthier lifestyles, reaching your nineties or even 100 is more realistic than ever. That's good news for those of us staring down into our seventh decade. But there is a dark shadow cast over this good news: can we afford to live that long?

According to the Alliance for Lifetime Income's Cyrus Bamji, chief strategy and communications officer, one of their recent studies revealed that almost half of those between sixty-one and sixty-five say that they don’t think that their savings will last their lifetimes. Nearly one third are not confident that they will have enough income to cover basic expenses. Forty percent of Americans rely entirely on Social Security for their retirement income.

There are three basic reasons for this alarming situation.

People simple have not saved enough for retirement. This is not to be dismissed simply as millennials spending money on avocado toast and gourmet coffee. In fact, Gen Xers are saving more for retirement than their predecessors. But many people struggle to pay the rent and buy food, let alone set money aside for their future. And even those who are saving aren't saving enough. The average American retires with just over $65,000 in savings. Many have a significant amount of equity in their homes, which will be a huge help, but not enough to close the gap between what they have and what they will need. And for younger people, home ownership seems increasingly out of reach.

This leads to the second problem, which is that nearly half of retired Americans are financially supporting children eighteen to twenty-one and 30 percent are supporting adult children twenty-two to thirty, all from their retirement funds.

Finally, there is the cost of healthcare.  Health care costs make up 10% to 15% of the average older household’s spending. But what you will spend on health care costs in retirement could be less or more — potentially a lot more. A 65-year-old woman typically could expect to pay $3,300 to $7,700 annually for premiums and out-of-pocket medical, dental and vision costs, according to a study by Vanguard Research and Mercer Health and Benefits. But her costs could top $22,000 in some scenarios, the researchers found.

Most financial advisors say that a comfortable retirement should aim to sustain an income of about 80% of your pre-retirement income. Most real people are nowhere close to that. The prospect is so dismal that many people are simply ignoring the problem, the worst possible thing they can do.

This is a problem at a societal level and requires a societal solution. How likely is that given our governments bickering and fixation on building walls. Things like universal wellness systems to promote avoiding illness instead of treating it after it occurs, creative housing solutions and practical education are things that must be tackled on a societal level. 

But what can you do as an individual? A few things. And the sooner you get started the more impact your efforts will have.

Adopt a healthier lifestyle. It's obvious advice, but it bears repeating. If you make an effort to stay active and eat healthy, you'll likely spend less on health care than someone who ignores diet and exercise and has other unhealthy habits such as smoking.

Save more.  Generally speaking, the sooner you start saving for retirement, the better off you’ll be. Even small amounts set aside regularly can amount to a large nest egg thanks to the miracle of compound interest. If possible, increase or max out contributions to your employee savings plan. If that is not an option for you, send yourself a bill every month to pay alongside your mortgage. Become familiar with the many ways that you can tap the equity in your property as you age so that you are not rushed into a bad decision when you are faced with a choice.

Start to live like you are already retired. An easy way to boost your savings is to cut back on your spending. Start by envisioning your retirement and look for costs to cut. If that vision involves downsizing your home or cooking healthy meals at home, begin making those changes now. Consider purchasing a more economical car. These changes will save you money right away. They will also make the transition into retirement easier.

Have an honest talk with your children about money. This may be an extremely uncomfortable conversation for both you and your children, making it easy to put off or avoid altogether. Don't.

There are no easy solutions to a problem this big when you are already in the middle of the problem, but not dealing with it only allows it to become bigger and burdens our children and grandchildren. Healthy aging is not only about your physical health but your financial and emotional health as well. It is time we moved this problem out of the shadows and start to address it.

Is It Time to Treat Sugar Like Cigarettes?

 

In 1964, Surgeon General Luther Terry issued a report on smoking and health saying that tobacco causes lung cancer and is a main contributor to bronchitis, emphysema and other lung ailments. Members of the Federal Trade Commission read the report the day it was released and quickly proposed a mandatory cigarette label that warned, "CAUTION: cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health and may cause death from cancer and other diseases." The legislation ultimately passed by Congress required a warning label with less dire language: "CAUTION: CIGARETTE SMOKING MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH." In 1965, Congress passed the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (FCLAA), which required a health warning on all cigarette packs. In 1970, President Nixon signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act, which banned cigarettes ads on the radio or television. It also required an updated warning on the cigarette packages which read: "Warning: The Surgeon General has determined that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health." 

In the six decades since the release of the Surgeon General's report on health and smoking the percentage of Americans who smoke has continuously fallen from a rate of 42% in 1965 to an all-time low of 11% in 2021. The results of a February 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey found that 57% of U.S. adults now support policies that ban the sale of all tobacco products.

People still smoke of course, and smoking still kills far too many people. Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., with tobacco killing more than 480,000 Americans annually and costing more than $240 billion a year in related health care expenses. But the relentless campaign against cigarette smoking ranks as one of the most successful public health campaigns in history.

In comparison, sugar added to sweetened beverages alone kills about 184,000 people every year now. Forty nine percent of the US population is now either diabetic or pre-diabetic and the numbers keep rising. From 2000 through 2020, the US obesity rate increased from 30.5% to 41.9%. During the same time, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%. That's right. Nearly 1 American in 10 is severely obese. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. These are among the leading causes of preventable, premature death. The estimated annual medical cost of in the United States was nearly $173 billion in 2019 dollars.

The average intake of added sugar in Americans' daily diet is about 19 teaspoons for men and 15 teaspoons for women, vs a recommended intake of 12 teaspoons or less.

There is some data to suggest that since added sugar content was required on nutrition lables in 2016 (after a years long fight with sugar producers) Americans have begun cutting back. Maybe it is time to also require a clear, visible warning lable on food just as we successfully did on cigarettes. We will never get everyone to stop smoking or stop drinking sugary beverages. But if we can reduce consumption as successfully as we have with smoking the benefits in the cost of healthcare, lives saved and the quality of those lives might just be enormous.

Do You Know Your Numbers?

 

We live in a world of numbers. Phone numbers, addresses, account numbers, dates, bank balances, distances, times. Most of us are pretty familiar with the numbers we need to navigate through the tasks and routines of our day-to-day lives. But what about the numbers that tell the story of our wellness and health?

Our health is a world of numbers too but all to many of us don't know the ones that tell our story. 

When I work with someone who is eager to lose some weight, I usually begin by asking about numbers. What do you weigh now? How much weight do you really want to lose? Almost everyone knows these numbers.

But when I ask about the calories that they consume on an average day or how many they burn off between their daily routines and exercise, most don't have any idea. You can't create a calorie deficit that will produce weight loss if you have no idea how many calories you consume and burn. 

Many people, especially older people like me, are concerned about eating too many carbohydrates or not getting enough protein. But when I ask how much they are consuming day-to-day the most common response is a blank stare.

Hypertension is called "the silent killer" because it typically presents no symptoms until your blood pressure has reached a problematic level and already harmed your health. Yet even the people who know what a good blood pressure target is (hint: 120/80 or lower) rarely know what their own blood pressure is. Some may remember it from their last doctor visit (not the best reading, it tends to be high) but have no idea what it was yesterday.

If you want to improve your health in some way, it makes sense to know where you are starting from. There are apps and tools and inexpensive equipment available to everyone these days that can provide you with the numbers you need to know with very little effort on your part. Do you know your numbers?

Here is some advice from the American Heart Association on the ones that you should know. If weight loss or nutrition are your focus, here are some great tools you can rely on.

Ignorance is not bliss. It's ignorance. 

The Need for Speed

 

If you have ever joined a Facebook group devoted to weight loss, investigated weight loss programs, diets or coaches, it's likely that you have been - and maybe still are- bombarded with all sorts of schemes that promise that they can show you how to lose weight without dieting or exercising or changing any of the habits that helped you gain the weight in the first place. Losing weight may not be easy (and can be much harder for some people than others) but it is not complicated. If you live in a calorie deficit (consuming fewer calories than you expend every day) you will likely lose weight. So most of us dismiss the most obvious nonsense as just that.

But what about the plans that promise rapid weight loss? 

The most common ways that people try to lose weight fast are by exercising a lot, and by following a”crash diet” or a very low-calorie diet of fewer than 800 per day. That sure sounds like a "calorie deficit" to me so why not, right? There is little doubt that such plans will shed pounds, and probably quickly. At least at first. But losing weight is only half the battle. The real challenge is keeping it off for good.

Most people who follow a diet regain half the weight they’ve lost after only a year. Even worse, nearly everyone who follows a diet regains all the weight they’ve lost after 3–5 years. That’s why experts often suggest losing weight at a slow but steady pace. Most studies show that people who lose weight at a slow but steady pace are more likely to keep it off long-term.

There are other issues associated with rapid weight loss as well. When you create a very large daily calorie deficit your body assumes it is starving and reacts accordingly. “When you lose weight too quickly, your body slows down its calorie-burning process,” explains endocrinologist and obesity specialist Dr. Marcio Griebeler. “That is your body’s way of trying to ensure you don’t starve. You might lose a good amount of weight right away, but your metabolism quickly goes into survival mode.” The change in your metabolism is a key reason why people regain weight after trying rapid weight loss plans. When you go back to eating a regular diet, your metabolism isn’t used to that many calories — and the pounds come back. Other risks include undesirable muscle loss, nutritional deficiencies and gallstones.

So while it is certainly possible to lose weight fast by creating a large daily calorie deficit, such an approach is unhealthy, cannot be maintained and increases the likelihood of regaining any lost weight quickly as well.

What is a safe rate for long term weight loss? Most experts recommend a rate of 1 or 2 pounds per week (that would be a calorie deficit of about 500 - 1,000 kCal per day) and in any case not consuming less than about 1,200 calories daily. This might seem like a frustratingly slow pace if you want to lose a significant amount of weight. But look at it this way. You probably didn't gain the weight in a week or two, it probably took years. Why would you expect to lose it that fast?

Fighting Back at the Grocery Store

 

Over the last two years, the amount of money that I find myself spending each month on groceries has increased by about 75%. Last month I was shocked and awed to find that I had spent just under $600 to feed myself. What and how much I was buying had not changed in any appreciable way. I do buy mostly fresh or frozen foods and ingredients and I make most of my own meals from scratch. I spend extra for organic in many cases. I have been doing this for many years. But all of a sudden the cost of feeding myself has exploded. And I am only feeding myself. How does a family of four or five people afford to eat any more?

Partly this is my own fault. I tend to hate shopping for food so I make my list of what I need, go to the store and buy it. I tend not to look at alternatives to what I like or am used to, I stick with certain brands and familiar products. But between the prices rising so much and the contents of the packages steadily shrinking, it is time for a change. I am not prepared to change from fresh food to processed garbage, even though that tends to be a lot cheaper. But something had to give.

So here are five not very challenging ways that you can start to fight back against endlessly rising food prices. 

1. Make a list. Check it twice.
    Never, never ever set foot in a grocery store without a shopping
    list. Don't put     anything on it that you do not need. That means
    knowing what you plan to eat until your next trip to the store.
    This used to be a real pain before the dawn of meal planning
    apps, which are now powerful, plentiful and usually free. (I like
    Mealime.com but you will have no trouble finding one that suits
    you.) If it is not on your list, don't buy it.

2. Stock up on long lasting staples.
    Buy staples with a long shelf-life in bulk or when you find them on
    sale. (Just buy things you will use! Its not cheap if you don't use
    it.) Canned goods, rice, grains, flour, beans, onions, potatoes,
    frozen foods and anything else that will keep until you will use it
    up.

3. Check unit prices for the best deal.
    Instead of picking up the items with the lowest price, grab the
    ones with the lowest unit prices. This is often the largest package
    size, but not always. Check. It won't likely be on the package but
    nearly all supermarkets post the unit prices (price per ounce,
    say) on the shelves below the items. The lowest unit price is the
    best deal.

4. Forget brand loyalty.
    Your favorite brands are no longer loyal to you, its time you
    stopped being loyal to them. Store brands or generic products
    are often exactly the same ingredients as the brands you have
    been buying, often made for the stores by the same
    manufacturers! Read the ingredient label.

5. Avoid shopping online and using delivery services.
    Online grocery shopping and delivery services are convenient,
    but don't kid yourself that they are not costly. You may not
    always find the size you’re looking for online and could be
    forced to trade up to a bigger size for a higher price. You may
    also only see what the seller wants you to see. Additionally,
    some grocery orders at Amazon are fulfilled by third-party
    sellers. These could carry shipping costs, which add to your
    bill.

Here are 30 more ways you can cut your food bill. What other ways have you found to help control your grocery bill? Post your best ideas in the comments so that others can use them as well. Its us against them now.

Pain in the Ass

 

Ok so this is one of those days that I would not wish on anyone. Ok, on only a very few people. It is colonoscopy prep day for me, arguably the least favorite medical procedure of my lifetime (so far). It will be my third time doing this, and no, it has not gotten less awful. "Its not the procedure, its the prep" is pretty much the truth of it. It is 12 miserable hours during which I cannot wander very far from a toilet. So why do it when there are alternatives?

Because colonoscopy is the Gold Standard for colorectal cancer screening. None of the alternatives approach it in accuracy or effectiveness, and none of them allow minor problems (aka polyps or biopsies) to be resolved at the same time, in the same procedure.

Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States and the second highest cause of cancer deaths. About 152,000 cases are diagnosed every year. The rate of people being diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer each year has dropped overall since the mid-1980s, mainly because more people are getting screened and making lifestyle-related changes to lower their risk. From 2011 to 2019, incidence rates dropped by about 1% each year. But this downward trend is mostly in older adults. In people younger than 55 years of age, rates have been increasing by 1% to 2% a year since the mid-1990s. In 2024, colorectal cancers are expected to cause 53,010 deaths. As with many cancers, early detection greatly improves the odds of effective treatment. Found after the cancer has existed for a while, the odds of dying from it are brutally high.

I only have to do this every 5 to 10 years, so I will deal with it. No matter how much this sucks right now, it could be so very much worse. 

Counterfeit Eclipse Glasses Pose a Risk

 

If you are planning to watch all or any of the solar eclipse next week, please plan to do so safely. I am sure everyone knows that this means watching either on a pinhole projection box or wearing special protective glasses. Unfortunately, there have been many credible reports of companies selling counterfeit products labeled as if they conform to international safety standards, including online marketplaces like Amazon and Ebay.

We can hope that there is a special place in Hell reserved for those who would knowingly sell products that could do serious damage to an unsuspecting customer's vision. It would need to be a large space because there apparently are a lot of them.

Here is a deeper dive into this possibly serious problem along with a list of reliable vendors actually approved by the American Astronomical Society. Or you could just follow NASA's recommendation and make your own projector box.

Either way, make sure that you, your family and your friends are safe as you enjoy the spectacle. 

We Should Have Higher Taxes!

 

Don't get me wrong here. I don't like paying taxes any more than anyone else does. Especially when I see how the government spends my money for me. But I am starting to warm to the idea of targeted consumption taxes intended to place the burden of societal costs on those who create those burdens.

Let's consider cigarette smoking as one example. In the United States, cigarettes are taxed at both the federal and state levels, in addition to any state and local sales taxes and local cigarette-specific taxes. There is no doubt that this is burdensome upon and unpopular among smokers. In New York State for example, a pack of cigarettes costs about $10 and roughly half of that cost is taxes. 

But here is the thing. Smoking imposes a very high cost on society, and I am expected to pay that cost through my own taxes, even though I don't smoke. Cigarette smoking cost the United States more than $600 billion in 2018 alone, including:

• More than $240 billion in healthcare spending
• Nearly $185 billion in lost productivity from smoking-related illnesses and health conditions
• Nearly $180 billion in lost productivity from smoking-related premature death
• $7 billion in lost productivity from premature death from secondhand smoke exposure.

As high as cigarette taxes may seem to smokers, in fact they raise less than $12 billion a year, leaving the other $588 billion for you and I to pay.

A consumption tax like that on cigarettes shifts at least some of the tax burden from society to those who create the costs through their consumption. No one is forced to pay this tax; no one is forced to smoke. Nor are they forbidden from doing so. They are just asked to contribute more to the costs their choice imposes on me.

This brings me around to my point (at last!). While tobacco use indeed imposes a steep cost on society, it pales in comparison to the costs imposed by over-consumption of sugar. A 2013 report estimated those costs as "in excess" of $1 trillion annually. Now, unlike cigarettes, I do consume sugar so taxing it would affect me directly. But I DO have control over how much of it I choose to consume. And in any case, if I think smokers should be financially responsible for the damage caused by their consumption of tobacco then I should also be help to account for the cost of my sugar habit.

Over 100 countries impose taxes on sugar already and have seen reductions in consumption as high as 30%. Such a reduction in the US would have huge and favorable impacts on rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and some cancers with concurrent reductions in healthcare spending. No one would be forced to stop consuming sugar and sugary products, only to pay more for the costs they are imposing on others.

When it comes to sugar, we should have higher taxes.

The Ozempic Craze

 

Ozempic is a brand of the generic drug semaglutide that is currently FDA-approved to treat patients with Type-2 Diabetes by controlling their blood sugar levels. It also curbs appetite, making it an effective weight-loss drug for people with obesity-related illnesses. Unfortunately, this has made it very much in demand for people looking to lose a little weight for cosmetic reasons. 

So what is the problem with that? 

As various celebrities endorse its off-label use for weight loss, demand has soared to the point of creating artificial shortages of the drug for the people who actually need it. The ethical issue of consuming a drug you do not need at the expense of those who do aside, there are other problematic issues with using Ozempic this way.

Like any hot new “miracle drug,” it’s worth considering the risks—whether that’s “Ozempic face,” the term for someone becoming especially gaunt, or the fact that one recent study of semaglutide found that one third of the weight loss came from muscle, bone mass and lean tissue and not fat. As is often the case for drugs that cause weight loss, the effects regulating diet and portion control generally last only as long as people actively take it. In other words, as soon as you stop taking it, you start regaining the weight you lost. At $935 a dose, that is no small consideration.

Anytime you see the word "craze" popping up regularly, its time to take a closer look. You can do that here.

If you want to lose weight, just do it the safe, healthy and sustainable way - the same way you gained it - slow and steady. If I can lose weight and keep it off anyone can. Its not complicated. Its just not always quick and easy. And for some people that seems to be a deal breaker. 

More Food Marketing BS

 

Many people think that what is printed on food packaging is regulated by the FDA and that it therefore cannot be inaccurate or misleading. Unfortunately this is not really true. The actual nutrition label on the package is regulated but little else. Companies are forbidden from printing outright lies but this leaves lots of room for the marketing department to get creative. They realize that healthy sells, so they invest a lot of creative thought into giving their products a so called "health halo", especially when they are not that healthful at all.

"When food marketing is done well, it slips right through the radar of your critical thinking," says Marion Nestle, PhD, professor of food studies and nutrition at NYU and no relation to the food giant of the same name. "It is intentionally designed to make you think emotionally, and before you know it you have picked up a box of junk masquerading as healthy food."

Here are just a few of the ways that you are intentionally being manipulated.

NO CHOLESTEROL!

Cholesterol is only found in animal products. So seeing a no cholesterol claim on any plant based product - say a jar of peanut butter or a bottle of vegetable oil - is not untrue. It is just meaningless. It has no less cholesterol than similar products without the label claim. None at all.

MADE WITH REAL FRUIT/VEGETABLES!

We all know that fruits and vegetable are good for us and that we should probably be eating more of them. So does the marketing department. Remember that the ingredient list on food packages is in order of weight. The farther down on the list an item is, the less of it there is. So if the "real" fruit or vegetable is in the top four or five items on the list it is probably significant. Otherwise it is noise. The same as saying that your salad is "made with real pepper" because you ground a few flakes on top of it. But it is worse than just getting very little "real fruit/vegetables". What you do get is more likely grape or apple juice or processed fruit/vegetable powder. Again not a lie. But not what you are lead to expect.

KETO!

Ketogenic foods contain little or no carbohydrates, especially added sugar. But this by no means is a synonym for healthy. Foods with the keto claim are often ultra-processed and contain additives and artificial sweeteners that are of questionable safety. Probably not what you were looking for.

GLUTEN FREE!

Many gluten free versions of breads, pastas and baked goods are very low in fiber and firmly in the ultra-processed category, making them an unhealthy choice. Even better, you will frequently find this claim on foods that contain no gluten anyway. I have even seen wine advertised as gluten free, as if grapes had any gluten in them to begin with. Unless you have celiac disease or a diagnosed gluten sensitivity there is no reason to avoid gluten in the first place. The number of celebrities swearing by it does not make it a health food.

UNCURED!

Deli meats and hot dogs are normally preserved using synthetic nitrates and nitrites, which are known to raise the risk of some cancers. What to do to coax you into eating them anyway? Preserve your sausage with celery seed powder! It is an "all natural" source of nitrates and nitrites and your body can't tell the difference. "Uncured" may sound healthier, but it isn't. But who cares as long as you buy it.

 

These examples barely scratch the surface of the many ways that you are mislead, misinformed or manipulated into buying something you think is good for you that is really only good for the manufacturer. After all, they aren't the ones it will make sick. What can you do? Be skeptical and don't rely on anything you see on a food package except the ingredient list and the nutrition label.

Does Anybody Really Need Suplements?

 

More than half of all American adults take a supplement product every day, a figure that rises to over 70% among those aged 65 or older. In fact, the use of supplements is so widespread, it has become a $37 billion business. What benefits are people expecting from this? Is it sensible or just a huge marketing triumph and waste of money?

You will often hear that supplementing is a waste of money because we can get all the nutrition that we ever need from our food. This is true. In an ideal world, we'd all be eating copious amounts a variety of nutrient-dense foods such as fruits and vegetables and getting all the essential vitamins and nutrients our bodies need for optimal health. But, here on planet Earth, we're far from that healthful eating ideal.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans, on average, eat only about one fruit and one or two vegetables on a typical day. This helps explain why millions of people fall short of the recommended intakes of some vitamins and minerals. For instance, more than 1 in 3 children and teens (ages 9 to 18) don't meet recommended intakes for calcium and vitamin D, according to a study in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Fortification efforts, such as the Food and Drug Administration's requirement that folic acid be added to many cereals and breads, have paid off. Folate levels in women increased by 50 percent between 1993 and 2006. This is critical, since folate helps prevent birth defects. But wait! Isn't adding folate to bread, well, supplementation?

This is the best justification for regularly taking a nutritional supplement - taking a daily multivitamin with minerals may be helpful in closing the gap between what we need and what we actually eat.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that supplements helped adults meet the recommended intake of certain minerals, such as calcium and magnesium in men and women, as well as iron for women. Another study by the National Institutes of Health found that in children and teenagers (ages 9 to 18), taking supplements added nutrients (for example, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, C, and E) for which intakes would have been inadequate from food alone. 

Even those of us who eat a well balanced diet of clean foods may still be missing some key nutrients. Unless you happen to be eating soy, kale, collards, okra and pomegranats you may be coming up short on Vitamin K. Not eating a lot of Brazilnuts, spinach or oatmeal? You may be shortchanging yourself on selenium.

If you have the time and tools to accurately track your micronutrient intake and the ambition to carefully plan and prepare your meals, then the odds are good a supplement would not do you much good. For the rest of us, they are a sensible, affordable insurance policy against dietary deficiency.

Phytonutrients Give Produce its Coloful Cachet

 

When it comes to fruits and vegetables we are often told to eat a wide variety of different colored produce - in addition to just eating more. Ever wonder why that is? 

Plants provide an enormous variety of nutrients. Phytonutrients - literally, any substance of plant origin that provides nutrition - number over 5,000. Phytonutrients contain different pigments which give them their color. Focusing on eating a variety of colors will increase your intake of different nutrients to benefit various areas of your health.

Its also a simple way to ensure you are getting a variety of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and proteins without having to delve into the nutritional contant of each thing you eat (not that you would).

Want to know what red's got that green doesn't? Here is a quick read that will explain what each color contributes to your diet - and your health.

Yes, It CAN Happen to You

In 2023, American consumers lost $10 billion to fraud, and by far the most common swindles were internet imposter schemes. According to a CNBC report, nearly 854,000 people filed complaints to the FTC about imposter scams in 2023, representing about a third the total consumer fraud reports that the agency received. Consumers lost $2.7 billion to such scams and the average loss was $800. How many such scams went unreported is anyone's guess.

An imposter scam is when someone pretends to be someone you trust to persuade you to send them money, or to give them information that they can use to steal your identity (any your money) later. A scammer may falsely claim to be a romantic interest, the government, the IRS, a relative in distress, a well-known business (Amazon is especially popular with scammers), or a customer or technical support expert. A particularly popular scam is to claim to be the "security department" at a company you do business with claiming that there is suspicious activity on your account and asking for you help to get to the bottom if it.

Surprisingly, Millennials, Gen X, GenY are about 30% more likely to fall for such schemes than are people over 60. But older people are much more likely to get in deeply and lose more money than younger ones. For example, victims age 80 and older had a median loss of $1,450. By comparison, the typical loss didn’t exceed $500 for those younger than 70.

Right about now you are congratulating yourself for being too skeptical, to well informed or just too smart to fall for any such nonsense. And yet hundreds of people just as skeptical, informed and smart as you are do fall for them every day.

Internet scams are carefully designed by scammers and criminals to manipulate your emotions and tap into your unconscious biases, so you are practically hardwired to fall for them, says cybersecurity expert and computer scientist Daniela Oliveira, an associate professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville. In one study a group of people who ranging in age from 18 to 89 were sent a variety of  so-called “spear-phishing emails,” that is, phishing emails that are somewhat tailored to the individual and targeting different approaches such as finances, health, ideological issues, legal issues, security and social issues. If the user took the bait and clicked on the link in the phishing email, they were sent to a fake, innocuous webpage, and the researchers recorded a hit. 

At the end of the study, the participants were asked to read a set of 21 phishing emails and rate how likely they would be to click on each one. People indicated a very low likelihood that they’d fall for them even though 43 percent of them took the bait during the study and clicked on the links at least once and 11.9 percent clicked more than once when they were not told in advance that the email was a scam.

So yes, even you can fall for it. 

Here is the rest of the CNBC report, including suggestions for how you can reduce the odds of getting caught up in an internet scam yourself.

 

Healthy Soda?

 

Carbonated prebiotic sodas with names like Olipop, Poppi and Vive Organic that promise to boost your fiber intake – and your health – by feeding the trillions of microorganisms that live in your gut. Even Coke and Pepsi are muscling their way into the fiber game.

"There's been so much research that has shown that if you consume more fiber, you are healthier," says Hannah Holscher, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois. She says fiber does way more than just help keep us regular. It helps control blood sugar levels and lower cholesterol and inflammation. A review of 185 studies and dozens of clinical trials found that diets rich in fiber were linked to a lower risk of major health problems like obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. 

Say no more! Big Soda's marketing experts are on the case! Now your fizzy, sugary indulgence comes with inulin, a pre-biotic fiber. Healthy soda is here at last!

Not so fast.

Justin Sonnenburg, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University says when it comes to added fiber in foods, "the intuition in the field is that that's probably better than nothing."

But it's not at all clear that prebiotic fibers added to processed food and drinks have the same health benefits that come from eating a variety of whole foods that are naturally high in fiber. For one thing, says Sonnenburg, the purified fibers that are added to foods are much simpler structures than fiber naturally found in plant foods. And this means they get fermented faster, by microbes that live near where the small intestine meets the large intestine. That means those purified fibers might not reach the microbes living further down the large intestine – and they need to be fed, too.

Translation? Less unhealthy does not equate to healthy.

 

 

Can You Touch Your Toes?

 

We talk here a lot of the important benefits of exercise. Strength training to slow or prevent muscle loss. Cardio for heart health and to keep your blood pressure in a healthy range. Balance to prevent falls and preserve mobility. There is another very important type of exercise that too often gets ignored, especially as we age: flexibility and stretching.

Flexibility is the ability of the muscles and tendons to lengthen and stretch in response to movement and allow a joint to move through its range of motion. A good stretching program is important to incorporate into your daily routine to help maintain flexibility. Losing range of motion in our joints compromises our mobility.

Stretching allows for greater movement in joints and improves posture. It also helps to release muscle tension and soreness, and reduces the risk of injury. Lastly, it may also help increase circulation, muscle control, and improve balance and coordination. 

Everyone should incorporate stretches into their exercise routine but especially seniors. With age, we gradually lose the ability to move a joint through its full range of motion. By age 70, 25%-30% of overall flexibility is usually lost. Some joints are affected more than others. For example, a shoulder flexion loss of 15% was observed in one study between 20-30 year olds and 70 year olds whereas a study on hamstring flexibility observed a 30% loss between similar age groups. 

The good news is that stretching exercises are simple (not to be confused with easy, especially at first), can be done by most anyone (including many people with physical limitations) and require no special clothes or equipment. Here are some guidelines for stretching effectively from the National Institutes for Health.

• Take a deep breath and slowly exhale as you stretch.
  
• Hold each stretch for 30 seconds to give the muscles ample time to relax.
• Don’t bounce while you stretch, this increases your risk of injury.
• Only stretch until you feel tension in the muscle, not to the point of pain.
• Always warm up before stretching by moving around for 5 to 10 minutes, such as going for a walk. 

By incorporating a stretching program into your week, you may benefit from increased flexibility, relaxation, and an improved quality of life. Here are some stretching exercises to get you started.

Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!

 

There is a joke that goes like this....

"For some people a good day is a call from the kids. For others, going out with friends. Still others take adventure vacations. For me, a good day is when I can stand up and get both legs in my pants without falling over."

I still think that is funny, possibly because I can relate to it. (I have conceded and put mine on sitting down now.) But there is nothing funny about falls, especially if you are 65 years old or older.

Falls in the home are the second leading cause of death among the elderly and closing in on number 1, rising about 25% in the last few years. For people over 75, most falls occur on the stairs and even if such a fall is not fatal, the consequences can be dire. Every year, 3 million older adults are treated in emergency departments for injuries related to falling. With over 800,000 hospitalizations due to fall injuries like broken bones in the wrist, arm, or ankle, hip fractures or head injuries.

Here are some things you can do to reduce your risk.

#1. Take it seriously! Pay attention. By simply by watching your feet and being conscious of where you’re stepping, you can reduce your risk of falling dramatically — especially when walking up or down stairs. The stairs are not the place to multitask or check your phone.

#2. Stay active! Get regular exercise, including stretches and balance exercises. Get out. Walk. Move. Use it or lose it.

#3. Light the way. Keeping areas well-lit can help you see obstacles before you trip over them, and using nightlights or having illuminated wall plates can help you stay balanced and oriented as you head for the bathroom at 3am.

#4. Add safety features to your home. All stairs should have a railing—and you should always use the railing when walking up and down stairs. And if there are slippery areas in your house, add non-slip tape or carpeting to reduce the risk. Walking around on a hardwood floor in your socks is a great way to end up laying on it.

#5. Bathrooms can be risky places for falls because of water pooling on tiled floors. Adding bars to shower walls can help prevent slipping injuries while bathing, and adding a rug with a non-slip backing can help reduce this risk. I wont even mention having a rubber bathmat in the shower. You already do right?

#6. When doing work around the house, always make sure you are on sturdy footing and your work is well illuminated. Better yet, have your kids fix it. They owe you.

#7. Have your phone with you even when you are just puttering around at home. If something should happen, you want to be able to get help.

No one expects to take a serious fall. And yet it happens millions of times every year. And it CAN happen to you.

Five Aging Myths You Can Stop Worrying About

 

Most of what we hear about aging comes from two sources. Aging "experts" who are not all that old and marketing departments trying to separate older people from more of their money. Here are five things that we all know for sure about aging that are just not so.

1. A sunny, positive, optimistic disposition increases your life span.

2. Working too hard for too long will put you in an early grave.

3. If people in your family tend to die young, you will too. Its all about genes.

4. Aging is the worst! Getting old just sucks.

5. It’s too late to do any good by giving up bad habits like smoking, eating crap and
    an exercise routine that primarily consists of watching TV.

None of these things are true. Read more about each of them here. Then go annoy your children.

Managing Your Biological (Physiological) Age

 

We spoke a bit last week about the differences between our chronological and biological age. If you used the calculator I provided (or another one you like better) you should now have an idea how the two age numbers differ for you. I, for example, have a chronological age of 72 and a biological age of 63. That is definitely better than having it the other way around, but it left me feeling that I can do better.

Biological age, also called physiological age, is a measure of how well or poorly your body is functioning relative to your actual calendar age. If yours is lower than your chronological age, congratulations. You are doing something right. But what if the reverse is true, or there is not much difference between the two for you. Is there anything you can do of lower your biological age - or at least slow biological aging down?

The sort answer is yes. But it is not to be found among the many amazing, incredible anti-aging supplements crowding the TV commercials and drugstore shelves.

Genetics matters. Just as specific diseases run in families, longevity does also. An Adventist Health study shows that with optimal lifestyle habits, such as no tobacco or alcohol use, regular exercise, vegetarianism, and effective management of stress, people generally have an average life expectancy of about 86 years. Anything above that suggests a genetic component. If you have family members who have lived longer than 86 years, chances are you'll live a long life too. 

But there is not a lot that you can do about your genes. (Although the emerging science of epigentics may eventually change that.) That leaves - yes, you guessed it - your lifestyle.Healthy habits can have a significant impact on your longevity and biological age. These include:

• Exercise habits
• Eating habits
• Stress levels
• Alcohol consumption
• Level of education
• Amount of sleep
• Sexual and romantic relationships
• Tobacco use and exposure to other environmental toxins

Since the impact of lifestyle - for good or for bad - compounds with time, the sooner you adopt healthy habits the greater the impact will be. But that definitely does not mean that it is ever too late to get started. Here is a 6-step plan to begin lowering your biological age. What do you have to lose?

Five Easy Ways to Eat Your Veggies

 

Ok so you are SO tired of hearing that. Seems like the solution to everything is stuffing more vegetable into your reluctant maw. If, like me, you were traumatized by your mom's firm belief that vegetables were best prepared by boiling them for 12 hours, eating more of them can be an even less appealing prospect. And about 90% of Americans don't eat enough of them.

This is really a shame. Vegetables are a great source of healthy nutrients like fiber, potassium, folate and vitamin A. They also play a big role in helping people lose or maintain weight since all that fiber helps fill you up. Plus, when you're eating more low calorie vegetables there's less space for eating higher-calorie, less-healthful foods. 

If you are tired of heading to the grocery store armed with a list and good intentions only to throw away most of the vegetables that you dragged home, here are five really easy ways to work more of them into your diet.

1. Experiment with how you prepare them.

Growing up, there was one way to prepare vegetables in my home - boil them until you could eat them with a straw. As soon as I was living on my own, vegetables were banished. You too may think you don't like vegetables, but maybe you just haven't tried the right preparation. You can boil them if you want but it is probably the worst way to prepare them, since you leave a good deal of their nutrients behind in the water. Try steaming them. Its fast, they don't overcook and the nutrients are preserved. Tossing them in a little garlic and olive oil and roasting them works especially well for root vegetables and has an amazing power to make even Brussels sprouts taste, well, good. Saute them in a pan. You can even eat them raw!

2. Expand beyond dinner.

Add spinach or peppers or tomatoes to your omelette. Onions are a vegetable and what isn't better with onions? Stuff your sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and peppers. Toss some cucumber or carrot into your smoothies. You don't have to do anything weird or disgusting (sorry, just not a green smoothie guy). But vegetables are not just for dinner.

3. Find your crock pot and use it.

The crock pot is truly one of cooking's great inventions. Toss a bunch of stuff into it, go on off to work and when you get home, dinner is ready. Soups and stews are both easy to make and a natural place to dump those vegetables that you brought back from the store last week. Soup is a great way to eat more vegetables because you can add a whole lot of produce to your soup pot. Toss some carrots into your chili (I know I said nothing gross but this is not, I promise). 

4. Snack on vegetables.

Keep some veggies cut up into snack-sized pieces in your fridge. You are saving so many calories snacking on them that you can afford to go a little decadent on your dip. Ranch dressing, cottage cheese, cream cheese, salsa and hummus all work to jazz up the carrots, celery and cherry tomatoes. And speaking of hummus, make your own. Just puree a can of chickpeas in your blender with some bell peppers and whatever spices you like. Or roast something weird like kale with olive oil, salt and spices to make healthy snack chips. No one will know.

5. Sneak them into sauces.

Adding extra vegetables to your sauces and dressings is a sneaky way to increase your veggie intake, especially if you have picky kids. While you’re cooking sauces, such as marinara sauce, creole dishes or pesto simply add some veggies and herbs and spices of your choice to the mix. Onions, carrots, bell peppers, and leafy greens like spinach all work well. Just cut them up small. Pureeing roasted root vegetables can make for rich sauces with an Alfredo-like feel.

So there are a few ideas to get you started. If you don't like any of these, here is a list of 22 ways to work more of these nutritional ninjas into your diet routine. You may enjoy the challenge of doing something good for yourself. Heckfire, you may even discover that you like it!

Animal Protein: Best to Worst

If you are vegetarian or vegan, you can skip this. For the rest of us, meat, poultry and fish form the foundation of our protein consumption. While there is plenty of protein to be had from non-meat and even non-animal sources, many people turn to animal products for most of theirs. Does it matter which meats you choose? Is one type healthier than another?

The answer turns out to be yes, though with the exception of processed meats the differences are not vast. Still, small differences can add up to big results over the years. So here is a handy chart showing the best (salmon) to worst (bacon) sources of animal based protein. Use it as you will.

Protein Problem? What Protein Problem?

 

Never one to miss a marketing opportunity or let facts get in the way of profit, protein has become a darling of the food industry. It seems to be showing up in everything from breakfast cereals to candy.

Protein deficiency can be a serious health risk, and it’s a common cause of malnutrition in many parts of the world. Protein is a macronutrient, meaning it is required in large amounts in the diet for proper growth, development, and overall health. But the truth is, it is very rare for people to be protein deficient in the United States. In general, if you’re eating enough calories, you’re probably naturally eating enough protein. More than enough, in fact. On average, Americans consume about twice the recommended amount.

In fact, over-consumption of protein can be detrimental. Overloading your diet with protein can mess up your macronutrient balance. Eating high amounts of protein is usually achieved by eating lots of meat and dairy products, and these are often high in saturated fat, and low in fiber.

The recommended daily intake of protein varies depending on your overall health and how much physical activity you have in your day. The current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is 46 grams for women and 56 grams of protein for men. But this can vary a lot based on your body weight and level of physical activity. A good rough estimate for your requirements is 0.4g per pound of body weight. So a 200 pound person would need about 80g per day.

Two for One! How often does THAT happen?

 

We've been talking about sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) and ways to slow your biological (vs chronological) aging for the last couple of posts. A friend of mine mentioned how he cycles almost everywhere he goes and it turns out that he is really onto something.

A little research shows that one of the best ways for us older folks to stay active is by riding a bike. So why is cycling so good for you, especially if you’re creeping into old(er) age? Well, there are a number of reasons why cycling is a healthy activity.

It boosts your immune system, lowers stress levels, helps keep the weight off, leaves you feeling more energized (not tired) and supports your heart health. It also helps build muscle and improve cognitive health. And if you need any more motivation, studies show it also boosts your, let us say, libido.

So cycling combats both sarcopenia and biological aging. Read more here. How often do you get two for one?

The Amazing Miracle Anti-aging Regimen

 

People across the country (USA) are taking a host of prescription pills, seeking out treatments like peptide injections, and implementing a range of behavioral practices in the hopes of reversing - or at least slowing down - the aging process. Its not just for Silicon Valley billionaires any more. By 2028, the global longevity market is expected to reach close to $183 billion annually.

It is important first to distinguish between chronological age and biological age. Chronological age is simply how many years you have been around and there is nothing you can do about it. In contrast, Biological age is a measurement that, instead of tracking years, looks at chemical markers on DNA that show how our biological systems are actually aging. For an individual in their 30s, a biological age of 50 means their biology more closely resembles someone 20 years their senior. Similarly, that spry old 75 year old down the block that you see jogging every morning may be biologically many years younger.

There are a lot of things that you can do to impact your biological age and you can start doing them at any time. For the most part they are all the usual suspects: diet, exercise, sleep quality, not smoking, minimizing alcohol and reducing your exposure to environmental toxins. These will all have a positive impact. But one thing has been shown to have an outsized effect on your biological age. It isn't a miracle and, actually, it isn't really all that amazing. In fact it is something you are most likely already doing, just not doing enough. But it does really work. It's not a supplement or special diet or regular hyperbaric chamber visits.

Just 10 minutes of brisk walking every day can lop off more than 15 years from your biological age. How fast is "brisk"? If you can talk comfortably with some breathlessness, you’re probably walking at a moderate but brisk pace. Read more about the positive effects of regular brisk walking here.

Curious about your own biological age? Use this calculator to get an estimate.

For me? My chronological age is 72, my biological age is 63 and my life expectancy is 94. Not bad but I think I can do better.

Sarcopenia and Why You Should Care

 

Sarcopenia is the age-related, progressive loss of muscle mass and strength. The main symptom of sarcopenia is muscle weakness. Sarcopenia is a type of muscle atrophy primarily caused by the natural aging process. Scientists believe being physically inactive and eating an unbalanced diet can contribute to the disease.

How bad is it? 

It is a common condition in people over 50 years old, although less active people begin to lose up to 3% muscle mass per year after the age of 30. This doesn't sound like a lot but it continues year after year. And it happens even faster after age 50, increasing to as much as 8%. This not only limits the ability to perform many routine activities but also shortens life expectancy in those it affects, compared to individuals with normal muscle strength. It also greatly increases the chance of losing your balance and taking a fall, a major health risk for the elderly.

Although aging is the most common cause of sarcopenia, other factors can also trigger increasing muscle atrophy. The most common of these are:

 

1. Inactivity

Disuse of muscle is one of the strongest triggers of sarcopenia, leading to faster muscle loss and increasing weakness, and it can happen rapidly. Bed rest or immobilization after an injury or illness leads to rapid loss of muscle and as little as two to three weeks of decreased walking and other regular activity is also enough to decrease muscle mass and strength.

Periods of decreased activity can become a vicious cycle. Muscle strength decreases, resulting in greater fatigue and making it more difficult to return to normal activity.

2. Low Protein Intake

A diet providing insufficient calories from protein results in weight loss and diminished muscle mass. Unfortunately, low-calorie and low-protein diets become more common with aging, due to changes in sense of taste, problems with the teeth, gums and swallowing, or increased difficulty shopping and cooking.

To help prevent sarcopenia, scientists recommend consuming 25–30 grams of protein at each meal.

3. Inflammation

After an injury or illness, or in the case of certain chronic conditions such as arthritis, inflammation sends signals to the body to tear down and then rebuild the damaged groups of cells. Chronic or long-term diseases can also result in inflammation that disrupts the normal balance of teardown and healing, resulting in muscle loss.

Examples of diseases that cause long-term inflammation include rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's Diosease or ulcerative colitis, lupus, vasculitis, severe burns and chronic infections like tuberculosis.

4. Stress

Sarcopenia is also more common in a number of other health conditions that increase stress on the body. For example, people with chronic liver disease, and up to 20% of people with chronic heart failure, experience sarcopenia. In chronic kidney disease, stress on the body and decreased activity lead to muscle loss and cancer and cancer treatments also place great stress on the body, resulting in sarcopenia.

 

There is some good news though, and that is that aging, per se, does not make sarcopenia inevitable. In fact there is a great deal that we can do to prevent or even reverse it. Men and women can regain some of that lost muscle mass and, importantly, stay strong enough to enjoy youthful activities well into their winter years, experts say. You are never too old to take action. Read more about how  here.

The bad news? You actually do have to take action.

2024 Wellness Resoutions You Can Keep

 

The Holidays are behind us and now we face the reality that those well intentioned resolutions we made in the excitement of a new unspoiled year ahead of us are going to take some real effort and require us to make some actual changes in how we operate. Its only 15% of the way through January and already we are having second thoughts. 

By far, the most common resolution people carry with them into January is to be healthier, typically by "exercising more" and "losing weight". By the end of February about 80% of people will have abandoned the effort. By the end of the year only 8% of them will have succeeded.

As we discussed in a previous post, this is partly due to setting "results goals" rather than "activity goals". A results goal might be "I will lose 30 pounds by the end of March". You actually have no direct control over how many pounds you lose by the end of March. What you do have control over are the actions you take (or don't take) to lose weight. Your chances of losing 30 pounds are much better if the resolutions you make are to do things that will cause you to lose weight. "I will take the dog for two thirty minute walks every day." Or, "I will make dinner from fresh ingredients two nights a week."

Another reason for such high failure rates is unrealistic expectations. If it took you 10 years to gain 30 pounds, why would you expect to lose it all in three months? If you really love pizza, do you really thing giving it up entirely is going to work for you for very long?

And finally, we all know that people love change - as long as nothing is any different. If you simply set a results goal and then fail to make any changes to your habits and routines than it isn't likely that you will be successful. 

If you are among the "be healthier" crowd, here are nine ways to get healthier without trying very hard from NPR. You don't have to do them all. In fact, don't even try. Choose three that seem especially appealing to you and do them, starting right now. You most likely won't lose 30 pounds by March. But you will see some results. Small ones maybe but real ones. 

That really is the secret. Make some small changes for the better in the way you are living your life. Enjoy the feeling of succeeding. Celebrate it. Then make some more. You will astonish yourself with the progress you will have made by the time your 2025 resolutions are due.

Do You Need Cleanses and Body Detox Regimens?

 

“Detoxes” or “cleanses” refer to various diets, programs, regimens, or therapies that claim to remove toxins from the body, aid in weight loss, or promote health. Globally, the market for detoxing products was estimated to be $48.22 billion in 2020. It is is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.65% reaching $75.06 billion by 2026. That's a lot of green smoothies and a lot of unproven marketing claims.

Just by living their lives people are exposed to chemicals, pollutants, heavy metals in food, and other environmental toxins every day. So a concern with getting these things out of our bodies is certainly reasonable. However, there's little actual research that proves prepackaged detox regimes, products, and programs are effective or even necessary. 

Detox and cleansing regimens fall into four broad categories:

• Fasting, such as calorie restriction or intermittent fasting.
  
• Restrictive diets that include only eating certain foods or eliminating certain foods or drinks.
• Liquid-only diets involve drinking only juices or similar beverages.
• Dietary supplements like additional minerals, vitamins, diuretics, laxatives, herbs, or other products are sometimes used to detox the body.

There is very little long-term research on the safety of cleanse diets and kits. Some studies suggest possible adverse effects of cleanses or detox diets. In addition, there are several factors that the National Institute of Health suggests you take into account before you begin a detox program, including:

• Some juices may not be pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria and other pathogens. This can cause serious illness, especially in children, older adults, or those with a weakened immune system.
• Some juices contain foods naturally high in oxalate, a naturally occurring substance. Drinking large amounts of high-oxalate juice can increase the risk of kidney problems.
• Very low-calorie or restrictive diets may result in short-term weight loss but do not provide all the nutrition you need and are usually not sustainable.
  
• Colon cleansing products may have side effects that are potentially serious and dangerous for people with a history of gastrointestinal diseases, colon surgery, hemorrhoids, kidney disease, or heart disease.
• Some detox programs, including laxatives, can cause severe diarrhea, leading to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.

No regulatory body reviews the efficacy and safety of detox and cleansing products. Some have even been found to contain illegal and potentially harmful ingredients. As can be problematic with the dietary supplement and weight loss industries more broadly, detox programs or supplements can be unsafe and promote false claims.

None of this is to suggest that removing toxic substances from the body is a bad, or unnecessary, idea. Of course it is. In fact, you body has evolved ways of doing so that naturally flush toxins from the body. Various organs and organ systems help the body eliminate toxins from chemicals you may be exposed to at work, at home, through personal care products, or your food. These include your liver, kidneys, digestive system, lungs and even your skin. These serve as your body's natural detoxification systems and help expel or convert toxins into harmless compounds.

You can support your body's detoxification process and limit exposure to potentially harmful toxins in your everyday life. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, antioxidants, and fiber and limiting or eliminating smoking, vaping, alcohol, or drug use will help a lot. So will washing your fresh produce thoroughly and using green cleaning products like vinegar in your home.

It is understandable to want quick results when it comes to our health but not usually very realistic. If you really want to use a detox program it is unlikely to do you any harm. Just don't expect it to really do much good either. As is so often the case in matters of our long-term health and wellness, diet an lifestyle choices are more likely to produce the results you want.