Queen Elizabeth still fit and working at 85

Osteopathy can be a good way to achieve that goal. With regular treatment it is possible to stay fit and healthy for decades.

Jonathan Boxall is an osteopath in the West Country of England. He recently described the process of treatment: “Your chest contains your heart and lungs, so when your osteopath improves the movement of your ribs, you can beathe more deeply and your heart has more space. Improved breathing and cardiovascular function leads to higher energy levels, improved clarity of thought and enhanced physical performance.”

One of his patients in his 70s has undergone treatment every month since his 50s. He now has “ease of movement” and a contented smile. His skin has the tone of good health and his mind is alert.

While osteopathy is not the only solution to vigour for the elderly, it is an important plank in the process.

The earlier you start, the better, although you can begin at any age.

Queen Elizabeth, pictured, is known to use alternative health treatments and is fit and well in her mid-80s.

Channel 4′s, The Food Hospital, a weekly television programme, has conducted an experiment to find if blueberries enhance brain function.

A group of workers in a small advertising sales agency who need to stay alert all day to maximise sales were the guinea-pigs. Doctors provided one smoothie to each worker at 10am every working day for two weeks.

During the first week they were each given a banana drink, the second week a blueberry smoothie.

The results were amazing. During the banana week, the team showed a small improvement in function in the mornings, but a marked drop off in the afternoon.

In the blueberry week, there was a marked improvement in the mornings and, contrary to the banana results, a continued superiority in the afternoons.

There is no question that the blue antioxidant, anthocyanin, in the blueberries, and possibly other factors, did improve brain efficiency for the whole day.

A Golden Ager in every sense, Tony Bennett died today in his eighties after a long and productive life.

As a tribute, here is an article we published in Golden Agers in November, 2006.

Antonio Benedetto is a true American legend both as a singer and as an example of the American Dream. The son of a grocer and a seamstress who grew up in Astoria, Queens, he first started singing in the Army military band under the name Joe Bari. After his army stint he continued honing his vocal style even while waiting tables. Pearl Bailey spotted him and asked him to open for her. It was at this show that Bob Hope first heard Joe Bari and advised him to use a simplified version of his real name. It was 1949 and Antonio Benedetto became Tony Bennett.

Tony’s style and phrasing resembled musicians more than other vocalists, he sang as if his voice were an insrument he was playing.

Tony had a string of successes in the 50s and even early 60s but when rock arrived with the British Invasion, Tony found young people didn’t want to listen to his kind of music.

In the 80s it was Tony’s son who resurrected his career and Tony reached a new audience and generation. He didn’t compromise on the style or the music, yet his popularity soared amongst young listeners. He’s been going strong ever since.

Although he left art school as a teen to help support his family, Tony never lost his love of art. Today his paintings hang in such prestigious places as the Butler Institute of American Art and The National Arts Club.

Now in his 80th year, Tony Bennett is embarking on a 20 city tour to promote his new album Duets: An American Classic. Tony is teaming up with AARP on this road show and details on cities and dates can be found at their site as well as some interviews with guest stars who appear on the album with Tony.

Also at the AARP site is a gallery of paintings by Tony Bennett, which he signs with his real name “Benedetto”. Included is an amazing and warmly personal portrait of bandleader Duke Ellington.

There’s a recent article in Syntagma that takes a look at an unusual feature of the waning elderly mind. Here’s a short extract:

“When we are new to this world, we often use our parents’ minds to make sense of what is happening around us. We don’t know we are doing it because we have no experience of anything else, but we absorb attitudes and opinions that we couldn’t possibly attain for ourselves. What, then, is more natural than the reverse process occurring in later life?”

Link to article: Syntagma