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Midlife gets a bad rap – it’s painted as a swirl of crisis but really it’s magic.
It’s a time when we can shed all those horrible have-tos – like working harder or buying a bigger house – and enjoy the ‘want-tos’ and ‘one-days’ we’ve dreamed of.
That’s why we put Jodie Foster on the first ever cover of Citro magazine.
If you saw Nyad in the cinema or on Netflix, you’ll know that 61-year-old Jodie transformed herself through strength training to achieve one of her best performances yet. The old concept of retreating into retirement is irrelevant as all of us live longer and healthier lives.
Midlife is a time for productivity, health and engagement with the world. And that’s where Citro steps in. We aim to make everyone’s best years even better – not just celebrities or people with bucket loads of investments. Everyone.
This first issue of Citro focuses on bringing you the latest science on longevity.
When you read page 12, you’ll notice that it’s not about expensive miracle supplements or lavish equipment – it’s simple, science-backed advice that anyone at any age can harness to improve their wellbeing.
If you sign up to receive Citro’s free weekly email newsletter, we also bring you easy ways to tackle big bills (hello, electricity and groceries – we’re looking at you) as well as hacks to get around the taboos of ageism (why is it that we’re encouraged to keep working until we’re 75 but no-one wants to hire people aged over 50?).
We’re also proud of the work our engineers have done to build world-leading technology that brings Citro and all our benefits to you. Every purchase from Citro’s partners (look at our centre spread to see some of the juicy offers) puts cashback in your bank, all of which can be tracked in the Citro app on your iPhone or Android device.
Let us know what you think of Citro – email us at support@joincitro.com.au. And enjoy reading …
Warmest,
We asked Citro’s community for better words to describe retirement, given it is a negative word that means withdrawing or retreating. Here’s what our members say.
The word ‘retirement’ actually means withdrawing. It’s from an old French word that dates back to the 1560s with ‘re’ meaning ‘back’ and ‘tirer’ meaning ‘to draw’.
People retired from battle, or retired to sleep. Today, the French word for retirement is ‘retraite’, which literally means retreating.
But shouldn’t retirement be positive?
Dame Judi Dench says ‘retire’ is “the rudest word in my dictionary. And ‘old’ is another one”. At 89, she’s sick of people asking her when she will retire.
In an age where we live longer lives and we’re reinventing what it means to retire, it’s time for new words. Positive words. So we asked the Citro community to see what they had to say …
“Retire is the rudest word in my dictionary.”
- Dame Judi Dench, who at 89 is sick of people asking her when she will retire.Image credit: Getty Images
“ Flextirement is how I am describing my step away from full-time work to part-time consulting and volunteering. Retirement sounds like you do nothing but play lawn bowls. I’m as busy as ever.” Cal Logan, SA
“I have unplugged from stress and plugged into my true purpose, rescuing wildlife and having the time to care for my elderly parents. Full-time work is over-rated. Unplugging is the best way to describe where I have arrived.” Devon Nambiar, QLD
“
Rewirement is a better word for retirement. We have to rethink everything from our daily routine to our money to our sense of purpose.” Linda Stoggal, VIC
“Retirement is not a word that bothers me. We aren’t retiring from life, only retiring from all the have-tos. Retirement is about want-tos.”
Harry Western, NT
“My family are Spanish, where the word for retirement is jubilación. Jubilation is how I will feel when I finally have enough money not to have to work everyday.”
Elena Angel Perez, ACT
“It’s my prime time. I’ve never been more free to follow my heart and travel where I want to.”
Maria Kourania, TAS
“I tried to retire 10 years ago and gave up. Now I’ve realised it’s just a series of chapters. Life, like retirements, is a series of chapters, so it’s a plural word not a single destination.” John Matiakis, VIC
Ageing is inevitable, weakness is notAnnette Bening and Jodie Foster’s sculpted bodies ignite the screen in Nyad. Jodie Foster transformed her body to fully inhabit her role as Bonnie in Nyad Cr. Kimberley French/Netflix ©2023
Annette Bening and Jodie Foster
explode outdated concepts of female beauty in the sports drama of Nyad, now streaming on Netflix.
Both actors – aged 65 and 61 respectively – demonstrate cannonball strength, ripped bodies and the jaw-dropping potency of women who don’t need make-up, facial fillers or botox to arrest your gaze.
Nyad tells an epic true story of the physical, mental and financial obstacles Diana Nyad – played by Bening – and her coach and best friend Bonnie Stoll – played by Foster – overcame to swim from Cuba to Florida.
Both Foster and Bening were inspired by the real women they played.
Nyad, 74, first attempted her marathon swim between Cuba and Florida in the 1970s but failed. She woke up after the age of 60, obsessed with succeeding in her unfinished dream, which she achieved in 2013 after swimming 53 hours straight through box jellyfish and shark-infested waters.
Stoll, 71, is a former world-class racquetball player who does 100 reps of shoulder, biceps and abdominal work a day, along with two-hour power walks.
Foster told Nyad ’s directors she wanted to join the film in part because
L-R
she wanted to show audiences two older women who were “badasses.”
Foster’s first appearance on the set came with a similar jolt of awe for the directors. On the day she agreed to take the role of Stoll, Foster stood on a New York sidewalk after meeting with Bening and told the directors, “I’m going to have to start training tomorrow for this role.”
After that day with Foster on the sidewalk, “We never really heard anything more from her,” Nyad director Jimmy Chin said. “And then she showed up just ripped.”
Foster embarked on a regimen of daily workouts that continued through the film, alternating kettlebells with heavy weightlifting.
She combined it with a sufferingly strict diet that to the directors seemed to consist of “mostly brown rice, chicken and broccoli.” At the end of the film, she told Stoll, “I hope I never see chicken again.”
Scan to read more age positive movies on Citro
Karly Rothenberg as Dee, director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Annette Bening as Diana Nyad, Jodie Foster as Bonnie Stoll, the real Diana Nyad, the real Bonnie Stoll, Rhys Ifans as John Bartlett the navigator and director Jimmy Chin on the set of Nyad. Cr. Kimberley French/Netflix ©2023
Annette Bening still swims every day, saying the sport has transformed her mind and body. Cr. Kimberley French/Netflix ©2023
Annette Bening trained with former Olympian Rada Owen for roughly a year, in addition to hitting the gym with a personal trainer, so that her nerves about the role – including constantly being seen wearing a swimsuit – eventually faded. Cr. Kimberley French/Netflix ©2023
By the age of 50, medical researchers say half of all men will have an enlarged prostate gland. While debate rages about early detection of prostate cancer – which affects 1 in 6 men over the age of 70 – writer Mark Dapin explains how men can take the finger with good grace.
Words by Mark DapinI had never given any thought to my prostate until my GP handed me a slip of paper which entitled me to free prostate cancer screening.
I didn’t even know what a prostate was, except that it was a gland –and I couldn’t have told you what a gland was, either.
Like most men, I have no interest in what goes on inside my body. The only people I have ever met who know about men’s bodies are women – including my GP.
Her invitation to a prostate screening didn’t sound particularly, well, inviting, so I decided to ignore it – the way that most men disregard most things to do with their health.
Blood: men get it
Then one morning I woke up to frightening dark bloodstains on my bedsheets and a once-brown mole that had turned black on my chest. I worried that I might have a melanoma, and quickly arranged to have the mole removed and sent for a biopsy.
It was the blood that drove my decision. Men will often be galvanised into action by the sight of the blood, because we associate blood with injuries – which, unlike illnesses, we accept, understand and, often, brag about.
Also, skin cancer is different from other cancers in that it manifests outside the body and is therefore thinkable about. Unlike prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer: no thanks
I now know that the prostate is below my bladder (yuck) and it makes the fluid that feeds and carries my sperm (necessary, I suppose). People seem to delight in telling you that it is shaped like a walnut, although I don’t understand why this is so interesting. It weighs about 30 grams, which is another useless thing to know.
Apparently, the prostate enlarges as men grow older, which is part of the reason older men pee more often (I hate this train of thought).
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer to affect men in Australia (the most common is skin cancer). It is a leading cause of death
by cancer (after lung cancer and colorectal cancer). It is found most often in men over 65 years old, although the average age at diagnosis is 70.
According to the Cancer Council, one in six males will have prostate cancer by the time they are 85.
If you catch it early enough, you might be able to have your prostate removed and it won’t kill you.
So, you know, it’s probably worth having the test. Even if that does mean having to think about your prostate and other icky things like your bladder.
Part of my reluctance to be tested for prostate cancer stemmed from a distaste for the idea of being digitally penetrated. In fact, I had imagined that the prostateprobing finger was an urban myth – like the rumoured “coughand-drop” at school, when the doctor was brought in to give all the boys their TB jab – and that modern medicine had done away with the need for such invasive procedures.
In my experience, people wearing silly hats are usually just out to attract attention, so I made no comment and took my seat in the waiting room.
“I decided to ignore it – the way that most men disregard most things to do with their health.”
The doctor called me in, told me my mole was not malignant, and asked me to take off my shirt so that she could remove my stitches. This wasn’t overly painful, so I felt things were going well and it was probably best not to spoil them by overdoing it. I decided I would have the prostate test next time.
So it wasn’t particularly pleasant, but it only lasted a few seconds, and was considerably better than dying of cancer.
The doctor told me I did not have an enlarged prostate, so I’d been cleared of two cancers in one day. Win!
A little later, my uncle died of prostate cancer.
A man has more chance of developing the condition if a father or brother is diagnosed by the age of 60.
My dad did not live to see 60, and my brother isn’t 60 yet.
So I guess I’ll be, er, taking the finger again before too long.
Just don’t ask me to do it with a bloke.
I’d heard there was now a blood test for prostate cancer, which I was quite willing to undergo, but it turned out that you need the blood test and the finger. No matter how hard I tried –and, I admit, I didn’t try all that hard – I couldn’t convince myself of the urgency for the examination.
But when I had the mole removed, I promised my doctor that I would come back for the results of the biopsy and “do the other thing” too. Sensing my reluctance, she asked if I might prefer a male doctor to perform the procedure.
It was a tough call but, in the end, the decision had to be based on which gender generally had the shortest fingers, and women won this, uh, hands down.
When it came to the (hopefully not very) big day, I was surprised to find the doctor’s surgery decorated with blue balloons, and the receptionist wearing a blue spangled hat, as if a disco ball had dropped from the ceiling and landed on her head.
But the doctor told me this was Blue September. Although it sounded like the name of a risqué terrorist gang, it was actually prostate-cancer awareness month. This was the reason for the balloons and hats, to celebrate the time of year when all eligible patients are strongly encouraged to get the finger.
I gave in.
She told me I could put my shirt back on – but that seemed like a bit of a tokenistic concession to my dignity, since I had to take my pants off.
I lay on the couch and faced the wall –which was a far better scenario than I’d imagined – and she, basically, did what was advertised.
If you’re a man, I know you’re wondering what it felt like. Well, I guess it felt like I’d sat on a balloon, which had then somehow inflated inside me: a hot air balloon, to be precise.
Only about 36 percent of prostate cancers in Australia are detected at Stage 1.
To find out more about your risks or screening options, call PCFA’s Specialist Telenursing Service on 1800 22 00 99 or go to www.pcfa.org.au
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10 evidence-based lifestyle swaps that improve healthspan and quality of life.
Words by Paula GoodyerSwapping out some of your meatbased meals for plant-based options can reduce your risk of chronic diseases and increase your lifespan.
Professor Luigi Fontana’s latest book, Manual of Healthy Longevity and Wellbeing, sets out the Modern Longevity Diet, his version of the traditional Mediterranean diet linked to longevity and less chronic disease.
It goes like this. Vegetables, fruit, legumes like beans, chickpeas and lentils, minimally processed wholegrains, nuts, seeds, and extra
Meet Professor luigi Fontana
Living longer is one thing, but how can we stretch our health span to function well in our 80s and 90s? Professor Luigi Fontana has some of the answers.
He’s the Scientific Director of the Charles Perkins Centre Royal Prince Alfred Clinic and ‘Health for Life’ Program at the University of Sydney, and author of The Path to Longevity: How to reach 100 with the health and stamina of a 40-year-old.
After 20 years researching lifestyle and longevity, Luigi’s convinced that our habits make a big difference.
“We know genetic inheritance plays a role in our risk of developing certain diseases and dying prematurely, but what we do in our life turns out to be more important in shaping how well and long we live,” he says.
virgin olive oil form the basis of this diet, with fish or shellfish two or three times weekly, small amounts of cheese and a few eggs each week, and meat and sweets only occasionally.
Rethink how often you eat. It’s not just what we eat that matters – but how often, says luigi – our ancestors didn’t have 3 meals a day with snacks in between. “People snack even if they’re not hungry but our bodies aren’t designed to eat so often during the day,” he says.
“Each time we eat we produce insulin to control our blood glucose – and one effect of turning insulin on too often is that it inhibits the processes that help repair damage to our body’s cells. We know that when cells accumulate damage they’re more vulnerable to diseases, including cancer and dementia.”
But putting more time between meals without prompting insulin into action by snacking helps trigger processes that enhance DNA repair and clean up cells, keeping them in good shape, he explains. Stretching our overnight ‘fast’ between dinner and breakfast is one way to do this.
Banish belly fat. Too much is a sign that your abdomen is storing visceral fat – linked to a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Losing just 8 to 10% of your weight can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer, says Luigi. But a weight loss diet isn’t the answer, he stresses –it’s about committing to a lifelong healthier way of eating and regular exercise.
Know your blood pressure and keep it healthy.
4
A healthy blood pressure reading is 120 mm Hg over 80 mm Hg or lower.
Sticking to it reduces the risk of many problems that can dog us as we age – think heart disease, stroke, atrial fibrillation, kidney disease – and vascular dementia, the second most common dementia after Alzheimer’s.
If blood pressure is too high, lifestyle changes can sometimes be enough to lower it without medication.
Take a regular dose of this anti-ageing pill. It’s called exercise. The closest thing to a wonder drug for healthy longevity is exercise, say US researchers at the University of Virginia.
Their review of research into exercise and healthspan shows a running figure depicting how exercise benefits different parts of the body: a heart that works better, a brain that resists shrinkage and a lower risk of cancer.
It’s like a multi-purpose pill for cardiovascular disease that lowers the risk of a heart attack, stroke or artery disease by 30 to 40%, says Professor Daniel Green of the University of Western Australia’s School of Human Sciences.
“Besides helping control levels of blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose and insulin, and helping keep body fat and inflammation in check, it has a direct effect on your heart and arteries,” he says.
“With exercise, your heart rate and blood pressure temporarily increase, driving blood flow around the body and through the heart. This stimulates the inner lining of your heart and arteries to release beneficial hormones that prevent the development of artery disease.”
Exercise also has a profound effect on brain health both in young and older adults, adds Fontana. “It helps protect memory, enhances attention, thinking and the ability to process information in both young and old adults.”
Prioritise sleep – and help head off dementia.
Our brains have a system for getting rid of waste while we sleep, flushing out toxins and harmful proteins linked to some types of dementia – one study found that people sleeping 5 hours or less a night had double the risk of dementia compared to those getting 7 or 8 hours.
Lack of sleep is also linked to obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Better sleep is another reason to be physically active – just avoid strenuous exercise in the evening when it can disrupt sleep, says Fontana. Other strategies to get more sleep include:
• avoiding blue light like LED screens and electronic devices for an hour before bed
• learn something new – stimulating the brain during the day can help us sleep better at night
• try playing ‘pink noise’, or soundtracks of nature like ocean waves, wind rustling through trees or waterfalls to screen out distracting noises.
Stay connected.
When it comes to longevity and preventing dementia, the loudest messages are about food and fitness – but we underestimate how important social relationships are to our health, says clinical psychologist Dr Suraj Samtani, whose research this year found that interacting with others reduces the risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia, and increases longevity.
“The evidence is very strong. We found that frequent interactions with family or friends, monthly or weekly, and having someone to talk to reduced dementia risk.
Mind your muscle.
Muscle is an older body’s best friend. Maintaining it with strength training fights frailty and loss of independence – and it’s the perfect partner for aerobic exercise.
“The evidence so far suggests that both strength training and moderateto-vigorous intensity aerobic activity such as running, cycling or swimming may reduce the risk of mortality more than doing either of these alone,” says Dr Terry Boyle from the Australian Centre for Precision Health at the University of South Australia.
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Remember when alcohol had its good-for-you moment in the 1990s – and red wine was almost up there with green tea?
Science’s grasp of alcohol’s effects has since moved on and there are good reasons to go easy on alcohol – dementia is one of them, says Associate Professor Louise Mewton, also from CHeBA.
Sticking to a low risk level of drinking to reduce the risk of alcohol-related disease or injury means no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day.
The boom in no alcohol beer, wine and spirits makes it easier to switch between alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks – or replace booze altogether.
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Purpose – or understanding your intrinsic motivations and values –is linked to making healthier lifestyle choices and experiencing less stress. There’s growing evidence linking a strong sense of purpose to both a lower risk of mortality and of dementia, says CHeBA researcher Dr Karen Mather who studies healthy ageing and longevity. “It may be that people with a strong sense of purpose tend to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviours – like regular health checks, being physically active and not smoking, and are more likely to volunteer and stay socially connected. Some research has also linked a strong sense of purpose to greater brain network connectivity and lower levels of stress and inflammation,” she adds.
Want to know more?
Download the full Citro longevity guide
Did you know the apple body shape that’s common in postmenopausal women can cause a number of serious health conditions? Here’s how the new wave of metabolic health drugs can help.
Words by Sabrina Rogers-AndersonEver wondered why many women slowly transform from a pear shape into an apple shape as the years tick by? The answer is simple, but the health implications are far-reaching.
During childbearing years, women tend to store fat on their hips, thighs and buttocks to meet the energy demands of breastfeeding. “But with the loss of oestrogen at menopause, any excess energy in the body gets deposited between the hips and the tip of the shoulders,” says Professor Katherine Samaras, endocrinologist and clinical scientist at Garvan Institute of Medical Research.
“Women feel their waists thickening up and they often feel it in their shoulder blades, which may start hanging over their bra straps. Some women have thickening in the upper arms.” So, we change fruit shapes as we age. Does it matter? According to Katherine, the apple fat distribution increases the risk of developing insulin resistance, which leads to type 2 diabetes, vascular disease and coronary artery disease.
“It’s also associated with increased rates of cancer, specifically breast, uterine and esophageal. When you’re
insulin resistant, you have much higher blood insulin levels, which promotes cell proliferation,” she explains.
Until now, women with obesity typically had to resort to risky and costly bariatric surgery. But all that changed in 2022 when so-called “weight-loss drugs” such as Ozempic exploded onto the scene.
With Hollywood stars showcasing the astounding weight loss they’d achieved with a simple injection, the demand skyrocketed and there was soon a worldwide shortage of Ozempic. Despite going viral on social media as miracle diet pills, most of these drugs aren’t even approved for weight loss by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia. They’re TGA-approved to treat and manage type 2 diabetes, and weight loss is considered a side effect.
(PBS) listing and patients need to be diagnosed with the condition it’s approved to treat. If you don’t have the condition but your doctor believes it would benefit you, they can write you a ‘private script’ but you pay the full price out of pocket.
“For women who have central [abdominal] obesity and are starting to show markers of other diseases, these medications can assist in optimising their metabolic health,” Katherine explains.
“Apple fat distribution increases the risk of developing insulin resistance.”
“This is considered off-label prescribing because the indications for these medications are to wait until people get the disease and then treat them.
“But there’s more evidence that we shouldn’t wait for people to get the disease. If they have weight issues and they’re not able to manage them with lifestyle changes, we can enable people to do the hard yards required for weight reduction. The medications create space to create behaviour change, which takes time and repetition.”
For the government to subsidise part of the cost of the drug, it must have a Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that makes Ozempic, has
advised the TGA that the Ozempic shortage is likely to continue throughout 2024. The TGA has urged prescribers not to put new patients on Ozempic unless there are no suitable alternative, and has asked pharmacists to prioritise patients who are already stabilised on the medication. And, as new medications such as Mounjaro become available to the public, they too are in short supply due to the high demand.
For patients like Amy, who has insulin resistance and 3 autoimmune diseases – underactive thyroid, coeliac disease and psoriatic arthritis – Ozempic has been a lifesaver when she’s had access to it. “I was eating cleanly and exercising, but my insulin resistance was at a point that it just didn’t matter what I did,” she explains. “I kept packing on the weight, which was so demoralising and made my pain and arthritis a lot worse.”
After starting Ozempic in 2022, Amy lost 10 kilos and felt great until she had to stop taking it due to the shortage. She’s been back on it since early 2023 – though she’s taking 0.75mg instead of the 1mg she needs because she wants to stretch it out – and never felt better. “I’ve lost 21 kilos so far and my
body feels like it’s functioning as it should,” she says. “I can’t describe it, but it feels like something is different physiologically. I don’t think I’ll ever stop taking it.”
Connie also desperately needs Ozempic to help manage her health, but she’s currently unable to get her hands on it. After battling leukaemia twice and developing serious complications from stem cell transplants, Connie takes a daily cocktail of medications to keep her alive. Several of them, especially the steroids she’s had to take on and off for years, make her retain fluid and send her weight and blood sugar levels skyrocketing.
“My endocrinologist prescribed me Ozempic in the past and I lost nearly 20 kilos in 6 months,” says Connie. “Being on Ozempic evened everything out. It was beneficial in so many ways. I had to stop taking it for a while, and now that I need it again, there isn’t any available. [The shortage] makes it difficult to live a full and healthy life. But I stay positive and keep going for my two kids. They’re my world.”
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nib works hard to make sure you have everything you need to stay healthy. But what happens if you need to go to hospital? That’s where nib MediGap can help. nib MediGap aims to eliminate any gap payments for specialist fees in hospitals across Australia. Ultimately, going to hospital is stressful enough and the last thing we want you to be worried about is your bill, so use nib’s MediGap provider search to find a provider in your area.
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SCAN MEDid you know it’s vital to treat hearing loss if you wish to reduce your risk of dementia? There are also lifestyle swaps you can make to prevent age-related hearing loss.
Words by Paula GoodyerCan anything help prevent the hearing loss that affects around 65% of people over 60? Quite a lot, it turns out – and the same good habits that can help protect our hearing can fight other health problems too.
“There’s this acceptance that hearing loss is inevitable as we get older but there are things we can do early in life to preserve hearing,” says Professor Bamini Gopinath of the Faculty of Medicine Health and Human Sciences at Sydney’s Macquarie University.
One of the main threats to our hearing is a hidden problem called oxidative stress that damages tissues in the body and contributes to chronic disease and the ageing process itself. Oxidative stress happens when free radicals circulate in the body and too few antioxidants balance them out. But there’s a lot we can do to prevent oxidative stress.
A diet high in antioxidants... There’s a reason why experts urge us to ‘eat the rainbow’.
“A high-quality diet such as the Mediterranean diet that includes plenty of vegetables and fruit, with olive oil, is a rich source of antioxidants and micronutrients that can reduce oxidative stress,” says Professor Gopinath.
Some studies also suggest that vitamins A, C and E and the mineral magnesium can help prevent oxidative stress – but diets high in saturated fat, sugar and salt and low in fibre can increase it.
Some research has linked eating fish regularly (2 to 4 times a week) to a lower risk of hearing loss. “Fish are a natural source of omega-3 fatty acids which can reduce oxidative stress,” she adds.
“Although it’s not clear if there’s the same benefit from taking omega-3 supplements.”
“There’s always been a link between high levels of physical activity and a lower risk of hearing loss – and again I think it has a lot to do with maintaining good blood flow to the ears, “ she says.
Some studies suggest that aerobic exercise (like running, walking, cycling and swimming) also help maintain our mitochondria which are like tiny ‘power packs’ in our cells. Oxidative damage to our mitochondria might kick off the progressive loss of hearing cells, according to some researchers. Regular exercise will also help maintain a healthy weight – and a number of studies now link being overweight and obesity to a higher risk of hearing loss.
Of all the steps we can take to protect our hearing, avoiding loud noise across the lifespan is the most important, says Professor Gopinath. Too much exposure from music (concerts, pubs/clubs, the gym, personal music devices), power tools, workplaces,
construction sites and using firearms can disrupt our hearing in different ways – by damaging the delicate cells that help us hear, as well as reducing blood flow to the cochlea, the little spiral tube in our ear that transmits sound to the brain. You can check out your own risk of noise exposure and get good advice on protecting your hearing online –Google “know your noise”.
Some industries, including painting, construction and firefighting – along with some medications – risk exposure to toxic chemicals that can damage hearing. In the workplace these include solvents, heavy metals and asphyxiants (e.g. acrylonitrile, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide). Some medications including anti-cancer and antiinflammatory drugs can also contain these chemicals – although it may be more difficult to avoid these.
Can hearing exercises help?
Speech-in-noise exercises boost listening skills for people with hearing loss. They involve practicing listening to conversations or recorded speech in noisy environments. Professor Harvey Dillon from Macquarie University’s Department of Linguistics says they may give people more confidence. Auditory training isn’t routinely recommended but it may be useful for anyone using a hearing aid for the first time, he adds.
Although it’s unlikely that dementia is a cause of hearing loss, there’s good evidence that hearing loss increases the risk of all types of dementia, says Professor Henry Brodaty of the Centre for Healthy Ageing at the University of NSW.
“There’s this acceptance that hearing loss is inevitable as we get older but there are things we can do”
The reason is still unclear but one theory is that the social isolation that can come with hearing loss can lead to cognitive decline. “But there is some good news – research has found that people who wear hearing aids reduce their risk of dementia,” he adds.
Smoking increases the risk of hearing loss – one large study of more than 2000 people aged over 50 found that current smokers were 61% more likely to have hearing loss.
be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. Do not use the information found on this page as a substitute for professional health care advice. Any information you find on this page or on external sites which are linked to on this page should be verified with your professional healthcare provider.
Smoothies deliver a powerful dose of nutrients and are a breeze to whip up with a stick or bullet blender. Try these delicious recipes and head to Citro online to find more.
Words and photos by Sarah ColemanAn incredible 94% of Australian adults do not get their recommended amount of fruit and vegetables daily.
Smoothies are a delicious way to get essential vitamins and minerals and help us stay hydrated and nourished.
Certain plant chemicals, such as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds found in smoothie ingredients, may provide specific benefits for age-related health concerns.
New research suggests that it’s best to avoid mixing bananas and berries in a smoothie if you want maximum nutritional benefits.
By all means, eat some bananas and make a banana smoothie (delicious with oats and raw honey). Just avoid pairing them with flavonol-rich foods like berries, cocoa, and tea.
As we get older, we need more protein to grow and repair every cell in our bodies so make sure to include protein in every smoothie. Try:
• Greek yoghurt
• Cottage cheese
• Silken tofu
• Raw nuts
• Raw seeds
• Raw egg
• Cooked unsalted legumes, like white beans or chickpeas
• Protein powder
The recommended amount of protein to consume when
aged over 50 is 0.75g per kg of body weight, and when you are aged over 70, it’s 0.94g per kg of body weight, according to Australian government health guidelines.
Peter Attia, author of Outlive: Science & Art of Longevity, says we need closer to 2g of protein per kilogram of body weight to avoid anabolic resistance – so an 80kg person needs 160g of protein a day.
Anabolic resistance means that the muscles in our bodies become less responsive to signals such as protein and exercise that promote muscle growth. As we get older, anabolic resistance increases and can lead to a decline in muscle mass and strength.
Scan to find more great smoothie recipes on Citro.
This super satisfying smoothie is high in protein. You can give it an extra boost by adding protein powder. Serves 1.
• 2 tbsp unsweetened nut butter (peanut, almond, macadamia etc.)
• 1 small frozen banana (or half large), in chunks
• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 1 – 2 tbsp unflavoured, vanilla or chocolate protein powder (optional)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp raw honey
• 250mL milk, milk kefir or unsweetened plant-based milk
Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
We know the colour of the foods in your diet should reflect the rainbow, so here’s how to get an infusion of purple into your day! Serves 1.
• ¼ cup fresh beetroot (not canned/ cooked), finely grated
• ½ cup blackberries or blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• ½ cup rolled oats
• 250mL milk, milk kefir or unsweetened plant-based milk
• 2 – 3 ice cubes (if not using frozen fruit)
Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
Note: Beetroot adds a savoury edge to this smoothie. If you want to add a little sweetness, try a teaspoon of honey or a pitted Medjool date or two!
Make a big dent in your daily greens quota with this vibrant green smoothie. Adding avocado gives it a lovely, silky texture and is an excellent source of healthy fats. Serves 1.
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves, packed
• ½ small Lebanese cucumber, in chunks
• ½ avocado, flesh only (no skin or pip)
• ⅓ cup raw cashews or macadamias or silken tofu
• Sprig of mint (optional)
• 250mL unsweetened plant milk or coconut water
• 2 ice cubes (if not using frozen fruit)
Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
Note: This is a savoury shake. If you want to sweeten it – add a handful of fresh or frozen mango or pineapple.
Nutrition is vital throughout our lives but here are 6 things to know about vitamins and supplements as you get older.
Words by Citro partner VitableEating a healthy diet is vital as we age but if your dietary intake is inadequate then supplementation may be worth considering.
Supplements are usually taken as tablets, capsules or powders, or even a liquid drink, and give you nutrients that might be missing from your diet. Here are 6 things to know about supplementing your nutrition.
1. Check with your doctor before you start supplements
Like any medicine, vitamins can have side effects or interact in unwanted ways with other medicines.
For example, fish oil interacts with some blood pressure medications and blood thinning drugs.
Vitamins should only be used as directed on the label, and you should consult a health professional if you experience any health issues while taking a vitamin.
2. It’s always best to eat a healthy diet
Getting most of your nutrients by eating a wide range of different foods (with plenty of vegetables) is the best way to support your health.
Using every meal and snack for optimal nutrition makes sense as we get older. You’ll find loads of diet and health information on Citro.
Sometimes supplementation is medically necessary. For example, taking a vitamin D supplement can help maintain and support bone mineralisation in someone with a vitamin D deficiency. Having strong bones can prevent dangerous fractures from falls.
3. Supplementing is best when personalised to you
All of us have unique physiology –some of us get heartburn, some of us don’t. Some of us need to boost our calcium intake, some of us don’t. Some of us choose to eat a vegan diet – and may need to supplement calcium, iron, vitamins B12 and D, and zinc – while some of us prefer to eat meat every day of the week. Personalising supplements to your health requirements and dietary habits makes sense.
Citro partner Vitable has an online quiz that asks you questions about your diet, lifestyle and health goals, and then tailors a personalised vitamin plan to your needs.
The online quiz will ask your age and gender, as well as a little about family history, whether you’ve had conditions like gallstones, what your energy levels are like and other questions that relate to your health priorities.
The quiz then recommends supplements and highlights the researched benefits of its recommendations.
4. Check where supplements are manufactured
There have been instances of overseas-manufactured supplements bought by Australians being contaminated.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration regulates all vitamins sold legally in Australia.
All medicines that are approved for supply in Australia include either an AUST R number or an AUST L number on their label.
• AUST R numbers are for registered medicines that the TGA has evaluated for safety, quality and efficacy.
• AUST L numbers are for low-risk listed medicines, such as most vitamin products, that the TGA regulates for safety and quality only.
Supplements that do not display these numbers may not be approved for sale in Australia. Some products sold online may not be approved for sale in Australia even though you can buy them here.
5. Customised supplementation delivered to you
Personalised supplementation considers individual factors like environment and lifestyle to develop customised regimes personalised to health and nutrition goals.
New companies like Vitable not only consider your dietary needs but also deliver your customised vitamins and supplements each month.
These services are helpful if you are:
Forgetful. Experts estimate that 50% of people don’t take their medications correctly. Personalised supplements delivered to your door make it easier to take the right vitamins every day.
Vegetarian or vegan. People who exclude some or all animal products from their diet may find it harder to obtain nutrients such as protein, iron, calcium, zinc, vitamin B12 and vitamin D.
A personalised vitamin that considers diet can target these with supplementation.
6. Assess changing supplementation needs as you age or change diet
Your micronutrient needs may change throughout your life as you age, evolve your diet or develop health conditions.
Reap the rewards of wellness: Get up to $10 cashback with Vitable Vitable makes your vitamins personalised, simple and effective. No more guesswork in the vitamin aisle, no more cupboards full of half-empty bottles. Vitable offers a streamlined, effective approach to vitamins, ensuring you get exactly what you need, and nothing you don’t.
Always read the label. Follow the directions for use. If symptoms persist, talk to your health professional. Vitamin and/or mineral supplements should not replace a balanced diet. The information on this page is general information and should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. Do not use the information found on this page as a substitute for professional health care advice. The Vitable quiz is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Terms & Conditions apply. When using this discount you will be signed up to a monthly flexible subscription. Edit or cancel at any time in your online account.
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At 51, a sudden heart attack sent shockwaves through outdoor adventurer Andrew Bain’s existence. He recovered by making the natural world his refuge, an ally in a journey of self-discovery and resilience.
Words and photos by Andrew Bain“I make my living in the outdoors, I’ve cycled around Australia and over the Himalayas. There’s no known history of heart problems in my family, no genetic disposition, my blood pressure is fine, I weigh only 75 kilograms, and my cholesterol is boast-worthy.
I was so devoid of cardiac risk factors that I should have been a poster child for heart health. Except that at the age of 51, I was felled by an unexpected heart attack.
It was the most ordinary of winter Saturday mornings. A short run at dawn, breakfast, coffee and a shave, midway through which things started to go wobbly. Pins and needles shot through my arms, breathing became difficult, and I felt too faint to stand.
I lay on my bathroom floor for 15 minutes, waiting for the whole thing to pass, and only when I was sure I wasn’t going to be that person who mistook something like indigestion for a heart attack did I phone for help.
Within minutes that lasted lifetimes, I was in an ambulance, blacking out as I began the siren-blazing journey to hospital with half a shaved face –I remember pondering how ridiculous I’d look if this ended in an open-casket viewing.
The system saved me
Two hours later, chatting to surgeons as they saved my life by inserting two stents – scaffold-like tubes that will hold open my artery for the rest of my life – my heart attack was over and my road to recovery began.
I can’t fault the health system. After a night in the hell of an intensive care unit as a Covid outbreak raged through the cardiac ward, a bed in an adjoining private hospital was graciously given to me as a public bed.
I walked (very slowly) out of hospital days later after the biggest medical
moment of my life, and it had cost me nothing financially. Tasmania is one of the few Australian states to offer free ambulance cover. There’s the ongoing cost of medications, future tests and visits to my cardiologist (which have cost around $700 since 2021).
No answers
After such freak health events, I searched for reasons and resolution, but my heart attack offered none.
With so few risk factors, doctors could provide no clue as to the cause, suggesting only that, anecdotally, they were seeing more heart attacks in fit people of my age over the last decade. It was simply a clot that dislodged from the wall of the artery which jammed to create a 100% blockage. Random bad luck.
Healthdirect says heart attacks are a possible complication of Covid-19, and the virus can worsen existing heart conditions. Being vaccinated against Covid-19 and flu is the best protection.
however, that there’s no evidence that Covid caused my heart attack.
I have unqualified gratitude and praise for the people who poked and punched holes in me.
Even as I lay exposed in ridiculously unflattering ways while surgeons guided stents through my groin up towards my heart, I knew that if I’d been born a generation before, none of this would have been possible. I’d have lost the chance to continue to watch my children grow into adults.
“It’s often the mind that most requires healing after such a close look at death.”
life after near-death As I did step out of that hospital, I felt like a stranger in my own world.
Many heart attacks and strokes are preventable. The Heart Foundation recommends everyone over 45 has a quick heart check-up at their GP.
Heart disease risk factors include:
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Smoking
• Type 2 diabetes
• Being overweight or obese
• Alcohol
• Age
• Family history
If I wonder in my own mind about any possible cause, it’s Covid. I’d had a mild bout of the disease five months earlier, and research out of Washington University at around the time of my heart attack suggested that up to a year after recovery from Covid, a person was 63% more likely to have a heart attack – equivalent to about three extra heart attacks for every 1,000 people who had Covid, according to the study. I hasten to add,
The city around me hustled and bustled as if nothing consequential and life-changing had occurred, and I was suddenly the weak among the strong, my ribs a straw-like cage around an organ as unstable and temperamental as dynamite.
The idea that life could ever return to normal seemed momentarily fanciful.
For weeks afterwards, I joked to friends that I clearly needed
Read more about ‘The quick heart health check that could save your life’ on Citro
Nature, hikes, mountain biking and camping has restored Andrew’s health.to change my lifestyle – I’d give up the unhealthiness of healthy living and take up smoking, burgers and binging on streaming services – but in reality my recovery took me in a more familiar and sensible direction.
I’ve long believed in the healing power of time in nature and physical movement; now I could test the fact or folly of that conviction. The day of my discharge, I walked a few hundred exhausting metres near home, then another day attempted a small rise in a reserve that ended up scaring the life out of me – was my heart even up to this 20-metre climb?
I tried to remember (and often failed) to take the medications I was prescribed, and I fought the inner voice that nagged at me to withdraw from a book I’d just been contracted to research and write about adventure activities around Australia.
Almost crippled by fear (but with a newly purchased personal locator beacon on board, just in case), I did set out on the first of those adventures, canoeing for two days through Nitmiluk National Park, only half joking to my partner that she’d be my personal gondolier, working alone to punt me through the gorge.
There are around 57,000 heart attacks and 25,000 cardiac arrests each year in Australia.
Heart attacks are different to cardiac arrest, but both require immediate emergency medical help – always call Triple Zero and implement defibrillation. During a cardiac arrest the heart either stops beating or isn’t beating enough.
Common heart attack symptoms:
• pain and tightness in the chest
• pain spreading to arm, jaw, neck, back
• trouble breathing
• coughing and/or wheezing
• nausea
• anxiety
• feeling faint
What I was chasing, though, was surety and belief – in myself and in my capability to return to the person I knew – and quickly enough we were paddling stroke for stroke, pausing only to drag the canoe and our gear across long and tiring portages. I’d never felt so tired, but also never so alive.
Over the subsequent few months, I’d burrow into caves and canyons, dangle off cliffs on airy abseils, throw myself into the sky on a hang glider, and finally hike with my kids for four days to the summit of Tasmania’s mighty Frenchmans Cap for a Christmas I appreciated more than any other before it.
None of these activities saved me, or miraculously healed my damaged
Females may experience different heart attack symptoms, such as:
• breathlessness and generally feeling unwell
• tightness or discomfort in your arms
• chest pain that feels more like burning, throbbing, tightness or like trapped wind
• a feeling of indigestion or upper tummy pain
• upper back pain or pressure
Common cardiac arrest symptoms:
• Loss of consciousness
• Not breathing
• No pulse
Source: Heart Foundation & Healthdirect
heart, but the confidence that came with them – the knowledge that I wasn’t busted, after all – was the ultimate medicine for my mind. And it’s often the mind that most requires healing after such a close look at death.
Almost 18 months on, my recovery is still a work in progress. I cycle and run regularly again (though mentally I will never be able to face the route I ran on the morning of my heart attack) and while it’s all harder than it used to be, subsequent visits to my cardiologist have produced glowing outcomes.
My heart is strong, and my mind almost believes in me again.
Telehealth consultations with doctors exploded during the Covid-19 pandemic and are here to stay. Here’s how to combine in-person and digital health services to improve your wellbeing and outcomes.
Words by Sabrina Rogers-AndersonNow that pesky Covid-19 pandemic is behind us, should we make the effort to go to visit our doctors face-to-face to receive better healthcare?
The truth is that face-to-face consultations aren’t always the best option. In many cases, phone or video appointments can be more advantageous, and knowing when to choose one over the other can help you optimise your health.
Accessing health care services via telehealth can help you detect health issues early on and receive prompt care which can improve your outcomes. Telehealth can also help you better manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer and arthritis by allowing you to check in with your health care team more frequently.
A review of 80 unique virtual care initiatives aimed at older Australians found that most had similar or better health and behavioural outcomes compared with in-person care.
Another review comparing telehealth and in-person therapy for depression found no differences in outcomes between face-to-face care and virtual health care.
While telehealth will never completely replace in-person care, combining the 2 modalities can translate into time and money savings and better health outcomes. There are a few reasons why older Australians may not want to rely on telehealth, including:
• Lack of access to or knowledge of technology
• The need for a physical examination, test or screening
• Concerns about privacy and confidentiality.
Despite these potential barriers, the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 31.6% of Australians aged 65 to 74 had a telehealth consultation in 20222023 compared to only 20.9% of those aged 15 to 24. Amongst those aged 45 to 54, 91.5% of people who had used telehealth said they would use it again.
Face time still matters
You’ll need to see your GP in person (or go to your local emergency department if your condition is urgent or severe). It’s also best to visit a doctor or nurse practitioner face-toface for any condition that requires
Instant Consult is an app designed to connect you with Australian-registered, fully qualified and experienced doctors in under 15 minutes for virtual consultations. Seek medical advice, receive prescriptions, discuss health concerns and more, through video call, making healthcare more accessible and convenient.
Terms apply: Book your consultation and receive $5 cashback when using your Citro Card.
Scan the code to learn more
a physical examination, such as injuries, wounds, lumps, rashes, skin conditions, heart palpitations, chest pain, dizziness and pregnancy checks.
Procedures like immunisations, screenings (including breast, prostate and bowel) and other physical tests are always best done face-to-face. If you have a viral or bacterial infection that is severe or not improving on its own, it’s best to see a doctor even though you may be required to wear a mask or be examined in an isolation room.
Phone or video call
Telehealth consultations are also suitable for:
• Script renewals
• Specialist referrals
• Pathology and screening referrals
• Test results
• Lifestyle advice (such as diet, exercise and sleep)
• Mental health counselling and therapy
• Managing a chronic disease such as diabetes, arthritis or cancer
If you’re unsure whether your request or concern can be addressed via telehealth, call your GP’s office and ask the receptionist.
There are also new paid services that allow you to see a doctor over the phone or on a video call on demand –usually for a small fee. These services may not be bulk-billed but can be convenient if your regular GP doesn’t have an appointment available.
Healthdirect: This governmentfunded website includes a an online symptom checker, a health service finder (including telehealth appointments) and a free 24-hour phone line for tailored health advice on 1800 022 222.
My Health Record: Setting up a My Health Record account allows you to keep all your health information and records in one place. You can easily access it through the new my health app and your health care team can consult it in case of an emergency. You can also upload your advanced healthcare directives to My Health Record.
1. Improved access to cheaper health care
If you live in a regional, remote or rural area, you may have to travel long distances to see a doctor in person. Digital health services can give you timely access to the health care you need. A phone or video appointment with your doctor can translate into savings on petrol, parking and other travel expenses. GPs who bulk bill patients (including for telehealth consultations) will now receive three times the incentive they used to receive on top of the standard Medicare benefit. Patients who sign up for MyMedicare, a new voluntary patient registration program, will also have access to longer funded telehealth consultations. This should further reduce out-of-pocket costs for digital health services.
Electronic prescriptions: Wondering how you’ll get your scripts from your doctor if you consult them via telehealth? Electronic prescriptions can be sent directly to your phone so you never lose them.
Express Plus Medicare mobile app: If you have a myGov account, link Medicare to MyGov, and then download the app so you can access your digital Medicare card, manage organ donations, save proof of vaccinations and check your Medicare Safety Net.
2. Better hospitals with less overcrowding
By facilitating early detection and treatment of health conditions, telehealth appointments can help reduce overcrowding in emergency departments. Steering clear of crowded doctors’ offices and hospitals can reduce your risk of contracting infectious diseases such as Covid-19 and influenza.
3. Patient empowerment
One of the primary advantages of telehealth is that it empowers patients to be proactive about their health. This not only prevents the escalation of minor issues, but it also reduces patients’ anxiety about their health.
Famous for playing the gorgeous not-so-ditzy sister in the hit 1980s sitcom Family Ties, Justine Bateman says we should embrace the beauty of the ageing face rather than decry it. These are her words from her book Face: One Square Foot of Skin.
Words by Justine Bateman
Justine Bateman
is now 58 and when she Googled herself after writing her first book about Fame, she found horrible comments about how old she looked.
I was taken aback to find that quite a few people had taken to Internet chat sites to passionately complain that “Justine Bateman looks horrible now.”
I wanted to understand just how that passionately negative perception of an older woman’s face exists in our current society?
Millions of other women have been eviscerated in this same way I was, via the loud and verbally violent criticism of ageing actresses, models, musicians and politicians. This criticism filters down to all women, both in and out of the spotlight.
For those in the spotlight, a panic can develop to surgically alter the ageing face in an attempt to escape this
“older, terrible face” criticism. For those out of the spotlight, there can be a bit of horror in watching those who were once lauded as some of the “most beautiful people” among us, publicly ripped to shreds when their faces age.
Some think that if those attractive people aren’t exempt from the criticism, and can now be drawn and quartered for looking older, what lies in wait for those with more “ordinary” faces?
A special terror is transmitted to younger women, teenagers, and girls. Yet still years away from experiencing any facial wrinkles or loose skin themselves, they can clearly see their trajectory in society as pigs-to-the-slaughter. Every year they inch closer and closer to being attacked themselves for their naturally ageing faces.
Not a week goes by without a girl hearing comments about older women like:
“She used to be a looker, but she’s really let herself go.”
“She looks like an old hag now.”
“Good thing she married before she lost her looks.”
Comments like these constantly reaffirm that the girl has worth with an unlined and pretty face, but once that goes, she will be led into the slaughterhouse, like all the other older piggies.
Unfortunately, when the girls look to the older women to see whether they are folding under that verbal pressure, or if they are instead boldly defying it with self-confidence, the girls more often see older women folding and rushing to surgically ‘fix’ their faces.
With few confident older female role models to counteract all the noise about their faces, one can hardly expect a relaxed attitude from any young female about the prospect of eventually looking older.
I was disturbed that not only had I bought into other people’s critical idea of my appearance, but also that many women around me seemed to have done the same thing. I hated the idea that half the population was perhaps spending the entire second half of their lives ashamed and apologetic that their faces had aged naturally.
For me, it felt like a ploy to somehow shut me down, to get me to hide, to be quiet, to erase myself, all at the exact moment in my life when I had gained the most intelligence, the most wisdom, and the most confidence.
What an easy way to try to make sure that I stopped accomplishing anything further. To keep me from enrolling in college, from writing books, from writing scripts, from directing and producing films (all of which happened in the post-facecriticism years).
“Not a week goes by without a girl hearing comments about older women like: ‘She used to be a looker, but she’s really let herself go’.”
The focus on the female face seems to do nothing but severely distract females from achieving everything they were meant to. Traditionally, men’s older faces signify power, and women’s older faces signify a loss of power.
While I was still processing that “older face” criticism I personally experienced online, I wove in and out of adopting shame about my face when I interacted with others.
And I noticed many other older women also looking shameful.
What if this societal signalling has nothing to do with the idea of older men’s superior ability to wield power, but has everything to do with women not sitting in their rightful places of power because they’ve folded under the weight of comments that they’re no longer young and pretty looking?
“When
the girls look to the older women to see whether they are folding under that verbal pressure, or if they are instead boldly defying it with self-confidence, the girls more often see older women folding and rushing to surgically ‘fix’ their faces.”
Do we naturally think this way about women’s older faces, or is it taught? If the definition of female “attractiveness” is tied to an unconscious, evolutionarily based desire to procreate and continue the species, then one can understand that the smooth, unlined faces that usually accompany women in childbearing years would be more “desirable” than creased faces, as the creased faces may indicate that a woman is in menopause and unable to breed any longer.
Intellectually, we can see this, but with our population at over 7.6 billion people, and growing, wouldn’t this be an outdated, vestigial concern in society? And it still doesn’t explain the volatile emotions experienced by the older women, and by those who criticise their faces. Why the shame and why the anger?
I believe there are a multitude of causes for that shame and that anger, and very little of it rational.
Face exposes some possible reasons and generally asks why we should ever find an older face “horrible” to begin with, and why would we feel compelled to “fix” it?
It was as if employing face-altering methods, now including the use of needles, knives, lasers, and acid, was the necessary responsibility of all women, and the only question left was, “Should you start employing these techniques around age 40, or should one start earlier,
for the sake of ‘maintenance,’ at 30, or even at 20 years old?”
There were few, if any, simultaneous discussions in the public forum about the ethics of hammering women about the repellent nature of their naturally ageing faces.
My hope is that in exposing these reasons, they can wither and die in the light of day. Because, in the end, there’s nothing wrong with your face.
Face: One Square Foot of Skin
RRP $29.99
Available online and in bookstores.
Image credit: Getty Images
Dr Gladys McGarey’s eyesight and hearing may have dimmed but now that she’s 103, her insight is better than ever. She shares her longevity secrets with Citro.
Words by Alex BrooksDr Gladys McGarey wears her long white hair in a braid that sits atop her head like a crown.
She lives in her daughter’s home and clocks 3,800 steps a day on her smartphone as she walks with the aid of a walker. She also rides an adult tricycle.
When she was 86, this mother-of-six decided to ‘find something to retire to’ and went to Afghanistan to care for expectant mothers experiencing high infant mortality rates.
She’s had her own share of medical woes, dealing with thyroid cancer, breast cancer, and a hip replacement. She’s lived through the death of her daughter and divorce at the age of 70, after her doctor husband left her for their surgery nurse.
“I was so broken. I was devastated. The universe wasn’t working right and I was screaming in my car,” she says, before she had a moment of clarity that she needed to simply ‘Be Glad’.
Her name, after all, is Gladys. So she bought a personalised licence plate to put on her car to remind herself – and anyone driving behind her – to always Be Glad, and to embrace happiness.
Today, she’s still writing books and advocating for ‘living medicine’, her secrets to healing and health: life, love, laughter, labour and listening.
“When I got the 5 Ls, it helped me structure my thinking and put things in perspective,” she explains.
“My eyesight may have dimmed, but my insight has gotten better. I have more understanding than I ever used to.”
She wears hearing aids and has a 10-year-plan to establish centres of living medicine around the world. So how does it feel to be 103?
“It feels like I’m alive and life is still exciting”
5 l’s of Dr Gladys McGarey’s living medicine
life: “Sunlight activates the seed of life.”
love: “Life and love are intertwined, they can’t function without the other.”
laughter: “Families are torn apart by laughter without love –it’s how wars start.”
labour: “Labour without love is hard, but with love it’s bliss.”
listening: “When I heard those babies in Afghanistan take their first breath, I swear I heard the angels sing. Helping with childbirth is beautiful.”
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*The Offer is only available to new members who are Australian citizens, permanent residents of Australia, or those who are entitled to full reciprocal rights under Medicare, registered for Medicare and listed on an active Medicare card, and who join an eligible combined Hospital and Extras policy by 11:59pm 31 May 2024. Ineligible products include Basic Kickstarter, Basic Accident Hospital and Value Extras. Not available to existing health insurance policyholders with nib, AAMI, Apia, Suncorp, nib, ING Health Insurance, GU Health, Priceline, Qantas, Real Health Insurance or Seniors Health Insurance, or to previous policyholders who have held health insurance with any of these brands and cancelled their policy 6 months before or during the Offer Period. The Eligible Member must maintain the qualifying policy up to the date of the Offer being applied to the policy. Not available with any other offer unless otherwise stated. See full T&Cs for further details
