5 Preventable Age-Related Conditions

Many illnesses are associated with aging, and while your body changes over time, that doesn’t mean these conditions are certain. In fact, there’s much you can do to lower your risk for age-related conditions, which is especially important if you hold additional risk factors.

Dr. Javier Sosa and our expert team at Woodlands Primary Healthcare, located in The Woodlands, Texas, provides care for chronic conditions, including preventative treatments, and helps people restore hormonal balance that’s been offset by the aging process. 

Take a moment to learn about five conditions you may be able to prevent, as well as ways we can help.

1. Osteoporosis

Over 50 million people in the United States have osteoporosis, which causes the gradual thinning of your bones and makes them vulnerable to fractures. Osteoporosis becomes more likely with increasing age, typically due to a combination of wear-and-tear and other factors, such as your lifestyle, hormonal changes, and genetics. 

Making sure you get proper nutrition and exercise, maintaining a healthy body weight, quitting smoking, and limiting alcohol can help prevent osteoporosis. 

2. Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes impairs the way your body regulates blood sugar, or glucose, for use as fuel. Over time, it causes too much sugar to flow through your bloodstream, potentially leading to additional conditions within your circulatory, nervous, and immune systems. While you can develop type 2 diabetes at almost any age, your risk increases over time, especially after age 45.

Like osteoporosis, eating a healthy diet and staying active can go a long way toward preventing type 2 diabetes. If you’re at a high risk for the condition or already pre-diabetic, we may also recommend regular blood sugar tests.

3. Urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence is so common that many people, especially those who’ve given birth, often think leaking urine is normal with age. In reality, urinary incontinence can often be prevented, as well as treated. Symptoms can range from relatively mild to severe, leading to frequent “accidents.”

Managing your weight, practicing pelvic floor exercises, eating a fiber-rich diet, and addressing hormonal issues can all help guard against urinary incontinence. For menopause-related symptoms, we may recommend hormone replacement therapy.

4. Metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that happen together: high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat, and poor cholesterol health. Once combined, these issues significantly increase your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

If you develop conditions that meet the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome, changing your lifestyle and getting medical care can help lower your risk. That is important, seeing as up to one-third of adults in the United States have metabolic syndrome.

5. Heart disease

Once you reach age 65, you’re at a heightened risk for heart attack, stroke, coronary heart disease, and heart failure. Heart disease can shorten your life or cause disabilities that reduce your quality of life. 

Eating a healthy diet, exercising, sleeping sufficiently, and managing stress can lower your risk for these issues.

Heart disease risks are also an important reason to schedule annual physicals. High blood pressure often shows no symptoms, yet it can progress to more severe conditions, like a heart attack. Knowing where your levels stand can ensure that you take preventative steps. 

Getting support for prevention

At Woodlands Primary Care, we specialize in metabolic medicine. That means we focus on the biochemical processes inside your body, the nutrients your body needs, and energy loss and illness that can develop when you lack vital nutrients.

If you are middle-aged or older and have difficulty meeting your nutritional needs, you may want to consider IV and intravenous vitamin therapy.  We offer this IV therapy for people of all ages who could benefit from therapeutic, rapidly-absorbed nutrients. We’re also pleased to provide hormone testing, medical weight loss programs, and more to help you stay as healthy as possible into the future.

To learn more about preventing age-related conditions or to get the care you need, call Woodlands Primary Healthcare, located in The Woodlands, Texas, or request an appointment with Dr. Sosa on our website today. 

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