Many people who come work with me either suggest or inquire if getting older is the cause of their symptoms. I don’t allow “getting older” as a reason or excuse as to why you’re tired, achy, foggy or any other symptom that’s crept into your life. I understand why it’s suggested – you are older than the year before, you haven’t made any big nutrition or lifestyle changes, basic lab work came back “normal” and yet you don’t feel normal.
And let’s be honest, aging isn’t always a glamorous or embraced topic. Many feel their active passions, athletic routines or big adventurous days might be limited. We can’t stop aging, but we can support our physiology to keep our body functioning optimally to keep pursuing our wildest dreams.
There’s a reason you’re feeling the way you do; the body speaks in pain and symptoms. Listening with an open mind and doing the right testing is important to finding the root of what’s going on.
As we mature, so do our organs, cells, and mitochondria. Any hormonal imbalance, inflammation, nutrient deficiency, stress, or metabolic disruption that hasn’t been addressed will accumulate over time and create bigger, more prominent dysfunction. Dysfunction produces symptoms, the longer it continues the louder or more pronounced symptoms become.
We also have different nutrition and recovery needs as we age. We need to adjust and refine our strategies to compensate for this.
Stress is cumulative in the body – mental, emotional (even anticipatory stress), physical and physiological stress all tax your adrenals and therefore your entire endocrine system. We’re dynamic beings. We’re resilient and designed to respond & react to stress but there’s a limit to how much the body can take before things start to breakdown.
Add in normal aging, appropriate hormone declines or shifts and there’s a whole new kind of stress the body can no longer compensate for.
We don’t always think about how our training stress might be adding to our work and life stress on a physiological level. Or how barely getting enough sleep for years might be eroding our recovery to the point where one unexpected stressor or bump in our life tips the scales.
Food sensitivities commonly show up “out of the blue” in the 30’s or 40’s, it’s rarely sudden but can feel that way. These could be mild sensitivities that didn’t cause major enough symptoms to convince you to stop eating them or reactions that your body really was managing for a while. After years of low-grade inflammation your gut integrity weakens, nutrient absorption declines, and your gut microbiome changes only furthering the inflammation and immune system irritation.
With any new symptom, body change with no obvious cause or a training decline – there’s a reason. It’s not in your head and it’s not just age. Correcting nutritional blind spots, hormone shifts, stress, or poor sleep is essential to being vibrant. Adjusting for normal hormone changes, wear & tear on joints and understanding that your body’s needs CHANGE with age are all part of working WITH your physiology.
Menopause and the natural decline in testosterone (andropause) don’t have to be showstoppers. Just as aging doesn’t have to be punishment or a time to give up (all) your favorite things. It’s an opportunity to dig deeper into what your body specifically needs, getting targeted with your nutrition, lifestyle routines and potentially a mindset adjustment to continue reaping the rewards and pleasures from adventuring.
In response to someone asking if their pain or training decline is due to age, I typically respond with a polite “no” and talk about what dietary and recovery strategies need adjusting. I often recommend more in-depth lab testing to really look at function so we can get as targeted as possible. Every person is a unique individual with specific needs. There’s no-one-size fits all that truly allows you to thrive and obtain optimum resilience.
Questions? Not sure what’s going on in your body? Let’s Chat!