Come to your senses to stave off aging

Q: The older I get, the less well my senses seem to work — and it worries me that it’s speeding up my aging. What can I do about it? — Diana E., Moline, Illinois

A: Hearing loss affects almost 25 percent of folks ages 65 to 74 and 50 percent of those 75 and older. Research shows it is linked to dementia. Getting and using a hearing aid can reverse the risk substantially. A study in JAMA recently found that the prevalence of dementia in study participants with moderate/severe hearing loss was 61 percent higher than in participants with normal hearing. But when folks with moderate/ severe hearing loss used a hearing aid — voila! — the prevalence of dementia fell by 32 percent.

Your sense of smell is also a tell — loss of it is tied to frailty and unhealthy aging, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers. You can protect it by exercising regularly, avoiding excessive alcohol, not using cleaning products with harsh chemical fumes and taking time to smell four lovely aromas daily. Impaired vision — uncorrected or untreated — is linked to depression, dementia, motor vehicle crashes, and mortality in the elderly.

Q: I just read that the Mediterranean, the DASH and something called the Flexitarian diet are the three healthiest choices. What is Flexitarian and is it a smart way to eat? — Jaclyn E., Des Moines, Iowa

A: The Mediterranean diet centers on eating less animal foods (with an emphasis on healthy fish), more fruits and vegetables, more legumes, more healthy fats like olive oil and having a glass of wine a day. The DASH diet, originally designed to lower elevated blood pressure, is similar to the Med diet with the additional emphasis on low-sodium, unprocessed foods — and no wine.

Research supports the benefits of both of those approaches. They help reduce chronic inflammation and lower your diabetes risk and boost heart health and gut biome and immune system function.

The Flexitarian diet is a “mostly vegetarian” way to reclaim and hold on to your health. The aim is to increase the number of meatfree days and reduce your saturated fat intake. The animal proteins you do eat occasionally should be more healthful, like salmon and skinless poultry. One recent study found that the Flexitarian diet nurtures maximal gut microbiome diversity — and that improves cognition and gives you a more robust resistance to infection and some cancers.