Dear Younger Self

Jane, Raime, Helena

Dear Younger Self

What would you tell your younger self?

I’d start by telling mine to drink more water.

As I head into the land of no return, my late 60s—I recognize that I’ve spent much of my life dehydrated. My skin had become prunish-looking by my 50s, and I’ve struggled with brain fog ever since I was a young adult. It’s no wonder: water does much more than quench our thirst. Sixty percent of our body weight is water, and it’s used to regulate our body temperature, lubricate our joints, flush our kidneys, help make minerals and nutrients accessible for us to use, and keep our eyes, nose, and mouth moist. We need to constantly replenish what we lose through perspiration, respiration, and elimination.

In my Wilderness First Responder course, it was drilled into me that when assessing someone’s situation, to ask about their urine. Is it clear and copious? Is yours?

My doctor recommends drinking 64 ounces (8 cups) of water a day. This guideline includes all forms of fluid: tea, coffee, fruits, vegetables, and soup. Newer research suggests 11.5 cups (91 ounces) of fluids per day, but even 8 cups is still a great baseline for most adult women, depending on our activity level, surrounding climate, and body weight.

Recently, I upped my goal from 64 ounces of fluids daily to 80 ounces, along with fruit and many colorful vegetables. Keeping a daily tracking sheet helps me stay on target, and I do feel better.

But that’s not all I’d tell my younger self. I’d also tell her not to douse herself in baby oil and then lie out in the sun to bake. As any teen of the 1970s can attest, this was a real thing—a real stupid thing. I feel blessed to have made it to almost 70 without any skin cancer scares. Some of my friends haven’t been that fortunate.

They say fair-skinned people with light-colored eyes and light-colored hair who sunburn easily are at a higher risk, but ultimately, anyone with skin can get skin cancer. Therefore, I’d tell my younger self to get used to wearing sunscreen, a hat, and perhaps a long-sleeved white linen shirt.

Having gotten my younger self out of the sun (my older self still enjoys sun naps on the back deck), I’d then tell her to supplement with vitamins D and K. It’s hard to get enough sunshine in Wisconsin to meet the daily requirement of D, especially if you’re covering up and wearing sunscreen! We just don’t get enough sun exposure at our northern latitude.

Wisconsin is known as a high-deficiency zone, where an estimated 59 percent of postmenopausal women don’t get nearly enough vitamin D. Sure, there are fortified foods, but according to my favorite doctor (now retired), in all his years of practice, he never saw an acceptable level of vitamin D in the test results of anyone who wasn’t supplementing.

So, dear younger self, please take a vitamin D supplement along with vitamin K2. The K2 will ensure that whatever calcium you eat is directed to your bones. Also, take it with magnesium, which converts D into its active form, and take calcium to maintain high bone density.

Healthy fats are another thing I’d tell my younger self about. Long ago, I bought into the margarine-not-butter fad of the 1970s when it was championed as heart-healthy. That was just one of the food myths of that era. I went on a strict no-fat crusade for many years.

An adult brain weighs about three pounds and is the fattiest organ in our bodies: 60 percent fat! Fat is crucial because it acts as an insulator for nerves, which are needed for fast and efficient communication.

During my fat-free phase, my brain was deprived of healthy fats (DHA/omega-3) that are required to rebuild and repair cell membranes. Back then, I refused to use butter or margarine, never touched olive oil, hadn’t heard of coconut oil, didn’t eat walnuts, and the only fish I ate was the pan-fried bluegills that my dad caught every summer when I was a kid.

Nowadays, knowing my sister and brother’s history of Alzheimer’s, I’m diligent about those omega-3 fatty acids, as regular consumption has been linked to a lower risk of dementia as well as improving moods, emotional health, and memory.

Do your brain a favor and allow yourself moderate use of healthy oils. Enjoy a nice piece of pink salmon or an avocado, and add flaxseed, chia seed, or walnuts to your morning oatmeal.

I may be heading into that land of no return, but there’s always time to make improvements for health. It all matters!