Crossing into our so-called ’senior years’ has made a lot of us Baby Boomers realize an important fact of life: Getting old is not for sissies! Just when we may have reached a certain level of material and emotional stability, our bodies start breaking down. Like the Red Queen in ‘Through the Looking Glass, ‘ we have to work harder to stay in the same place! Hardly seems fair, does it? But then, we know that life isn’t fair.

At least our athletic friend has a somewhat lesser problem to manage that our brother-in-law. A few months back he was diagnosed with the form of diabetes called Type 2, which often affects older people. It means that his body has become resistant to the effects of insulin, which regulates blood sugar. Consequently he’s had to start taking extra insulin to compensate for this change, and things aren’t going very well with getting the dosage accurate. He read recently that some patients with Type 2 diabetes have begun to take a supplement made from an extract of the agaricus brazil mushroom. It seems this extract has the ability to increase the body’s acceptance of insulin when taken along with it, so that the dosage can be stabilized.

Apparently this remedy, when combined with other diabetes medications, serves to decrease insulin resistance, a common problem in people with Type 2 diabetes. It’s not a cure-all, though, because most experts recommend it only be taken for about 12 weeks, because sometimes it can make blood sugar go too low. Some people have used this particular supplement as a way to reduce their side effects from chemotherapy, but there’s no scientific evidence supporting that yet.

Lots of people seem to find help for aching joints by taking kirkland glucosamine. This supplement reportedly builds up cartilage tissue and the lubricating fluid around joints. More support for this cushioning helps the joints work better. The supplement also apparently boosts the body’s production of new cartilage as the old cartilage wears away.

Our sister-in-law has trouble with osteoarthritis in her hands. It’s very frustrating for her to have her hands achy and swollen because of her hobby. Whenever the arthritis in her hands flares up, she tries a new round of arthritis remedies, looking for relief. She crochets all kinds of lovely baby blankets and little caps for newborns. A local charity gives her creations, and those of many other generous women, to the public hospital where many low-income mothers have their babies.

Perhaps that’s the biggest change we have to make with growing older: becoming patient with ourselves and the ways our bodies work now. If we give ourselves as much support as we can muster, then maybe things won’t be so hard.

As far as we’re concerned, we’ve been convinced by the many scientific studies of recent years that growing older can be managed better if we keep our minds active. Maybe we’re just playful kids at heart, but we feel good about playing board and video games and working on number puzzles and crosswords. Physically we might be able to keep up with gardening or walk the dog daily, but that’s quite an accomplishment for former ‘couch potatoes’ like us!