I just read an article The Washington Post did on fitness age verses actual age. It says that the Norwegians came up with the test based on height in centimeters (you can calculate online), weight, amount of exercise (self-reported), how vigorous the exercise (if you break a sweat), and resting heart rate. Based on this simple test it calculates your fitness age and is a kind of predictor of longevity and if you will be able to fight through serious illness. Here is the link to the fitness calculator for you to try out yourself. And remember it is only as accurate as you are honest!

What if you are 52 going on fitness age of 67?! There are things you can do to correct this! Older people have the same ability to adapt oxygen carrying capacity as young people when they increase exercise according to the group that created the tool we just used. Here’s the article for your reference. Exercise will help with reducing weight and resting heart rate and increasing oxygen carrying capacity, which will lower your fitness age because of the oxidative stress caused by increases oxygen demand of cardio exercise. Your body adapts on a cellular level by increasing its oxygen carrying capacity so as to reduce oxidative stress during future physical activity. Laymen’s terms: you just increased your fitness level. 

What else can reduce aging besides exercise? I found several peer reviewed articles on vitamin C and aging. Aging and its treatment with vitamin C: a comprehensive mechanistic review. This review emphasizes mechanism of aging and various biomarkers that are directly related to aging. It focuses on the therapeutic aspect of vitamin C against oxidative stress and age-related disorders. Low oxygen carrying capacity and oxidation causes physical aging.  Vitamin C reduces oxidative stress and slows aging on a cellular level preventing wrinkles by increasing collagen production, promotes tissue regeneration (muscle building), and strengthens the immune system. The article Vitamin C and vitamin C plus E improve the immune function in the elderly. The elderly do not have the same immune strength as young adults, but by taking a three-month regimen of vitamin C and vitamin E return immunity to that of a young adult. Another article I found reports while vitamin C cannot reverse Alzheimer’s disease, but it does aide in healthy aging of the brain due to its antioxidant effect on microbiology (Source: MPDI).

The research on vitamin C and athlete performance enhancement shocked me, but then made perfect sense. First we need to recap what we’ve learned so far: exercise increases oxygen carrying capacity by making our bodies adapt to oxidative stress by being out of breath. When we get out of breath, our body creates more red blood cells to carry more oxygen. This reduces our fitness age because we are making our body make more cells. Vitamin C and vitamin E are proven to reduce oxidative stress (which causes aging) and slows the aging process.

Now for the research I was NOT expecting: vitamin C reduces oxidative stress, so if you give it to athletes it does not improve their performance because their body is not stressed enough to adapt on a cellular level to carry more oxygen.

My take-away as a healthcare professional: busy professionals and caregivers are probably filling out that fitness age test as we exercise a little and it’s mild exercise. Most of us cannot find the time to work out vigorously enough to put our bodies under enough stress to make our bodies adapt to oxidative stress. We are team high doses of vitamin C (Acorbic acid) and vitamin E to ward off accelerated aging due to a sedentary lifestyle. A recommended dose is at least 60 mg of vitamin C a day but if you have chronic disease, cancer (research shows it slows cancer), or autoimmune diseases, up to 10,000 mg of vitamin C is beneficial. It is also our responsibility to eat lean protein, fruits, vegetables and maintain a caloric intake of 2000 calories a day (will vary based on height and weight). I like MyFitnessPal, a free app, to track this. 

For those of us who are able to exercise regularly and vigorously: get vitamin C naturally through fruits and vegetables but don’t take extra because it will undo the benefits of cardio exercise. The recommended daily supplemental dose is less than 1 gram.

For my patients who need immune boosting due to illness, and this is everyone when they are ill: high doses of vitamin C and E will get you healthy again. If you are a vigorous athlete once you are well revert to the above regimen.

In conclusion, after taking the fitness age test answer the following question honestly:

Do I exercise vigorously and frequently? 

If no, can I honestly modify my lifestyle to do this?

 If yes, do it! 

If no, you may need some extra vitamin C and E in your life to reduce your fitness age.

I would love to help everybody stay fit and healthy for as long as possible so that when serious illness, injury, or stress happens your body can handle it. Please text, email, or call me with any questions. I’m here to help you.

Stay safe out there!
Brianne, BSN, RN

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Services Spotlight

For my athletes:
Energy booster infusion
Athlete recovery infusion
B12 injections (you need B12 to make red blood cells to adapt to oxidative stress)

For my professionals, caregivers, silver foxes/cougars, immunocompromised:
Immune booster infusion
Myers cocktail infusion
Beauty/youth Infusion
B12 injections

For my patients with viral illnesses or feeling run down:
Immune booster infusion
Myers cocktail infusion
Energy booster infusion
B12