On this episode of Journal: a look at super-agers. The official definition is someone in their 80s and 90s, with the cognitive ability of someone 20 or 30 years younger.

Most of us could come up with the basics of how to live longer besides your genes, of course: exercise, eat well, sleep at least eight hours a night, and so on.

Easier said than done.

What exactly do we mean by exercise? Does it have to be strenuous? Does it have to be everyday? If you didn’t exercise when you were young, is it too late to start?

And with food: Does this mean no more French fries or jamoca-almond fudge ice cream ever again? Does it mean we have to be rigidly pure vegetables, fruit and fish – and, oh yes – whole grains and beans? Good luck with that!

Yet, I found it interesting that when I looked up super-agers, the first half dozen articles were about supplements – supplements that would bring improved clarity, stamina, and cellular energy with just one “patch.”

Another promises to combat cellular aging for good. I guess if it were as easy as taking one pill a day, we could all be super-agers.

So, instead of the internet, I decided to go to one of my favourite super-agers, Dr. Doug Clement, for advice. Now in his 90s, Doug was an Olympic athlete (as was his vivacious wife Diane) in the 1950s. Along the way, Doug graduated from med school and went on to introduce the practice of sports medicine to all of Canada. In recognition, he was awarded Canada’s highest honour, the Order of Canada, 34 years ago.

Doug is lively, interesting, and opinionated – characteristics of a great super-ager.

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Carole Taylor's Journal is a public affairs dialogue that digs deep into the most pressing issues of our times. For more, see our website at http://www.caroletaylorsjournal.ca.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this edition of Journal, we take a closer look at the federal political landscape through a pollster’s eyes. The people of Canada elected a minority Liberal government and now – poof – we have a majority government. Are people happy with that?

I have always found in my research that polls give us a snapshot of where we are at and what people are thinking at a given moment in time. Obviously, they are not perfect, but if you use them looking for trends or changes, they can be useful.

So, some questions: With a “new” majority Liberal government in Ottawa, what has changed in the business of governing Canada, if anything?

I assume there will be no patience for more words and speeches. People will now expect some action. Does this bare majority seem rock solid?

How do people feel about budget overruns, or do they care? Now that an imminent election seems off the table, does Mr. Poilievre’s position seem diminished?

Is his leadership of the Conservative party secure?

What are the top-of-mind issues for Canadians?

Who are the influencers behind the scenes – those voices leaders choose to listen to?

How is the Trump card playing now?

And here is a loaded question: what do Canadians think of floor-crossers and their ability to create a majority government when none existed after the election?

I always have a lot of questions, so for some guidance on these issues, I have asked Mario Canseco of Research Co. to join me and provide some factual context. Again, this is just a moment in time, but a really interesting moment in time.

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Carole Taylor's Journal is a public affairs dialogue that digs deep into the most pressing issues of our times. For more, see our website at http://www.caroletaylorsjournal.ca.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this edition of Journal, we focus on the challenges facing boys and men in today’s society.

We know that more women than men make it to post secondary education.

But did you know that men have a 75% greater chance of overdosing on opioids than women?

Men are also three times more likely to commit suicide.

And men don’t tend to take early warning signs of health issues seriously before they become major problems.

Why?

A recently announced federal initiative called “The National Men and Boys’ Health Strategy” provoked the subtitle: It’s time to stop sucking it up and start talking it out.

But long before this recent Canada-wide initiative, which is welcome news, Vancouver’s Dr. Larry Goldenberg was ringing similar alarms. He formed the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation in 2009 with the self-proclaimed mission to stop men from self-destructing and to apply a men’s lens to population health.

He says men don’t want to hear the tired old message of “eat your vegetables, exercise more, and stop smoking.” Instead, he promotes the idea that you don’t have to change much just get started and, in that way, potentially add ten healthy years to your life. It is a holistic approach: physical health, mental health, relationships, and purpose.

17 years later, that Foundation is now headed by Kenton Boston as CEO, and he joins us to look at the various societal pressures and expectations that we are putting on our boys and men that lead to some of these depressing results – and what we can do to change these outcomes, whether it is in prostate cancer or mental health.

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Carole Taylor's Journal is a public affairs dialogue that digs deep into the most pressing issues of our times. For more, see our website at http://www.caroletaylorsjournal.ca.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.