Episode 3: Can physical activity slow the decline of aging?

Nov. 1, 2022 | 29 mins

Join our host Brent Bishop as he chats with Professor Stuart Phillips, a kinesiology expert from Hamilton Ontario. They will discuss physical activity and if it can slow the decline of aging.

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Brent:

Hi, and welcome to Beyond Age, a Manulife exclusive podcast where we chat with experts to uncover the truth about holistic health and aging to help keep you living healthier for longer, no matter your age. I'm your host, Brent Bishop, and today I am joined by Professor Stewart Phillips from Hamilton, Ontario. He's a PhD and a professor at the Department of Kinesiology, at McMaster University. He's also a Tier one Canada research chair and the director of PACE, the Physical Activity Center of Excellence at McMaster University. Today we'll be discussing physical activity and whether it can slow the decline of aging. Welcome Stewart.

Professor Phillips:

Thanks for having me on the show, Brent.

Brent:

Stuart, so great to have you here. I think we're going to be on the same page quite a bit here because of our similar backgrounds, but I'm really curious to hear your perspective from more of the research side of things as well. So why don't we start off by maybe just telling us a little bit more about you?

Professor Phillips:

So I've been at McMaster now for almost 25 years. I was actually an undergraduate student here a long time ago. It's been a fantastic journey. I probably spent the first part of my career looking to get younger people bigger, stronger, faster. And as I've gotten a little older, the research has become research and so I'm, I'm interested in, you know, what we can do to age well and stay healthy and to our later years. So I'd say about the last 10 or 12 years of my career have been mainly dedicated towards trying to find out how exercise and a little bit about nutrition, how they intersect to help people age well or successfully, if that's the right phrase.

Brent:

I like that. Research has become me search <laugh>. That's a great little phrase. So why did you get into this field? Definitely an interesting field, but curious to know.

Professor Phillips:

Yeah, I did my undergraduate actually in biochemistry. I didn't actually start out in exercise science, but I was a varsity athlete the entire time I was doing my undergraduate rugby was the main sport that I played. I did ice hockey and football. Anything where people got to, you know, hit each other pretty hard. <laugh>, those were my sports and I guess it represents what I'm doing now is the fusion of a lot of things. I really still enjoy understanding the biochemistry and molecular biology underpinning a lot of the benefits of exercise, but it fuses with, you know, what I love and what is my true passion and that's to try and stay as fit and as well and as healthy for as long as I can.

Brent:

And inspire other people to do the same by the sounds of things?

Professor Phillips:

Hopefully. Yeah, that's part of the goal now. And in truth, a lot of the outward facing stuff that I interact with the community is really about trying to convince people that this is, you know, a true pillar of healthy aging is to be physically active.

Brent:

So most people get the basics of course of exercise and why it's important. You know, you look good, you feel good, you know it's good for your health strength, et cetera. But what does exercise do for the body on more of a cellular level and how can that perhaps slow the process of aging?

Professor Phillips:

Yeah, that's a great question. So we're beginning now to understand what aging actually is, and I know that that seems an odd sort of statement to make, but at the molecular level there are probably four or five sort of key, we'll call 'em theories of aging, you know, so one is that your chromosomes get a little bit shorter. So we're eating into the DNA that is the template for making all of the proteins and everything that works in our body. And so we call the ends of our chromosomes or telomeres and they shorten as we age. Another part is that mitochondria, which are the things inside your cells that generate energy enormously important, begin to fail as we age. And what exercise does is, it's interesting, it slows the decline of those sort of central processes that are responsible or what we call hallmarks of aging.

Another one is called senescence. These cells that when they get older, they stop doing what they're supposed to do, but they don't die. Usually cells die and we replace them. That's the normal turnover of things. But these cells just, they begin to turn out all sorts of nasty, what we call cytokines, which are compounds that adversely affect all kinds of tissues in our body. And exercise effectively just slows that process down. It doesn't reverse it, or I wish it stopped it, then you and I'd be having a conversation, I'd be sitting in an island in Tahiti, you know, with my, with my millions that, you know, exercise slows all of those processes. And it's, I think, important to emphasize that you might do some form of exercise and think that we're only working muscle, but we're now beginning to realize that muscle releases all kinds of things that we never had any clue that they were actually appearing in our bloodstream and they may be having effects that are distant from our muscle tissue. So, you know, we're beginning to peel away the layers, really understanding the molecular so-called biology of what exercise does to just slow aging or at least allow you to manage it a little bit better. So I'm often fond of, it's not my quote or anything, I think there's a lot of people who might have said it, but you know, if exercise came in a pill, it would be the most widely prescribed drug in the world. It never will come in a pill unfortunately. But you got to get up and move for sure.

Brent:

You know, the fact that we can, of course not reverse as you mentioned, but we can slow the decline, I think is an important point for people to realize, you know, do your activity, you know, make an impact on slowing the decline. And I agree with you, the number one drug in the world I always say is exercise. You know, I've seen, you know, over the years in my career, just all ages, you know, what it does for you, not only physically but of course mentally. But why is exercise such an amazing anti-aging tool in your mind?

Professor Phillips:

I mean, I think you just touched on it brand and it really sort of highlights some of the new frontiers that we're making discoveries in. And this is not my work. I'm surrounded by a lot of brilliant young colleagues who are showing me things. You know, if you'd asked me 10 years ago, does exercise actually physically change anything in my brain? I'd be like, no, I don't think so. Whereas now it does, we know that it actually changes the size of your hippocampus, which a really important part of your brain that declines as we age. So we're beginning to understand the links between exercise and as you said, you know, mental health and depression and anxiety and you know, things that even five years ago I would've been like, I don't know, but now I'm like, you know, there's something out there and you know, fast forward 10 years and we're going to be able to peel back some of these other layers.

And I think it's unequivocal now. I mean, we all get the cardiac and the respiratory health. We get the muscular health beginning to understand the metabolic health and now we've got the brain involved as well. And those, you'd have to take a handful of pills to target all of those organs if they weren't going so well. And that's the real key I say to people, you know, in the last century we've added 30 plus years to our life expectancy. It's a modern medical miracle. Absolutely. What we haven't added is the same amount of health. Hmm. And so we're really talking about health span so-called, you know, how is the quality of your life as you live it and exercise, man, it's hard to beat in terms of improving the quality of your life. For sure.

Brent:

Yeah. It's the number one drug and it's actually free. Yeah, <laugh>, that's one of the best parts. I mean, of course gym memberships and that, but you know, you can move your body freely and you don't have to pay anything for it, which is great. Have you observed, or what have you observed about the impact on muscle and skeletal aging on the overall health and wellness of the body? So what other areas might it affect?

Professor Phillips:

Yeah, that's a great question and a great point. I'm fond of telling people that muscle as an organ or a tissue is underappreciated. You know, clearly if you don't have it, you can't move around. And that's the first thing people understand. And physical mobility is a key, absolute core part of healthy aging. But muscle is also the greatest sight of disposal of blood sugar. So the more of it you have, the more active it is, your risk for type two diabetes goes down. It's also sort of like, if you think about there's two tissues in your body muscle and actually your liver, your liver's massively metabolically active even though it's only a small organ, but you have a lot of muscle. It's not as active unless you're active, but it's a big contributor to burning energy in a given day. So when you lose muscle, your risk for gaining weight and becoming overweight or obese is also up.

And then as a corollary, there are lots of other metabolic issues that go along with having low muscle mass and obviously low strength. I think that it's, I'll just say underappreciated as a tissue or an organ, you know, people say, oh, muscle, you know, it goes downward age, you know, big deal. You should be worried about your heart and your lungs and absolutely you should. But my point is, is that if you're active then it's a muscle issue as much as it is a cardiovascular issue as well. So I think metabolic health is really underpinned by having a as high as possible and as active as possible. I'm out of skeletal

Brent:

Muscle. That's a really good point that I think a lot of people do not necessarily think about or even consider how important it's to maintain muscle tissue and the other aspects of, you know, what it can affect, not just strength and not just, you know, your muscular size, but even metabolically. So that's really important. So muscle is often overlooked in the general picture of healthy aging. You know, we think of you've got more muscle, you have more strength, of course most of us realize that maybe better posture, maybe reducing chance of injury. But diving a little bit deeper, are there specific muscles or parts of our skeleton that are at greater risk for becoming weaker or underutilized as we age? And can we do something to preserve those?

Professor Phillips:

Yeah, I think it's sort of generally accepted. A lot of people would say, you know, as you get older you're going to get weaker. And that's true. Like, I mean, nobody yet has found something to turn back the clock on aging exercise. I think I, I won't call it slows the clock if that's the right way of phrasing it. But the reality is that sarcopenia, which is the clinical term that's given to the loss of muscle mass with age, can be mitigated and encountered quite effectively. Obviously exercise and weightlifting would be the number one therapy out there. And then the nutrition that supports that skeleton would be the other one. I think, you know, for the most part, people are able to go out and go for a walk. And so their legs are getting a fair amount of activity, but a lot of their upper body musculature is certain tasks become difficult as they get older.

I see some people they get on an airplane and they're putting their bag into an overhead and they're just not able to do it. You know, the bag may only be 20, 25 pounds and you think to yourself, well you know what other tasks involve something over your head that maybe this person can't do. And no matter what people say, everybody says your legs are important. And they are, of course they are. But when you're pushing up and getting out of a chair, well, you know, that's your triceps and everything else like that. You've got to work all aspects of your musculature all over your body. And clearly in the final analysis, you know, we need to be able to get up and out of a chair. Once you can't do that, you're heading towards full-time institutionalized care. So clearly to maintain your strength and the precursor of that is to maintain your muscle is the real key as you age.

Brent:

So true. I mean you see it for those who are more active and then you know, in the general public, those that really need assistance. So we know the combination of nutrition and muscular strength as an important one. How do these two interact and what specific nutritional plans or perhaps interventions have you seen that seem to have a link to healthier muscle aging?

Professor Phillips:

Yeah, I think the way I try and explain it to people is that exercise makes your muscles and other tissue of your body ready to adapt and then the nutrition fills in the gaps. Essentially it provides all of the building blocks and substrates for the adaptations that occur. So I always tell people that the good stuff happens in recovery after you've actually finished exercising. So there are sort of three things that we tell people. First of all, you know, you've got to rehydrate after exercise, you've got to refuel. That's mostly carbohydrate driven, although a lot of people go on lower carbohydrate diet. So not to say that that's a bad thing, but it's certainly manageable in some people. And then the repair aspect, so it's the three Rs, rehydrate, refuel and repair. The repair is driven by protein. So we emphasize, you know, whole food sources of protein, not necessarily animal source protein, but plant source protein.

Lots of good sources out there. And the only real education we do around nutrition is to try and emphasize, we call it shopping around the outside of the grocery store. So the whole foods or the, I'll call them real foods, the non-con contrived manufacturing. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, usually ultra processed foods. And we try and say, you know, stay out of the chip and the cookie aisle and eat the fresh fruits, the vegetables, the dairy, the meats if you choose and if not, obviously plant-based alternatives. And you know, if there's another pillar to sit on, it's definitely physical activity. We've got the social part and then a good diet as well. And you put those three things together, it's pretty hard to go wrong.

Brent:

That's great. You know, with what I do, I find that repair or recovery aspect as often overlooked with people who are exercising or maybe not as familiar with how important that is.

Professor Phillips:

Yeah, absolutely.

Brent:

Great. Well we're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back after this message,

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Brent:

Welcome back to Beyond Age. I'm curious to know a little bit more about pace, you know, as the director of pace, again, physical activity center of excellence for our listeners. What have you observed in your work with pace's? Five exercise programs in terms of how specific exercises may have helped with health or even slowed aging in people with conditions like you know, spinal cord injuries, cardiac rehabilitation, cancer even?

Professor Phillips:

You know, first I want to say it's really one of the most enjoyable parts of my job. I took over the directorship, I think it was about seven years ago now, and I would walk actually through the facility almost every day because it's on the way to my office. And I would just take it sort of for granted. I was like, this is a great facility. There are 500 plus community members coming in. And since I've been the director, I'm realizing there's some true, I don't know what it is, secret sauce or magic that goes on there. And you know, we have people the average age of which is about 73, but they range from some people with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injuries who were as young as 20 other individuals. We have, our oldest participant is 104. Wow. Yeah, he's something else. I tell him, I said, John, you move like a 75 year old.

So he's a fantastic individual and he's my poster boy for how I'd like to age as well. So I think the biggest thing is exercise plus a degree of, and you can't avoid it with bringing people into a center of social interaction. are really two of the sort of cornerstones of healthy aging and it doesn't matter, you know, regardless of chronic conditions. So heart disease or multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, cancer, all of those patient groups when they come in are I think ready for some sort of gut-wrenching experience. And we say, that's not what we do, we just want you to be a little bit more physically active. We're going to work with you trying to achieve your goals. And you know, a year later they, big smile on their face. They're like, I can't believe I'm still doing this. So it's really gratifying to do that.

Brent:

I love to see when, you know, people continue to be active as they age, you know, you change what you do of course, but it's so important. 104. That's amazing. And I agree with you that the social aspect is a huge part for, you know, just for your overall health of course as well. So just as you have, I've worked with, you know, anywhere from youth all the way up to, you know, people in their seventies and eighties and you know, of course you see great results based on where they start. But is it ever too late in your mind or just for our listeners, is it too late to become physically active? You know, is it dangerous to become physically active when you're older? You know, I think anytime is the time to start. You probably agree with me on that.

Professor Phillips:

It's never too late. And I think that that's something people honestly believe. They were like, I've never done this. And we're like, that's okay. You know, we've had people in their seventies and their eighties take up weightlifting and a fitness routine for the first time in their lives and they're pretty intimidated about that. But we're all about, you know, this is within what you can handle. We don't care what other people can do. We make the program specific to what the person maybe has some issues with. Clearly if it's a cardiac rehabilitation patient, we start very slowly and we progress only when they feel that they can manage things. I think people have surprised themselves once they get into a routine and no adherence is, I wish that there were a magic formula for that, but it's really about making a mental decision and making changes.

It's tough. I'll definitely say that, but the benefits are enormous. The short answer is no, it's never too late. And I mean it's like any health behaviour that's lifestyle based, you know, clearly the earlier you start it probably the great tour, the benefits are, but everybody experiences benefits. And I think one of the points, you know, to sort of make clear to people is that you don't need to join a gym. You don't need to have a gut-wrenching, you know, sweat till you drop type workout for benefit. And that's the other thing I think we're beginning to realize is what's the smallest amount that you can do to achieve benefits? And it's very clear that the greatest improvement in health happens when we take someone who does, you know, little to nothing to doing something and buy something and that's a 10 minute walk a day and people go 10 minutes. I thought we had to do 150 minutes. I said, well, 150 minutes is the optimal in a week, but 10 minutes a day times five, if you do 50 minutes, enormous benefits. It's a little what we call a nudge more than just a massive prescription. But big benefits, you don't have to do a lot and no, no, it is never, never, ever too late.

Brent:

Yeah. And wouldn't you agree that that 10 minutes, you know what happens is people start to see a benefit, right? They start with a small amount, it's easy to implement over the course of weeks. Maybe that 10 minutes becomes 15 minutes and 20 minutes and you know, progression happens, which is a great thing.

Professor Phillips:

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think that that's the key, right?

Brent:

Absolutely. You had an interesting article recently in the Globe and Mail that related muscular strength and muscle in general in relation to lighter weights, lifting lighter weights or lifting heavier weights, which was really interesting. And probably, some people were shocked, but I guess my question would be, are there any myths or perhaps dated information about exercise that you're interested in combating and why?

Professor Phillips:

Yeah, that's been a longstanding, it's taken three PhD students that I've had, you know, under my mentorship to essentially try and crack that nut around the lighter weights versus heavier weights. And you know, I'll be the first person to say that, you know, as somebody who spends a lot of time in the weight room and historically has spent a lot of time in the weight room that when I was younger I was all about heavy weights. Like if it wasn't heavy and it wasn't, you know, a tremendous effort to try and lift something, it just wasn't worth it. And you know, so things change as you get a little older and you know, joints start to hurt, knees, elbows, shoulders, that sort of thing. And so you begin to question whether you can still do these lighter weights. And when we begun this research, we really had the idea that so long as you worked with a high degree of effort at the end of whatever it was that you were doing, whether it was heavy or lighter weights, it probably didn't matter.

So the outward manifestation of what it means is really effort. So if you're checking on a, you know, perceived exertion scale, you're hitting eight or nine out of 10 or something like that on days when you don't feel it, I get it, you know, that's a six or seven day, but if you can finish in that eight or nine range, then the weights don't have to be heavy and you still get a lot of benefit back. So my only pushback, you know, against if it's not heavy, it's not worth it, is really to sort of illustrate all of the research that's now being done as a result. I don't think it's, we didn't really start it. We made have popularize the notion, but now lots of people are, you know, they've basically went to do their own studies and they'd come back and they're like, oh, you know, you guys, we found the same as you.

You know, so there's a benefit with both. And I do think as great as aerobic exercise is, you got to be fit. You got to get your heart and your lungs in shape at some point when you get older you need to be a bit stronger and you don't want to be in the weaker category. So I do think, you know, one thing that people could stand to, maybe pick up as a habit is some form of weight training and it doesn't need heavy weights. And in a gym it can even be body weight work. And from that perspective then, you know, that's the true test of the weight that you need to move as your own body. Yeah. And so then we get into the whole lighter weight paradigm, I guess.

Brent:

You know, I find it very interesting and actually to some extent it's relieving because I find that, you know, as people age, you know, and I'm slowly aging myself of course slowly I'll say <laugh>. But would it be then that it put less stress on their joints? They could probably have less chance of getting injured if they're taking this approach of perhaps lifting a little bit lighter, more repetitions, but reaching that eight to nine as you mentioned on the perceived exertion scale.

Professor Phillips:

Yeah, I think that's sort of part of the reason why we did the research in the first place. You know, and not to say that under good guidance, you know, obviously you can probably lift heavy weights, it's not an issue, but for a lot of people it becomes a barrier. And you know, the idea that, you know, lifting something heavy and as you point out the stress that it puts on your joints is, you know, a reason for people to say, I don't want to do this, I have no interest in doing this. So the prescription is about trying to get people to do something that they can feel that they progress in. And clearly if you start out with lightweights, you get quite strong pretty quickly. And I think that that's sort of a positive feedback loop that makes people enjoy the experience a little bit more than coming in and saying, okay, we're going to climb inside this squat rack and we're going to load this.

And that's for a lot of people, very intimidating. It's not an environment that they enjoy. And not to say that if you enjoy it, you know, obviously don't stop doing it. But we've found a greater degree of acceptance, particularly in older individuals, to doing some form of weightlifting if the weights are light her to start with and allow people to gain what we call mastery experience. So they feel, you know what? I can do this, I could continue to do this. And it doesn't necessarily have to be heavy, the effort at the end. Yeah. They're working hard and that's the real key. So I do think that for a lot of people who might be hesitant to begin the message that lighter weights are just as effective, is a palatable one for sure.

Brent:

That's great. Yeah. Increasing program adherence and building confidence is a way to consistency too. So speaking of exercise, do you have any sort of suggestions on accessible exercise methods or workouts that anyone could do to slow aging?

Professor Phillips:

Well, so I mean, clearly the number one thing you tell people to be more physically active, they can obviously go out for a walk. I'm learning a lot more about the environment in which people exercise. So walking outside and being, you know, closer to trees and seeing nature as opposed to walking downtown, people get a greater sense of emotional fulfilment if you like, as a result of that. So again, all kinds of things that if you'd asked me even forget two or three years ago, I'd have been like, nah, I don't think there's a big difference. But now the research is showing that there is. So I like to try to tell people that the biggest thing is that whatever they take up and whatever they do that they enjoy it. And I love to exercise. There are certain workouts that I don't like, so I don't do them.

And you know, I think to myself, if I'm not doing them, how can I ever ask somebody else to do them? But some people, you know, they love sort of hit workouts. I have a colleague and he's all about sprint interval workouts and I just, I'm like, they're great. I just don't like them so I don't do them. So make sure whatever it is that you do, it's enjoyable. Body weight exercises don't require any equipment. There are elastic band type workouts that you, you can get. YouTube has now become an amazing resource for some very well free workouts and guidance and progression. Take a class if you like being with people, if you don't like being with people, you know, find something that you can do at home. Find a place where you're supported in what you do. And that's the social aspect of things and the magic just happens. I don't know that I would say these are the specific things that I do because it's very individual, but as I said, small steps, start with something that's manageable, enjoy what you do and progresses things get better and you feel better about doing it. I mean, it's almost embarrassing to talk about how good exercise is for you.

Brent:

I agree with you, having an interest driven approach is really, really important. And then the other aspect, which you'll probably agree on, I think is a variety as well. Yeah. Like getting that variety in there so things don't become monotonous and you know, doing the same exercise over and or same workout every week.

Professor Phillips:

Yeah. You know, it's odd, some people love doing that. I'm not that person, you feel safe, I do this workout like every day the same. And I'm like, that's crazy. <laugh>, like you said, I like variety and that keeps it fresh. And I don't get bored. Sometimes I challenge myself, sometimes I'm just there to show up and you know, turn the pedals on the bike or do a few repetitions and I'm like, that's good enough for today. And you know, the event horizon for me is not the next competition.

Brent:

Well I mean, that's another great point as well, which I think people have a misunderstanding of is every workout does not have to be where you're, you know, going to the limit. I mean, you might have some days where you go for a walk and it's about, you know, just easing your mind and as you mentioned, getting into nature and just moving your body or focusing on mobility, you know, so there's this many different ways.

Professor Phillips:

Absolutely. I mean, I think that we've done a little bit of a disservice that we've convinced people that workouts need to be some gut-wrenching, you know, you need to go to specific facilities and not that that, you know, if that's your thing, absolutely. But I think that for most people, you have to realize that for it to become a habit first it requires consistency. And if it's not fun, you're probably not going to do it. So for the most part, it's just, sometimes it's just about showing up. And that's the hardest part. And realizing that today is not going to be a drop down, drag 'em out workout, today's just going to be about me. And yeah, I'm going to do something pretty low impact. I'm just going to go for a walk. And when you take the stress off yourself about that it has to be this or it has to be that, I think that that's a big key for people to begin to realize that it's something that they enjoy. So for sure, great message.

Brent:

But you know, it's funny, I mean, and you could attest to this, I'm sure as well, it's, there's so many people who are inactive or they have a barrier to become active. And then you know, all of this as the points you mentioned, they think it's got to be something that's, you know, they got to go in and work hard and till they're almost falling on the floor and no, it's about just starting by just getting moving. You know, it's so important.

Professor Phillips:

Yeah. Some of it is a culture that, you know, it's been established in. I've talked to lots of people who they, they say, I hate exercise. You say, well, why? And they say, well, when I was in grade five, we were doing Phys Ed. Like I was a little bit heavier and you know, the Phys Ed teacher made fun of me. And so I'm like, those are some of the things we've got to just, we got to stop that every kid, you know, if you're in grade five, so what are you're 10 like every kid wants to play. It's interesting, you know, I can't imagine my experience growing up without sport, but I'm pretty cognizant, you know, a lot of the things that we talked about, about, you know, not everybody is into sport and likes sport. And that's been one of the things I've tried to sort of say to kids and adults and teachers, the same thing. I'm like, it doesn't always have to be sport sport's. Great. And I love sport and I think it's a great vehicle. You learn a lot, all kinds of things. But some kids just need to be taught that physical activity is still a good thing and it doesn't require sport for it to happen. Like it doesn't have to be, you know, we got to play soccer, we got to do this like, but every kid likes to, you know, get out and play. Right. So, you know, sometimes it's just play.

Brent:

Yeah, exactly. And at some point I guess we lose that sense of play, you know, over time and you know, work takes over, life takes over, we sit too much.

Professor Phillips:

I'm doing it right. You know, I'm sitting here and I say to people like, if it weren't for some conscious effort, and I'm an early morning person, so I'm up and like my work workout's the first thing I do. But I said, if it weren't for some conscious effort at work, I could spend my whole day sitting here and even just get up, go a quick walk up and down. It makes a difference. Yeah. <laugh>

Brent:

It makes such a difference physically and mentally. It's been really great chatting with you. A lot of great information here. But before we start to wrap things up, is there any one specific takeaway that you would like our listeners to know? Something you think is very important in your experience?

Professor Phillips:

It's never too late to start. So if you're not doing it, start, and it doesn't have to be a lot. So do something you enjoy, do it consistently, and you'll see the benefits. For sure.

Brent:

You heard it. Listen, many thanks to you again, professor Stewart Phillips for joining me today. Yeah,

Professor Phillips:

Thanks. Awesome.

Brent:

Well, that's it. Thanks for tuning in to Beyond Age, an exclusive podcast from Manulife. Tune in to the next episode where we talk to Bryce Wylde Canada's leading alternative medicine expert from Toronto, Ontario about aging, anxiety and the effects of stress on the body. Don't forget to visit our website, manulife.ca/LiveHealthier for more tips, videos, and content from Manulife that can help you live healthier for longer, no matter your age.

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