I know that Dr Davis at http://www.heartscanblog.org/ has his patients vit d3 level checked prior to any surgery and almost always they are deficient in Vit D. He has a bunch of postings (84) regarding Vit D3. If you are not supplementing now, you probably should prior to your next hernia operation. It boosts the immune system and aids in healing. Acceptable level is 50-70 nanograms per milliliter.

This is the result of clicking on the link to his 84 posts. http://www.heartscanblog.org/search/label/vitamin%20D Be sure to click on "older posts" to see all of them. It seems as if Vit D3 supplementation and/or 30 min a day in full sun half clothed is a major factor in wellness of the body and wellness of one's state of mind.

For me, I have dropped 50 pounds since going 75% fat, 20% protein, 5% or less carbs and feel great. Went from a 38" waist to a 32-31" waist. The bulk of that was viseral fat.

Hospital food. You have to tell them prior to your stay that you are gluten sensitive and that the only thing you can eat are eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, steamed vegetables with lots of butter (not margarine) meats, tuna with no mayo, hamburgers with no bun. Real cream in your coffee or tea.

You just keep on understanding that us old guys practically ruined our bodies for the first 55 years of our lives and now we have to rectify that damage by being 100% strict paleo...all the time with no cheats.

My mother is 73. She can do paleo but computers and the internet have flummoxed her so you won't see her here. The older generation is less likely to be on a hack board!
:-P Anyway, my mother lost about 15 pounds, her blood pressure went down and some weird body and foot pains she had for several years went completely away. (doctor had guessed the foot thing was some kind of recurring internal infection but could never really figure it out) She now has tons more energy and is more active and her mood has improved greatly. One thing interesting about this is that she always attempted to eat healthy so she used to eat stuff like pasta, rice, oatmeal, yogurt etc and since it was 'unhealthy' she limited consumption of fat and meat. She never ate much processed food so she was not really a SAD eater. Doctors would probably say her previous diet was healthful, but she does much better on now eating more meat and fat and ditching the grains. Plus she enjoys her meals more now.

I'm 61 and have been paleo for about a 1 1/2 years. Never felt better or looked better. I exercise less than I ever have, but am more vascular and muscular due to lower body fat. I'm never sore like I was when I was always at the gym and my mobility has increased dramatically. I dropped my gym membership, work out by my pool and use the 100 dollars a month savings to by better grass fed products and wild game. I should also add, I love eating what I eat and have eliminated any digestive issues that I had.

Semirade--

Lavendergrits here...switched to a more appropriate question on this forum as the one I commented on was answering a question from a kid about what to tell her 60+ mother to eat on Paleo.

Your question on this forum did not produce much of an answer did it?

I am currently eating a low carb moderate to high protein diet and for the first time in longer than I can remember am thinking clearly and feel functional! Yesh I wonder what would have happened to my career had I felt like this 20 years ago!

As I said in an earlier post I am a woman close to 54. I have no health issues and take no medications. I am still jogging (slowed with age from running to jogging) 5-7 miles several times a week.

Most of the websites I find for the AARP set are mainstream or flirt with alternative/natural health.

What would a site for Elder Grokers look like to you?

I am not sure the content of a site for Elder Groks would look like either. A lot of same information for others applies to Elders however we have the complications of having bodies seriously damaged by SAD and a life of stress from careers, kids, and society. We also have in many cases extremely limited income which is not getting better as the economy worsens (I won't even rant about being put out to pasture early).

In all the information surrounding paleo I have read longevity is discussed but not in much depth and certainly not from the perspective of this life stage. Art Devany of course is the most senior of all of us and most experienced. His site requires purchasing a membership which doesn't do much for the average Elder Grok on a limited budget now does it?

Life in all the life stages is different physically, emotionally, spiritually and economically. I don't see much discussion on the Paleo sites about spirituality. Evolutionary Psychology, Dr. Dean, discusses psychology impacted by diet well.

Economically Paleo seems to be one of those ways of living with emphasis on choices of where to spend the money -- health care or good quality food for health. The reality is sometimes the income does not go far enough for both and the choices are rather limited.

Exercise certainly is different at this age. Crossfit looks great but quite franky I have injuries that would just cause me great pain if I participated in some of those activities!

Lots of thinking to do here!

I am 56. A Grandma... I have been doing a body for life diet for three years. Unable to lose my belly fat. I leg press 500 pounds. I bench press 130 pounds. I ate the low fat/ low cal diet. My stomach still wold not go away and I was beginning to gain weight again even on 1200 calories. I began to research paleo. I really like the "Latest in Paleo" podcast and the many blogs recommended. I gave up processed grains about 6 months ago, then whole grain, then anything out of a can or box, I felt better but lost no weight. I upped my meat intake and my fat intake. I added coconut oil. As I learn I am changing. I have lost 7 pounds in the last 10 days after stubbornly giving up wine, and fruit. My stomach is melting. I woke up last week with some horrendous headaches. I was worried that my blood pressure was back up because of the amount of fat I was eating...(conventional wisdom thinking) I took my blood pressure in the morning and it was 116/68. I used to be on meds. Not any more. Some day I will add a few blueberries and strawberries in the morning. I am more alert than ever. I am beginning to feel like this is normal instead of that I am depriving myself of things. I am making the change to a positive mindset about being Paleo. I am looking forward to a flat stomach.

Although I have never had a prolonged hospital stay, I've worked in hospitals and other healthcare facilities all my adult life.

If possible, your best option by far will be to get your phsyician on board. And this should be done as soon as possible, not after you are admitted to a hopsital. He/she would then order a SPECIAL DIET - gluten free and could also specify NO GRAINS. HIGH PROTEIN could also be specified. Along with this, when you are admitted, GLUTEN should be specified as an allergy. This info goes to the kitchen. To insure that you would have adequate portions of what you DO eat, like vegetables, your MD could/should specify: double portions of vegetables. So, your diet might look like this: High protein, NO GLUTEN/grains, double vegetable portions.

You're not going to be able to get around oils that you wouldn't normally eat, but as long as your MD doesn't specify a low-fat or antihypertensive diet, you shouln't have a problem requesting BUTTER if your plate arrives with margarine. AND, when you check in, a nurse will do an admission assessment with you. Specify in the assessmment, during the section where she/he asks you re: food and food alleries, that you want butter.

I would advise you to KEEP IT SIMPLE. Don't go into any long explanation re: paleo diet etc.(in the hospital.) This could, sadly, end up with you getting labeled as some kind of food whack and the validity of your essential request could be blown off.

Make peace with the fact that it will be a very imperfect environment, but, that you can work it so your most essential needs are met.

Getting you MD on board would be most helpful and given your response to paleo eating, if you keep it short and to the point - no gluten/grains, high protein etc - and emphasize your positive health response so far, might fly very easily.

Good luck and rapid healing with your surgery!

I am 68 and have been Primal/Archevore/Paleo about a year. It works great for me. I dread ever being in the hospital. The two times I have been hospitalized (when I was gluten free but not Primal), I repeatedly said I was gluten intolerant. They brought me meals like mac and cheese with a roll on the side. I have a "hospital bag" (reading, clothes for going home, advanced directive, etc.) I need to put some stuff like jerky in it.