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Informed Aging
A podcast about health, help, and hard decisions for older adults.
Informed Aging
Episode 82: Food, Fitness, and Fighting Disease
Our guest is Amy Wilson a board-certified geriatric pharmacist, certified fitness professional, and certified nutrition coach. You can find her on Instagram @TheNutritionCoachPharmacist
Robin: [00:00:00] Welcome to Informed Aging, a podcast about health, health, and hard decisions for older adults. I'm Robin Rountree. I'm a former family caregiver. I've worked in the home care industry, and now I work for the Alzheimer's and Dementia Resource Center. The thoughts and opinions expressed on this podcast belong to me and my guest, Not our wonderful employers and sponsors.
This podcast is a service of the Alzheimer's and Dementia Resource Center. We are not affiliated with the Alzheimer's Association. Before making any significant changes in your life or your person's life, please consult your own experts. Today. Our guest is Amy Wilson. Now, not only is she a board certified geriatric pharmacist, but also a certified fitness professional and a certified nutrition coach.
She's going to talk to us about using our food and our [00:01:00] bodies to help fight disease and not just medications. That's all coming up right after these messages.
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For over 37 years, the Alzheimer's and Dementia Resource Center, ADRC, has served as a Central Florida based grassroots non profit and community resource center. They are dedicated to providing support and hope for families and individuals caring for someone they love who is living with Alzheimer's disease or [00:02:00] other dementia related illnesses.
ADRC empowers caregivers with the knowledge, support, skills, and strategies they need to help them confidently prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. To learn more, visit the website ADRCCares. org.
Robin: Today we are talking with Amy Wilson, amykwilson. com. That is her website and she's got a lot of knowledge. She's a nutrition coach, pharmacist, and I like to have people explain the letters behind their names. So we'll start with RPH.
Amy K Wilson: RPH is registered pharmacist.
Robin: Okay. is registered different than a regular pharmacist?
Amy K Wilson: Registered is what's back in the day when you pass your boards through the state licensure exam is RPH means that you're registered with the state.
Robin: And then we've
got
BCGP
Amy K Wilson: board certified geriatric pharmacist.
Robin: And
ACE.
Amy K Wilson: That [00:03:00] is ACE fitness professional. American Council on Exercise
Robin: very,
Amy K Wilson: very nice.
Robin: So a geriatrician pharmacist, what exactly is that?
Amy K Wilson: So we all know drugs. I mean, we all know medication. You go to your pharmacy, you go to your corner drugstore or wherever you get your medication and that is A pharmacist, that's what I do. I'm a pharmacist, but I don't work in that environment anymore.
I used to work, I was a retail pharmacist. I work in the long term care industry, which is usually older adults. I will say usually because my population is getting much younger. We'll talk about that. And a board certified geriatric pharmacist is someone who deals with, As my husband says, I'm not a geriatric and he's turning 60 and I'm like, honey, yes, you are.
Um, I like to say older adults because geriatric, we think we, we have this thing that we think about when we hear geriatric and doesn't really have a positive feel to it. So older adults, [00:04:00] but geriatrics kind of starts in your mid fifties, sixties, seventies, like I said, older adults. So I deal with how medication can
interact with the body. for older adults.
Robin: And I know we've talked before in this podcast about the Beers list. Do you want to give us
Amy K Wilson: a
Robin: rundown of that? So there is a
Amy K Wilson: list that's called the Beers criteria list. And that's, don't look at it unless you'll be scared. Because there's a lot of medication on there that we take.
That if you're over a certain age, you should not be taking it, or you should be on the careful side. And the reason being is that it can increase falls, it can decrease cognition. There are medications that may not Interact well with how your body is. As we age, we do lose muscle. We do increase some body fat.
Some of our cells don't work as well as they used to. And that's what the beer's criteria is. It's like, okay, so if you're a certain age, maybe You should be [00:05:00] taking this medication. Maybe you need to decrease this medication. And I get that a lot from people. They're like, but I've been on this medication since I was in my 20s or my 30s.
It's, it's fine. I've been on it forever. I'm like, yeah, but you are a different person. Then you were in your twenties and thirties and how that medication interacts with your body now is different than how it interacted when you were younger.
Robin: So that's something when you're getting a new prescription filled to either talk with your doctor or your pharmacist and just throw out the term.
Beers criteria
Amy K Wilson: I would say if you're going into your physician's office and they hand you this piece of paper and they say, go get this filled. You need to ask, what is it and why? Don't just take it and say, okay, my doctor just gave this to me, I'm going to take this. Why are they prescribing it to you? What is it? What are the side effects?
And also, what's the reason? Because some things, is there something else that you could do? Maybe you're having [00:06:00] anxiety. Maybe it's your blood pressure. Is there something else that you could do to maybe not be on this medication? Or is this something that is going to be on this medication? Maybe you can get off of this medication.
You need to have the conversation and just accepting that piece of paper and thinking that is because I need to go to the doctor and I need this piece of paper to show that. It was worthwhile.
Because maybe you're already on something that someone else prescribes you and they didn't realize it because for some reason the system wasn't updated. You're like, wait a minute, I'm already on something like this.
And then now we have what's called, , we'll go with polypharmacy, dual therapy, duplicate therapy. So there's so many things that. As older adults, when you start playing this pill game and getting more and more and more, you get more and more side effects, get more and more side effects. Now we're increasing cognition issues.
Now we're increasing fall risks. So definitely not something that's good.
Robin: Yeah. Really what I've learned from doing this podcast is you have to be your own advocate and [00:07:00] you've got to ask the questions and not just say, Oh, the doctor knows best, maybe not always. Um, but maybe the doctor does know, but he should certainly explain it to you.
Correct.
Amy K Wilson: And sometimes you don't have all the information, so you only know what you know. And so if the doctor's looking at you going, okay, well, this is going on X, Y, Z, but he's missing a big part of the information. That could be crucial, then he's not gonna be making the best decision because he's missing or she's missing a big piece of the puzzle.
Robin: Okay, so you were saying something about, so you're in nursing home assisted living and you're seeing the people living there getting younger.
Amy K Wilson: Yeah, it's kind of scary. So
when. Especially when I do like admission reviews that somebody who's getting discharged from the hospital and they have to go into a nursing home and sometimes for rehab, sometimes it's for what we consider long term care placement now look at the data burst and it's always just like.
Wait a minute. I was born in 1970. Tell you right now. So when I see people born like 69, 65, [00:08:00] 75, 80, it's like, wait, what's going on? And yes, are there issues that something people have that something happens? Yes. But then there's lifestyle and there's a majority of lifestyle disease, more diabetes, strokes, heart attacks, things that We could possibly prevent or reverse, and that's, you know, sometimes it's a wake up call, sometimes not, but sometimes this is a permanent place where they now have to be.
It is not a choice. This is, this is what's going to be for the rest of life, that they are going to live in a nursing home.
Robin: And they could have avoided that potentially just by making some changes. Yes.
Amy K Wilson: Absolutely.
Robin: So that's what I love that, that you are not only the board certified geriatric pharmacist, but certified nutrition coach and fitness professional.
So, A lot of people are just like, give me the pill. Um, this is my disease and I'm just going to live with it. But you are the person [00:09:00] giving out the pills and you're like, no, this isn't the only way.
Amy K Wilson: I'm a pharmacist who doesn't want you on pills.
Robin: Seriously.
Amy K Wilson: There is a per there, there is a reason for medication.
There is medication is a treatment, not a cure. And we have to realize that is that if you've had blood pressure, you're taking a blood pressure medication to treat it. It doesn't cure it. If you have prediabetes and you're on a medication, it is to treat it. It's that to cure it. So does medication have its purpose?
Absolutely, and I don't want anybody to go. Oh my gosh. I heard this girl and she said get off your medication No, because my clients that I coach for nutrition and fitness if they're on something I'm gonna have you be taking some readings every single day and we'll be working with your doctor in Order to make the best decision cold taking cold turkey off not a good thing But yeah, there are things that you can do to help reverse.
There are things you can do to help prevent. There are things that you can do to help decrease the amount we call pill burden, how much medication that you're on. And yeah, sometimes you think it's [00:10:00] easier to take a pill, but is it really? How's that with your quality of life? It does take some effort to change.
We all know that. And everybody says, Oh, but I'm too old. No, you're not. If you're retired now, you have plenty of time to change. You have plenty of time to figure it out and feel better. Cause I think that's what we all want. We all want to feel better. We all want more energy. We all want to be vibrant. I don't think any of us really thought that retirement or getting older, that we would just sit by and watch life pass.
That's not what we planned. We worked, worked, worked hard so that we can live the second chapter 2. 0. And not be on a timetable of how much medication I have to take at what time and not be able to go anywhere because I have this medication to take or I can't sleep because of this medication or I feel bad because of this medication.
So if we can do things naturally and it makes us feel better. It's a win win.
Robin: Love that. And you also don't want your social life to be going to the doctor's office. Yes. Because so many seniors are [00:11:00] like, Oh, well, no, I can't do Wednesday. I got my, you know, cardiologist that day. And then this doctor, I'm like, what kind of life is that?
You know, let's, let's do maybe three doctor appointments a year. That would be wonderful. So let's talk about diabetes. Obviously a huge problem in America right now. Can you start with small steps and, and change it around? Or do you have to go drastic? No,
Amy K Wilson: you start with small steps. So how diabetes occurs and everybody knows, that you go and get your blood sugar checked and they'll get a number with an A1C back and somebody will say you're pre diabetic.
Okay. Okay, that is your wake up call to get it together. What I hate is when a physician says, Well, you know, you're right there, borderline. Let's wait and watch. Watch what? Watch what? Watch it go higher so that you can be diabetic? Or watch and just see what [00:12:00] happens? Because you know the outcome. And a lot of times I think it's just the physicians don't have time or they're just
they've tried in the past and they just get frustrated because it is hard to change. It is hard to make some adjustments to not go down the route of diabetes. But what can you do? So let's say you get this number and you're pre diabetic or maybe you're even diabetic and they're like, okay, we're gonna start your medication.
It's not, Oh my God, I can't eat carbs. I can't do carbs. Oh, because that's the first thing that people say is like, I'm diabetic, I can't have carbs. Wrong. You may want to hold off on the candy, the sugar, the cookies, but you can still have fruit. You still have vegetables. You can, it's just how much you can have, but you also have to have protein.
You also have to have fat. It needs to be balanced. It is what's called macronutrients, protein, fats, and carbohydrates, and there's a certain amount that you need. Should it be all carbs? Absolutely not, because we do know carbs turn into sugar. Should it be cookies and [00:13:00] pizza and everything that goes right into sugar?
Like the way I tell people is like, if you take something and you throw water against it and dissolves, that is what's called a simple carbohydrate. So think about your white bread, throw water on it, does it go whoosh? Absolutely, that's your simple carbohydrate. Do that to broccoli, it's not going to happen.
Broccoli is a carbohydrate. You can have that and it's going to be fine, it has fiber, it's going to slow your blood sugar, , elevating, it's going to slow that, kind of like that spike. So what can you do? Well, you can start eating whole foods. Stop eating all the processed stuff because, kind of gross, but processed foods or ultra processed food is already digested for you.
There's nothing there. Yeah. It's just, so it goes into your system. It gets absorbed quicker. It spikes your blood sugar and it causes inflammation. . Start eating real food. Take one thing, maybe it's breakfast, and maybe even having Pop [00:14:00] Tarts, or it's cereal, or something that is not so great.
Okay. Eggs. Yes, I know they're expensive. It's still cheaper than other things. Going through Starbucks.
Robin: Having your, yeah, having your leg cut off. Exactly. Exactly. You
Amy K Wilson: know, a bowl of, you know, oatmeal. Not the Nothing, not the Quaker Oats, instant apples and cinnamon that we all loved as kids. That's not good for you.
Okay, regular oatmeal, maybe some Greek yogurt, things that are going to slowly elevate the blood sugar and won't cause the inflammation compared to something like Froot Loops or a sugar sugar cereal. So those are things that you can do. You can drink water, maybe you're drinking a lot of, I'm from Ohio so it's called pop, or soda, coke, whatever you call it, any of those kind of things.
And I always hear about, but I only do diet. Get rid of it. It's, those are chemicals. Your body doesn't know what to do with chemicals. And can you do that all at once? Absolutely not. Because that's my biggest problem with Biggest [00:15:00] Loser. If you ever see the TV show Biggest Loser is that, yeah, all of a sudden everything's gone.
It's great in a controlled environment and when you're in a, when you're in a game, but when you're at home and stress happens, and maybe you'll reach for the, jelly beans or the m and ms, you have to learn how to change habits. You have to learn how to manipulate and go on that journey and take little baby steps.
And if you do everything at the same time in three days, you can be like, Oh, I can't do this. I can't do this. But if you do one thing at a time, master that might just be a breakfast and it might be drinking water a little bit more, replacing one thing with something else might be just going for a walk.
Maybe you haven't never worked out before and now you're walking well, walking is going to lower your blood sugar every single time because when you walk, think about those muscles that you're using, all of them. Especially your core, especially your glutes, your butt, your legs, big muscles that [00:16:00] pulls that blood sugar into your muscles because your muscles need that energy and it's going to decrease your blood sugar.
There's all little baby things you can do that make a big impact.
Robin: So this is more information than you're going to get from your doctor. Oh yeah. Oh, absolutely. Your doctor does not have time to take you through that. He's got, you know, a whole waiting room full of people to see, um, but should you ask for a referral for a nutritionist?
Like if you do get a diagnosis, should that be where you start? Yeah, why
Amy K Wilson: not? Or, you know, somebody like me who uses, I use a platform called the Fast Way to Fat Loss. And I. Coach people all over the world. So get somebody who understands what you're going through now. Can I prescribe you anything? No. All right, let's, let's, let's start that.
But I can help you with nutrition and fitness and get somebody that, you know, that you will listen to because that's key. And that you're, and you also would be willing to change if you are someone who says, Nope, I got a pill for that. Nope. I'm okay. Give [00:17:00] me injections.
This is the way it's going to be. Then there's nothing that anybody can do that I can do. But if you're like, you know what, no, I've had it. This is enough. This is not the road that I was planning on for my retirement. This was not what I had in mind. I am going to put the brakes on now and do everything in my possible world to figure out.
How I can make the most impact and not either be on medication or decrease my risk or lower the doses that I'm on.
Robin: So when we talk about obstacles, especially with older adults, is the Attitude, the biggest obstacle there is in making changes? I would say
Amy K Wilson: attitude and belief system. I mean, just think of all the, I'm going to say the myths, the lies we've been told throughout these years.
And that was me on my own journey. And I still have those in my mind. It's like, Oh, well, I got to cut all these calories to help me lose weight. I have to work out for hours to lose weight. [00:18:00] I have to eat just chicken breast and broccoli to lose weight. We have all these belief systems. And then we have, especially for females, how many Insane, quick fix diets have we been on
Robin: and we always remember it was a new one in each episode in each new um, in women's world, you know, whatever magazine you got, Cosmo,
Amy K Wilson: whatever.
So it's like, but you remember that one that, Oh my gosh, I lost 15 pounds on this one in 10 days. It was amazing. I got into this dress. It was great. Okay, sister. Let's think about this.
How long did that last?
Oh, I couldn't sustain it because, you know, it was plain toast for breakfast and a boiled egg for lunch.
I mean, we remember all of those, right? And the thing is, it all came back. Well, it came back because you don't lose body fat. You lost muscle and you slowed your metabolism down. So every time we try to do one of those quick fixes, we kind of screwed ourself a little bit.
Now we get older. And now muscle [00:19:00] is like muscle's expensive. And we need that muscle. Muscles are a fountain of youth. That is what is going to keep us out of these nursing homes. That is what helps keep our blood sugar in check. So we need to get off the, I have to be skinny, skinny, skinny, because that's what we grew up with in the, you know, in the 70s and 80s was as ultra thin as that.
No, you need muscle. Muscles was going to help you get out of a chair. Muscles was going to protect you for some reason you fall because if you build muscle, you help your bones. So muscles what we need and that's we have to focus on and if we can start changing the belief system little by little And be like, okay My motto was if it was working I wouldn't be here and I had to keep telling myself that if it was working I wouldn't be here and maybe say that to yourself if it was working.
I wouldn't be here It was working if that diet worked back in you know, 20 years ago I wouldn't be here. So we have to get rid of that kind of those myths and belief [00:20:00] systems.
Robin: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. It makes a lot of sense. Now here's the problem. There are so many voices out there. Not everybody is Amy K.
Wilson at amykwilson. com. We're on our phones and you see so many horrible ideas that people are telling you. Is there kind of like a gut check that you recommend?
Amy K Wilson: I mean, if it's too good to be true, it is. If really, if it, if it says, if someone says you can do this in a quick amount of time, if you're taking a medication to get there, um, if you are seeing the before and after, and they're not explaining the journey in between and how long it took and the mental part of it too, then.
No, because you'll see and the people draw you in with that, that picture, that beautiful thing. You're like, Oh, but look at them.
And it's only 250 and my life will be turned around.
Amy K Wilson: Right, right. And if it says you don't have to do any work, that's my favorite. It's like you don't [00:21:00] have to exercise and you don't have to change your habits.
Okay, if that's the case, you know, that's too good to be true, if that's the case, okay, you know, just send me that 350, you know, seriously.
Robin: So obviously we're also seeing a lot of ads for the Ozempic, the GLP 1s. Um, I think there might be a place for that for some people. Um, I'm still sitting back and watching, but what do you think as a pharmacist and a nutritionist? So,
Amy K Wilson: as a pharmacist, the GLP1s definitely have a place for those who are diabetic, type 2 diabetes, and who do need to lose weight.
Um, you know, everybody says, well, I've tried everything. Well, have you really? Because we've tried every diet on the planet, but have you tried nutrition? Have you tried fitness and, and building muscle? Have you tried those? And most of the time, my people who come to me say, well, no, I thought about it, but My problem is with the GLP 1s in the general population, and even in the older [00:22:00] population, is that I said muscle is what we need.
Problem with GLP 1s, they do turn off your hunger. And I know before, we were always going, yes, that's what I need, I'm always hungry. And I'm going to tell you, if you're always hungry, you're not eating the right foods and you're not eating enough. The problem is with that, is that our bodies are one big chemical reaction.
We need. Fats, proteins, and carbohydrates and we need the whole food nutrition to make all those chemical reactions occur. We need it for our hormones. We need it for our thyroid. We need it for our brains. We need it for our eyes. We need it so that we can breathe. There's so many reasons why we need whole food nutrition.
When you take nutrition away and you're not eating because you think that's great. Oh, yes. This is what I needed. They tell me, you know, decrease my calorie consumption, then I'll lose weight. Yeah, you will. You're going to lose a lot of muscle, not body fat. Yes. Yes. Because our bodies are smart and they are going to survive.
So the first thing that they do. [00:23:00] If they take something called muscle, that's very quick to release this energy and break down not body fat. That's what we do. Darn it. It's not. It's a, you know, so you might lose some body fat, but you're not going to lose a lot. You're going to lose muscle first. So that's why we see Ozempic face and butt because guess what?
These cheeks. This is muscle. This isn't body fat. This is muscle that causes you to smile, but the top cheek and the bottom and the bottom cheeks and the bottom cheeks and the bottom cheeks are muscle too. So when you lose that, you are losing your stability. You're losing your independence to get around.
And not only that, vitamins and minerals. If you're not eating, where's your body going to get vitamins and minerals from the bones? So now we're looking at osteopenia, osteoporosis. Bone fractures hip fractures. So as older adults, we should be like putting the brakes on going Okay, once again, skinny is not everything.
[00:24:00] What can I do differently? What can I do differently and think of longevity think of living life to the fullest and being healthy? and I'm gonna tell you strength is one of those things that you are going to need for longevity think about someone who's older and they're frail and We all know I'm is like they're bent over The wind blows, you're afraid they're going to blow over, they can't hold their balance, they're shuffling their feet.
That's what we're going to see in a lot of the people who take Ozepic, because they are going to get frail before their time. And that is scary.
Robin: Wow. So much to think about. There just isn't an easy button when it comes to our body.
Amy K Wilson: No
Robin: So if they do want to put in the hard work. Yeah. And be guided gently.
How did they get in touch with you? And the
Amy K Wilson: easiest way is to go either to my website, amykwilson. com. And if you mentioned this podcast, I'd be happy to send you a five day fat loss blueprint that has my [00:25:00] favorite chili recipe tastes just like Wendy's, but so much better for you. Yeah. Or you can go onto Instagram if you like Instagram.
Um, and I am. at The Nutrition Coach Pharmacist on Instagram, The Nutrition Coach Pharmacist.
Robin: Well, thank you so much for, for your honesty and not trying to sell us some miracle cure that we all are kind of dreaming for in the back of our heads, but I really appreciate your time. Thank you so much.
Amy K Wilson: Thank you.
Robin: Please make sure to subscribe to our podcast, Informed Aging, and tell your family and friends about us. If you'd like to support the work that we do at the Alzheimer's and Dementia Resource Center, please go to the website. adrccares.org/donate. You can find us at facebook. com slash informed aging. Today's episode was recorded at ADRC's podcast studio.
That's it for now. We're looking forward to our next [00:26:00] visit.