ageism | Silver Magazine

Cover Story

Fighting back against ageism

Ageism, discrimination based on your apparent age: how does it happen – and when? Ageism can surface overnight, or so it seems. Maybe it’s when a sales clerk compares you to her mother or when the cashier at the grocery store calls you ma’am, or maybe after years of carving out a successful career or two, you’re told you’re overqualified for a new role. Whether you label yourself or others do that for you, it seems ageism has raised its ugly head in these ordinary, everyday situations. “Ageism is the most widespread and socially accepted prejudice.” – World Health Organization According to William Chopik, assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State University and author of the recent study Cross-Cultural Comparisons in Implicit and Explicit Age Bias, “Older adults are one of the only stigmatized groups that we all become part of someday. And that’s always struck me as interesting—that we

Marylene Vestergom November 22, 2022

Fitness

A transformation after 50

Before my transformation, I did zero cardio and absolutely no weight training whatsoever. I ate three meals a day and my peak weight was 138 lbs. I suffered from anxiety and depression and had little energy, often needing an afternoon nap. In 2012 I stumbled across Tosca Reno’s The Eat-Clean Diet. I started eating six meals a day, making sure each meal had a balance of proteins, carbs and fats. Within eight weeks my weight dropped to 126 lbs and I maintained that weight without any exercise. In January 2013, at the age of 51, I needed a personal challenge. I started an online training and fitness program. It wasn’t long before I started seeing results. Many of the ladies were working towards a figure competition, but I couldn’t imagine getting up on a stage. By October, one of my teammates convinced me to compete with her in grand masters

Carola Della-Mattia February 1, 2021

Longevity

Creativity doesn’t know age

It seems today that when we hear about creative geniuses, they all seem to be quite young, such as Mark Zuckerberg becoming a billionaire when he was in his early twenties. Or Bill Gates at just 29 years old. Pablo Picasso and Einstein having their breakthroughs at just their twenties as well. So are we to believe that a moment of creative insight and to be a genius is in our early lives? That as we move into our 50’s and our second phase of life our creative days are slipping away? Absolutely not. If you’re a reader of Silver Magazine, you know we don’t subscribe to such a silly notion! There are many cases of people who have their genius creative moment later in life. Mario Puzo wrote The Godfather when he was 45. Julia Child’s first book was published when she was 49. Grandma Moses began her painting

Giles Crouch September 23, 2020

Longevity

Five Things Centenarians Taught Me about Longevity

A few years back, while writing the book Age to Perfection: How to Thrive to 100, Happy, Healthy, and Wise, I had the chance to sit down with several people who had lived past their 100th birthday. Much of what they said was similar, as if it were scripted. Common sense that we seem to have forgotten over the years. While my new friends may not have understood the science behind their advice, they knew from personal experience that it was all true. Living a long life isn’t that hard, but it takes discipline. Here’s a bit of what they all seemed to agree upon: Never Stop Moving They all seemed to find a way to keep moving. One of them still had a gym membership, while others were sure to go for at least one long walk a day. In addition to staying fit and limber, research shows that

Judy Gaman May 22, 2020

Longevity

Supplements for sleep, sex and stress

We’ve picked out the best supplements you can take to boost your sex life, get a better sleep and de-stress a little bit better. Not everyone needs supplements and you may not need them all the time either. Sometimes they can help alleviate stress symptoms or get you a better nights sleep when you need to. CanPrev Adrenal-Pro blends essential nutrients and adaptogens to boost your energy while easing stress and fatigue caused by overworked adrenal glands. Take it to enhance both your physical and mental performance and for an overall improved sense of wellness. canprev.ca Preferred Nutrition Ultimate Anti-Stress, formulated with natural ingredients, supports your adrenal glands and reduces the effects of stress, to relieve nervousness, promote healthy sleep and help calm and soothe. pno.ca New Chapter Holy Basil Force promotes calm and balance and is Non-GMO Project verified—ingredients are carefully reviewed for GMO risk all the way back

Alex Hurst December 25, 2019

Health

Calling BullS*^t on Age!

“Sometimes, people use age as a convenient excuse. ‘I’m too old to start something new,’ or, ‘I couldn’t learn that at my age.’ Other people though, go on to achieve their greatest accomplishments in life in later years.” –Catherine Pulsifer There are two age pressures that we often face—the ones we set for ourselves and the ones society sets for us. We see it all the time. “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” “I need to graduate by this age, mar- ried by that age, start a career, buy a house, have kids, be financially stable, etc.” “I’m too old for that.” “I’m not old enough.” It’s a lot of pressure! I call bull****—you’re exactly where you need to be right now and if there’s something you want to achieve, age is not your limit, your mind is. I faced age discrimination often when I chose to get

Jessica Clerke December 21, 2019