Three Not-So-Bad Things on Aging and Longevity
A Weekly Newsletter
There’s no denying it: we are constantly bombarded with bad news. A pandemic, climate change, inflation, war, political discord—the list goes on. Here at the Longevity Project, we understand that bad news can be enough to take years off your life, so we want to do our part (however small) to balance the scales.
At the end of the day, though, we’re realists. Good news is hard to come by, no matter how hard you look. So we’ll aim a little lower and without further ado, we are pleased to share our first weekly newsletter: Three Not-So-Bad Things on Longevity and Aging. Feel free to share with others and send us items you want to see included. With some luck, you will see this newsletter (and some more not so bad news) every Wednesday.
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APRIL 1, 2026
1. Next Time, We Will Pack a Beet Salad.
Last week, I was hiking with my son in Olympic National Park. The walk along the coast from Rialto Beach to the Hole-in-the-Wall was beautiful, but it was cold and rainy, and we were buffeted by gale force winds that occasionally knocked us back a step or two. When we were done, we changed into dry clothes, tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to shake off the wet sand, and then retreated to the nearby town of Forks, where we inhaled some cheeseburgers and french fries at Sully’s Drive In.
It turns out though, that we were a little off kilter in our dietary choices, according to research from Drexel University. A new study suggests that spending time in nature may do more than boost your mood - it will also improve your diet. Researchers found that adults who regularly spend time outdoors, whether intentionally (like going to a park) or even incidentally (like being around plants), tend to eat more fruits and vegetables and follow healthier, more sustainable eating patterns.
The connection appears to be driven in part by the mental health benefits of nature. People who spend more time outside report lower stress, anxiety, and depression - factors that often lead to emotional eating or poor food choices. When stress is reduced, people are more likely to make thoughtful, healthier decisions about what they eat. Researchers also found that feeling more connected to nature can increase awareness of personal health and wellbeing, which in turn motivates better dietary habits.
Next time, we’re ordering salads at Sully’s.
A Side Note:
I was out in Washington State to give a talk at the Edmonds Waterfront Center, a vibrant multigenerational community center on the Puget Sound. Originally opened as the South County Senior Center in 1967, it was reimagined as a center for all ages and reopened as such in 2021. Today, it is a focal point of the Edmonds community and a convening point for the arts, exercise classes, meals, hobbyists, and events that range from a quick meet up over coffee to a book talk from a still soggy author. More importantly, it is part of a growing movement to find new ways to bring the generations together. Check it out here.
2. Maybe Aunt Gladys Used Her Mind Control Weapon on the Voters.
And a tip of the TNSB cap to Amy Madigan, aged 75, who won her first Oscar last month for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Aunt Gladys in the horror movie Weapons. We tend to avoid horror movies – the TNSB tastes run more to romcoms and action flicks – but we are more than willing to take the word of the Academy that this was a standout performance. But if you tend to be the skeptical type, perhaps you will be impressed that Madigan also won the Critics' Choice Awards, the Actor Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle, and she was nominated for a Golden Globe as well.
The award comes 40 years after her first nomination for best supporting actress in Once in a Lifetime in 1986. That four-decade gap represents by far the longest period between first nomination and eventual win for an actress in the history of the Oscars. Madigan’s career has been steady and respected for years, but her recognition at this stage, and this age, highlights how creative peaks can happen well beyond the industry’s typical spotlight on younger generations. Her win is a powerful reminder that meaningful accomplishments can happen at any age, often after years of experience have deepened both skill and perspective.
Shameless Self Promotion #1.
And a TNSB news flash: Amy Madigan will not be speaking at the upcoming Healthy Aging 2026 conference at Stanford on May 4th, but we nonetheless will have an extraordinary line-up of speakers: Stacy Sims, Exercise Physiologist, Nutrition Scientist, and Ground-Breaking Author of Roar; Louise Aronson, Geriatrician, UCSF Professor, and Author of New York Times bestseller Elderhood; Kelly and Juliet Starrett, New York Times best-selling authors, Fitness Influencers, and Founders of The Ready State; BJ Fogg, Best-selling author of Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything; and Kerry Burnight, Best-selling author of Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in the Second Half of Life, plus many more.
This year’s theme, Aging with Purpose, Power, and Play, explores how mindset, movement, social connection, and daily habits shape how we age. Our early bird pricing ends today, so grab your tickets now. Lunch will be served to in-person attendees, but no word yet whether it will include a beet salad or not.
3. It's Even Better Than a Beet Salad: Immigration is Good For Your Health.
At least according to a new Working Paper on the impact of immigration on mortality rates among older adults in the US. Set against the backdrop of the Trump Administration’s crackdown on immigration, researchers from Harvard, MIT, and the University of Rochester set out to quantify the impact of immigration on the mortality rates of older “native-born” adults in the US.
The question is driven by the fact that a large share of immigrants works in health care, including immigrant doctors, nurses, aides, and caregivers for older adults. Shortages of doctors and nurses exist in many markets around the US, especially in rural areas, and direct caregiving is typically a low paid job marked by a constant churn that is often exacerbated by changes in immigration policy and enforcement.
The study reveals that increased immigration – and the resulting expansion of the health care workforce – leads directly to reduced deaths among older adults. The researchers calculate that increasing immigration by 25% would lead directly to a reduction of 5,000 deaths per year in the US. As a related (perhaps even causal) effect, increased inflow of health care workers would likely make it easier for older adults to age in place and avoid a nursing home. The researchers believe it likely that shifting people out of congregate care settings and into home care settings could contribute even more to reductions in mortality.
Shameless Self Promotion #2.
Even if you have enough caregivers, you still need to make sure that homes are suitable for aging in place, a challenge in a country where the vast majority of homes do not meet that criteria. Fortunately, small fixes—like grab bars or secured rugs—can make the difference between independence and a serious fall, but scaling such solutions has proven to be a huge challenge. In Episode 5 of Century Lives: The Home Stretch, we visit Sarah Szanton, the Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore and one of the creators of CAPABLE, a low-cost program helping seniors make practical home modifications. And then we’re off to Lancaster, PA to see CAPABLE in action and report on how it is leading to significant reductions in hospitalizations and nursing home stays for older adults.
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