If you’re over 50 years old, you’ve probably noticed that food affects you a little bit differently than it did when you were younger. While a nightly bowl of ice cream used to be a delicious, harmless nightly staple, you might find that this habit now has a bigger impact on your health or makes you feel a certain way.

It’s possible that your doctor has talked to you about eating in a way that promotes bone strength or keeps your blood sugar in check, and there’s good reason for that. As we age, our nutritional needs change, and the phrase “you are what you eat” becomes more relevant than ever before.

Women see estrogen levels drop with menopause, which leads to a decrease in bone mass and an increased need for calcium-rich foods that can help stave off osteoporosis. And for both women and men, bodies lose the ability to produce insulin as easily over time, leading to blood sugar imbalances and the potential development of Type 2 diabetes. The metabolism slows down, too, particularly after age 60 — which means calorie-heavy foods are more likely to cause weight gain. And considering that heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the United States, eating a heart-healthy diet is key.

We know, we know. We’re delivering a lot of depressing news here. With that in mind, certain foods can be beneficial when it comes to keeping age-related health issues at bay. Here, a geriatrician and registered dietitians share the top foods people over 50 should pick up at the grocery store.

Because salt can contribute to high blood pressure, Dr. Nina L. Blachman, a geriatrician at NYU Langone Health, suggests limiting salt as much as possible. “Instead of salt, I recommend seasoning foods with herbs,” she said. Flavorful herbs like parsley, saffron or rosemary can go a long way when it comes to adding flavor to your food with little or even no salt.

According to nutritionist Tara Tomaino, a registered dietitian, beans (think chickpeas, black beans, etc.) are a great option for people over 50.

“Whether canned or dried, beans are a great food to incorporate in the diet for people 50 and over,” she said. “Beans are a great source of fiber as well as plant-based protein. Fiber is a key nutrient for heart health, blood-sugar management and weight control. If purchasing canned beans, be sure to rinse and drain them to get rid of the packing liquid and excess sodium. Aim to eat half a cup of beans per day by adding them to salads or soups.”

In case you haven’t heard, cottage cheese is making a major comeback — and luckily, Tomaino said, it’s a great option for people over 50.

“This high-protein food is a great choice for any meal of the day or even snacks,” she said. “Pair cottage cheese with fruit for a sweet and salty combo or blend into a dip to enjoy with fresh vegetables. Choose low-sodium or no-salt-added cottage cheese if high blood pressure is a concern.”

Choose from your favorite leafy greens, Tomaino suggests: spinach, kale, chard, collard greens and even broccoli.

“These vegetables are high in fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium, which are all crucial to heart health. Leafy greens are also low in carbohydrates and calories, making them an excellent addition to the diet if you are trying to manage weight and blood sugar.”

All kinds of berries, including strawberries, blueberries and blackberries, are packed with health benefits for people over 50.

“Berries are high in antioxidants, which help mitigate inflammation and provide the body with anti-cancer properties,” Tomaino said. “Berries are also high in fiber, making them an excellent fruit choice for those managing blood sugar. Choose organic berries (fresh or frozen) when possible. Eat them on their own or add to oatmeal, yogurt, salads or smoothies.”

Salmon, ideally wild-caught, is a top food for people over 50 due to it’s omega-3 content, Tomaino said.

“Omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial to heart health and have also been linked to brain health,” she said. “Lower in saturated fat than red meat, salmon is a great protein choice to include in the diet at least once a week. Broiled salmon with veggies makes an easy weeknight sheet pan meal.”

Almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds are rich in heart-healthy fats, fiber and essential nutrients, explained nutritionist Marine Melamed. “They can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels, support digestive health, and provide a source of plant-based protein,” she said.

Skip the fatty cuts of meat and opt for lean cuts of chicken and turkey, or even eggs. “Lean sources of protein like poultry, lean cuts of meat, eggs and plant-based proteins (tofu, legumes, lentils) are essential for muscle maintenance, immune function and wound healing,” Melamed said.

Whole grains are another great option for the 50-plus crowd. “Quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat and oats are high in fiber and complex carbohydrates,” Melamed said. “They provide sustained energy, aid in digestion, and help regulate blood-sugar levels, reducing the risk of developing metabolic diseases.”

While nutritional needs and limitations do become more complex as we get older, with a few simple diet tweaks you can come up with simple, delicious ways to modify your diet. So get that grocery list started!

Before “pandemic” became a household word, my husband Keith received an email from one of our neighbors. I’ve changed his name, but frankly, Jim could be any older person, living alone with children hours away.

Jim said he was afraid he’d die and no one would find him for days and asked if Keith would check in on him regularly with a call, email or text. Keith said, “Sure,” and wrote down his children’s contact information, just in case.

“Love our neighbor as ourselves” — that was our guideline. But as Jim declined mentally and physically, we began to ask ourselves how we could help without enabling him to stay in a dangerous living situation.

Keith and I had retired to this small rural neighborhood of 12 families. All of us chose the location for the mountains, forests, quiet, and privacy afforded by multi-acre lots. How-are-you waves when passing on the gravel road that connects our properties and the annual owners’ association meetings — that was about the extent of our interaction. But with the pandemic, we became more deliberate about checking on one another.

Even though we’d noticed deterioration of Jim’s exterior house maintenance during the pandemic, we weren’t overly concerned about him until he had a single-vehicle accident on the mountain road one evening. He was not injured, though his truck took a beating. More concerning was that he didn’t have a reasonable explanation for what had happened.

Keith contacted his children, and they arrived that weekend. We offered to meet with them at our house. Jim did not attend.

“The house was as we expected,” his son said, “piles of trash and pizza boxes.” We weren’t surprised either, having seen our parents let things go in their later years.

“This is new to you, common but not easy,” I said. “There are services you can put in place, as we did for our parents, and resources. In the meantime, how can we help?”

Jim’s son was already assisting with finances and legal matters; his daughter said she’d check on housekeeping, coordinate with doctors, and research elder-care services covered by his insurance. We agreed to visit Jim more often, to be their “eyes and ears on the scene.”

Jim admitted to having balance and memory problems. We noted other concerns along with his poor eating habits: lack of social interaction, misplacing personal items, and inability to properly care for his beloved dogs. Jim had built a fenced area when he got the two dogs eight years ago but had never walked them, and now he couldn’t. So, when I stopped to check on Jim during my mid-afternoon writing break, I walked his dogs. Minimal, not nearly enough, but we had our own dogs to walk too.

It was hard to see Jim’s decline. Should we have been doing more? Yes, but more could turn into a full-time job, infringe on his independence, and give him and his children a false sense of security.

In less than a year, Jim had two more unexplained one-vehicle accidents. By then, everyone in the neighborhood was worried about him. We encouraged his children to pursue a driving evaluation for their father and left it at that.

There are many federal and state government and organizational resources and articles about how to help older people. Regional agencies, such the Jefferson Area Board for Aging in our community and local social services, are good places to start as well as safety nets for low-income seniors, hardship cases, or those without family. Seniors need on-site teams for help and support: trusted friends, good neighbors, church members. Recommendations for “team” members include visiting often, offering meals and transportation, helping with home maintenance, listening, and watching for scams and pet neglect.

We now invite Jim for dinner every Tuesday — picking him up and driving him home— so he has a decent meal and social interaction once a week. Keith regularly emails Jim’s son, while Jim’s daughter and I text each other. She found a physical therapist to help her dad with balance exercises. The therapist also delivers groceries she orders online.

In a pinch during times when Jim’s truck is in the shop, I drive him where he needs to go and pick up milk, orange juice, and his prescriptions when I’m otherwise out and about. But we draw the line with house maintenance, personal care, and regular transportation, even though driving is our biggest concern: his safety and the safety of those he might encounter on the road.

Keith and I have re-missioned to second careers — we’re both writers — and have other commitments. Although it is an honor and a blessing to help our neighbor, we do not want to love grudgingly. Jim and his children often express gratitude, but ultimately, they must figure this out. He has options and is able to pay for services but is more afraid of losing his privacy or having to leave his home than he is of dying alone. And there’s the rub, as it is for many.

“Hey, Jim,” I yelled in his entry one afternoon. His two large dogs came barreling down the stairs — there are lots of stairs in Jim’s three-level house. The house felt uncharacteristically cold, and it was the middle of winter.

“Hey,” Jim said to me. He sat on the top step of the stairs. “When I got up this morning, it was 55 degrees in the house and the heat was off. Guess I ran out of propane.”

“Have you contacted the company?” I asked.

“Not yet. I have to find my phone. I started a fire in the basement stove.”

Until recently, he’d heated his house with firewood. Now I wondered if he remembered how to do so safely. Instead of asking and risk hurting his pride — and our relationship — I pulled out my cellphone. “While you find your phone and call the propane company, I’ll text your daughter so she can help you with this,” I told him. I leashed the dogs. “I’ll touch base with you again when we get back from our walk, OK?”

Things often disappear in Jim’s house, including his watch and phone. I’d get “I can’t reach Dad” text messages from his daughter and reply, “I’ll check on him when I’m down there.” Another line drawn, except when his cellphone went missing for two days. His daughter had installed a phone tracker, which he could ping from his computer. So, she coached him on my phone until I found his phone pinging under the sofa upstairs where he sleeps.

Jim’s dogs need grooming, and so does he — shave and haircut. But Tuesday dinners, dog walk check-ins, and occasional “in a pinch” helping are how things stand. We love our neighbor — within reason.

On Fridays, Keith and I review the week as we celebrate our happy hour together. We are blessed to have each other — and to hold each other accountable for personal and household care and social behavior. We’re baby boomers in our seventies. Our children also live hours away.

We pray not to burden anyone but know when our time comes we will, no matter how well we plan. There are no magic wands, and no one to make these issues go away. But after cleaning out decades of accumulation from our parents’ homes, we promised ourselves not to keep more than we need. And after watching Jim’s decline and experiencing our own, we have more patience and compassion for those who need help due to aging.

“I think we’re still hitting all points,” Keith said. “Physical, spiritual, intellectual, family, community. We’re attenuating gracefully, but conscious of our slipping.” I nodded.

“We will outlive our time here on the mountain,” I said, and he nodded. But for now, we are still in the third stage of life, our third season, autumn, the harvest. Time to reconnect and prepare for the winter we know is to come: the fourth and final stage.

There’s great strength in facing the realities of aging and death, in preparing for the inevitable rather than denying it. That’s how we love ourselves and others. Community. Not easy, never perfect, almost always messy, but a good goal all the same.

Carole Duff is a veteran teacher, flutist, naturalist, and writer of narrative nonfiction. She posts weekly to her long-standing blog Notes From Vanaprastha and has written for Brevity blog, Mockingbird, Streetlight Magazine,The Perennial Gen (now The Sage Forum), for which she is a regular contributor, and other publications. Her book “Wisdom Builds Her House” will be released in early 2024 through Brandylane Publications. Carole lives in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains with her husband, writer K.A. Kenny, and two large, overly friendly dogs.

Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we’re looking for here and send us a pitch.

Eyebrows play several crucial roles. They frame your face and help you express emotions, like surprise, happiness and anger. They also help protect your eyes from moisture and light.

But as you get older, you may notice your eyebrows start to look a little wispy.

“It is true that most people will develop sparse eyebrows as they age,” New York-based board-certified dermatologist Dr. Lian Mack told HuffPost. “With age, the eyebrow hair follicles become senescent, often producing thinner, finer hairs.”

Around the time you reach your 40s, your levels of the hormones estrogen or testosterone start to decline. And with that comes hair thinning and hair loss.

Along with your hair’s natural reaction to aging, several other factors can cause your eyebrows to thin. “It may be related to age, over-plucking, treatments like chemotherapy, thyroid disease, hormonal fluctuations or an unbalanced diet,” Mack said.

Dermatologists say there are several ways to deal with thinning eyebrows, including at-home remedies and doctor’s office treatments. Here’s how to handle sparse eyebrows.

The natural aging process affects the hair-growth cycle, said Dr. Ife Rodney, a board-certified dermatologist. This can decrease eyebrow density and thickness.

“Aging can also cause a decrease in the production of melanin, the pigment responsible for hair color, resulting in lighter and sparser eyebrows,” Rodney said.

Hormonal changes, including a drop in estrogen and testosterone, can contribute to the problem. Nutrient deficiencies, including of vitamin A, vitamin B7 (biotin), zinc and iron, can slow hair growth. Thyroid disease may lead to eyebrow hair loss and skin conditions, like eczema or psoriasis, or the autoimmune disease alopecia areata could affect your eyebrows.

Genetics play a role, too. Mack said the number of hair follicles you have and your eyebrow thickness are genetically predetermined.

“If an individual is starting out with fewer eyebrow hairs, it may simply appear as if they are losing hairs more rapidly than someone who biologically has more hairs from birth and is of a similar age,” she explained.

And if you’re prone to genetic hair loss, you might be more likely to experience thinning eyebrows, Rodney said.

If you’ve already noticed your eyebrows are looking thin, dermatologists say there are a few things you can try to slow the process:

• Keep a healthy diet that’s rich in antioxidants, including a rainbow of fruits and vegetables.
• Take vitamin E, biotin and iron supplements to speed up hair growth.
• Avoid overplucking.
• Apply sunscreen to your eyebrows, as UV rays can damage sensitive hair follicles.
• Avoid using scrubs or other skin care and cosmetics with harsh chemicals and opt for all-natural products.
• Use a serum to encourage eyebrow growth (see more below).
• Talk to your dermatologist about the best course of action.

There are a couple of things you can do to address eyebrow thinning and make your eyebrows look a little fuller.

Rodney said these products contain ingredients like peptides, biotin and panthenol, which promote hair growth and improve the appearance of your eyebrows. She recommends RevitaLash RevitaBrow Advanced Eyebrow Conditioner ($111) with biotin, green tea and ginseng.

Mack said one of her favorite eyebrow serums is RapidBrow Eyebrow Enhancing Serum ($39.99). “The formulation contains a number of peptides and conditioning ingredients to improve eyebrow density,” she said.

Eyebrow pencils, gels and powders can fill in sparse brows and create the illusion of fullness, at least temporarily, Rodney said. She recommends the Charlotte Tilbury Brow Cheat Micro Precision Brow Pencil ($40.50).

“When choosing an eyebrow pencil or powder, select a shade that closely matches your natural eyebrow color for a more natural look,” she said.

Dermatologists can offer treatments for your thinning eyebrows, depending on the cause, Mack said.

“A board-certified dermatologist can diagnose and work up the underlying cause of your eyebrow thinning,” she added. “Once the diagnosis is confirmed, he or she can create a customized treatment to target the cause of your eyebrow thinning.”

Intralesional Kenalog injections, or tiny diluted steroid injections, can help reduce inflammation around the hair follicle, Mack said. This procedure is often used when eyebrow thinning is related to an underlying autoimmune issue.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections can address thinning related to natural aging. Mack said this involves drawing a patient’s blood, spinning it down in a centrifuge, and then isolating the PRP, which is injected into the skin to revitalize hair follicles.

Dermatologists can also prescribe medication, like minoxidil (Rogaine), to stimulate hair growth and thickness, Rodney said. Other treatments include laser or light therapy or KeraFactor treatments.

“Remember that the effectiveness and availability of these treatments will vary from person and doctor,” Rodney noted.

Professionally trained microblading treatments are an option that purely fixes the aesthetics, not the actual thickness of your brows. The procedure is a semi-permanent cosmetic tattoo that involves using tiny needles to create hair-like lines along your eyebrows that give the appearance of fullness, Rodney said.

“Microblading is an effective tool for semi-permanent, natural-looking enhancement,” she said, adding that her own eyebrows are microbladed. “It’s safe when done by a qualified technician, effective and long-lasting.”

But microblading does come with a few risks, such as allergic reactions, scarring, infections and the potential that you just might not like the results, Rodney added. You’ll likely need touch-ups every couple of years, too, Mack said.

All summer, people have been obsessing over the aging filter on TikTok, which is so spot on that some dermatologists have praised its accuracy. But queer men across the social media platform have been completely freaking out at the elder versions of themselves — and we need to talk about it.

Whether it’s gay men joking that they need to “drive off a cliff” or pointing out how much they “hate it here,” there seems to be a genuine animosity toward the aging filter. And although they’re mostly jokes, I can’t help but feel that these TikToks point to a deeper problem within our community: Many of us are extremely uncomfortable with the thought of getting older.

Of course, aging can be scary for anyone. But in the gay community specifically, youth tends to be such a high metric for self-worth that gay men often struggle with getting old, and derogatory terms like “sugar fossil” are common among older queer men.

There’s more to it than being less desirable, though; aging can also bring to mind how the AIDS crisis left us without so many of the people who would now be elder queers.

And the reality is that the messaging we all receive daily about gay men — from pop culture to Hollywood — doesn’t really prepare us to think about life beyond youth. It sometimes feels like there’s no road map for getting ready to live as older queer men. Our shortsightedness is evident in the spaces we’ve built for ourselves, especially considering that gay spaces tend to take the form of nightclubs and bars, which usually cater to younger people.

But if we’re lucky, we’re all going to get older, and it’s time we start to seriously address that stigma. When we’re no longer young and we need new kinds of physical and emotional support, some of us could end up in community centers where we might not feel comfortable being ourselves. In fact, a 2018 survey found that 34% of LGBTQ+ adults ages 45 and older were worried about having to hide their identities to access suitable housing. We should all be thinking about that a little bit more.

As queer men, it’s time to accept that we won’t always look young, and that our looks are not a direct reflection of our worth. This TikTok filter is, frankly, too harsh of a wake-up call — but if we need to laugh till we cry with some form of acceptance, I’m OK with that.

“I don’t like it,” Kylie Jenner says plainly. She flips her hair and stares into the camera, taking in the AI-generated wrinkles that the TikTok aging filter has superimposed on her face. Then, in almost a whisper, she adds: “I don’t like it at all.”

Videos like this one are all over my TikTok feed. Most users gawk, wide-eyed and horrified, as the viral filter generated through artificial intelligence gives their faces sagging jowls, sunken cheeks, deep grooves in the forehead and around the mouth. Like Kylie, most young people trying this filter out do not like what they see. In turn, most of the media response to the filter’s popularity has revolved around dermatology, procedures and potions that could potentially blunt the blow of nature taking its course.

For me, the filter brings up a different kind of discomfort.

I’m not some kind of virtuous exception to modern vanity. I’m 37 and just as shallow as the next person. But when I see this stream of instantly aged-up faces, I’m not really thinking about the aesthetics of wrinkles — I’m thinking about the older faces that I’ll never get to see.

Like the face of my little brother, who died suddenly almost 10 years ago now, at the age of 26. I think about his face, young and frozen in time in my memory, and wonder how it would look at age 60, 70. I think about how I took looking at that face for granted.

I imagine he’d be taking to his mid-30s pretty elegantly. He would’ve finally outgrown his babyish features. His face would show the permanent side effects of all the time spent laughing too hard, furrowing his brow too skeptically at the “Real Housewives,” sleeping with cheek blissfully smashed into his pillow. All the wonderful stuff of life that the skincare experts caution you against experiencing, for the sake of a smooth complexion.

Not everybody gets to grow old, the age filter reminds me.

My brother shed his skin suit so young. Too young. He was supposed to live longer, I feel sure of it, but somehow the wires got crossed. His pain was so heavy, and the drugs were too intense. He checked out too early and missed the complimentary brunch.

If only he could’ve known how tasty it can be to age, to keep on living. If he’d made it to the other side of his struggles, I imagine he’d have earned that look in his eye that I admire so much in people in recovery from addiction. The look that says: I’ve seen the void, and now I’m not taking any of this for granted.

Maybe engaging with our imagined older faces is a good way to remind ourselves that this body we live in, each and every one of us, is destined to be a corpse. No amount of eye cream can change this fact.

I don’t mean to come off as creepy or nihilistic — in fact, I hope to have just the opposite effect. This life is amazing! It’s incredible! It’s for a limited time only! Death doula Alua Arthur puts it simply: “The real gift in being with our mortality is the sheer wonder that we live at all.”

We have so little time here. It’ll take your breath away if you stop to think about how short the time truly is. An average lifespan is about 4,700 weeks. How many weeks have you rushed through blindly? I’ve rushed through practically my entire summer for no real reason at all other than general anxiety and dread at world events.

Meanwhile, my beloved old dog gets even older. My crow’s feet deepen. My time left with my loved ones clicks downward. And I’m supposed to channel this ambient sense of loss into chemical peels? There’s something so unsatisfying about the fact that our public dialogue about aging begins and ends with fine-line prevention.

Instead of obsessing over active ingredients, wouldn’t it be amazing to talk about what aging really means to us? Our fears, pains and aspirations? Wouldn’t it be incredible if we could learn to aspire toward age as we grapple with our impermanence? This still feels far away, but I think we’re getting closer. Even Barbie is thinking about dying these days.

We won’t wake up some morning and be forced to confront our drastically aged face all at once. It’ll happen slowly, over time, and only if we’re very, very lucky. I’m hoping that once I’m 70, I’ll be too up to my eyeballs in love and happiness to think about it at all.

As for the age filter, plenty of people on TikTok have moved past the initial shock and settled into something like acceptance. One ongoing bit on the app features millennials and Gen Zers using the filter while explaining things like AOL Instant Messenger, Raya and Four Seasons Total Landscaping to their imagined future grandkids. Others, like Amy Poehler, simply put the filter on and smile serenely, with a caption that says: “May I be so lucky.” Aging is a privilege, the adage goes.

While I go through my own skincare routine in front of the mirror, I sometimes look for my brother in my face. I peer closely for the traits we shared. Yep, there’s his squat nose, his Chiclets teeth, his thin, bowed upper lip. But my face also shows the signs of the last decade of aging. The grooves are subtle but they’re permanent now, visible even when my face is still, like dry little riverbeds.

My first reaction is, of course, panic. But while I cringe at my crow’s feet, it helps to remember how lucky I feel to be getting older, even if that means watching the signs of a well-lived life increasingly show up on my face.

What I wouldn’t give to have the pleasure of watching my brother get older, too.

Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we’re looking for here and send us a pitch.

As crucial as our brains are to our ability to function, they don’t get nearly the attention that certain muscle groups (or even wrinkles) do. Unless we’re dealing with a serious condition, most of us don’t experience symptoms of cognitive decline until after midlife.

But brain care is self-care. Just like you brush your teeth to avoid a root canal and wear sunscreen to protect your skin, giving your noggin the TLC it deserves sooner rather than later is the best way to keep it functioning at its peak.

“It’s going to help your heart, protect you from other diseases, make you more connected to other people and more upbeat,” Dr. Gary Small, a geriatric psychiatrist, professor at the University of California, Los Angeles and author of “The Memory Bible,” told HuffPost. “You’re going to live longer and better. Who doesn’t want that?”

Whether you’re in your 20s or 60s, here are five expert-backed habits you can adopt to give your brain a leg-up:

Consistent physical exercise is one of the best things you can do for your brain health. But you don’t have to be a triathlete to reap the benefits. Research has shown that older adults who frequently engaged in “leisure walking” were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who didn’t.

While getting your steps in can help keep your mind sharp, Smalls has a hack for getting even more cognitive juice out of your strolls: Invite a friend.

“The triple threat against Alzheimer’s disease is to take a walk with a friend. You get the aerobic exercise that’s going to help your brain, the mental stimulation of a conversation, and ― if [your friend] is empathic ― you can talk about anything that’s bothering you.”

That combination of physical exercise, social connection and stress reduction is a potent brain-booster. Whether you set a weekly walk date with a friend or call loved ones every time you hit the pavement, your brain will thank you for the company.

Stress is the enemy of healthy brain functioning. Science has long determined that exposure to chronic stress can damage the hippocampus and impair our memory. Since life isn’t getting any less stressful anytime soon, Smalls said a good tool to combat anxiety and worry is a regular meditation practice.

“My team at UCLA did studies where they found that just 10 minutes of meditation not only improved your mood but improved your cognitive function,” he explained. “You don’t have to take a vow of silence for a month at some retreat. Just a little bit of meditation each day can make a big difference.”

The style or method of meditation doesn’t matter as much as your consistency. Find something you like ― guided visualizations, mantra chanting, simple breathing exercises ― and make actively reducing stress a part of your daily routine.

Being a cynic isn’t just bad for your mood. It’s bad for your brain, too. Studies indicate that repetitive negative thinking is a potential marker for an increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline. Training yourself to find the silver lining by practicing gratitude can be a powerful antidote, but shifting your mindset isn’t easy. Pairing this habit with another brain-friendly practice, like writing by hand, can be a powerful one-two punch.

Jessica Fredericksen, the brain health program manager at the not-for-profit senior living and health care organization Goodwin Living, told HuffPost that writing by hand works the prefrontal cortex ― the part of the brain responsible for memory and recall. Repetitive exercises like reading aloud, simple math and writing by hand keep that part of your brain sharp.

Not a fan of journaling? Try writing letters to loved ones as another way to work your brain by combining the power of penmanship with social engagement.

“We don’t really write letters anymore,” Fredericksen said. “But a lot of people love getting mail. You obviously have that brain health activity of physically writing, but you also get that socialization and stress reduction. It’s really a positive thing to write to someone and connect.”

Sleep plays a crucial role in how well our brains function. Dr. Daniel Rifkin, medical director of the Sleep Medicine Centers of Western New York and founder of the virtual sleep care network Ognomy, explained that while we’re drifting off to dreamland, our brains are hard at work consolidating memories and clearing toxins that build up when we’re awake.

“Our bodies have a lymphatic system that clears all the yucky stuff, but the brain doesn’t have that. It has sinuses where blood and cerebrospinal fluid flow through. [Researchers] discovered that when we sleep, there are certain brain cells that will shrink and swell to allow that cerebrospinal fluid to drain more easily and clear all the junk that we left in our brains during the day.”

This discovery has led Rifkin and other researchers to believe that the link between sleep deprivation and Alzheimer’s disease has a lot to do with not giving your brain enough time to clear out those toxins. Even getting just one hour less of the recommended amount of sleep every night increases your risk of dementia.

The best way to combat sleep deprivation? Keep a consistent bedtime that allows for at least seven hours of sleep.

Learning is another key piece to healthy brain functioning. But picking up a new language or skill isn’t the only way to get the job done. If you really want to keep your brain on its toes, Frederickson recommends any social hobby that has a physical component. Whether it’s joining a yoga studio, taking a ballroom dancing course or playing pickup basketball with your friends, any activity that combines physicality, learning and social engagement is a guaranteed brain-booster.

“You’re learning something new, you’re getting physical exercise and you’re meeting new people,” she said. “We have some seniors who do senior parkour, so the possibilities are really endless.”

Humans are social creatures by nature, and research continues to back up the idea that relationships are good for our brains. One study found that meaningful social engagement with friends, family members and even strangers can reduce the loss of gray matter (the brain tissue responsible for normal day-to-day functioning) and associated cognitive decline.

So if you’re limited in what you can do physically, Frederickson said to opt for any hobby that combines learning and social interaction. Playing bridge and mah-jongg, for example, can be just as stimulating for the mind as joining a kickball team.

Improving your brain health doesn’t have to mean overhauling your life. The most important part is finding activities that you genuinely enjoy and can stick with. Integrating a few brain-friendly habits can make all the difference in how well your brain operates today, tomorrow and years down the road.

To many, Botox is a controversial topic. Plenty of questions surround the potential use of the injections: How much Botox is too much Botox? Who are the best doctors? Should a physician assistant be allowed to administer the injections? Are other products preferable?

Perhaps most common, though, are queries about the best age to start the injections, if you’re interested. Some believe that, once one’s skin starts sagging, it’s already too late for Botox to properly work. Others assume that “preventative Botox” is a myth.

To get the facts, we reached out to board-certified dermatologists and plastic surgeons, asking when is the ideal age to start getting Botox, especially when trying to maximize results.

Short for botulinum neurotoxin, Botox injections use a toxin to limit muscle movement for a limited time. By preventing targeted muscles from moving and completely relaxing them, the substance basically smooths out wrinkles when applied to the face.

Interestingly enough, the first use of Botox was unrelated to cosmetic matters.

“Botox was actually isolated almost 100 years ago and it was originally used to treat spasms around the eyes,” explained Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Gary Motykie. “Doctors were using it to treat people medically and they started noticing that the patients were looking younger, so at one point companies started looking into other benefits of the injections. Nowadays, people don’t realize that Botox is used for many disorders like spasms, migraines, muscle disorders, vocal cord issues, bladder problems and more. It has a lot of medical uses other than cosmetic ones.”

It is cosmetic uses, though, that have propelled Botox into the popular cultural canon, making it “one of the most common nonsurgical cosmetic procedures” in the world, according to the University of California San Francisco, with an estimated 11 million people having used it at least once.

In the noninvasive surgical world, the most popular targeted area is, according to experts, the face.

“Between the eyes is the most common place to get Botox,” said New York dermatologist Dr. Leah Ansell. “It opens up your eyes. The second most common place is the forehead for wrinkles. Then there are other ‘special areas’ that people treat, like where your nose scrunches by the eyes above your lip and the angles of the jaw.”

No matter the target, the goal of the procedure is to smooth out skin creases, and not necessarily to prevent them from appearing in the first place.

“There is not one age to start Botox,” Ansell said. “It varies on the individual. Specifically, when you start to see lines that are etched at rest — meaning they are there even when you are not raising your forehead or smiling, but just staring right ahead — it means it’s time to consider starting light Botox.”

Motykie has a similar view. “The ideal age to start Botox is when you are starting to show signs of aging,” he said. “That is usually in your late 30s and early 40s.”

Genetics can also play a factor.

“I tell patients to look at their relatives,” Ansell said. “If those adults in their 50s, 60s and 70s have a lot of sun damage or a lot of wrinkles, that may happen to you as well. There are a lot of genetics at play here, so knowing what your skin type is can help.”

Speaking of sun damage, the doctors we contacted all were adamant about the importance of sun protection, both for health reasons and in order to stave off wrinkles — and therefore the use of Botox.

“The most important thing you could tell someone with respect to wrinkling and aging is to avoid the sun,” said Miami-based plastic surgeon Dr. Carlos Wolf. “Wear sunscreen, use antioxidants and hyaluronic acid to moisturize the skin. You have to be careful as the sun is what makes you look older.”

“We’re seeing a trend as potential Botox patients are becoming younger and younger, and I’m not a huge fan of that,” Motykie said. “Traditionally, the majority of those interested were in their 40s and 50s as they were starting to show signs of aging, but now it’s becoming more mainstream” at younger ages.

Plenty of factors contribute to the trend, especially our reliance on social media and all things visual. We place so much importance on pictures and the look of things that it’s only natural to turn the lens toward ourselves. We are the subjects of our own selfies, after all.

Also, given the popularity of the injections, folks seem to have become at ease with the idea of getting Botox. People think everyone is signing up for the procedure, so why shouldn’t they try it?

As medical professionals noted, though, getting Botox in your early 20s when it’s rare to have wrinkles might not be the wisest idea.