103 David Cravit and Larry Wolf. Default-Ager or Super-Ager. Which are You?
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Release Date: 05/22/2026
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Could difficulty hearing conversations today affect your brain health, independence and quality of life in the years ahead? Hearing loss is often treated as a minor inconvenience of growing older, yet it can affect communication, relationships, social connection, confidence and independence. In this episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with hearing-health advocate and author Robert “Bob” Keefer, MD, about the association between hearing loss and cognitive decline, why so many people delay seeking help for hearing deficits and what questions to ask before choosing a hearing-care provider....
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Health care professionals emphasize optimizing cholesterol, blood sugar and hormone levels and from that assessing biological age. These measurements can provide useful information, but do they tell us whether the body is still resilient, adaptable and capable of recovering from illness, injury or stress? In this episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch and Dr. Sean Fletch explore the difference between moving a laboratory number into the desired range, and addressing the upstream conditions that caused it to change. Dr. Fletch reframes healthspan as more than the number of years lived...
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What does a physician-scientist actually do each day to support her own healthy aging? This is a question Dr. Gillian Lockitch hears often. Her answer is not a prescription, a shopping list or a collection of fashionable biohacks. Healthy longevity is personal: our genetics, health histories, medications, priorities and goals differ, so the most useful routine is one designed for the individual. In this solo episode, Dr. Gillian organizes her approach around the seven pillars of healthy longevity described in her book, Growing Older, Living Younger. She explains how epigenetics offers a more...
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Could retirement actually become the beginning of your most meaningful work? In this personal solo episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch shares how spinal surgery, ballroom dancing, entrepreneurship and podcasting transformed her understanding of healthy longevity. You’ll discover why curiosity, consistency and a renewed sense of purpose can help you remain mentally sharp, physically engaged and excited about the future at any age. For most of her professional life, Dr. Gillian Lockitch was a physician, medical biochemist, researcher, university professor and department head. She expected...
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What helps people stay active, strong, and independent as they age—luck, genetics, or habits built years earlier? In this episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with Carl Daikeler, co-founder and CEO of BODi, about why healthy longevity is rooted in consistency: regular movement, supportive nutrition, and the discipline to care for your body before a health crisis forces the issue. Carl shares his personal story of discovering a congenital heart block at age 59, receiving a pacemaker, and using that experience to deepen his commitment to healthspan...
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What if the path to healthy longevity lies not in choosing between ancient healing traditions and modern science, but in learning how to integrate both? In this episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with Dr. Mao Shing Ni—38th-generation doctor of Chinese medicine, co-founder of Tao of Wellness, and author of Secrets of Longevity—about how Traditional Chinese Medicine can complement modern approaches to healthspan optimization. Dr. Mao explains the foundational principles of Chinese medicine, including balance, the five elemental systems, and the links between organ function,...
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How does our immune system change as we age, and what role can vaccines play in supporting healthy longevity? In this informative episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch welcomes physician, healthcare executive, and medical writer Dr. Michael Myers for a thoughtful, evidence-based discussion about immunosenescence—the age-related decline of immune function—and its implications for healthy aging. Together they explore how vaccines work, why vaccine recommendations evolve throughout life, and the importance of understanding both the science and the uncertainties...
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What role does muscle strength play in healthy aging, longevity, and independence? In this episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with Jeanne Phares about why maintaining and building muscle becomes increasingly important for women during and after menopause. Drawing on her personal experience as a leukemia survivor and decades of strength training, Jeanne explains the connections between muscle mass, metabolism, bone health, resilience, and recovery. Listeners will learn practical strategies for strength training, nutrition, and lifestyle habits that support vitality...
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THIS FLASHBACK FRIDAY EPISODE OF GROWING OLDER LIVING YOUNGER focuses on the impact of low carbohydrate and ketogenic nutrition on health and aging well. Today’s Featured Expert is Anne Mullens, an award winning Canadian journalist and author specializing in Health and Science Writing, At a time when the twin hazards of diabetes and obesity are so prevalent in our society that we say that there is a diabesity epidemic, we are bombarded with discordant messages about what, when, and how to eat, to stay healthy and age gracefully. A goal of this podcast is to cut through the noise and provide...
info_outlineGrowing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Is chronic pain really an inevitable part of aging—or could it be a warning sign that deeper imbalances are affecting your healthspan, mobility, and quality of life? In this episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with physical therapist, registered nurse, educator, and functional wellness expert,Stacey Roberts, about the root causes of chronic pain and why conventional treatments often focus on symptom relief instead of true healing. Stacey explains how chronic inflammation, food sensitivities, hormone imbalance, gut health issues, biomechanics, and lifestyle...
info_outlineFlashBack Friday THIS EPISODE OF GROWING OLDER LIVING YOUNGER focuses on super aging - how to help transform longer lifespan into longer healthspan via 7 A Pillars of longevity.
Today’s Featured Experts are David Cravit and Larry Wolf, co-authors of “ SuperAging: Getting Older Without Getting Old - A Boomers Guide to living well after 65.
We discuss the 7 A’s of the Pillars of Superaging, how default aging has been the - well- default, for past generations and continues to be for many today. And how social, cultural, political, and economic forces oppose living younger longer.
Episode Timeline
0:11 Introduction to SuperAging
4:04 How did the idea for the book come about?
8:19 Defining default-aging and super-aging, and the forces underlying them
14:11 The 7 A Pillars of Super Aging.
20:10 Attitude and awareness: the two core pillars
27:47 Pillars 3 to 7 of SuperAging (Accomplishment, Achievement, Autonomy, Attachment, Avoidance)
30:50 Social, cultural, political, and economic drivers that oppose super aging.
33:34 Insidious issues about superaging: ageism, economic fears
38:50 An independent individual needs to take responsibility for their own lives.
45:57 How to make sense of the tsunami of information and misinformation flooding our media platforms
50: 53 Larry and David’s takeaways from today’s episode.
Speaker Bios:
David Cravit earned his BA in Political Science and Economics from the University of Toronto. He is author of two previous books on the subject of aging. The New Old," which described how the Baby Boomers are reinventing aging, and "Beyond Age Rage," which examined the so-called “war of the generations” . David is an executive at ZoomerMedia, the only media company in Canada specializing in covering the “older” market. He is also a member of the Board of C.A.R.P., the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, the largest and most influential association advocating for the rights and interests of Canadians as they age.
Larry Wolf has a BA in Psychology from Cornell University, and an MBA in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Larry is the founder of the Wolf Group, an international marketing communications agency with over 300 employees in seven cities throughout North America. Larry has served on a number of boards, including the National Advertising Review Board, the Huntsman program in international studies at the University of Pennsylvania, the Eye Research Institute of Canada, and has chaired the Canadian Glaucoma Research Society. His special expertise is in identifying trends and understanding how to capitalize on them.
Learn more about the work of David Cravit and Larry Wolf here.
Link to the book SuperAging: Getting Older Without Getting Old,
https://superaging.info/about-3/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dcravit/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-wolf-15a18a10/
Io get your copy of Growing Older Living Younger: The Science of Aging Gracefully and The Art of Retiring Comfortably click here
Email: Dr. Gill at askdrgill@gmail.com
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