Health is the most important aspect of aging to address and can be the hardest.
1. Find a good primary care physician (PCR) or gerontologist. Maybe you had someone great whom you trusted for years and s/he retired or left your area. I had two who were terrific. Then they were gone. They haven't been replaced easily because PCPs are a rare commodity now. The reason is Medicare and other insurance that reimburses much less for PCPs than for specialists. A friend, a dermatologist, told me it is hard to make a living as a PCP in my state. My podiatrist told me the same thing, adding that state insurance commissions set reimbursement rates. We live now in both our northern state and Florida. It was hard to find someone adequate. Many physicians are becoming concierge. For a fee of $2500- $4,000 you can hire a physician who will be accessible on short notice. Accessible doesn't mean better. Just better than Urgent Care or the ER.
2. Avoid falls. They can be life altering, indeed life shattering. Everyone my age has had falls. Everyone. Recently, a very energetic friend (walker, right weight, healthy eater) was Christmas shopping and tripped in the mall, fell flat on her face. The consequence: hematoma behind her eye with possibly post-concussive syndrome and two bones broken in her nose. There can be a cascade of other symptoms after a medical event like falling happens. My friend has fatigue, and now has a UTI and other problems, went to the ER twice at night in the past ten days. Another friend who has limited vision missed an outdoor step at a friend's home and ended up with broken bones. She is still not OK. Broken bones take longer to heal when we are older. A third friend last year came into her kitchen after gardening. Her shoes were wet and she skidded across the kitchen floor, hitting her head on the granite counter and lying in a crumpled mass until her son (who is divorced, moved in with her) came home from work. She now has disabling back pain. It goes on. I recently was discussing falls with an old college friend who is out of state. She said, I've had three falls in the past year. After the third, I decided I'd better get serious about avoiding falls. Acting on a hunch, I asked her if all these falls were outside. She said yes. I suspect that outside means unfamiliar walking territory and maybe distractions that make us more prone to falls.
3. Do some exercise, avoid alcohol and try to eat healthy. No brainer. Do what you can. I have a friend who is disciplined and walks through our "up north" neighborhood doing 10,000 steps. Two other neighbors, equally disciplined, do the same route, dividing it into two 5,000 step walks - morning and night. I'm not that disciplined, I walk the dog, she sniffs, I saunter but it is something. Find a routine and time you can live with. I see neighbors walking past my condo at 7 a.m. No way am I doing that before my third cup of coffee! The alcohol issue is important. We metabolize alcohol slower/differently and losing our balance after drinking can lead, of course, to falls. Eating healthy for me is avoiding sweets (don't keep them in the house) and cutting down on portion size. I still need to lose that ten lbs I've had forever!!!
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