Here is a link that one of the readers shared with me. Just take some time to explore. It is a real eye-opener!!
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
What's Past Is Prolog
With each passing year, we can look back at what we have done to shape our future. We will become whatever we have set ourselves up to become, whether that is active and healthy, or sedentary and unhealthy. Please don't tell yourself the lie that you are too busy to do the things that will keep you active and healthy well into your "golden years". If you are too sedentary now, those years may not be so golden. They may have you functioning like a rusty hinge: not too smoothly, and not without loud groans of protest. So what will you make time for today?
In order to just maintain our present level of mobility, we MUST do what we CAN do. If you can climb a flight of stairs, then by all means you would be well advised to skip the elevator and climb that flight of stairs. If you can walk for 30 or 45 minutes at a fairly brisk pace, then you better make time to walk. You do not need to train for Olympic events, or try to set some age group distance record. Just discipline yourself to stay active now, so that five or ten, or twenty years from now you can still be active.
I have taken time to talk with many people in the course of the last ten years who are now disabled in one way or another. Some are no longer able to work and live on a disability income. Others work part time, or even full time with constant pain because they need the income. It is sad just how many of those people were very inactive for twenty or thirty years before they became disabled, and not a few of them now believe that at least some of their present health issues directly relate to that sedentary lifestyle. Those who were sedentary by choice for most of their adult life are now forced to be sedentary by declining health. It is because of those people that I began this blog and it is because of them that I made a firm commitment to myself to stay as active as possible right now.
Some of the folks I was referring to in the last paragraph became disabled thru some sudden accident or illness over which they had no control at all. But those who were active before then, often were the same ones who worked hardest at achieving whatever recovery was possible, and have again found ways to be active within their current limits. So even they have benefitted from staying in motion. I know this is a misuse of this law of physics, but I think you will agree that it seems to apply: bodies in motion tend to stay in motion. Humans who are active tend to remain active. So, what will you do today in order to have a better tomorrow?
In order to just maintain our present level of mobility, we MUST do what we CAN do. If you can climb a flight of stairs, then by all means you would be well advised to skip the elevator and climb that flight of stairs. If you can walk for 30 or 45 minutes at a fairly brisk pace, then you better make time to walk. You do not need to train for Olympic events, or try to set some age group distance record. Just discipline yourself to stay active now, so that five or ten, or twenty years from now you can still be active.
I have taken time to talk with many people in the course of the last ten years who are now disabled in one way or another. Some are no longer able to work and live on a disability income. Others work part time, or even full time with constant pain because they need the income. It is sad just how many of those people were very inactive for twenty or thirty years before they became disabled, and not a few of them now believe that at least some of their present health issues directly relate to that sedentary lifestyle. Those who were sedentary by choice for most of their adult life are now forced to be sedentary by declining health. It is because of those people that I began this blog and it is because of them that I made a firm commitment to myself to stay as active as possible right now.
Some of the folks I was referring to in the last paragraph became disabled thru some sudden accident or illness over which they had no control at all. But those who were active before then, often were the same ones who worked hardest at achieving whatever recovery was possible, and have again found ways to be active within their current limits. So even they have benefitted from staying in motion. I know this is a misuse of this law of physics, but I think you will agree that it seems to apply: bodies in motion tend to stay in motion. Humans who are active tend to remain active. So, what will you do today in order to have a better tomorrow?
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Low fat? High protein? Whats the deal?
There is a surprising shift in the health care community concerning just how we should go about achieving, and maintaining, our healthiest natural weight. We've been told for decades that in order to lose weight, we had to cut way back on the fat in our diet, right? And to gain weight, load up on the complex carbs and protein, right? Well, maybe that just doesn't work for most people.
You see, our body must have sufficient fat in order to metabolize vitamins and minerals from our food intake. It must have fat in order to function. So what happens when we cut way back on our fat intake? the body say "Uh oh, hard times are coming! we're not getting enough fat. I better start storing up as much as I can, just in case." So we reduce our fat intake and GAIN weight. Now, I'm not advocating that anyone should eat a bunch of fat. Moderation is always a safe rule to follow. And we certainly don't want any trans fats in our diet at all. But don't sabotage your weight loss efforts by cutting too much fat from your diet. Monitor your results closely in two or three week intervals. If you've cut back on fat, modified the rest of your diet, and are exercising regularly, at least three times a week of vigorous exercise, and you are GAINING instead of LOSING, maybe you need a bit more fat. (This could be in one of several forms, including things like fatty fish, rich with Omega3 oils) At the same time, make sure you are taking in more protein than usual. I sometimes drink a protein shake in the morning, or eat a bit of leftover chicken or fish instead of a more typical breakfast. My normal routine though is to eat some peanut butter on whole wheat bread using Smart Balance spread in lieu of butter (absolutely NEVER eat margarine! See my article on trans fats - visit http://thenew50.blogspot.com/ and look in the 2007 archive for DIABETES TYPE II.)
In summary, a lot of what we've been told turns out to be bad advice when it comes to weight loss. Keep yourself informed, and don't count on your doctor to know any more than you do when it comes to weight loss. Do your own research before you discuss it with your doctor. Get his opinion first, then see how it fits with what you have learned. Might make for a really worthwhile discussion.
You see, our body must have sufficient fat in order to metabolize vitamins and minerals from our food intake. It must have fat in order to function. So what happens when we cut way back on our fat intake? the body say "Uh oh, hard times are coming! we're not getting enough fat. I better start storing up as much as I can, just in case." So we reduce our fat intake and GAIN weight. Now, I'm not advocating that anyone should eat a bunch of fat. Moderation is always a safe rule to follow. And we certainly don't want any trans fats in our diet at all. But don't sabotage your weight loss efforts by cutting too much fat from your diet. Monitor your results closely in two or three week intervals. If you've cut back on fat, modified the rest of your diet, and are exercising regularly, at least three times a week of vigorous exercise, and you are GAINING instead of LOSING, maybe you need a bit more fat. (This could be in one of several forms, including things like fatty fish, rich with Omega3 oils) At the same time, make sure you are taking in more protein than usual. I sometimes drink a protein shake in the morning, or eat a bit of leftover chicken or fish instead of a more typical breakfast. My normal routine though is to eat some peanut butter on whole wheat bread using Smart Balance spread in lieu of butter (absolutely NEVER eat margarine! See my article on trans fats - visit http://thenew50.blogspot.com/ and look in the 2007 archive for DIABETES TYPE II.)
In summary, a lot of what we've been told turns out to be bad advice when it comes to weight loss. Keep yourself informed, and don't count on your doctor to know any more than you do when it comes to weight loss. Do your own research before you discuss it with your doctor. Get his opinion first, then see how it fits with what you have learned. Might make for a really worthwhile discussion.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Stress and Strain
I believe that most of the problems each of us face from day to day are problems we create for ourselves. Now that is a pretty shocking statement, but let me explain. Of course I am not referring to the daily "problem" of finding a parking place or a seat on the bus or a table at lunch time, though I could probably even convince you that those are also problems you bring upon yourself. I'm really focusing here on something a bit deeper. Let's say that someone pulls out in front of you in traffic and then they drive like a turtle. You begin to get stressed because you don't really want to drive in the turtle train, and besides you might be late for work. If you are late for work, your boss will be on your case all day because you were late twice last week. Not only that, but if you are late, you will have to park at the far end of the lot and walk about half a mile to get to the building and it looks like rain. And if it rains you are going to get soaked because you have no clue where you left your umbrella. If you get soaked, the client you expect to arrive at 9 am will be paying more attention to your disheveled appearance than your presentation, and you really need this contract because you haven't been doing so well reaching your sales target lately. Taking that three day golfing weekend might not have been such a hot idea, but you really needed the stress relief. Of course, that twinge you got in your back that kept you out two additional days didn't help. Not only that but... well you get the idea. Just go backwards through this whole scenario and you can easily see that it is not that turtle in front of you this morning that is the problem. It is the poor decisions, lack of planning, disorganization, and out of control life that is the problem.
I worked with a young woman a few years ago who found it impossible to get to work on time for our 6am shift. So I adjusted her starting time to 7am to see if that would help her adjust to this new early morning job. She was late for the 7am start three times that week. The following week she was late the first two days for her 8am start time and after that, we had to find a replacement. She was not a bad person. She was productive and pleasant and cooperative. But she managed to be late no matter what her start time was. And every time I discussed this with her she explained how she was just under so much stress. It was not my role to counsel her, but in a friendly way I asked why she was so stressed. Turns out she had just purchased a new travel van, totally tricked out with everything but a hot tub, and had trouble keeping up with the payments, as well as her three children and two dogs. I think the real source of her stress was a long string of bad decisions, but I doubt if she would ever agree.
We have the power to control, prevent or avoid most of the stress that comes at us simply by deciding how we will react to it. Samson and Delilah are an excellent case in point. Delilah kept on asking, begging, nagging for Samson to tell her what she wanted to know. Samson said that she was driving him crazy with her questions. But was she? No, of course not. She was asking, beggin and nagging, but it was Samson who convinced himself that he couldn't stand it. He had the power to ignore her pleadings, to remove himself from her, and there would have been no stress. Why pump all that acid in to your stomach because some turtle gets in front of you? Leave for work 15 minutes earlier, and don't let it bother you at all. YOU have the power. Not that all stress is bad. Resistance makes us stronger. You build literal muscle by lifting weight.
You build endurance by struggling against the hill, or against the wind or the current. You grow stronger emotionally by overcoming difficulties. Welcome the challenges. View them as opportunities for growth. Thrive on that sort of stress. Even positive events in our life produce stress. That is called eustress. The turtle in front of you might cause distress. But that is up to you.
I worked with a young woman a few years ago who found it impossible to get to work on time for our 6am shift. So I adjusted her starting time to 7am to see if that would help her adjust to this new early morning job. She was late for the 7am start three times that week. The following week she was late the first two days for her 8am start time and after that, we had to find a replacement. She was not a bad person. She was productive and pleasant and cooperative. But she managed to be late no matter what her start time was. And every time I discussed this with her she explained how she was just under so much stress. It was not my role to counsel her, but in a friendly way I asked why she was so stressed. Turns out she had just purchased a new travel van, totally tricked out with everything but a hot tub, and had trouble keeping up with the payments, as well as her three children and two dogs. I think the real source of her stress was a long string of bad decisions, but I doubt if she would ever agree.
We have the power to control, prevent or avoid most of the stress that comes at us simply by deciding how we will react to it. Samson and Delilah are an excellent case in point. Delilah kept on asking, begging, nagging for Samson to tell her what she wanted to know. Samson said that she was driving him crazy with her questions. But was she? No, of course not. She was asking, beggin and nagging, but it was Samson who convinced himself that he couldn't stand it. He had the power to ignore her pleadings, to remove himself from her, and there would have been no stress. Why pump all that acid in to your stomach because some turtle gets in front of you? Leave for work 15 minutes earlier, and don't let it bother you at all. YOU have the power. Not that all stress is bad. Resistance makes us stronger. You build literal muscle by lifting weight.
You build endurance by struggling against the hill, or against the wind or the current. You grow stronger emotionally by overcoming difficulties. Welcome the challenges. View them as opportunities for growth. Thrive on that sort of stress. Even positive events in our life produce stress. That is called eustress. The turtle in front of you might cause distress. But that is up to you.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Cholesterol is NOT the enemy!
We've all been running around with these numbers in our brains concerning "good" or "bad" cholesterol, and worried about what was happening to the inside of our arteries. First the confusion was over which is good and which is bad. Then there was a lot of talk about what the ratio between these two numbers should be. We were inundated with pleading public announcements concerning the perils of eating real butter, skin-on chicken, red meat, and lots of other food items. We were encouraged to go on low-fat diets, high-carb diets, cabbage diets, ginger bread diets, beet juice diets, cleansing diets, and on and on and on. We were encouraged to run for our lives, then, sadly, one of the most visible proponents of running died while running. Is it any wonder people are confused?
What concerns me is the tendency we might have to just "tune out" all this noise and do nothing. That would be an unfortunate choice. Cholesterol is something to keep an eye on, low density cholesterol (LDL) is not something you want too much of, the ratio between LDL and HDL may have some value. But really, what's the bottom line? Does anyone really know?
I am going to devote the next few articles on answers to at least some of these issues, to provide the latest, best advice, and to dispel some of the worries. Let me start by saying that moderation in all things is still the absolute best advice to follow concerning anything to do with your present or future wellness. Exercise is definitely good. We were designed for it and thrive because of it. But forget the "no pain, no gain" foolishness. Keep your LDL cholesterol levels in control by whatever means necessary, but don't go overboard on the low fat diets. About 1/3 of the population actually is healthier and feels better with higher levels carbs and fats in their diet. Ask your physician to tell you about simple test that determine what is best for you. Each individual has specific, unique needs. But today I wanted to just touch on what is likely a far more important marker, or indicator, of possible heart disease (CHD). Elevated homocysteine levels consistently and far more reliably predict cardiac problems than HDL and LDL levels. In conjunction with elevated homocysteine levels, those with CHD almost invariably will have reduced vitamin B6 levels in their blood. Everything I've been reading for more than a year now concerning cardiac health points to these two levels as the most significant warning levels for CHD. So next time you visit your doctor for a routine checkup, ask him to run the whole blood panel, and to tell you what he knows about these two substances in the blood, as well as what actions you can take to lower your homocysteine levels. I'll write more on this and other related cardiac health issues in the days ahead. As always, your comments and e-mails are welcome.
What concerns me is the tendency we might have to just "tune out" all this noise and do nothing. That would be an unfortunate choice. Cholesterol is something to keep an eye on, low density cholesterol (LDL) is not something you want too much of, the ratio between LDL and HDL may have some value. But really, what's the bottom line? Does anyone really know?
I am going to devote the next few articles on answers to at least some of these issues, to provide the latest, best advice, and to dispel some of the worries. Let me start by saying that moderation in all things is still the absolute best advice to follow concerning anything to do with your present or future wellness. Exercise is definitely good. We were designed for it and thrive because of it. But forget the "no pain, no gain" foolishness. Keep your LDL cholesterol levels in control by whatever means necessary, but don't go overboard on the low fat diets. About 1/3 of the population actually is healthier and feels better with higher levels carbs and fats in their diet. Ask your physician to tell you about simple test that determine what is best for you. Each individual has specific, unique needs. But today I wanted to just touch on what is likely a far more important marker, or indicator, of possible heart disease (CHD). Elevated homocysteine levels consistently and far more reliably predict cardiac problems than HDL and LDL levels. In conjunction with elevated homocysteine levels, those with CHD almost invariably will have reduced vitamin B6 levels in their blood. Everything I've been reading for more than a year now concerning cardiac health points to these two levels as the most significant warning levels for CHD. So next time you visit your doctor for a routine checkup, ask him to run the whole blood panel, and to tell you what he knows about these two substances in the blood, as well as what actions you can take to lower your homocysteine levels. I'll write more on this and other related cardiac health issues in the days ahead. As always, your comments and e-mails are welcome.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Weight Loss Project
Weight loss - DAY 1
First thing this morning I drank a 16 ounce glass of cold water. No food, no coffee, just water. I then waited at least 45 minutes before my next intake. That was a delicious drink called Green Goodness that is produced by Bolthouse Farms. I am not promoting any particular products on this blog, but I will tell you what I like and why... (To read the entire article, please go to http://thenew50.blogspot.com All weight loss articles from this project will be posted there as they are submitted. Thanks!)
Weight loss - with Juice!
I have been asked several times now about safe but lasting weight loss. This seems to be a very common thread that runs through many of the e-mails I receive. The problem for so many of us is that we have become an "instant" society. We want results, and we want them NOW!!! But weight loss generally can only be accomplished in much the same way that weight gain happens - gradually, over time. If you want to risk your long-term health using risky and often totally unproven over the counter weight loss miracle pills, this blog will not be of interest to you. I am interested in staying healthy, and helping others to do the same, not putting our health at risk. But if you are interested in really losing weight at a steady rate, and keeping it off, I will devote articles over the next three to four weeks on proven methods of doing just that. Since I have recently added a few pounds myself, I have decided to make some serious changes including losing a minimum of 25 pounds. I will keep you posted on what I am doing to accomplish this and provide updates at least once each week on how I'm doing. I hope it will inspire others to do the same. Here's a hint on just how I intend to start: juice. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetable juices. So if you have a juicer, get it out from under all the pots and pans and clean it up and let's get started. My first weight loss article will be published on 1/4/08 and I hope you will join us.If you are willing to provide just a first name and your weight loss goal in pounds in the comment area, we'll try to all keep each other motivated and on target to reach our goals. So, until tomorrow...
Posted by Jack at 4:08 PM 0 comments
Labels: goals, Health, juice, weight loss, wellness.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
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