Protein? Yes, Protein

You absolutely need to pay attention to your daily protein intake. Why? Because you are losing muscle mass at an alarming rate, even while you are reading this article, unless you are doing something about it. You should aim for about 50 grams of protein per day, as a rough guideline. In addition to the protein, make sure you are doing some resistance training (that ugly word, EXERCISE) several times each week. If not, one day you may pick up your prescription bottle and not have the strength to open it. Read your food product labels and become familiar with the protein per serving, as well as the sugars and cholesterols. Did you know that two of the least expensive protein sources are peanut butter (1.8 cents per gram) and chicken (also 1.8 cents per gram)? I often start my day with peanut butter on whole wheat bread with some Smart Balance. That is a good breakfast and quick to prepare. Not much protein though, so I try to be aware of other protein meals and snacks during the day as well. As an alternative, if we have some leftover cooked chicken (43 grams of protein per cup), I might just eat a piece of that along with some fruit juice. On those days, I don't need to worry much about additional protein. Men generally require more protein than women, but lifestyle does need to be considered. For the average adult male, about 56 grams per day. Women, about 46 grams per day.

In recent years it has become common for those striving to lose weight to substitute protein drinks for meals, and if you are sensible about it, that's just fine. But don't substitute all your meals for the day, or several days of actual, chewable food for a tasty chocolate or strawberry protein shake. You may lose weight, but you may not like the other possible consequences. You can overload your system with protein and suffer the consequences of insufficient fiber and nutrients required to keep your digestive system functioning smoothly. If weight loss is your goal, be prepared to lose weight slowly and safely. That way, the weight you take off is more likely to STAY off. and please don't be fooled by all the infomercials telling you that you can just take some very expensive pill and lose all the weight you want without exercise. There is no substitute for proper diet and adequate exercise...period.

Thoughts about Vaccines and Disease

I would really like to start a discussion here concerning vaccines and the possible connection to diseases. There has been much published online regarding the connection between certain epidemics and the vaccines administered to prevent them actually CAUSING outbreaks. I believe that this preponderance of evidence, some from proven experts in epidemiology or medical research, must be considered before you submit yourself to another needle. For my part I am focusing on just what I need to do to keep my immune system in peak condition. Among those necessary things are: adequate hydration, adequate rest, proper nutrition and adequate physical activity (yes, that means exercise). Let me just point out one additional thing I'm frankly just learning about. Adequate oxygenation. One way to boost your serum oxygen levels is through aerobic exercise, but you can also do it by self-administered hydrogen peroxide in distilled water. Someone is now heavily promoting a book called The One Minute Cure (because it takes just a minute to prepare it), but I'm not involved with that, nor am I against buying it. I just think that a little diligent online research on the subject will produce enough information so that you can discuss it with your doctor. I even found a detailed chart concerning how much to use and how often, and from what I can determine, that's basically what this book wants to sell you. In any case, I've already begun to treat myself to this therapy and I will post updates here. There is documentation about treatment of many conditions with hydrogen peroxide, especially in conjunction with liquid vitamin C in an intravenous application to treat certain cancers. Laboratory testing has proven that cancer cells cannot survive in an oxygen rich environment. It is not such a great leap to the conclusion that increasing the oxygen levels available to your cells might have some beneficial effect. I'm not a doctor, I do not give medical advice, and I encourage you to discuss ANY changes you might consider in your lifestyle, including supplements, exercise, or alternative therapies, with your health care provider.

If you would like know what URL's I have on file for some of this information, e-mail me and I will share them.

Are you a Writer, Programmer, Coder, Transcriptionist?

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Has it REALLY been that long?

I found myself last fall getting very busy at work, very busy at home, and just too busy to keep up with all the many writing projects I had set for myself. In addition to maintaining a steady stream of writing for several blogs, I had some projects I wanted to get done around the house and yard before winter set in. So I just had to step back and consider what plates I could keep in the air and which ones to let crash to the ground. This blog was one of the early casualties of my busy schedule, but I'm quite happy to see that it is still just sitting here dormant, waiting for a little attention from me.

I want to update you briefly on my current situation, and maybe some of you will benefit from the information. Sine the focus here is on wellness after 50, I want to bring you information primarily about STAYING healthy as we age. But from time to time, despite our best efforts, the aging process does rear its ugly head and something simply goes wrong. That was the case at the end of the year, and the early weeks of 2009. In the coming days I will set aside some time to talk about a new little situation I'm learning to deal with, and perhaps we can exchange some information about it. I have spinal stenosis and foraminal stenosis in my cervical spine (neck) and upper back. It grabbed my complete attention while we were visiting family in Virginia, and for several days I could think of little else. But now, with the help of a combination of very powerful drugs, I'm doing quite well. Look for this article to post here by next weekend.
Meanwhile, please contact me by e-mail. I enjoy hearing from each of you and so far I've been able to answer all the messages. I'm hope to be taking on some paid writing assignments this fall, but I will try to do a better job of keeping this blog update n a regular basis too.
Meanwhile, if you or anyone you know is experiencing back pain, or any other chronic pain, please visit my website - http://backpaincomfort.com You can get a totally FREE Stretching Handbook on that site that might help relieve or even prevent back pain.