Protecting Your Health As You Age

 

As we grow older protecting your health becomes more of a concern and it is not a good idea to depend solely on conventional medicine or the hope that your genetic background will protect you from most of the ravages of old age according to Dr. John Briffa in his book Food for Health. In it he warns that conventional medicine accounts for only 10 percent of overall health while genetics accounts for only another 20 percent. While lifestyle, including what we eat and physical activity accounts for a whopping 50 percent.

This is because the human body is continually renewing itself . Each day cells and tissues in our body are wearing out to be replaced by new tissues and biochemical processes. According to nutritionists such as Dr. Briffa some 98 percent of our bodies are replaced this way each year.

With this in mind it becomes crystal clear that proper exercise and especially a good diet are going to play huge roles in our health as we grow older and there are things we should keep in mind when selecting Some of the things that we should keep in mind in order to protect our health include:

 

• Eating for Energy
  
• Eating for a Healthy Heart
  
• Eating for Digestive Health
  
• Eating for Weight Control
  
• Eating for Immune Health
  

 

These are some of the pointers he includes in his book which is very well illustrated and easy to understand.

The are all things that top Olympian athletes do and we should be following their example if we really want to enjoy our "golden years".

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lessons from the Olympics

Lessons From The Olympics

The  2010 Winer Olympics in Vancouver BC  are still pretty exciting despite the problems with rain, rain, and more rain instead of snow  and there are many life lessons to be learned from both the organizers, their staff, and the competitors themselves.

The  around the clock efforts before and during the games by Vanoc staff  to protect what snow there was from melting away  as well trucking in snow for runs on Cypress Bowl in the North Shore Mountains just north of Vancouver are lessons in not giving up in the face of adversity. While they have not ended up with ideal runs and some events have had to be cancelled still their efforts have enabled the games to  go on.

Rather than being  critical  of their efforts  we should follow their examples in finding ways  to cope  when things suddenly  go wrong. 


Remember Murphy's Law?  This is a perfect example of that -- and also of how to respond to it. This is truly an Olympics within an Olympics.


Then there are the many lessons taught by the competitors themselves through their examples of dedication to achieving their athletic goals through proper nutrition,  and exercise programs as well as mental visualization techniques that many of these athletes use to put themselves in the proper frame of mind for success.


These are things  the rest of us would do well to practice in our daily lives whatever our business or social goals are -- not only to protect our mental and physical health but also to achieve success.

Protect Yourself From Epidemic of Dementia and Diabetes

According to two Vancouver Sun features Canadians are getting ominously close to the brink of major dementia and diabetes epidemics – but there are two things you can do to protect yourself.
 
The first article , "Canada must act to reduce impact of dementia, study warns" by Andrew Duffy on January 4, 2010 warns right now some 500,000 Canadian are suffering with dementia. 

In the article Richard Nakoneczny, president of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, said, : If we do nothing dementia will have a crippling effect on Canadian families, our health care system and economy." It is already costing some A$18 billion a year according to Duffy. 

The governments are still struggling to formulate some country-wide plan of attack on this disease with doctors and doctors ill-trained to diagnose and treat the disease which slowly robs victims of brain function including memory, personality and independence. 

Eventually some form of national treatment plan will hopefully be created by the combined efforts of the Alzheimer Society of Canada and the different federal and provincial health agencies, but you can do much to protect yourself from becoming another Alzheimer statistic by becoming more active –especially if you are 65 or over. This builds brain health and could help protect you from this terrible disease in your retirement years.

The second Vancouver Sun health feature "Diabetes rising: the quiet disease is about to get much louder" by Margaret Munro on October 10, 2009 presents some disturbing statistics such as the fact that while the recent H1N1 epidemic killed 78 Canadian diabetes is responsible for 40,000 Canadian deaths every year.

Munro says, "....it tends to sneak up on people as it numbs nerves in the feet, damages retinal cells in the eyes, clogs the cardiovascular system, cuts circulation and destroys tiny filters in the kidneys." 

It is also sneaking up on the health care and economic systems; its currently costs some $17 billion each year and doctors fear it could get much worse as most Canadian continue with "sedentary lifestyles and poor eating habits". 

As a result the epidemic is escalating has surged to 2.3 million in the past decade and each year 200,000 more persons succumb to this disease. 

But you do not have to be among this number if you just shun the fast foods in favour of nutritional organic foods and spend just 30 minutes a day doing some brisk walking; this would reduce the likelihood of you developing this disease by 50 per cent.

The key to building and protecting your health into old age is to find some physical activity that you really enjoy and will work at according to another Vancouver Sun Chantel Eustace in her feature on January 4, 2010 which featured the advice of Ironman triathlete and author of the book Thrive Fitness, Brendan Brazier. 

He stresses the importance of a sport or activity such as dancing that you love, and a good nutritious diet.