| Am I Captain of My Ship? By some estimates, about twenty-five percent of a person’s health and longevity is due to their genetics. The rest is usually determined by lifestyle and environment. In essence, genetics is not necessarily our destiny. The extent to which genes are turned on or off is often within our control. One patient in his mid 80’s remains in good health despite the odds against him for developing heart disease. His father and three brothers all died in their mid-50s from chronic heart conditions. What has given this man 30 extra years and quite likely many more years to come? The difference was that one man took a path less traveled in our culture and that difference in lifestyle made all the difference. What follows are thoughts about navigating life as captain of your ship. Perhaps one or more of these ideas will remind you of a course adjustment you have been considering. • If a vegetable isn't in season, grab a frozen bag of it for the same nutritional value. Vegetables have a great flavor but may need some help if you haven’t cultivated a taste for them. To bridge the distance between toleration and enjoyment, try mixing in some more familiar flavors. Often leftovers that would not be enough for a dinner can be easily extended by mixing in tastier leftovers or perhaps a couple of spoonfuls of your favorite condensed soup. Almost all tastes are learned from repeatedly trying a food. • Laughter is great medicine. Because laughter is contagious (the good kind) you get more from it when enjoyed with others. For my well being, I like to read comics in the newspaper. No one is without an endless supply of good humor if they have access to websites like YouTube. Find a way to have a good laugh each day and you will be healthier for it. Laughter helps reduce stress, boost the immune system, improve blood flow to the brain and reduce pain. Although laughter is no substitute for exercise, laughter is believed to have many of the same positive effect on blood vessels. • While surfing the web alone and watching videos may entertain you there is a downside if it becomes a frequent solo activity that isolates you from others. Being alone too much can weaken the immune system, raise risk for hypertension, and increase the risk for heart attacks and stroke. In contrast, having strong ties to friends and family lowers your risk. While face to face social interaction provides the best benefit, video chat and Facebook friends can still be beneficial. • Activities that stimulate our mind are good for us. Reading rates well in this regard. Books seem to provide the most benefit with newspapers and magazines a close second. A half-hour a day of reading is a beneficial dose. After 30 minutes it’s best to get moving. Sitting too long diminishes the health benefit. • Know what to do if there is a fire in your home. Most underestimate how fast a fire can envelop their home. Most importantly, check the battery in your smoke detector. If your smoke detector is over ten years old, it’s time to replace it. If you have a gas or wood burning stove, check the status of your carbon monoxide monitors. While you are at it, check the radon level in your home with an inexpensive test kit from the County Extension Agent. • Find ways to work a little physical activity into the day. Often this means avoiding the easy way. Take the stairs instead of the elevators. Park in the last parking place so you get to walk further. As a bonus, your car will age more slowly and so will you. Even better for your car, it will get far fewer door dings when parked farther from other cars. • There is no pill that comes close to all the healthful advantages exercise can provide. Just 10 minutes of brisk walking a day makes a difference. If needed, start slow and build up to 20-30 minutes a day. • Eat whole grains. Just be aware that few products claiming whole grains are actually the real thing. Real whole grains look are seeds and that’s what they should look like. Once milled, they take other forms like cut oats and flour. The problem is that each stage of milling raises the glycemic index. Cooking with the real thing is fun. Try them all - wheat oats, quinoa, barley, etc. Say you’ve never seen a wheat berry? Maybe it’s time get adventurous. • Cutting your portion size helps you lose weight, live longer and enjoy those years with a higher quality of life. The simple fact is this, if you want to reach 100, putting down the fork is probably the most important factor. Cutting back calories reduces cholesterol, blood pressure, and insulin resistance. If cutting portion size has been difficult, it’s likely that you still have too many addictive foods about you. If you shift meals to whole foods you will find cutting portions easier. While the typical grocery store has tens of thousands of products only a few outside of the produce department qualify as whole foods. Most have been engineered to encourage overeating by using additives that are addictive (added sugar, highly refined carbohydrates, flavor enhancers, salt, etc.) • Eating a few nuts (8 almonds or 6 cashews) each day can lower the mortality risk for heart disease by 29 percent, respiratory disease by 24 percent and cancer by 11 percent according to a study of people aged 55-65. Eating larger qualities of nuts tended to cause weight gain and negate the health benefit. Always weigh nuts before eating them. One ounce of nuts will have between 160 and 200 calories. Best become familiar with how many nuts and seed make an ounce or else overeating is near guaranteed. • Reserve pain medications for severe pain, and use the lowest possible dose for the shortest amount of time. Regular use of painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen (including Advil, Motrin, and Aleve) may raise your risk of heart attack and stroke. All medications have side effects and over the counter medications are no different. Always make sure your doctor knows what over the counter medications you are using. • Don’t wait for annual checkups to address new health concerns. By then, a small problem could have morphed into a life-threatening illness. In one study, researchers found that less than 60 percent of people who developed unusual symptoms in the previous three months had seen a doctor including symptoms that might point to cancer, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, etc. Nancy Neighbors, MD Huntsville, Alabama |