How to live longer and enjoy yourself more

Only 19 more days until we get some blessed relief from truly deep, bipartisan, political dudgeon, the worst in many years. Even friends and family are at each other’s throat. But politicians come and go, and the truth is that America is strong enough to survive a watch with either party at the helm. So let’s talk about something that really matters – your health.

All the experts agree – there are two major knobs you can turn to improve your health, sense of wellbeing, and longevity: diet and exercise. Let’s look at physical activity first.

While some of us are already physically active from choice (exercise, competition) or necessity (work), many are not. The New York Times reports a fascinating study of Finnish identical twins who differed significantly, in later life, in exercise activity. Genetics, early life and upbringing were all similar. It was only in later life that one twin exercised and the other did not.

“It turned out that these genetically identical twins looked surprisingly different beneath the skin and skull. The sedentary twins had lower endurance capacities, higher body fat percentages, and signs of insulin resistance, signaling the onset of metabolic problems. The twins’ brains also were unalike. The active twins had significantly more grey matter than the sedentary twins, especially in areas of the brain involved in motor control and coordination.”

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offer the following benefits of a non-sedentary lifestyle:

• ·         Control weight
• ·         Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease
• ·         Reduce risk for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
• ·         Reduce risk of some cancers
• ·         Strengthen bones and muscles
• ·         Improve mental health and mood
• ·         Improve ability to do daily activities and prevent falls
• ·         Increase chances of living longer

Further, the amount of exercise to achieve these benefits is not extreme. The CDC recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week (less than 25 minutes per day), and some muscle strengthening exercise at least twice per week.

Moderate exercise may include any of the following:

• ·         Walking briskly (3 miles per hour or faster, but not race-walking)
• ·         Water aerobics
• ·         Bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour
• ·         Tennis (doubles)
• ·         Ballroom dancing
• ·         General gardening

But a very easy way to incorporate more activity into your life is to embrace a more physical daily routine.

• ·         Park as far from the mall as possible and walk; eschew the closest parking space
• ·         Walk to your corner store for sundries
• ·         Shovel your driveway of moderate snowfalls
• ·         Replace your lawnmower with a non-driven walk-behind
• ·         Take the stairs whenever possible

All of this counts toward your 150 minute weekly goal.

The other major knob within your control is diet. Here are the key recommendations from the American Heart Association. Your diet should emphasize:

• ·         a variety of fruits and vegetables,
• ·         whole grains,
• ·         low-fat dairy products,
• ·         skinless poultry and fish
• ·         nuts and legumes
• ·         non-tropical vegetable oils

Ensuring that you are getting adequate dietary fiber is extremely important. One very easy rule of thumb comes from Harvard Health. When purchasing food items, quickly check the nutrition label. Locate two numbers: total carbohydrates and dietary fiber. Select the food only if dietary fiber is at least 10% of total carbohydrates. They offer this simple method: Divide the grams of carbohydrates by 10. If the grams of fiber is at least as large as the answer, the food meets the 10% standard.

Here are some examples of food you would or would not purchase based on this approach:

• ·         Whole Wheat Spaghetti – Yes
• ·         Standard (white) pasta – No

• ·         Fiber One Chewy Bars – Yes
• ·         Typical granola bar – No

• ·         Shredded wheat cereal – Yes
• ·         Any sugary cereal – No

• ·         Smartfood popcorn – Yes
• ·         Most potato chips – No

Further, you can look up the nutrition information of home-prepared foods using the web. Here is another choice that might surprise you:

• ·         Baked potato with skin on (dressed like a salad with olive oil and vinegar) - Yes
• ·         Mashed potatoes prepared with milk and butter - No

In all the foregoing is the implicit message that we must eat less meat. The healthiest peoples of the world eat meat occasionally as a treat, not a daily staple.

In conclusion, a crash diet isn’t going to help you. An unused gym membership is worthless. To be effective, you must mold for yourself a healthy lifestyle.

Exercise takes time. That is your investment, but the payoff is huge. If woven into your daily routine, it is not so difficult nor noticeable.

Here is to you and a long, healthy life. After all, we will need to last at least one more election cycle in hopes of getting better choices. 

A Healthy, Happy Life in Spite of Media Hype

It is sad how we respond to media-generated hype and hysteria.

The 24 x 7 news void demands to be filled, and by golly, they do indeed fill it. 

Why a police chase ending in a rollover blocking the 405 south of Los Angeles is pertinent, we don’t know. But we are compelled to watch the gripping video. Ask a hard question – is the news you watch mostly useful, or is it mostly entertainment? 

Remember that the networks and cable news outlets are driven by a chase for revenue. The news arms of the majors (ABC, CBS, NBC) and the cable networks – CNN, MSNBC, Fox News – all are competing to keep your eyes glued to their particular screen.  The stories they feature are not primarily designed to make you a better citizen, or to keep you safe, but rather to maximize their advertising revenue. 

Take, for example, the stereotypical “stranger-danger” child kidnapping. As a media maven, one would think that these events have gone through the roof. Children are no longer permitted to walk to school or play alone because of such dangers. A child kidnapping in far-off Atlanta or Houston is emblazoned on our screens, not to help recover the child, but as a ploy to keep you watching the commercials.

To the contrary, a recent Department of Justice bulletin reports that such child kidnappings have not increased. The study found that approximately 105 child kidnappings occurred nationwide in 2011, about the same as in 1997. And more importantly, the number of deaths resulting from such events fell dramatically, from 40 percent to 8 percent. (The authors of the study credit technology – cell phones, GPS, security cameras – for making kids easier to recover). Bottom line – kids are safer now than ever.

This one example gives us some guidance – as a citizen, as a voter, as a parent, our best defense is to be well armed with relevant information. Our government does a great job of gathering and publishing statistics, and it is free for you to access.

For instance, here are the leading causes of death in the United States for 2014 from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

A quick glance at the big top four should convince you that diet and exercise and a healthy lifestyle should be your highest priority. 

Next is to take care to avoid accidents (unintentional falls being a significant portion of them).

Not much can be done yet to avoid Alzheimer’s disease although general good health, diet, and exercise are thought to help, along with maintaining strong social interactions.

Numbers seven through nine again speak to health, nutrition, and lifestyle.

Drug overdose and suicide are both very sad causes of death, perhaps interrelated. All we can do there is to support our loved ones and call for increased funding for rehabilitation and mental health programs. 

Finally to the most dangerous form of transportation known to man – our cars. Help is on the horizon with autonomous (self-driving) cars promising to greatly increase safety. In the meantime, you can take care to buckle up and don't drive under the influence (one third of motor vehicle fatalities involve alcohol-impaired drivers).

Not on the list but top of mind recently is homicide. The death rate for all homicides is 5.1 per 100,000 people. (Interestingly, that rate has declined over 50% from a high of 10.4 in 1980). Death by firearm is a fraction of that, 3.5 per 100,000. And unless you live in a drug-infested urban enclave, your odds of meeting this particular fate are exceedingly low.

Here are a few observations that may contribute to the length and quality of your life. First, shut off the cable news – it is not serving your best interests. Read your local newspaper – what is going on around you is far more important. And for goodness sake, put down that cheeseburger and go for a hike once in a while. 

The statistics demand it.