Going to Mexico, Exercise , and Eating

Linda and I just returned home after a seven day cruise in the Mexican Riviera.  The two ports of call included Cabo San Lucas and Porta Varata.  It has been sometime since I was on a cruise, and even longer in visiting those two places.  My, have these communities expanded.  It was hard to believe that they are the same places.

What I did remember from previous cruises is the amount of food available.  With that being said, of the 3600 passengers, a high proportion was overweight.  I cannot remember from earlier cruises if the same is true.  I was pleased that the exercise facility had different equipment. I made sure that I was a daily visitor. My exercise regime included little over an hour on the treadmill, and working on upper body and core with the various machines and free weights. I also made sure to walk the stairs when navigating the various levels of the ship. It was also good to see passengers of different age levels, body types, and levels of fitness working out.

Previously, I listed reasons to exercise found in the book “Stopping the Clock”. Additional reasons include: 1. Helps alleviate back pain 2.  Improves mental alertness and reaction time 3.  Improves physical appearance 4.  Improves self-esteem 5.  Decreases resting heart rate 6.  Helps in  relaxation  7.Helps prevent and relieve the stresses that cause carpal tunnel syndrome 8.  Helps relieve constipation 9.  Protects against “creeping obesity.”-slow weight gain that occurs with age.

According to the authors Goldman and Klatz, “people who are physically fit, eat a healthy, balanced diet, and take nutritional supplements, can measure out to be 10 to 20 years biologically younger than their chronological age.”   Do you know anyone who does not want to be biologically younger?  Being biologically younger, I think is a good thing. This does not mean that we are going to live forever, but it does mean that we will likely be free from mental and physical disease, and degeneration for years longer than an unhealthy individual.  Exercise is a necessary component in the equation. 

"Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits."– Thomas A. Edison

Anti-Aging,Exercise,Rejuvenation,and Indian Code of Ethics

More from Klatz and Goldman’s “Stopping the Clock” the first book that I read about anti-aging and rejuvenation.  Yesterday, I presented 15 reasons to exercise.  Today, because exercise is the closest thing to an anti-aging pill that exists, I am listing more reasons to exercise from their terrific book.  Additional reasons include:

1.       Helps improve short-term memory

2.      Sharpen  dynamic vision and controls glaucoma

3.      Reduces risk of developing type 2- non insulin dependent diabetes

4.      Reduces anxiety

5.      Assists in quitting smoking

6.      Slows the rate of joint degeneration-osteoarthritis

7.      Enhances sexual desire, performance and satisfaction

8.      Helps in the management of stress

9.      Improves quality of sleep

10.  Reduces risk of developing colon cancer

11.  Reduces risk of developing prostate cancer

12.  Reduces risk of developing breast cancer

13.  Reduces risk of developing stroke

14.  Reduces susceptibility to coronary  thrombosis-a clot in the artery that supplies the heart with blood

15.  Helps alleviate depression

Goldman and Klatz have given 30 good reasons for exercise.  Additional reasons to follow.  If you are not exercising, I am sure that you will eventually find some reasons to exercise.  If you are exercising, hats off to you. Remember, even if you exercised when younger, it is like that pill because you have to continue to do it to reap the benefits.

Now,  for “Indian Code of Ethics” however, I am unable to quote the source.

1.       Each morning when you wake and each evening before sleeping, give thanks for life, for the good things the Creator has given you and others, and the opportunity to grow a little more each day.  Give thanks for yesterday’s thoughts and actions and for the courage and strength to be a better person.

2.      Respect: respect means “to feel or show honor or esteem for someone or something; to consider the well-being of, or treat someone or something with courtesy.”  Showing respect is a basic law of life.

a. treat every person, infant to elder with respect at all times

b.special respect should be given to elders, parents, teachers, and community leaders

C. do not touch anything that belongs to someone else-especially sacred objects without permission or an understanding between you

D, do not make anyone feel “put down” by you; avoid hurting others hearts as you would avoid the deadly poison

E. speak in a soft voice especially when you are with elders, strangers, or others who should be respected

F. never walks between people who are having a conversation

G. show deep respect for the beliefs and religions of others

H. listen with courtesy to what others say, even if you feel what they are saying is worthless

More to follow.Take all that is relevant.

I received this pass out from a continuing education class “The Psychology of Aging” back in 2003. Stay tuned.

"One day in retrospect the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful."– Sigmund Freud

LDL,Atherosclerosis,Triglycerides,and Exercise

What Happens to Your Body after a Big Meal is the title of an article in the Wall Street Journal dated November 22, 2011? Because everyone absorbs fats, sugars, and nutrients differently, the variations provide clues about heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Even “healthy” individuals or bodies function less efficiently (cells that line the blood vessels) after a high – fat meal.  Unfortunately, after, a high fat meal, LDL (bad cholesterol), gets into artery walls to form plaques. As you know, plaques block blood flow and can rupture, which leads to heart attack or stroke, which is called atherosclerosis.  The triglycerides (a type of fat) generally peak after a big meal and are also converted by the body from other nutrients like carbohydrates.  These triglycerides are particularly problematic because they are good at penetrating the arterial wall.

Recent medical studies found that testing for elevated triglycerides after eating is a good predictor of future heart attacks.  For example triglyceride counts after eating were an accurate predictor of stroke in women.  You probably will not be surprised to learn that high levels of triglycerides are probably early warning signs for diabetes. A professor in Japan suggests that reducing the amount of “fat meals “can minimize this negative impact on the blood-vessel cells.   Fish and nuts   are commonly considered healthier sources of nutrients, and do not appear to cause the same spike in triglycerides.  These foods may even bring down triglyceride levels.  Also, eating smaller amounts of food more frequently is better than eating large meals.

Other ways to deal with or reduce your triglycerides and LDL levels: 1.Take a 30 minute stroll or more vigorous physical activity the day before a high-fat meal. 2.   Eat a healthy breakfast to boost metabolism. 3.  Avoid snacks .4.  After the fat meal take a leisurely walk, skip the late-night leftovers and then get back to regular meal sizes and schedules.

 For the good news, exercise induces a number of cellular responses that can last as long as 48 hours.  If you have not started an exercise program, you might consider the “slog” the slow jog. Remember, we are only talking about 15 to 30 minutes a day before the big meal.  Surely you can fit that in your busy schedule. One way to simplify this process is to begin doing a 15 to 30 minute daily slog.  Begin this for a month to establish your base.    The holidays can be a good excuse for you to begin your change. Once you establish a base, and I bet you can, and then you will be in a good position to begin the New Year differently, so that you can better to yourself.

 I will be doing a book signing tomorrow at the Placer County Farm Supply, from 12 to 2, location 10120 Ophir Rd. in Newcastle, California.   E-mail placerfs @ foothill.net.  I will look for you tomorrow.  Prior to the book signing, a group of us are going to do a trail run.  I like to get my run in early in the day, if I can. The following quote from Bertoit Brecht is right on and pertinent to this blog.    "None will improve your lot if you yourself do not."– Bertoit Brecht

Exercise, Aging,Mind Body , and Well Being

We must dare to think "unthinkable" thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world."– James William Fulbright

Aging has many advantages, especially if you are healthy.  For me, being healthy is a key component.  If you have your health, you have a fortune.  If you do not have your health, then you are poor.  So it is important to do your best to stay healthy.

Eating the right foods is one component for better health.  And we know food labels are misleading, as well as the information contained on menus. Buyer beware.  Likely, if we ate more fruits and vegetables and had less fat, in our diets, we would be healthier.

Health and foods were issues growing up, in my family, as my father was a diabetic.  He had juvenile diabetes and injected himself daily with insulin.  I remember him attempting to regulate his blood sugar. It seemed that he was either drinking orange juice and/or giving himself an injection of insulin on a frequent basis. On one hand he would complain about food that was not good for him and on the other hand, at times, would eat something that was not good for him. He talked about the curse of diabetes, and his fate.  Being knowledgeable about the disease, he knew his future, which was terrible to say the least. He was right about it too.

My father had frequent hospitalizations for a variety of ailments and I visited him many times in the hospital.  Growing up during his awful illness, during my adolescence, I turned to weightlifting.  Psychologically, I was defending against being weak and/or ill.  It is clear that my emphasis on health and wellness is related to my upbringing and family situation.  Even today, I want to maintain strength and wellness and continue to work at it.  Being healthy and strong is an important goal.

I must admit that focusing on being strong, healthy, and fit has served me well during my aging.  It certainly has contributed positively to my well-being. I also like to be around people who share the same value of fitness. Being able to run with Secretariat has resulted in many benefits.  Aside from the obvious health and competitive pluses, my affiliative, emotional, and intellectual needs get met as well.  I am able to present an idea to him, and I expect his input in return.  I am pleased that he complies with his opinion.

For me, aging and exercise has been a good thing. The October 3, 2011, Time magazine had an article that suggested that exercise can help teens quit smoking. This West Virginia study  ,with teenagers ,found that by adding exercise to a traditional smoking cessation program had remarkable results in as little as 10 weeks. Exercise is good for teens too.  Isn’t it amazing that exercise has been linked to so many benefits regarding health?  If you are not yet there, now’s the time to begin.

LDL,Plant Based Fat and Protein,and Exercise

"A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work."– John Lubbock

Low density lipoprotein or LDL is referred to as the bad cholesterol. This LDL is associated with heart disease and was the topic of the study by Iris Shai, a clinical researcher, who evaluated food quality versus total fat quantity. The participants in the study were instructed to eat either a diet low in saturated fat or add to their diets plant-based foods. They found that eating more plant-based fat and protein lowered   cholesterol more than eating a diet low in saturated fat.

So it seems that replacing sources of saturated fat such as red meat and dairy products with sources of healthy fats like nuts and soy products has greater benefits. Also, the LDL benefit might be the greater for people with poor diets. Dr. David Jenkins suggests   swapping veggie burgers for hamburgers or soy milk for dairy milk. Other examples of plant-based fat and protein to consider include: 1. Plant sterol enriched margarine; 2. Peanuts and tree nuts; 3. Soy milk, tofu and soy meat products; 4. Oats, barley and other sticky or viscous fibers. Who needs statin drugs? This article was found in the Wall Street Journal August 24, 2011.

In the August 29, 2011 issue of Time, there was a research article that stated “15 minutes of daily exercise is associated with a 14% lower risk of death and an increase in life expectancy of three years”. There were 400,000 people in this study from Taiwan and they were followed for 8.5 years.  Just think of all those lucky people who exercised for 15 minutes a day.

Also, scientists have now developed a system that ranks obesity on a five-point scale. The more serious a person’s health complications as a result of obesity such as diabetes and high blood pressure and organ damage the higher the scale score. On a scoring system those individuals who scored a two or above   were  1.5  times  more likely to die quicker than those scoring zero or one on this scale . In other words it’s   possible to identify or predict those most likely to die quicker from weight related causes utilizing the scale. Are you interested in finding out your score? If you are, consult the Edmonton Obesity Staging System.

It is becoming clear that the further we deviate from being a caveman or a hunter and gatherer, the more likely we will be in the need for medical treatment. Lack of physical activity and eating processed foods are contributing to a very unhealthy society.

 Current research suggests that we don’t have to be ultra-athletes to satisfy  the exercise component. I remember back when I was in public school and we had mandatory PE. That class was somewhere around 60 minutes in length and was five days a week. There were not a whole lot of overweight or obese kids when I was in school.  Well, I know that exercise is only part of the story; however it is a very important part. Consider increasing time spent in a physical activity. Maybe incorporate the findings in the study conducted in Taiwan and start with 15 minutes a day. Who knows it may change your life? I ran on the trail today and so can you.