SOLISSEA'S CORNER: Cultivating Middle Age Wisely: Health

Death is surely inevitable, but I do believe you can live far longer than the average life expectancy, which, in the US, is around 78. Genetics may play a role, but is NOT the final determining factor for whether you'll live a long healthy life.

Barring an accident, your lifestyle has everything to do with your longevity. It's already been established that diet can override genetic predispositions for disease, for example, so don't fall into the trap of believing your health and longevity is somehow the inevitable result of what's in your gene pool.

~Dr. Joseph Mercola, If You Want to Age Gracefully - Don't Eat This

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For me, it is not about living longer, it is about living the years we are given well.

I had such a difficult time writing this blog because there is so much information out there to share about middle age and health. I could regurgitate facts and figures, statistics and percentages, but the bottom line is we all know by now what to do as far as diet and exercise to promote, foster and refine our health. It is just a matter of getting motivated to do the things we already know to do.

I believe the quote above in all its simplicity says it all: Take care of your body, it's the only place you have to live! So, whether you end up in a nursing home or living independently at home, your body is your primary residence and, as such, should be given high priority. We cannot stop the decline, but we can do our part to live well the years we are given.

WAKE UP CALL

Researchers at the University of Michigan and the RAND Corp. analyzed information from the 1997 to 2007 National Health Interview Survey and found that more than 40 percent of people ages 50 to 64 reported having difficulty doing one of nine physical functions, such as stooping, standing for two hours, walking a quarter mile or climbing 10 steps without resting. The study, published in the April edition of the journal Health Affairs, also found that some middle-aged respondents - less than 2 percent, but growing - need help with personal care activities. Those include getting out of bed, using the toilet and shopping for groceries.

The national study didn't pinpoint a root cause of the increase in disabilities among middle-aged people, but local health care providers list these as the biggest reasons: obesity, sedentary lifestyles and lack of preventive medical care.

There really is no one formula that fits all. Every person has their own set of health issues to contend with determined by genetics and lifestyle. Personally, I made a commitment to myself when I turned 45, that I would enter the next decade as healthy as possible. I am not a dieter, but I did alter both my eating habits and exercise regimen and a little over one year later I am in the best shape of my life. I call it, the

MIDDLE AGE EX-FACTOR!

EX-AMINE YOURSELF

What are your health issues both current and what may be forthcoming through the glorious gene pool? Heart disease? Diabetes? Joint/bone issues? Hypertension? Identify your issues and educate yourself on the causes and cures. At the very least, you can minimize their effect on your aging with a little effort on your part. Do not compare yourself to others - you are unique. Your goal should be optimal health for you and it may not include or even look like someone else's level of optimal health. You have to take care of you. Knowledge is power. Empower yourself to change the course of your health!

EX-ERCISE

Like it or not, our bodies were created for movement! If they were not, we wouldn't have been given movable parts! Of the four leading causes of premature aging and death (obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol), all of them can be minimized if not eliminated altogether simply through exercise. A good program of aerobic exercise and strength/resistance training will do wonders for your body at this age. You don't have to train for a marathon (unless you want to) but you should be able to do enough to help your body protect itself from a fall or injury. Additionally, if an unexpected health event such as heart attack or stroke should happen, your recovery success will depend largely on your overall health condition prior to the event. Consider improving your current health as a preventative measure!

EX-PECT RESULTS

Do not buy into the belief that once the middle age spread or decline begins, there is nothing you can do about it. You can lose weight. You can minimize or eliminate any internal health issues. If you require medicine, take it! But don't stop looking for healthy alternatives. The most important element of changing and maintaining your health is: don't give up! If you you try something and it doesn't work, try something else! If you enter middle age with some type of structural injury (back, knees, neck, etc.) then you just have to be more creative with your choices, but optimal health is still possible.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT...

One of the greatest factors to negatively impact middle-aged health is stress.

Stress exists as a way for our bodies to cope with outside circumstances (“stressors”) and is generally considered a good thing, as long as it doesn’t get out of hand. This season of life brings with it some serious mental and emotional stressors: aging parents, economic issues, retirement concerns, your childrens' futures, death of peers and older relatives, friends, etc. Stress is going to happen. It's up to you to not let it get out of control to such a degree that it deteriorates your overall health.

If you play a violin, you have to put stress on the strings in order to make music. Just the right amount of stress will cause the violin to make beautiful music. Too much stress on the strings will not only sound awful, but will eventually cause the strings to snap.

Your body and mind are the instruments in the symphony called life. Find the healthy balance so that stress doesn't overcome you. Hardship happens, but if we can find the methods of dealing with it, then we can speak the same words the apostle Paul did, lo those many, many years ago...

We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed - always carrying in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the LIFE of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:8-10

By expanding your mind through knowledge, stretching and strengthening your muscles through exercise and using life to exercise your faith, you will be fit as a fiddle (pun most definitely intended) to handle anything middle age can toss your way!

Now get out there and make some beautiful music with your LIFE!