In November we covered pandemic illness, which seemed on the verge of becoming a reality in April, when we began hearing about swine flu. After, swine flu became something of a joke, as it never really seemed to take flight.
Actually, the virus never went away, and is expected to have a surge during the normal flu season. This gradual build-up is useful, because it allows time for a vaccine to be developed, which should become available in mid-October (it will be a separate vaccine from the usual yearly flu shot).
The usual precautions will still apply, about covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze and cough and washing your hands (preferably, cover with your arm, or you will probably not be able to wash your hands frequently enough). Added to that is a precaution to stay away from crowds and to get the vaccination, and a strong plea that if you do come down with any strain of influenza that you stay home and quit passing it around. You can find more information at http://www.flu.oregon.gov/.
Those steps can be very important, but instead I want to focus on maintaining your overall health. A body that you treat well is better able to fight disease, both before and after infection. A body well cared for will feel better and live longer. Despite this, we often ignore some of the most basic aspects of self-care.
In the August 19th “YOU Docs” column in The Oregonian, a reader wrote saying that his doctor had told him to eat healthier and exercise, but he wasn’t sure exactly what that meant. The advice was related specifically to preventing cancer and heart issues, but is good for general health as well. The docs advised four things that anyone can start doing today.
1.) Walk thirty minutes a day. There are certainly experts who recommend more frequent and more intense exercises, but, walking thirty minutes a day is something anyone can do. It does not require a gym membership, equipment, or even a significant investment in time.
2.) Call a buddy and report that you have done it. Maybe add to this by buying a pedometer and reporting step counts, aiming for over 10,000 steps a day. Having someone who knows your goal increases your sense of accountability.
3.) After three weeks, start doing strengthening exercises for the muscle groups in your backs, abdominals, and legs. Do these for ten minutes, three times a week. This may seem more complicated than the walking part, as you worry about which exercises to do, correct form, and a possible need to buy equipment. However, there is lots of information out there, there are exercises that can be done at home, and exercises that can be done without equipment, and also, you will have built confidence and stamina by getting three weeks of walking exercises under your belt. You will be ready for a new challenge.
4.) To eat healthier, they recommended avoiding all four-legged fats, along with palm and coconut oil, eating only whole grains, and eating nine fistfuls of fruits and vegetables a day. Why fistfuls? So there is no ambiguity about figuring out a serving.
This last piece of advice may seem extreme. After all, four-legged animals and refined grains are delicious. However, there are some echoes in there (every fruit in the season thereof…flesh also of the beasts…are to be used sparingly…All grain is ordained for the use of man…) that may make it worth at least giving these ideas a second look.
For other ideas on maintaining good health, it is interesting to take a look at the Real Age test (http://www.realage.com/). This test determines your biological age based on questions about your lifestyle. If you are living the bare basics of the Word of Wisdom (specifically not smoking or drinking), and regularly attending church, this will automatically lower your biological age, perhaps compensating for some other unhealthy practices. Having good friends and relationships makes you younger and healthier, perhaps providing an extra benefit to having that workout buddy. In general, going over the questions can lead to some interesting thoughts.
When one of my friends took it many years ago, he was surprised to be asked about flossing. Now they just ask about the existence of various dental conditions, like peridontitis, gingivitis, or dentures, but the point is that there is a connection between dental health and overall health, particularly with cardiovascular health and cholesterol. The connection is not fully understood—it may just be that having healthy gums eliminates an easy point of infection—but it should certainly be extra motivation for brushing and flossing.
There are areas over which you will have no control. Your ethnic background and your family medical history does have an impact on your health, and cannot be changed. However, knowing now what issues are more likely allows you to plan ahead and take extra steps for prevention. Higher incomes tend to correlate with better health, but changing your income level is tricky, and can have a lot of obstacles. Managing stress is important, but some people find that very difficult.
Still, there are plenty of things that you can do that are relatively easy, from avoiding speeding to taking vitamins. Even if at the beginning all you are doing is walking for fifteen minutes a day and eating one fistful of fruit, it is a start. If that is better than the day before, it is still something.
Various studies have shown health benefits to marriage, especially happy marriages, and especially for males. So next month we return to our three part series on “Preparing for marriage” with part two, “Preparing to date”. Perhaps it would be good to find some stress-handling strategies between now and then.
