10 more ways to stay healthy....

Today's post: Monday, 9-29-2008

Yesterday Parade magazine was in our Sunday paper.

They had an article titled “8 ways to stay healthy.”

We’ve posted on some of these 8 ways here. But some very promising ways, we have not posted on. And, two are very timely this time of year, in early fall.

So, I include these 8 ways here with my own comments. And, I add two of the several others I think are most important as the ninth and tenth ways.

1. Give blood.

Many health professionals have said that men and post menopausal women who give blood, avoid having excessive iron in their blood which would otherwise cause excessive oxidation of their blood lipids, particularly LDL or the cells of the lining of their blood vessels, the epithelium. Since such oxidation is a direct cause of cardiovascular disease, it does sound like giving blood is a good idea.

But the Parade article had some startling news. That may be the less important reason to give blood as a way to protect your health. Dr. Mark Liponis who wrote the article said that a recent long term Scandinavian study of blood donors found that not only did they have a lower incidence of liver, lung, colon, stomach, and throat cancer, than nondonors, those who donated most had the lowest levels of these cancers.

It’s possible that the underlying cause is that the people who gave blood and did it the most were least likely to smoke or socialize with people who do.

But, these lower rates of cancer might be a direct effect of giving blood. And, since giving blood is also a service to other people and helps prevent cardiovascular disease, you might want to consider doing it yourself.

2. Wash your hands.

Dr. Liponis mentions a study that found the people who washed their hands regularly got half the pneumonia & diarrhea that people did who didn’t wash their hands. I’ll add that people who wash their hands also tend to get half the colds & cases of the flu.

So, this is good time of year to remember to wash your hands regularly as it’s the start of the cold and flu season.

A related idea is to keep a handkerchief or Kleenex or a roll of toilet paper on your person or at your desk. Then, when you want to clear gunk out of your nose or the corners of your eyes, only let the surface of the clean cloth or tissue touch directly. Since touching these parts of you with your fingers is one of the ways you catch colds and flu, doing that will cut your risk of it by as much as another half again.

Together, these two parts of this tip can cut your chances of getting colds, cases of the flu, and pneumonia by as much as 75 percent this cold and flu season.

3. Get your shots.

You can also cut your chances of getting the flu by at least another 50 percent and make the cases you still might get shorter and less harsh by getting a flu shot this fall. They will be widely available for free or low cost in just a few days or a week or two.

In addition, you can cut your chances of getting pneumonia by more than 50 percent by getting the pneumonia vaccine if you haven’t already done so. (The pneumonia vaccine prevents something like 80 percent of the kinds of pneumonia caused by bacteria. And, the protection lasts at least five years.) That can be lifesaving in addition to avoiding the discomfort of being sick.

4. Try to avoid using antibiotics.

When you do have a life threatening infection or one that could go that way, you want to make sure the antibiotic you take will do the job. But, if you have taken antibiotics when your doctor said they were unnecessary, not only might that make some bacteria grow resistant to those antibiotics in general, it may well make the bacteria IN YOU resistant to that antibiotic or others like it.

Oops! That can be a deadly, bad idea. So don’t do it.

A related point is to eat vegetarian protein such as beans, lentils, nuts and wild caught fish and grass fed beef instead of farmed fish and grain fed beef and pork. Animals overfed grain in pens and farmed fish are often routinely dosed with antibiotics to prevent them from getting sick or when they get sick, when wild caught fish never get antibiotics and grass fed cattle rarely do.

Why pay money for something that causes overuse of antibiotics when it can be avoided?

(It also helps that beans, lentils, nuts and wild caught fish and grass fed beef are MUCH better for you otherwise than farmed fish and grain fed beef and pork.)

5. Consider driving less & ALWAYS wear your seat belt.

If you drive 20 percent fewer miles, you not only save money on fuel and wear and tear on your car, you cut your chances of death and injury in a car accident by 20 percent.

Two related points.

Try very hard NOT to drive between 10 PM and 4 AM. That’s when other drivers are most likely to be driving drunk or to be falling asleep at the wheel. So try to avoid driving during those hours.

It’s even more important to ALWAYS wear your seatbelt. The short trips, “to the store” and the like are so common, most of the risk you experience happens on these, short common trips.
And, since the speeds are often relatively low, wearing your seat belt can often allow you to walk away from accidents—with NO injuries at all from accidents that would injure you, put you in the hospital, or kill you. And, they do just that for thousands of people every year.

NEVER say or think, “I’m just going to the store.” – and leave off your seat belt. Simply make it an automatic habit to always wear yours by putting it on every time you sit down in a car or truck.

6. Get enough sleep.

Do your very best to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, 6 at the very least, and take short naps when you need them if you possibly can. And, try to always sleep the same hours. You’ll be less stressed. You’ll think better. You’ll be less fat. You’ll be less likely to be in an accident. You’ll be sick less often. And, your health will be better.

It’s often not easy. But it can be done. It can help a lot to never have a TV in your bedroom and to hardly ever watch the late news or other late night programs on TV.

7. Eat wild caught fish that is low in mercury at least twice a week if you possibly can.

Farmed fish are actually bad for you to eat. And, most people today ingest too little omega 3 oils. Wild caught fish and some seafoods, such as oysters, are high in it. You can also take DHA supplements that get that omega 3 oil from the same algae the fish do &/or take purified fish oil supplements.

Doing this and cutting back on refined grains and oils such as soy and corn that are high in omega 6 oils has many health benefits, particularly for your heart and lowering inflammation.

8. Get checked regularly.

Get the recommended tests for people of your age and sex. Doing this can catch problems early when they can be fixed or cured.

And, be sure to get your key blood indicators of health checked regularly, every year or every 6 months, and know what levels are desirable and what levels are dangerous. Then take appropriate action if your tests are too high or too low for good health.

This can help enable you to prevent heart disease, stroke, and type II diabetes. And, the health habits it often motivates you to take up can even prevent many cancers.

9. Stop eating or drinking stuff that harms your health.

Stop eating commercial desserts and snacks and other packaged foods that contain mostly refined grains, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and excessive amounts of salt – or artificial sweeteners. Not drinking soft drinks, eating foods with refined grains, and not ingesting anything with high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated vegetable oils ( transfats) is particularly important.

Many people still eating or drinking tons of this stuff daily. As a result, they tend to be fat and prone to heart disease, strokes, and type II diabetes and many other avoidable illnesses.

Why not vote the other way and eat and drink mostly things that BENEFIT your health instead?

10. Get regular exercise.

It prevents diseases. It has been proved to help you live longer. It prevents many kinds of disability that can ruin your quality of life.

And, it makes you trimmer, stronger, and more able to handle physical challenges when you need to.

Regular exercise has even been shown to grow new brain cells, help you think better, and improves the sex lives of both men and women.

None of these effects is theory. Repeated studies confirm them often.

So, be sure to get regular exercise every week even if it’s just some short walks several times a week.