Health Resolutions you can achieve, Part 2....

Today's Post: Tuesday, 1-5-2010

a) Since I value self-improvement and have a ways to go on some things, I read a few articles about New Year’s Resolutions to see if I could learn any tips that might help me on my two main resolutions.

Wow !! I am so glad I did.

I learned something incredibly valuable I had no clue was so.

At least according to the stories I read it’s true.

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle by Caroline Zinko quoted research saying that 40 % of the people who set resolutions actually were still on track to achieve them 6 months later!

And, another article said that 65% of the people made at least some progress towards their goals in their resolutions. That includes the 40 % who basically succeed and another 25% of all the people who set resolutions who get at least some progress out of doing so.

This is about five times better than I thought was the case because of all the bad jokes about people who don’t get anywhere at all with their resolutions.

b) I already knew that you are more likely to achieve goals if you:

Write them down.

Have a deadline or target date by when you plan to achieve them.

Pick only the one, two, or three most important goals to work on.

And, perhaps most important of all, you make a list of things you can for sure do that will make your goal more likely to happen or even happen for sure –
AND, begin doing the items on your list within two or three days of writing them all down.

You actually have no direct control over achieving your goal. But you do have absolutely direct control over whether or not you take the steps to achieve it.

Part two, today’s post, is about improving your health. (Part one in yesterday’s post was about Fat Loss.)

It will include some information on fat loss also. But, it is mostly focused on ideas for improving your health.

I. The most important one is that we now know how to take a reading on various key aspects of your health.

If you take those readings & take action on those that are in the danger zone or not yet in the desirable zone, your health will be better, often dramatically better, you’ll age more slowly, you’ll live longer, and your later years will be less restricted and far more worth living.

Some of these tests do cost money. The often cost less in many medical plans since the are a preventive measure.

But they are critically important and can even save your life.

They can even prevent you from needing to spend even more money later on drugs.

A new friend got his measures tested and his doctor saw that his triglyceride level was 750. (That’s painless; but as dangerous as playing Russian Roulette with 5 of the 6 chambers loaded. It’s like a warning sign saying, “Expect severe heart attack soon!” He had a good doctor who explored what sort of junk he had been eating to cause this and was able to bring it down enough and soon enough by eating far better well enough that his doctor was able to avoid giving him 6 drugs to protect him from it. But he might well have died before I met him if he’d not gotten this test!)

In my own case, I was doing a lot of things right; but my doctor had me take a fasting glucose test when I had my heart health indicators checked. My reading was far too high but still short of having type 2 diabetes at 115. At that time I didn’t know that was too high myself. And I’d never have guessed I had that problem. Since he flagged it so early for me, I was able to take just a few steps to eat less sugar and take some supplements and brought it down to 87. But I might have type 2 diabetes now if I’d not been tested.

Dr Mehmet Oz said this about these tests: “You can’t fight a problem if you don’t know you have it.”

It’s like trying to drive on the freeway at rush hour without being able to see out of the windows. Ouch!

A. Some are of these measurements are easy to do.

1. Measure your waist at the navel.

If you are a man, and you measure less than 36 inches, that’s in the desirable zone. If it’s 40 or more, that’s in the danger zone. (If it is 40 inches or more, see yesterday’s post and read this one also.)

If you are a woman, and you measure less than 31.5 inches, that’s in the desirable zone. If it’s 35 or more, that’s in the danger zone. (If it is 35 inches or more, see yesterday’s post and read this one also.)

2. Get your blood pressure tested.

If it’s over 160 over 100, that’s the danger zone. And, despite their occasionally obnoxious side effects and even harmful side effects, you should probably try drugs to bring it down.
AND, you should also use the nondrug methods to remove the causes which will likely allow you to stay below that level and gradually stop taking the drugs.

(A low dose ARB plus a low dose Calcium channel blocker may be enough and will usually minimize side effects. Beta blockers work but do little to reduce the risks you take the drugs for and make you feel like hell. Diuretics work and are cheap but have both unpleasant side effects and sometimes have harmful ones. Only take those if you also have fluid retention or congestive heart failure or at least take them after you’ve tried the first two and then add a lower dose at first to the first two drugs. That will also minimize the side effects.)

If it’s something like 119 over 79 or a bit less, it’s much more desirable.

If it’s between about 135 over 85 and 155 over 95, it’s too high but short of needing drugs; but you should take action to lower it. And, take strong action if it’s in the higher part of that range.

(Eating dramatically better and cutting out excessive salt and taking certain supplements, &/or getting some form of effective stress release like doing Tai Chi will often do the job if you aren’t fat. Getting regular exercise, even walking, if you haven’t been doing it can help a lot. If you are too fat, fixing that is the best and most important way to lower your blood pressure.)

Many pharmacies and drugstores have a tester. And you can buy testers at Drugstore.com or Walgreens.com or at a local drugstore for about $60 or so. And, today most doctors will also test your blood pressure – or they’ll have their nurse do it.

B. But some of the most important tests are the key blood tests.

Triglycerides and fasting blood sugar are two of the more important ones.

Here’s a list and the danger and desirable levels for each.

1. HDL cholesterol is protective so high numbers are better. Over 60 is desirable. Under 45 is in danger zone. Under 40 is in the scary zone.

2. LDL cholesterol is better if it’s low. Under about 110 is desirable. 129 and over is not. Over 160 is in the danger zone.

3. Triglycerides are now recognized as extremely important. Under 150 is desirable. Under 100 is far better. Over 200 is in the danger zone. Over 300 is in the scary zone. (Small wonder the 750 my friend got scared his doctor on his behalf!)

4. Lp(a) is also a lipid that reveals heart attack risk. Recent studies found it likely is a direct cause of heart disease. So low is far better. 12 or more is beginning to be in the danger zone. Under 10 is safer. And, 6 or less is far better.

5. Fasting blood sugar is better if it’s below a certain level. 99 or less is important to achieve. 89 or less is better. 100 or more is risky. 115 that I had is borderline dangerous. At between 120 & 135, doctors diagnose you as having type 2 diabetes and you will be harmed if it isn’t lowered. And, it’s only successfully protective if you remove the causes by eating far better AND adding vigorous exercise even if you improve the reading with drugs also.

6. HBA1C is an even better blood sugar measure.

Fasting glucose can be too low or too high by 10 or 15 points. Since it’s a snapshot at a particular point in time, it may well be too high if you get it done right after you just ate too many holiday treats -- while it may well be too low if you just visited a friend for a week who eats healthier food than you usually do.

Since HBA1C measures the sugar on your red blood cells that live about 60 to 90 days it’s an average of every day over the last 60 to 90 days. So it’s extremely accurate.

5.6 and under is desirable. 5.7 to 5.9 is a bit too high. 6.0 to 6.9 will get you diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic. And, 7.0 or more will begin to harm you primarily by beginning to destroy your capillaries and messing up your blood circulation which then can cause blindness, foot amputations, and every kind of cardiovascular disease.

And, it’s only successfully protective if you remove the causes by eating far better AND adding vigorous exercise even if you improve the reading with drugs also. Other than lower dose Metformin, the drugs to lower blood sugar have enough side effects you’re far better off if you don’t take them unless you get above about 8.0.

So get tested soon. Hopefully you’ll still be, as I was, at a low enough level to avoid going there in the first place.

But make it a priority resolution to get tested soon!


II. Other really important ways to protect and improve your health.

A. Take at least 1,000 iu a day of vitamin D3 in addition to the 400 iu in your multi. A total of 3,000 iu a day to 5,000 iu is better. This we now know prevents many cancers and autoimmune diseases. It protects your heart and helps prevent each kind of mental decline. And, it helps you get far fewer colds and flu sessions due to it boosting the effectiveness of your immune system.

B. Brush your teeth everyday at the gumline in addition doing the biting surfaces. And floss every time you brush your teeth. This helps prevent bad breath, having to get false teeth & gum disease treatments so it also prevents high dental bills. But the really important news is that it also prevents the inflammation that tends to cause some cancers and heart disease.

C. Get some kind of regular exercise each day even if it’s just 5 minutes of calisthenics or a 10 minute walk. If you can, do at least 15 minutes a day of strength training or interval cardio each day. And, try to get in a walk of 20 minutes or more each day also if you can.

Like taking vitamin D3, this has health results that are akin to taking a wonder drug.

It directly slows aging by preventing your telomeres from getting frayed, prevents most disease that aren’t caused by germs or viruses, it grows new brain cells, and even will improve your sex life.

The National Weight Control Registry studies people who lose 30 pounds or more of fat and keep it off. They almost all exercise; & 90% average an hour a day.

Last but far from least, since I just found out today from Jon Herring at Total Breakthroughs that building muscle with strength training or interval cardio has been found to increase your muscle mass which in turn increases your body’s immune system defense against germs and viruses too.

Exercisers get sick less from almost everything. They live longer and age more slowly. And they are much more likely to stay mentally sharp.

They also look better and enjoy sex more.

If you aren’t doing it yet, start doing some exercise this year even if it’s just a little & keep it up.

D. Stay away from tobacco smoke if you possibly can.

(Lot’s of second hand smoke is between about half as bad as smoking yourself and 100 % as bad depending on how much exposure you get.)

And, of course, if you smoke quit.

The “little” risks from smoking include that it causes 30 to 35 % of ALL cancers by itself; and it is the major cause of lung cancer. Heavy smokers only get lung cancer 25% of the time. So many smokers just assume they’ll be in the lucky group that doesn’t get it.

Oops!

Few smokers know it, unfortunately, but the big risk of smoking is that increases your rate of aging and is a direct and sufficient cause of heart disease and lung impairment. Worse, every single cigarette you smoke directly or by being near a smoker adds a measurable amount to your cardiovascular disease. Smokers tend to die young and die of heart attacks and strokes. Many of the rest of them die young of cancer.

And before that the cardiovascular effects often cause PAD, peripheral artery disease, that makes it hurt to walk and can lead to foot amputation. They also cause ED that can ruin your sex life even before they kill you with a heart attack or cancer.

If you smoke, check out your heart disease blood test indicators and your lung function. Even if you are a teenaged smoker, they’ll be far worse than healthy people get. A key test to get besides lung function is homocysteine. To stay healthy, it’s ideal that it be 8.9 or less. In smokers it tends to be well over 12.0 or even over 15.0. Whether your doctor believes it causes heart disease itself or is only an indicator similar to smoke for a fire, it’s clear that the high homocysteine readings of smokers show that their heart and blood vessels are being harmed.

For some people, quitting cold turkey works.

But if you try that and it doesn’t do the job, get your doctor to help you get a nicotine replacement and the drug Zyban, a kind of antidepressant that mostly turns off tobacco cravings by doing what the smoke did do. That will double or triple your odds of success.
And, include beginning a moderate amount of exercise each day if only for a few minutes each day. That will double your chances of success again. (The combination of both will increase your chances of success by six to nine times!)

Use other methods to lose weight or prevent gaining fat. As Jillian Michaels put it, smoking makes you ugly and even dead. That’s not a recommended kind of beauty method!

E. If you are too fat, eat better and exercise better.

(See yesterday’s post.)

The National Weight Control Registry studies people who lose 30 pounds or more of fat and keep it off. They almost all exercise; & 90% average an hour a day.

Here are three other methods, besides regular exercise, that the people they studied who kept fat off also do.

1. 78% eat breakfast every day.

(The ones that eat some kind of protein and avoid sugary foods and refined grains do better when they do.)

2. 62% watch less than 10 hours a week of TV.

(You burn more calories when sleeping than you do watching TV. Most commercial TV ads today are for foods and drinks that will make you fat and sick. So it also helps to see less of them. Lastly, exercising instead of watching TV is often the only way you can make time for exercise. So, watching less TV for that reason both stops an activity that makes you fat and replaces it with an activity that removes it.)

3. 75% weigh themselves once a week.

(Since it’s the fat, not your scale weight directly that counts, it may make more sense to measure your waist each week and your weight once a month. But it is clear that measuring so you can take action early if the measure goes in the wrong direction does help.)

We’ll also have some information for sale later this year that will help people manage the process of successful fat loss even better so keep checking our posts.