Staying healthy as we age

Of course we’ve all heard this many times.  Exercise regularly.  This includes walking, which is good exercise.

Stay socially active with friends and family.  If you don’t have family nearby, you could volunteer at various things in the community where you live.

Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet.  Dump the junk food and include greens in your meals.  Salads are very good for you.  We need to think about eating enough fiber, eating foods that are low in fat and also low in cholesterol.

Of course we all know that drinking too much or using drugs is a bad thing, as well as smoking.  There are many health issues attributed to smoking, so if you smoke quitting should be at the top of your list for a healthier lifestyle.

I always say everything in moderation is probably okay.  I would never give up having a glass of wine once in a while.  I don’t think anyone should do this daily, or get behind the wheel to drive anywhere if you’ve been drinking. 

I exercise daily; eat moderately and also as healthy as I can.  It helps keep the weight down, which is also another health issue.  Drinking enough water daily is also another important consideration.

One should also keep their mind active too.  This is a new focus for me, not that my mind isn’t active enough to run away with itself all the time anyway, but since my mother was diagnosed with dementia, I feel it’s doubly important to exercise your brain daily.  You can do this by reading regularly, doing puzzles and word games, writing, playing card games, or any other thing that‘ll make you think.

We may as well be healthy, old people instead of ones with numerous issues to deal with.  I think old age is hard enough anyway without adding on other problems that maybe we can control now.

You probably won’t believe this – or maybe you would

There’s something about reading weird news that is more interesting than the normal stuff you get daily about random shootings, traffic accidents, and the like.

We all know smoking is bad for your health.  It causes cancer, wrinkles and other problems.  But I bet you didn’t know it makes your boobs sag.  I had to ask myself, is this for real?  Seriously?  And no, I’m not a smoker.  I’ve never heard this claim linked to smoking ever before.  I guess one never knows what will pop up on the news pages of the internet.  Comments anyone?

Watch this video for five weird reasons to stop smoking.  This stuff is usually never included in discussions about why people shouldn’t smoke.

Beware when the ‘old people’ bag of ailments lands on your doorstep

Free Clip art

And it will, eventually, for all of us.  That’s right, I’m talking about arthritis, rheumatism, hearing impairment, the need for glasses, hip and knee replacements, shoulder surgery, and any number of other things when body parts start to wear out.

Of course, these are only annoyances and could be the big stuff like heart disease, diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, cancer, strokes, COPD, and Alzheimer’s.  I guess we can say we’re fortunate if we can stay off this large list.

It’s sad to have to think about all this.  Once we’re older and wiser, look what we all have to look forward to.  That doesn’t seem fair, does it?  Then, life isn’t always fair.  I guess we’re all doing good to keep our wits and mobility until the end.

I had to go and get glasses last week and that got me to thinking about all this other stuff that may be coming down the road.  I already have the arthritis and hearing impairment and now some silly glasses they say I need.  I can’t get used to them at all.  It seems like stepping into a cuckoo world to put them on and I’m actually thankful to take them off again at night.  They make me dizzy and believe me; I don’t need any help with that.

The lady who fitted them tells me I’ll get used to them in time.  Some of my friends who have the transitional lenses tell me the same thing.  Everyone’s ready to throw them out the window during the first month or two.  I’m hoping they’re all right.  I don’t want to be so wobbly, bumping into walls and holding onto the stair rail to get up and down the stairs.  When I uncovered my plants temporarily to water them, I about fell on my face on the patio.  I don’t dare get behind the wheel of my car yet.  Right now, I’m wondering if I really need these glasses all the time.  I’m tempted to go back to my readers.

All this has me speculating what else is coming my way.

All you young people out there take care of your bodies.  I know you can’t avoid all this stuff because of heredity, but you might be able to make some things better on yourself as you reach old age.  Of course, in my case, most of the stuff that’s landed on me so far couldn’t have been avoided, had I not partied my life away in my earlier years.

Ultimately, everyone needs to decide what’s best for them and then prepare yourself to live by the consequences that lifestyle creates years from now.  You can think first though and perhaps avoid doing some stupid things that’ll have an impact on your health later.  I’ve done my share of stupid things, mostly because of being in a rush and not slowing down.  I try to be more careful now than I was twenty years ago.

We should all slow down and not be in such a hurry as we go through life, stopping for a moment to enjoy all the beautiful things around us.  I try to remember this and practice it by sitting on my patio and enjoying nature when it’s warm enough to do so.  But if you’re a person like me, there’s never enough hours in each day and always one more novel to read or write before times up.

Enjoy the Super Bowl all you sports lovers, and happy Groundhog Day, or Candlemas, whichever you celebrate.  Of course, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow again, predicting six more weeks of winter.  Now is this any surprise?  Quite a few people actually wear top hats and tuxedos for the annual event at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania.  Even though this groundhog is only right 39 percent of the time, it never deters the event that started in 1887.

The first day of spring is March 20, so we have six and a half weeks to go anyway.  Maybe that’s why he sees his shadow more then he doesn’t and is scared back into his hidey-hole.

I know things took a turn back to the cold side here starting last Saturday when we had rain and then hail.  It never got over forty.  Nightly temperatures are now down in the low twenties again for the near future.  We have snow in the mountains all around us once more, but at least it’s up there and not down here.  That’s one blessing.  I knew we’d pay for the nice January we had.

What do Your Eyes Say about You?

Iridology Chart - Public Domain Photo

I bet very few of you have ever heard of this, and that’s why I picked it for today’s topic. I know you’ve heard that your eyes are the windows to your soul, but did you know that they are also a roadmap to your body’s health?


That’s right. Looking at the iris of the eye (colored part) can tell a trained iridologist the exact nature of the health of your body. Unbelievably, all of the organs in your body have a placement in the iris of your eyes.

Years ago, I took a class on this given by the owner of a health food and herb store. He was a homeopathic practitioner. A group of about 30 of us got together to learn about this, originally developed by Dr. Bernard Jensen. We had photos of our eyes taken before class and were able to analyze each others eyes as part of the class. Our instructor used a slide projector to show the photos to the class.

Iridology Chart - Left Eye - Public Domain Photo

By studying intricate patterns of the iris, you an enhance self-awareness and improve the quality of your well-being for yourself and others. After the class, we were able to identify areas of inherent weakness, tissue interactivity, nerve conditions, glandular infections, nutritional imbalances and more.

Iridology Chart - Right Eye - Public Domain Photo

Class time study went over the theory and philosophy of iridology. We learned a bit about the history of this whole concept. I now know where to look in the eyes to see if there are any problems coming down the road in the future. In some cases, you can stop a disease in its tracks just by changing your diet.

My husband and I tried out our newfound skills on some friends after the class. They were stunned we could tell them about some of their health issues, and even previous surgeries they had had.

It was exciting to participate in this journey of self-discovery. So many ancient arts are not really in practice today. We can all learn so much from things we never hear about in the modern age. It makes me wonder how knowledge like this seemed to fall to the wayside somewhere along the way.

I hope all of you are able to take away something from this post, if not only just to get your curiosity up enough to make you want to learn more.