When heart attacks happen we often are not sure why. Of course, we understand that certain conditions exist which can predispose us to them, but are there actual “heart attack triggers”?

Well, yes there are. In fact, we are not surprised to hear this, as Hollywood has used the ploy for decades, and many of us either know someone who has experienced an episode after some event…or maybe have had our own experience.

One night a few years ago, I did a series of stupid things and a few hours later was in the emergency room at the local hospital with atrial fibrillation…not a heart attack per se, but close enough for me. While I am at risk genetically for this type of event due to a specific condition, my trip to the ER was probably precipitated by the stupid acts earlier in the day.

Not all heart attack triggers are the result of stupidity, however. Sometimes life simply puts us in the way of the heart attack express, and a recent study, the results of which were reported in The Lancet, has looked into this.

So, what did the study find were the top six heart attack triggers?

1. Traffic: Wow! Big surprise, right? It doesn’t seem to matter, by the way, if you are the driver, a passenger, or riding a bike. Previous studies have shown that people who work from home, and avoid traffic, seem to be healthier even though they may actually work more hours. Now, don’t skip the trip to the grocery, it’s a matter of daily exposure and predisposition. You have to be ready to HAVE a heart attack for traffic to cause it. However, the daily “rush” (read: sitting in traffic) hour can produce cumulative stress, and, as one researcher has pointed out, in today’s world, stress can be considered a universal risk factor for a hell of a lot of health problem…including heart disease.

SOLUTION: Get out of the rat-race, or at least THAT particular one if you can. Find a less stressful way to commute.

2. Physical Activity: Okay, we’re talking “exertion” here. A stroll around the neighborhood is probably not going to be a deadly event. In fact, regular exercise can help protect against heart disease and heart attack. However, if your heart is NOT healthy, or if you are predisposed to heart attack, physical exertion “could” be a heart attack trigger for you.

SOLUTION: Regular, age- and condition-appropriate cardio exercise and strength training.

3. Coffee and Alchohol Consumption: Here’s a twist. In moderate quantities, these two popular drink choices can actually be good for you and protect your heart! Two cups of coffee a day (early in the day so as not to interfere with sleep), or a couple of glasses of wine, can not only help keep your heart healthy, but keep your body younger and your brain more nimble. However, consumption at higher levels over a period of time can produce health problems, and can precipitate a heart attack.

SOLUTION: If you do not drink these beverages already, do not start. If you do drink them, keep consumption down to two a day…cups of coffee, and glasses of wine…or less.

4. Air Pollution: Again, environmental stressors over time can produce negative health conditions. The person who is already at risk for a heart attack, however, can be pushed over the edge by air pollution. Studies have shown that air pollution triggers 4.75 percent of heart attacks among those vulnerable, This is a relatively low percentage, but, since air pollution is pervasive, there are a great many people at more risk than they imagine. It’s not my fault, by the way, I have driven a Prius since 2006. Oddly enough, some experts recommend eating the Mediterranean Diet to help cut down on risk from this source. I’m not sure why the Mediterranean Diet is so important, although it is a healthy way to eat. I’ll have to look into that one a little deeper.

SOLUTION: If you live in a highly polluted area…move! Of course, this might not be possible. In which case, maximize your health through regular exercise, proper nutrition, and getting 7-8 hours of good sleep each night.

5. Emotions: The funny thing is, you would think that positive emotions, such as being happy are a lot less likely to precipitate a heart attack than being mad. As a fact, strong emotions, good or bad, increase adrenaline output, heart rate, and the stickiness of red blood cells. These, when combined can trigger heart attack in a susceptible individual. There’s still a good reason you should try to experience more positive emotions to ward off heart attacks. More positive emotions will commonly result in more balanced heart rhythms than negative emotions. Unbalanced, or disrupted, heart rhythms are a contributing factor in some heart attacks.

SOLUTION: Again, stay fit (see recommendations above). Find a way to relax, either through meditation, yoga, or some other relaxation technique.

6. Sex: Hey, it’s an intense phsyical and emotional activity which raises blood pressure and heart rate. The risk is small, compared to some other heart attack triggers. The good news is that being in good physical condition (hint: get some other regular exercise as well).

SOLUTION: Stay fit for this “athletic” activity. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Story: I had a friend whose husband was night manager for a hotel in Austin, TX. One night, he got an emergency call from a room occupied by an elderly couple. The husband had suffered a fatal heart attack at…shall we say…a very stressful moment (see #6 above). Later, the manager had to put together the bill and present it to the new widow. He noticed that one of the last items was an X-rated movie the couple had apparently been “watching” at the fateful moment.

Moral?

Be physically fit and make healthy lifestyle choices. Simple things such as regular exercise, healthy eating, good sleep, and stress reduction (think: meditation, yoga, or prayer) can help protect you from the heart attack triggers mentioned above.
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My three main interests are poetry, exercise, and travel. I have written poetry, both serious and humorous, since I was in high school. With your permission, I will take a moment today to present a poem about health which I wrote back in 1990.

PHYSICAL

In my blood, cholesterol rages,
Causing geometric increase of my ages.
They measure this with cholesterol gauges.

I try to disuade, disavow, and distract,
Yet the doctor replies with very little tact.
My health’s in danger, and that’s a fact!

So, I’ll turn to food most decidedly lean,
Although this diet will turn me mean.
I believe I can eat it, as long as it’s green!

But some night when I’ve had more than human can take,
And, the world’s asleep – but I’m awake…
I’ll grill in the moonlight, a blood red steak!!!

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Humor, I hope, but a fact also. As time passes and our lives move through different stages, we find ourselves facing different challenges. Back then, my cholesterol came out a bit high at one physical, but I made changes to exercise and diet, and it has not been elevated since.

However, another point. When we try to force ourselves into strange, unfulfilling patterns of behavior, we rebel. That is one reason diets don’t work. People just don’t want to eat that way! That is why people who leap into an intense exercise program tend to drop out. It’s too much of a change at one time, and they rebel.

Just begin making sensible choicess and ease into a healthier way of life. If, at some point, you decide to drop 50 lbs, run a marathon, or become a bodybuilder, fine. In the meantime, just start moving in the direction you want to go, taking small steps at first.
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As people age, they begin to complain more of pains in their muscles and joints and seek ways to relieve pain.

At least I know I do.

We all seem to stiffen up at least a little with age, and such commonplace activities as bending over for the morning paper can make us wince.

Such pain can be a small nuisance, or it can grip us so fiercely that we are sure it reaches deep within our very bones. Whatever the personal perception, the real cause of most stiffness and soreness lies not in the joints or bones, according to research at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, but in the muscles and connective tissues that move the joints.

The frictional resistance generated by two surfaces of bones rubbing in the joints is negligible, even in joints damaged by arthritis.

Flexibility is the medical term used to describe the range of a joint’s motion from full movement in one direction to full movement in the other. The greater the range of movement, the more flexible the joint.

If you bend forward at the hips and touch your toes with your fingertips, you have good flexibility, or range of motion of the hip joints. But can you bend over easily with a minimal expenditure of energy and force? The exertion required to flex a joint is just as important as its range of possible motion.

Different factors limit the flexibility and ease of movement in different joints and muscles. In the elbow and knee, the bony structure itself sets a definite limit. In other joints, such as the ankle, hip, and back, the soft tissue—muscle and connective tissue—limit the motion range.

The problem of inflexible joints and muscles is similar to the difficulty of opening and closing a gate because of a rarely used and rusty hinge that has become balky.

Hence, if people do not regularly move their muscles and joints through their full ranges of motion, they lose some of their potential. That is why when these people will try to move a joint after a long period of inactivity, they feel pain, and that discourages further use

What happens next is that the muscles become shortened with prolonged disuse and produces spasms and cramps that can be irritating and extremely painful. The immobilization of muscles, as researchers have demonstrated with laboratory animals, brings about biochemical changes in the tissue.

However, other factors trigger sore muscles. Here are some of them:

1. Too much exercise

Have you always believed on the saying, “No pain, no gain?” If you do, then, it is not so surprising if you have already experienced sore muscles.

The problem with many people is that they DO exercise too much thinking that it is the fastest and the surest way to lose weight. Until they ache, they tend to ignore their muscles and connective tissue, even though they are what quite literally holds the body together.

2. Aging and inactivity

Connective tissue binds muscle to bone by tendons, binds bone to bone by ligaments, and covers and unites muscles with sheaths called fasciae. With age, the tendons, ligaments, and fasciae become less extensible. The tendons, with their densely packed fibers, are the most difficult to stretch. The easiest are the fasciae. But if they are not stretched to improve joint mobility, the fasciae shorten, placing undue pressure on the nerve pathways in the muscle fasciae. Many aches and pains are the result of nerve impulses traveling along these pressured pathways.

3. Immobility

Sore muscles or muscle pain can be excruciating, owing to the body’s reaction to a cramp or ache. In this reaction, called the “splinting reflex”, the body automatically immobilizes a sore muscle by making it contract. Thus, a sore muscle can set off a vicious cycle of pain.

First, an unused muscle becomes sore from exercise or being held in an unusual position. The body then responds with the splinting reflex, shortening the connective tissue around the muscle. This cause more pain, and eventually the whole area is aching. One of the most common sites for this problem is the lower back.

4. Spasm theory

In the physiology laboratory at the University of Southern California, some people have set out to learn more about this cycle of pain.

Using some device, they measured electrical activity in the muscles. The researchers knew that normal, well-relaxed muscles produce no electrical activity, whereas, muscles that are not fully relaxed show considerable activity.

In one experiment, the researchers measured these electrical signals in the muscles of persons with athletic injuries, first with the muscle immobilized, and then, after the muscle had been stretched.

In almost every case, exercises that stretched or lengthened the muscle diminished electrical activity and relieved pain, either totally or partially.

These experiments led to the “spasm theory,” an explanation of the development and persistence of muscle pain in the absence of any obvious cause, such as traumatic injury.

According to this theory, a muscle that is overworked or used in a strange position becomes fatigued and as a result, sore muscles.

Hence, it is extremely important to know the limitations and capacity of the muscles in order to avoid sore muscles. This goes to show that there is no truth in the saying, “No pain, no gain.” What matters most is on how people stay fit by exercising regularly at a normal range than once rarely but on a rigid routine.
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If you have ever read many of my comments or articles, you know that losing weight in a healthy manner is a prime concern of mine.

As I have said before, I have been studying health, fitness, exercise and fitness for over 40 years. In the last few years, in a fit of enlightened self-interest, I have added anti-aging to the mix.

Suprisingly, everything I learn about anti-aging plans and personal longevity seems to include pretty much what I have learned about health and fitness over the years.

It is also not surprising, I would think, that combining various risk factors increases the dangers exponentially…especially as we age and the body finds it more and more difficult to maintain good health.

I have written about risk factors for health and artery disease, and about the danagers of being overweight, which seems to be a risk factor for a wide variety of health problems. I have also written about what has been called “visceral fat”, “belly fat”, “abdominal fat”, and “beer belly”.

One problem is that many people have simply assumed that the sagging belly they see that comes with age, and over-consumption, is fat under the skin, i.e. subcutaneous fat. While this is partly true and is the harbinger of a dangerous health situation in itself, it is the fat within the body cavity itself, fat which stores toxins and surrounds internal organs which is the most dangerous.

See my article Some Secret Dangers of Obesity and Visceral Fat.

Now, a new study at the Mayo Clinic, says that people whose fat collects around the belly are more at risk of death than people whose fat collects elsewhere on their bodies. The researchers said in a statement that the effect was true even for patients with a normal body mass index.

When they speak of “fat…around the belly”, they are speaking of visceral fat, which is metabolically active and which produces changes in blood pressure, and cholesterol and blood sugar levels. They equate the danger to be roughly the equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day or having extremely high cholesterol.

Fat in other parts of the body do not seem to create the same level of risk of death.

The good news is that a few simple lifestyle changes, such as regular, moderate exercise, and healthy diet choices can begin to whittle down that belly fat and begin almost immediately to reduce the health risks associated with it. I has been shown that a loss of only 10 lbs can drastically reduce health risks, so get started today and be a healthier person tomorrow.

Lack of energy can come from a lot of sources. Some can be fixed with a few simple lifestyle choices. That’s great, but also recognize that low energy can be indicative of deeper medical issues, so make sure you are checking in regularly with your doctor as well. After all, lack of energy can be a symptom of diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, or fibromyalgia just to name a few conditions.

Of course, since I write mainly for seniors, and am one (66), I understand that as we age, we tend to lose a little bit of the youthful energy we once had. However, that should not mean that we need to find ourselves without energy or having to force ourselves to do the things we must do…or would like to.

1. Exercise: I am not going to dwell on this one. I have been studying health and fitness since 1970 (do the math), and regular exercise is a constant in both formal research results and anecdotal evidence…including my own.

2. Get your 7 – 8 hours of sleep: At one time, the idea was to get as little sleep as possible in order to do as much as possible. Now, we know that people who do not get the proper amount of sleep not only tend to have chronic fatigue, perform less effectively, and are actually weakening their immune system, but may be cutting happy, healthy years off their lives as well.

3. Reduce stress: One researcher has dubbed “stress” one of the most dangerous and universal health risks around. The consensus seems to be that chronic stress can produce its own risks or amplify those of other conditions. Simple choices such as regular exercise (great stress buster), meditation, yoga, or other relaxation techniques can go a long way towards reducing stress. There are over-the-counter supplements and products, such as magnesium and Reloramax which can help counter stress as well.

4. Eat properly: Many ailments and conditions, including low energy can be traced to poor nutrition choices. Avoid the junk and eat reasonable amounts of a wide range of high-nutrient value foods. Eat your fresh fruits and vegetables, keep meat portions small, and skip the snacks…unless they are healthy ones. While I do not like “fad diets” for weight loss, a “diet” is a list of the foods you eat or should eat. Eating regimens such as the Mediterranean Diet and The South Beach Diet can provide good food choice guides.

Which brings us to….

5. Avoid sugar: This is true throughout the day, but especially at breakfast. Sugar may boost your energy for a short while, but, once it runs out, you are going to crash. On top of that, the excess calories in sugar-sweetened foods and snacks can pack on the pounds, and being overwieght is a maximum energy stealer.

6. Have a cup of coffee: Surprise! Actually, in moderation, coffee can be good for you…and help you have a little more energy. Too much can interfere with sleep and many body functions. Anyway, after the third cup, caffeine stops working.

However, a couple of cups early in the day can not only help you get energized, but studies have shown that cognitive function is improved in senior coffee drinkers. In fact, one Finnish study showed that coffee drinkers have a lower risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s as they age compared to those drinking little or no coffee.

7. Supplement: I mentioned magnesium above, and getting the proper nutrition can be important for keeping your energy level up. It can be hard to get proper nutrition for a lot of different reasons, and, as we age, our bodies become less effective at extracting the nutrition we need from the foods we eat. A simple solution is to take a good daily multivitamin supplement.
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SENIOR EXERCISE GUIDE

By Donovan Baldwin

It is true that over the last few decades, the term has fallen out of use in psychiatry and psychology. However, in 1869, when it was ortinally coined by George Miller Beard, it was a well known diagnosis and the term was used by all in the know. Today, it is no longer in common use, and no longer in the American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”. Though out of fashion in the Western psychiatric world, however, it is still often diagnosed in Asian cultures, where it is commonly known by another popular name, “Americanitis”.

That latter term was popularized by William James,the American psychologist and philosopher.

Whatever the name used, “Americanitis” or “Neurasthenia”, most agree that the condition is characterized by fatigue, anxiety, headache, depression, and neuralgia (pain in the nerves).

In the late 19th century, the increasingly “fast-paced” American life, relative to a previously “bucolic” existence, appeared to be accompanied by a host of illinesses and conditions which could not be traced to any specific illness or source. Of course, in those days, they had little understanding of we know as “the mind-body link”. They also had too little medical understanding to realize the results on health of stress, poor nutrition, and, believe it or not, a lifestyle which was beginning to require lower exertion for many, and wider food choices for many as well.

Even Sigmund Freud played with the idea that modern life could be causing psychological ills in many of his patients, and society. However, in the birth of the field of mental health, he also attributed many of those same ills to excessive masturbation.

As knowledge of medicine, physiology, and psychology increased throughout the 20th century, it became more and more apparent to many that the symptoms attributed to the umbrella condition of “neurasthenia” could actually be caused by a wide variety of conditions and situations. The growing knowledge about the effects of nutrition, exercise, stress, sleep, and many other factors on health gradually caused both physical and mental healers and researchers to move away from the term, and it eventually fell out of use…at least in the Western worl.

However, in Asia, even today, “Americanitis” is still often the diagnosis. One key reason for its continuted acceptance in those lands is that it allows for a diagnosis other than any direct “mental disorder”. To many in Asian cultures, having a mental disorder sometimes carries a stigma which both the afflicted and their healthcare provider would rather avoid.

In our discussion, it is not so much whether neurasthenia, or Americanitis, does not, or did not, exist. Actually, we understand today that there are more aspects of what was once seem as a simple set of problems with a single cause than was originally believed or understood in an earlier time.

It is still interesting, at least to me and a few others in the world, I am sure, that the original premise actually contains an element of truth.

Modern society has, without a doubt, given us many things of value, including an opportunity to live longer, accomplish more, and enjoy life to a fuller degree than at any previous point in history. By the same token, however, it has taken from us the daily opportunity to get physical activity as a part of life, and has created an environment which is often in opposition to the tides of hormones, glands, and structures developed for another way of life.

It is a wonderful thing for us that bears no longer threaten us. Unfortunately, our brains and bodies still react as if they do…even if the “bear” is just the boss. We can much more easily “hunt” for food in the supermarket aisle than our ancestors, but that food may need to be scrutinized more closely for nutritional value as we no longer burn as many calories on the hunt…or otherwise.

The outdated term “neurasthenia” is now recognized as actually being an amalgam of the results of poor nutritional choices, a sedentary lifestyle, and the stress which is a part of modern life. For most of us, a few simple lifestyle choices, such as regular exercise, better nutrition, and some stress-busters such as yoga, meditation, or even prayer, can go a long way to relieving us of many of the symptoms once associated with with “Americanitis”.

Donovan Baldwin is a 66-year-old amateur bodybuilder, freelance writer, certified optician, and Internet marketer currently living in the Dallas, Texas area. A University Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a BA in accounting, he has been a member of Mensa and has been a Program Accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, the Business Manager of a community mental health center, and a multi-county Fiscal Consultant for an educational field office. He has also been a trainer for a major international corporation, and has managed various small businesses, including his own. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, with 21 years of service, he became interested in Internet marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes original articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. Learn more about the 19th century view of neurasthenia at http://nodiet4me.com/stress/book/neurasthenia.html.

In one of his articles, Tom Venuto, fitness trainer and author of “Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle”, makes a great point about nutrition. He says:

“The condition of your body today is the result of the sum total of all the food choices you’ve made in the past. The condition of your body in the future will be the sum total of all the food choices you make today. Most people take their food choices very lightly, not realizing that everything they eat has an impact on their physical condition.”

A little later in the same article, he goes on to say:

“Choose low grade foods and you’ll have a low grade body. Choose high grade foods and you’ll get leaner, stronger, healthier, more muscular and more energetic.”

Unfortunately, the truth is that many of us pay little attention to what we eat. After a few (or many years of this) we wonder to ourselves (or maybe out loud) “What went wrong? How did I get this way?”

Sadly, many believe that where they are is where they will stay. However, it is never too late!

Whether it is in choosing the foods you eat, the exercise you get, or don’t get, or many other lifestyle choices which go into a healthy, or unhealthy, body, deciding in favor of what is best for health is almost never “too late”.

Sure, it would have been better if you, and I, had begun making the good decisions in our twenties. But, we didn’t, and, as a friend of mine says, “It is what it is.”

The good thing is that it does not have to remain “what it is”. Even people in their 90′s find that getting more exercise and eating better makes them feel better, ward off illnesses, and often, live longer.

You can decide that “it is what it is” and keep on doing what you’ve been doing. However, if you don’t like what it got you, you probably are aware that the old saying has come into play, “Keep doing what you’ve been doing and you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting.”

It comes down to choice. You cannot change past choices, or their consequences, but you still have control over what happens after you read this.

Your choice.
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FIT OVER 40

As I wander around the Internet seeking information for this blog, I see the phrase “joint pain” used in a lot of different discussions. Many times, it is just thrown out there almost as a diagnosis in itself.

The fact is that joint pain can be caused by any number of things.

It can be the result of an injury or overuse of the joint, for example. This may require a visit to the doctor and following a treatment plan for a while.

Often, joint pain is the result of having, such as I do, arthritis. If your particular joint pain issue is caused by arthritis, you will need to search for an effective way to treat it. In order to do that, effectively you first need to know the symptoms of arthritis.

All forms of arthritis share common symptoms of severe pain, commonly associated with movement, but sometimes just “there”, loss of range of motion, and a diminished quality of life. You will find that this painful, life altering condition can be found in any individual at any time of their lives.

The good news is, there are joint pain treatments that can be effective.

However, the first thing to do when you do experience joint pain is to go to a doctor. Symptoms of arthritis include severe pain in the joints and other factors as mentioned above. If your pain is accompanied with fever, the advice of a doctor becomes urgent because this specific type of arthritis can be deadly.

Arthritis itself can be brought on by any number of things including overuse of the joint, sports, injury, and degeneration of the joints through time.

In any case, no matter what the cause, it is important to relay to your doctor when it was first noticed, any related injuries you may have had, and what types of activities you perform on a regular basis. Your doctor will then determine if the pain is arthritis through x-rays and blood tests. Once the doctor knows which type you have, treatments can begin.

For example, the joint pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis is a function of the immune system destroying the cartilage in the affected joints. Since cartilage is what keeps the bones from grinding against each other, loss of this “cushion” initiates a lifelong relationship with the pain of arthritis. As your immune system eats away at your joint cartilage, pain is brought on by the formation of nerve endings in the affected area. Eventually, for most people, the pain becomes so severe that mobility in those joints is virtually impossible.

Again, there are treatments that can help or reverse the damage and pain.

doctor can lead your treatment and some strategies you might expect could include surgery, pain medication, physical therapy, or even loss of use of the joint.

There are other forms of non-medical treatement as well. In fact, one of the most beneficial medications is a simple natural supplement that is not even medicine at all. It is a natural joint pain treatment that is called collagen type II. When taken, this product can stop the pain by stopping the immune system’s battle against your joints. It can then help to repair damage. In some cases, patients saw results within days, in others it took up to a few months. There are no known side effects of this treatment.

In the long run, no matter what your joint pain is caused from or how you will treat it, the most important thing to remember is that you can find treatment. You can find a number of different solutions, which gives everyone a solution to try. Joint pain can effectively change and ruin your life if you let it. Or, you can fight back and regain your body’s well being.

One point that many people do not understand, by the way, is that, despite the initial pain, regular exercise can also help relieve some joint pain.

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FIT OVER 40

Everybody, including me, says you should get more exercise and eat healthy foods. However, like exercise and so many other things relating to living well, becoming a healthy eater requires you to also become both educated and smart about what healthy eating actually is.

Being food smart isn’t simply about learning to calculate grams of fat, or studying labels and counting calories.

Healthy eating is all about planned, balanced, and moderate eating, consisting of healthy meals at least three times per day. In fact, many weight management professionals recommend eating five or six small, balanced meals or snacks a day.

Healthy eaters will eat many different types of foods, not limiting themselves to one specific food type or food group.

Eating healthy requires giving yourself quite a bit of leeway. You might occasionally eat too much or not enough, consume foods that are sometimes more or less nutritious. However, over the long haul, you should fuel your body and your brain regularly with enough of the right foods and nutrients to keep both your mind and body strong and alert.

A healthy eater often has to be a good problem solver.

Healthy eaters have learned to take care of themselves and their eating with sound judgement and making wise decisions. Healthy eaters are always aware of what they eat, and know the effect that it will have on their bodies. They also have a plan for those times that they will not be able to follow the optimum nutrition recommendations…for example, when the office goes for lunch at a fast food place.

When someone is unable to take control of their eating, there is often a chance that they are out of control with other aspects of life as well. They could end up spending too much, talking too much, even going to bed later and later.

You should always remember that restricting food, such as in a “diet” is often a bad thing. Food is where we get the nutrients we need for health, fitness, and energy. We should be able to eat well and stay healthy, and nutrients from a wide variety of foods is essential to good health.

Healthy eating is a way of life, something that you can do to enhance your body or your lifestyle. If you’ve thought about making your life better, healthy eating is just the place to start. You’ll make life easier for yourself, those around you, and even your family.

There are three. things you can do for a healthy body and mind.

First, choose a food plan which is low in calories but which also provides a wide range of vital nutrients. I do not recommend “diets”, at least not “fad diets”, but one healthy way of eating, which relieves you of label reading and calorie counting, is the “Mediterranean Diet”.

I recently commented on this blog on that subject, and you can read that comment at “The Real Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet“.

Second, get the basics of healthy eating. Again, I recently posted an article by a fitness trainer, “Guide to Basic Nutrition“. It will give you several recommendations of how to eat in a healthy manner without having to take a course or become a dietician.

Third, use supplements to fill in the cracks. Life today, and the food offered to us, is often a obstacle to eating properly. Simply taking a good daily multivitamin can help insure that you are getting many of the nutrients you need. This can be especially important for seniors as we sometimes tend not to eat regular, well-balanced meals, and our bodies become less able to extract the necessary nutrients from the foods we eat.

As we age, the cartilage in our joints, which, for years, has acted as a cushion and shock absorber, begins to wear down. While the speed with which this happens varies from person to person, it happens to just about everybody…sooner or later.

And, to a greater or lesser degree.

It happened to me sooner, and to a greater degree, several years ago…and is still here.

It is not surprising to learn that the other name for osteoarthritis is “degenerative joint disease”.

It can be found just about anywhere in your body, but the most common areas are the hands, hips, knees, neckk, and lowere back. While no “cure” for osteoarthritis exists, there are some things which can be done to relieve some of the pain associated with the condition. In the case of this situation, about all you can do is treat the symptoms. However, treating the symptoms allows you to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which is one of the things which helps you overcome the attack of osteoarthritis.

Degenerative joint disease can be very sneaky. You don’t lose so much mobility, or feel so much more pain, from day to day that you notice the progression. However, one day, you try to pick up a piece of paper off the floor, open a jar of pickles, or get up out of a chair. Suddenly, you realize that you have pain that you “didn’t use to have” and that things are harder than they once were.

In fact, the pain, and the loss of mobility and flexibility in the joint can actually reduce your ability to make use of the strength possessed by the muscles. Not being able to do things such as exercise and other activities at the level you once could, also can reduce not only your ability but your willingness to remain active…and activity is important to physical and mental health, and joint health as well.

Even if we ignore the normal health benefits of regular exercise, strengthening the muscles around a joint can help it be more stable and help reduce the pain. Exercise can help us maintain flexibility and stability, reduce the danger of falls, and give us the confidence, and muscle strength, to live an active, engaged life. While osteoarthritis can make some forms of activity more difficult, most exercise activities can be practiced albeit at a lower or modified level.

For example, it is very hard for me to do the yoga I used to do, but I still use many things learned in that discipline in my exercise program. I can no longer run like I used to, and I once could run over six miles, but I can still walk.

SYMPTOMS OF OSTEOARTHRITIS:

Pain. Your jointS may hurt during or after movement.

Tenderness. The joint might feel tender when you apply light pressure to it.

Stiffness. Joint stiffness is probably the most noticeable when you wake up in the morning or after a period of inactivity. Ever drive for a long while and then have a little difficulty getting out of the car?

Loss of flexibility. You might not be able to move your joint through a full range of motion.

Grating sensation. You hear or feel a grating sensation when you use the joint.

Bone spurs. These are extra bits of bone, which feel like hard lumps, which may form around the arthritic joint.

SEE THE DOCTOR FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS IF…

If you don’t know whether or not you have degenerative joint disease, see a doctor if pain in and/or swelling of the joints lasts more than two weeks. Obviously, if the pain or loss of flexibility is extreme, get in right away.

Some medications for osteoarthritis have side effects. Some of these are nausea, abdominal discomfort, black or tarry stools, constipation, or drowsiness. Contact your doctor if you are taking one of these medications and experience these side effects.

POSSIBLE CAUSES OF OSTEOARTHRITIS:

While the most common cause of degenerative joint disease is simply Father Time, i.e. age, it can occur because of, or be exacerbated by, joint injury, stress on the joint, heredity, weak muscles, and obesity.

By the way, note that weak muscles and obesity are also treated with exercise. Losing weight, if you are overweight is a great way to reduce some of the pain and make life a lot easier on several levels.

WHAT ARE THE RISK FACTORS FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS?

Age: Osteoarthritis commonly occurs in older adults, while people under 40 rarely experience it.

Sex: Women are more likely to develop osteoarthritis, though it isn’t clear why.

Bone deformities: Sadly, some people are born with malformed joints or defective cartilage, which can increase the risk of osteoarthritis.

Joint injuries: Injuries, such as those that occur when playing sports or from an accident, may increase the risk of osteoarthritis. I injured my knee playing soccer in the army years ago, and it does not let me forget it.

Obesity: More body weight means more stress on your weight-bearing joints, such as the knees.

Certain occupations. If your job includes tasks that place repetitive stress on a particular joint, that may predispose that joint toward eventually developing osteoarthritis.

Other diseases. Having gout, rheumatoid arthritis, Paget’s disease of bone or septic arthritis can increase your risk of developing osteoarthritis.

COMPLICATIONS OF OSTEOARTHRITIS:

Unfortunately, with degenerative joint disease, things seldom stay the same and any change is going to be for the worse. While you can take steps to slow further loss of mobility and/strength, and keep pain manageable, eventually things may reach a point where you require joint replacement surgery. Some people find they are no longer able to work or do the things that make life important…or practical. However, this does not mean that someone with osteoarthritis is simply going to wind up in a wheelchair on the porch of an old folk’s home.

TREATMENTS AND MEDICATIONS FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS:

Do not try to “treat” osteoarthritis yourself. While there is no “cure” for degenerative joint disease, there is a wide array of options for easing the effects of the disease.

Joint pain can be eased with common pain relivers, such as acetaminophen (found in Tylenol), ibuprofen or naproxen (found in OTC products such as Advil, Motrin, and Aleve). Stonger painkillers are available, usually with a prescription, and other medical treatments and interventions can be suggested by your doctor.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO EASE THE PAIN OF OSTEOARTHRITIS:

Exercise, weight loss, and rest are three steps you can take to ease the pain of degenerative joint disease yourself. You may also experience relieve by the application of heat (to the joint), OTC pain creams, and using various devices to simply “work around” the problem. If, for example, it is too hard to bend over and pick up the paper, get a “picker upper” like my 93-year-old mother uses….and hides when the grandkids visit. I’m not there yet, but sometimes when picking up after the dog, I have to get down on one knee…which creates its own problem when I try to get up again, but there you are.

ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS FOR JOINT PAIN

Many people are willing to try almost anything to relieve the pain of osteoarthritis. There are many alternative joint pain products. For example, many try Shaklee’s Joint and Muscle Pain Cream. Others like an herbal product known as Joint Advance, a natural joint pain relief product.

Each of us is different, and each of us will experience and deal with various diseases and conditions differently. Some will find OA (Osteoarthritis) just a “pain”…sorry, bad joke, while others will have to go to great lengths to deal with the problem. However, sooner or later, almost everybody over 40 has to deal with degernerative joint disease on a first person basis.
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