The Fight Of My Life Starts Now!

Courage is the opposite of fear. When we look at other people in their 40s, we wonder how some seem to have aged with grace, while others are looking like their in their 50s. A stress and anxiety-ridden life is exhausting. We need to fight it before it happens.

Today, rather than when it’s too late --- we have to wage a war on the stress and anxiety that hinder us from aging beautifully. When we live in constant fear, we are always a step closer to disease.

Here are a couple of things you could do:

When it’s all too much, stop.

Rather than let the mind become overwhelmed, fight it before it happens. When the mind is feeling like its on overload, it’s time to step back, regroup, rather than power on through for stress and anxiety to step in, leave some room for clear thought. Take a few long, deep breaths – it slows down the heart rate, and relaxes you. Also, let out a sigh --- this is the body’s way of letting itself know that everything’s okay.

Feel good.

When you’re overwhelmed, and you feel horrible, stress and anxiety steps in, which only robs us of precious energy in the body while doing some harm. Fight it before it happens --- engage in some physical activity --- tap your feet under your desk, take a brisk walk, or jog even for a couple of minutes. Physical activity produces endorphins, or feel-good chemicals, which help fight stress and anxiety.

Be realistic.

We don’t need to imagine the worst possible scenario all the time --- this only leads to unwanted stress and anxiety, so we need to fight it before it happens. Rather than predict outcomes that are impossible to see, just let things be. Perform a realistic assessment on whether a situation can do a turn for the better.

Be kind, love yourself.

If a situation doesn’t pan out as you thought it would, let it go. Rather than feel stress and anxiety over things that you can’t change, throw it out and move on. There’s no reason to feel bad about a bad situation, unless you’re holding on to the feeling. Think about it, when you think about negative memories, your physiological state starts feeling bad. Fight it before it happens --- let the bad things go. Forgive your opponents, (real or perceived) and forgive yourself. When you look at the negative side of things, you tend to forget about the good stuff --- you’re a champ in your prime, waging a full-scale war on stress and anxiety, and shouldn’t that be enough to make you love yourself?

Over The Hill Doesn't Mean It's Over

Happy New Year Everyone!!! New Year, New age! But, over the hill doesn't mean it's over!

When you picture the life of an average person, it looks like a small hill; rising at first, then descending into a slope once you get older. Are you over 40? Have you hit your peak? Over the hill doesn’t mean it’s over.

The hill only stops being a hill once you stop seeing yourself falling off the slope. Over the hill doesn’t signify the end --- there’s still the other-half equivalent of the years before you hit your peak.

What can’t you do? What can you do? Obviously, dressing up like you were in high school and trying to pass off as a teenager is out of the question. Here are a number of ways you could pass the time, while trying to finish up the rest of that hill.

Get a Hobby – It’s never too late to be into anything. There are people who are older than 40 who still engage in hobbies like running in marathons, rock climbing, writing, building models and acquiring collectibles. Are you still fit enough to run several kilometers in one go? Do you still have the clear eyesight to keep small model parts from being lost? It’s never too late to get a hobby, not only is it a productive and enjoyable way to pass the time --- it also keeps you young!

Learn – Learning never stops --- everyday is an opportunity to know better than what you knew yesterday. It’s just a matter of having the willingness to learn. What will you use your new knowledge for? It might make things easier for you in the workplace, thus, leaving more time for you, --- or, you may just want to pass along the knowledge to your children.

Live! – It’s always a good time to be alive --- there’s no more hesitation, parts of life are within reach --- and it’s up to you to grab them. Try new things! Visit new places! Eat exotic food! The only question you should concern yourself with is --- are you going to hike down the hill, or reach the ground tumbling? Over the hill doesn’t mean it’s over.

You should fight! Let's stand besides the saying, "Over 40 and Fighting!"

An Ounce Of Prevention is Worth A Poind of Cure

Let’s not sugarcoat things: after you hit the big 4-0, life only gets a lot more complicated. Alzheimer’s, Macular Degeneration and Heart Diseases start sounding like everyday concerns, on top of thinking about the bills, the kids or the PTA meeting.

All three of the diseases mentioned above are going to be your biggest concerns when you are over 40, for the reason that, there is no widely-available cure for any of them. Should there be, then by the time you are reading this, it will still be in the experimental stages, or its price range is going to be out-of-reach for people like us.

Here are a couple of tips to fortify your defenses against those diseases with.

Alzheimer’s – Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia, which is, in essence, permanent damage to the brain. To date, there is still no known cure for this disease and the number of factors for contracting this disease simply hits most of us like a random flash-flood. We’ll never know. The best ways for staving off Alzheimer’s disease is by mental and physical activity. This strikes people who don’t undergo physical or mental challenges on a daily basis. Sociable interaction is also a plus. Foods that carry antioxidants, and vitamins C and E are also linked to lesser known cases of Alzheimer’s.

Heart Disease – There are several forms of heart diseases --- but most of them can be stopped by restraint. Restraint from living a relatively physically inactive life, restraint from cholesterol and restraint in front of alcohol or tobacco is all that is needed to lower the risks of getting heart disease. Love your heart and it will love you back.

Macular Degeneration – Unfortunately, there are still not enough studies to completely fight off macular degeneration. However, in the few guaranteed controlled observations concerning macular degeneration, a smoke-free and a fruits-and-vegetable-rich lifestyle has been shown to be less likely to develop the severe effects of macular degeneration.

It’s especially frightening to know that there are diseases that we are completely vulnerable to after 40, but the knowledge of lessening risks is key to living a disease-free life that doesn’t need cures --- for there will be no sickness.

What Cardiovascular Diseases Will I Be Prone To?

Often, there are no symptoms of the underlying disease of the blood vessels; a heart attack or stroke may be the first warning signs of cardiovascular diseases.

How scary does cardiovascular disease have to be, for a heart attack to be a warning sign? Cardiovascular diseases are absolutely terrifying. Cardiovascular diseases may develop from years of tobacco use, an unhealthy diet and physical inactivity --- combine that with your 40s and you become a volatile cardiovascular disease surprise.

According to the World Health Organization, “Over 80% of cardiovascular disease deaths take place in low-and middle-income countries and occur almost equally in men and women. Cardiovascular disease risk of women is high particularly after menopause.”

Here are the top three causes, and what cardiovascular disease you may expect from them.

Tobacco User/ Smoker – At first you’d be surprised to find this at the top of the cardiovascular disease list, because for one, you’d expect cigarettes to harm your lungs, not your heart, and for two, it isn’t immediately obvious to people that smoking is bad for the blood.

There’s the carbon monoxide --- it interferes with the transportation of oxygen, and less oxygen means a higher potential for cardiovascular disease. There’s nicotine too --- it decreases the amount of good cholesterol which makes fat become deposited on the walls of an artery. If you’re a long-time smoker, you’re at risk of a stroke or a heart attack.

Unhealthy Diet – An unhealthy diet gives you the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The heart and the blood vessels stop working properly if an unhealthy diet leaves a build up of fat deposits on the inside lining of the blood vessels. These fat deposits cause the blood vessels to become narrow, thereby blocking off the blood flow.

Of the cardiovascular diseases that may get someone with an unhealthy diet, a stroke is most likely. Someone who experiences a mini-stroke while being overweight still has a potential for full recovery, but it would involve losing weight to prevent further cardiovascular disease.

Physical Inactivity – Currently there are studies being performed linking physical inactivity to cardiovascular disease. It’s not a direct result of the sedentary lifestyle, but it would still affect you indirectly. Long bouts of physically inactive bodies might develop arterial stiffness, and for the body to develop a resistance to insulin. It has also been found that cases of these happen to people in their 40s.

The metabolic dysfunction that follows is closely-tied to cardiovascular disease. No doubt, there is an increasing need for regular physical activity while you’re young, since the metabolic dysfunction only develops after years of inactivity. A heart attack or a stroke’s risk is high among people living highly inactive lifestyles.

Keeping the Fire in Your Belly

Fires. Bellies. I think keeping the fire in your belly denotes that you are a dragon, and that keeping that fire alive is a priority.

I think a more succinct interpretation of that statement is keeping the spark alive for when you’re over 40 --- the passion for life and living --- the thing that keeps us going. Rather than let it get blown out like a birthday candle off a cake for every birthday we get, we keep on fanning the flames to nourish the fire.

What can you do to keep the fire in your belly alive?

TLC – Tender loving care. Scratch that --- TLC is the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes diet. It’s for people who have heart disease, have a high risk of getting it, or just have high cholesterol. Even if you don’t have them, it’s better to be prepared than to be catching up when it’s all too late. It means having less than 7% of saturated fat DAILY, with 25-35 percent of the day’s meals solely for the calories from fat. It means having to have enough cholesterol to be able to maintain a healthy weight.

Become the “Cause” – In cause and effect, are you often standing in the effect side of the situation? Are you riding life based on reactions? Become proactive, this is part of keeping the fire in your belly. Will you let situations ride you, and not the other way around? This means taking action and taking responsibility for them. You are never a victim of circumstance.

Define your life’s mission statement – Its funny how most people go through life without knowing who they really are --- and in keeping the fire in your belly, you have to be able to define who you are. It could be a tag line, for who you wish to be seen as. It helps you stop procrastinating, and will make you focused on the more important goals. It could be as simple as, “Being the one who looks after the family.”

What Should I Watch Out For When I Get Over 40?

When you get over 40, there’s this obvious risk of getting any disease. Some are even surprising --- the people who have don’t ingest toxic substances suddenly getting sick?! If we ourselves have a drink or a smoke from time-to-time, how safe are we? What should we look out for?

Tobacco smoke – This is the silent and deadliest killer. The media has informed us repeatedly that cigarette smoking is bad for the health --- I mean, even the packs of cigarettes themselves have the warning --- so how could it still creep up on us? If you’re over 40 and you still smoke, then maybe it’s time to quit, or even lessen the number of cigarettes you light up daily. If you’re not a smoker, remember: second-hand smoke is oftentimes more dangerous than first-hand smoke. Better stop hanging out with friends who smoke, or walking through smoking areas --- it’s toxic!

Alcohol – We can make up all the excuses like red wine being good for the heart, but alcohol is still alcohol --- have too much and it’ll haunt you for the rest of your years. You could claim that you’re not an alcoholic, that, instead, the alcohol follows you, but you should take responsibility when you drink. When you’re over 40, binge drinking is harder to recover from, and is harder to escape. If you have an alcohol problem, it can contribute to higher triglycerides, cancer or heart disease. Enroll yourself in a program if you can’t handle it on your own, or, better yet, condition yourself to drink less.

Weight – When you’re over 40, it’s harder to notice that your metabolism has slowed down to a crawl. You may claim that it’s just the beer weight, but any additional weight is just added load to your heart. Plus, chances are, if you start gaining weight, it means that you might possibly have higher blood pressure, higher blood cholesterol, and a higher risk for diabetes or a heart condition. It may also signify inactivity, are you moving less? Join a weekend exercise class, or jog before going into the morning shower --- it’ll do your body good, too, with the endorphins.

More info about your health? read other blogs posted here or go to over40andfighting.com

Do Nutritional Gaps Affect You?

Every diet is a bust. No matter how careful you plan them --- there won’t be enough x-mineral or x-vitamin to fill up the daily recommendation.

The vast majority of us don’t get enough Vitamins A through E on a daily basis, let alone the omega-3s and fish oils. It’s gotten to the point where deficiency testing has become such a staple in your doctor’s check-up.

These gaps make way for damaged DNA, or the support for cellular growth. This leads to premature aging and diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.

There is such a thing too, as overdosing on certain vitamins to reduce the chances of a disease. It has recently been found that Vitamin B DOES NOT directly affect the risk of heart attack in high-risk individuals.

The disappointing thing is that we know so little about how certain vitamins and minerals from food interact with others upon consumption --- so yes, in a way, nutritional gaps affect you.

The best way to curb the gap is by a diet that is both varied and nutritious. Mix up fruits, vegetables, fish, carbohydrates, low-fat meat and chicken. Add in some whole grains and low-fat dairy products. For those of us who are slightly older than the rest who need a little more nutrition need to take up supplements that are perfectly balanced, for an excess may lead to an amount of antioxidants that are slightly toxic in the body.

My Battles With Daily Temptation

Everyday is a good day to be alive.  Not that the world becomes perfect overnight --- it’s just that the amount of possibilities is staggering.  So does the daily temptation.

Being a little older than some of my colleagues, it’s easier to see why things seem easier for me.  I know better, and that “last” bottle of beer?  I know it’s going to haunt me --- if not in the morning, but for months or years to come.

It’s easy to think back to easier times, when, after a day of solid work, I’d go thinking how a couple of bottles of beers, cigarette breaks or a heavy meal might do me some good --- but now, these things are part of the daily temptation I try so hard to avoid.

 

Alcohol – I never believe in alcohol abuse.  The alcohol doesn’t abuse the body of the drinker, but when the drinker decides to abuse the alcohol, that’s when things go horribly wrong.  Part of the daily temptation is knocking back a few after a hard day’s work.  I used to think that I deserve that shot, or that bottle --- but now I consider that I deserve MORE.  I deserve my health, for what lifestyle changes I put my body through.

Smoking – I tried it when I was younger.  My advice is, if you don’t smoke already, don’t even try it.  It’s a nasty habit that leaves your teeth stained and your hands constantly smelling like burnt excess.  Daily temptation is storming out of a conference call and lighting one of these up in the designated smoking area.  Most buildings have designated smoking areas that just make you feel bad about smoking, like an empty rooftop.  If that wasn’t a sign enough already, consider your health.  I considered mine.

Heavy meals – A good meal is something to be valued, treasured, even --- for a meal only happens once in your life.  But constantly binge eating only reinforces the bad habit as instant gratification.  It makes your body ill and makes you think less of yourself.  I can’t think of a time when something deep-fried or buttered isn’t a daily temptation, and I’m not bound to try and decode why --- I don’t want to confess these sins from a hospital bed, see.  :D

Do YOU want a healthy heart?

“Do I want a healthy heart?”  Not to be crude, but … well, duh! 

With the current trend of a lifestyle of excesses, it’s easy not to care what the heart has to say, when you’re puffing that smoke, downing that drink and chewing that glorious piece of red meat.  Even though studies have shown that men have a greater risk of heart disease, women should be equally concerned.  Heart diseases can start from palpitations, a mild discomfort in the chest, followed by a running pain down your shoulders … and well, that’s it.

In order to keep safe, you follow a few simple tips.  Some of which may be hard to follow, but remember to ask yourself, “Do I want a healthy heart?”

Learn to Breathe

Take deeper breathes.  No, really.  The deeper the breathes, the more amount of oxygen is taken in, which is just important for the heart.  Get one of those air purifiers for your home while you’re at it.

Laugh out loud

Laughter has been proven to increase immune functions, boost endorphin release and whatnot --- but the deeper reason for choosing it is simple: stress is a killer.  Stress causes palpitations, arrhythmia and other heart disturbances.  Try watching funny movies at least twice a week, or read the funny papers before heading to work --- it’ll do you a world of good.

Exercise

A strong heart is a healthy heart --- just like any other muscle in the body, it must get the exercise it needs to get the blood pumping.  Not enough time to work-out?  Use your environment --- choose the stairs over the escalator the next time you’re in the mall.  Take a walk in your afternoon coffee break. 

Supplement

Eat as many organic fruits and vegetables that you can --- this is bar-none the best thing you could do for your heart.  If you can, eat them fresh and uncooked, as some of the nutrients are lost once a fruit or vegetable is cooked.  Eat fresh fish twice a week, and get more omega-3’s from a fish oil supplement.

Limit

Avoid any kind of toxic exposure for the body.  Limit your intake of saturated and trans fats or anything cooked in hydrogenated oil.  Stop that cigarette habit.  Quit the binge drinking!  All of these contribute to you getting a higher blood pressure, which is always linked to heart disease.

May you live long, strong and happy!

40: Time to get serious about your health

We love living an unhealthy lifestyle because it needs no effort AT ALL. Eating fatty foods, high dosage of sugar, infinite number of junk foods and the list goes on and on. But if you reflect on this particular sign below, we all know that being 40 years of age is not bad start to have a healthy lifestyle.

Do you get angry when your husband or wife drink a lot or eat unhealthy foods? Look at it this way, think of how hard you can change yourself and you will realize how impossible it is to change others.

Here are 3 serious yet simple tips that can jump start yourself to a healthy lifestyle:

1. Exercise – It’s easier said than done as always. If you don’t have the energy to exercise, procrastination always sinks in. Hey! Walking is also a form of exercise. Walk around the block for a set of time everyday and avoid using your car when going to nearby places. Save the environment and save yourself.

2. Eating habit – This is one of the hardest habits to control. I have to admit I am a slave of this habit. When hunger kicks in, this is where I don’t procrastinate. Avoid dining out and going to eat-all-you-can buffets! That will kill you faster, believe me. Also, drink vitamins everyday.

3. Attitude – believe me or not, this is a serious health factor. When you are always grouchy and unhappy, it will affect your internal organs normal function. I am pretty sure you had experienced being depressed and unable to eat or so mad that you can’t digest your food normally. Well, that is an evidence that it does affect your health.

Even if you are now at the 50th mark, it is not yet too late. Nothing is too late unless life ends. In fact, if you are 50, you are just 10 years away from when your life started!