Enjoying a healthy retirement will depend on paying proper attention to both body and mind. Let’s start by getting physical!:
- Ensure you are protected from ill-health. This means keeping up your vaccinations against infectious diseases. Organise regular blood tests and other checks – skin, circulation, bone density, faecal blood, sight, hearing, etc., in order to detect any problems in the early stages. Early diagnosis and treatment may prevent the onset of chronic ill-health.
- Take regular exercise to keep muscles strong and to stretch ligaments and tendons. Welcome any opportunities to exercise your legs – walk or cycle instead of driving; take the stairs rather than using the lift. Stand rather than sit. Use hand weights to keep the arm, shoulder and back muscles strong. Enrol in regular Yoga and Pilates classes to help you develop a fitness routine.
- Attend to your posture. The head is a very heavy part of the body and walking looking down, not ahead, puts strain on the neck and shoulder muscles and, in time, the stoop becomes fixed in place. Try to keep the head vertically over the neck and spine when walking or sitting. At the other end, avoid the ‘retirement shuffle’ – knees always bent and feet just skimming the ground. Walk so that the heel hits the ground first, then roll forward on the foot so that the toes are the last to leave the ground. Let the knee joint straighten just before the toes push off. Always think ‘toes up’ when walking so as to avoid a trip which could have serious consequences.
- Eat well. A diet of mostly carbohydrate with a little protein and fat has been shown to prolong life. Pay especial attention to keeping your colon and its friendly bacteria healthy and happy. Ensure your diet includes seeds, nuts, grains, whole fruits and vegetables. The saying: An apple a day… is still good advice, but eat it all, skin, core and pips. Make breakfast your most important and colon-friendly meal. Avoid extreme diets and fasting.
- Get fixable problems, such as arthritic hips and knees, remedied as soon as possible. You need to be fully mobile to keep fit, and to live an active life. Be careful in your choice of surgeons!
- Take a nap in the afternoon.
- Pour yourself a glass of red wine in the evening
- Keep away from ladders, loud music and heavy burdens!
- Don’t waste your money on vitamin supplements, extra minerals (except calcium), pre- and probiotics, and so-called de-tox treatments.
In the event that you do become ill, first get a medical diagnosis and follow through with the approved treatment regime, before resorting to alternative treatments. If you are unhappy with the way your problem is being managed, seek a second opinion.
Note: Further information on human health, as seen from the viewpoint of a veterinarian, will be available soon on another blog: avetsview.co
Renaissance not Retirement 