Healthy Living

Every generation has similar and different needs to keep them healthy in mind and body.

Seniors today are in a unique position. Never in the history of mankind have people been living to be 90, 95 or over 100. Centurions are the fastest growing demographic. (although when you had 100 centurions yesterday and 150 today, that’s a 50% increase right there).

For those entering their retirement years, there are health issues that would be a good idea to think about now. These are issues that we wouldn’t have thought about 50 years ago. When we were young(er), we had a greater chance of eating healthy because we were making meals for our families. Work helped to keep our brains active and socializing was easier when we had family to visit and friends nearby. Our memories might have been sharper, so forgetting to take daily medications was probably not a challenge. Today, more of us are adding exercise and mindfulness into our daily routines.

Why think of aging health issues now?

If you aren’t thinking of these health issues, perhaps it’s time to. We are heading to a “use it or lose it” time of our lives. Exercising can be more difficult with one or more chronic conditions and pain. Eating healthy and socializing can lose its’ lustre when we have lost our partner and/or good friends. (It’s no fun planning a meal for one and never has it been easy for most of us to meet new people and make new friends at any age)

Adding healthy habits prior to retirement can help stave off multiple chronic ailments and the associated pain. Healthy habits can also help decrease the number of medications possibly required and their potential side effects. Not taking medications as prescribed by the doctor can lead to their own challenges and serious illness. Adding exercise and socialization can assist in decreasing dementia.

You can see where I’m going with this.

So what’s next?

In this blog series, we are going to take a deeper look at four major areas that can have a major impact on senior health. These areas, or “pillars” are: healthy eating choices, exercise, taking medication as prescribed by the doctor and socialization.

Happily, I have seen the benefits in action of small changes towards a healthy lifestyle in my years working in retirement homes.

The first pillar in this blog series is healthy eating. No, we won’t be introducing kale or eating carrot sticks as a meal (but I am snacking on one now). We’ll look at small changes that can lead to good rewards.

So, look to next Monday for the next blog and I look forward to your comments and suggestions to future blogs.