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Keep on Running
…Or at least walking briskly three times a week for about half
an hour. You’ll not only add years to your life, but (sorry about the cliché, but
it’s true) you will add life to your years.
Around 40% of people over 50 are inactive, and by the time they are in their sixties it
shows: 6% of men and 16% of women over 65 cannot walk any distance unaided and need help
getting up and down stairs. Loss of muscle tone, thinning bones and under-expanded lungs
are not good things to acquire with age.
Sounds gloomy, but the good news is that you can reclaim muscles, reduce bone loss and
expand those lungs with regular exercise. Is the mere thought exercise exhausting? Watch
this space. We have ways to change your mind.
The Vit C spin
‘Vitamin C pills may pose heart attack’ said the
headlines a few week’s back. Let’s hope you didn’t throw the lot down the
loo, because it quickly became clear that the information was none too reliable.
The scare started when a US report claimed that vitamin C could clog the arteries. The
research team claimed they detected thickening of the carotid, vessels in the neck that
supply the brain.
US doctors quickly came to the rescue of their favourite vitamin by saying that
carotid thickening through vitamin C, if it really does occur, may be a result of
reversing the thinning that develops with ageing. Others claimed that the team were using
a new imaging technique with unproven reliability.
And one doctor, who had treated 25,000 patients with vitamin C since 1969, said he had
never come across heart problems in any patient who didn’t have symptoms before
taking vitamin C.
So keep on taking the tablets but remember that moderation is best. Recommended
daily amounts of vitamin C are 90 mg.
But take a look too at recent warnings - see Edition 16
Vitamin C - danger
or false alarm
Look
Good, Feel Great with Diana Moran
Diana Moran demonstrates how to keep fit using a series of simple routines
More
Exercise Beats Arthritis (Video And Booklet)
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‘Oiling the joints’
– new findings
For years people have sworn by cod liver oil
on the vague assumption that somehow it ‘oiled the joints’. Science has now
proved them right.
Cardiff university scientists have found that fish oils reduce the activity of certain
enzymes responsible for cartilage damage. This is very good news for arthritis sufferers,
because one of the ‘bad’ enzymes that gets switched off is a major cause of pain
and inflammation.
Even better news is that you don’t have to take a spoonful of
horrible-tasting cod liver oil, but can buy fish oil dietary supplements in the form of
mercifully tasteless capsules.
Get that Cholesterol Down
Years of health education isn’t doing the trick. New surveys
show that cholesterol levels are only 1-2% lower than 25 years ago, and heart disease is
still the number one problem facing the UK population.
Eating less of fatty foods and more of fresh fruit and vegetables is the advice doctors
give. But the optimum diet doesn’t stop there. Those fish oils mentioned above are
also thought to protect against heart disease – and eating oily fish such as
herrings, sardines and mackeral three times a week does the trick too.
If you’re looking for a tablet to maintain a healthy heart, you might
consider the Healthy Heart Formula which contains a mix of vitamin E, magnesium, garlic
and hawthorn. Sounds a bit like a witch’s brew, but between them they make a powerful
protective combination which the makers claim is ideal for people with a history of heart
disease in the family. Price £3.99 for 30 from health food stores.
If in any doubt about any of the information
covered in healthwise articles and it's relevance for you, consult your GP
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Healthwise is a regular column written especially for laterlife.com
members and visitors by Helen Franks, journalist and author. Welcome to healthwise
1.
