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Make a habit of staying healthy

By TOM VALEO
Published July 26, 2005

Doctors joke that a healthy patient is merely one who has not had a thorough work-up. There's a good chance that if an adult is thoroughly examined, some problem is likely to show up.

Try as we might, we eventually go the way of all flesh no matter how carefully we eat, how diligently we exercise, how soundly we sleep or how scrupulously we avoid cigarette smoke. The body continues to decline. No one gets out of this alive.

Before you accept the notion that good health is a matter of luck, remember that you can do more than any doctor to protect and preserve your body; all you have to do is make a few sensible choices. Yet the vast majority of Americans fail to do so.

According to a study in a recent issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, 3 percent of Americans follow four basic guidelines for healthy living.

The guidelines are simple, inexpensive and familiar to everyone:

Don't smoke, and avoid secondhand smoke whenever possible.

Keep you body mass index between 18.5 and 25. (You'll find the formula below.)

Eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day.

Walk vigorously, or do some other form of exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week.

If you do all four, you are taking better care of yourself than 97 percent of the adults ages 18 to 74 who were surveyed for this study.

These guidelines can curb one of the most insidious threats to the aging body - the tendency of blood sugar to rise.

As people get older, their cells develop resistance to insulin, the hormone that ushers glucose into the cells for fuel. As a result, the pancreas pumps out more insulin in an effort to get more glucose into the cells, and excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream.

If the level of glucose remains above about 130 milligrams per deciliter of blood after an eight-hour fast, that person is diagnosed with diabetes, a malady that radically accelerates the aging process and promotes an array of problems that include heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disorders and dementia.

Traditionally, diabetics have been told to avoid sugar, alcohol and other foods that rapidly raise the level of glucose in the blood.

Many people can combat diabetes more effectively - or avoid it altogether - by exercising and maintaining a normal level of body fat, especially around the abdomen. Abdominal fat produces substances that promote insulin resistance.

Scientists at the University of Newcastle in England have found that excess weight gained as an adult is more significant in the development of adult-onset diabetes than childhood factors such as birth weight and poor nutrition.

"Our study, which has examined people from birth to adulthood, suggests that the life you lead as an adult has the biggest influence on your health, in terms of diabetes risk, in later life," said Dr. Mark Pearce, leader of the study, which appeared in this month's issue of Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews.

Even people who have inherited a tendency toward certain health problems can avoid them by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

"People may have a genetic predisposition for various disorders, but they don't have to develop those disorders," said Dr. Richard Orlan, president of Comprehensive Geriatric Care Centers of St. Petersburg.

Orlan urges patients to incorporate walking or some other form of exercise into their daily routine, and practice some form of stress relief, such as meditation, focused breathing or tai chi.

"If you don't learn how to tune in to your body and tune out stress, you're in trouble," he said.

Divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches multiplied by itself.

Multiply the result by 703.

Example: If you are 200 pounds and 5-10, you would divide 200 by 4,900 (70 inches by 70 inches).

Multiply the result: .04 x 703, for a BMI of 28.1.

An easier way to calculate your BMI is to go the Web site for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov/ nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/ and click on Calculate Your BMI.

You should keep your BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight. Above 30 is considered obese.

Tom Valeo is a freelance writer specializing in medical and health issues. Write to him c/o Seniority, the St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail features@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 22, 2005, 11:20:06]