Wednesday, January 05, 2000
10 health tips for 2000
Use basic, common-sense strategies to live as long as possible in new millennium
BY SUE MacDONALD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Let these be your health mantras for the next 1,000 years (or at least for the first few months of 2000, just to get you started). “There are no magic pills.” “There are no quick fixes.” “Only I am truly in charge of my health.”
Change, responsibility, education, ownership — those are the important concepts to peruse if you're interested in good health and living as long in this millennium as possible.
Changing health habits doesn't necessarily have to be complicated or messy, especially if you are in basically good health with no underlying chronic problems.
Here are a few simple acts to start you on your way.
• Buckle up. Wear your seat belt always, and buckle up your kids. Car accidents remain a leading cause of death, especially for kids and teen-agers. Use an approved child safety seat. Install and belt it correctly. Keep infants and children in the back seat, not the front where passenger-side air bags can be risky. Teach teens the importance of safe driving, and be a good role model yourself.
• Get off your butt. If there is anything that resembles a magic pill, it's exercise. Exercise can control diabetes, improve heart function, jumpstart sluggish digestion, relieve arthritis pains, increase mental alertness, improve muscle tone and help you sleep better at night. Go walk around the block today. Tomorrow, go two blocks. Keep going until you build up to at least 30 minutes a day for the rest of your life. Not a walker? Find something actively fun.
• Get your kids off their butts. Take the kids with you. Go out in the yard and play (sure, it's cold. So what?) Join a swim club or fitness center. Hit the hiking trail at the nearest park. Enroll young'uns in a class or sport or activity they like. Turn them onto running, walking, skateboarding, swimming, biking, martial arts, volleyball, tag, fencing, even jump roping. Here's a novel thought: turn off the TV/computer/video game and encourage them to find something that doesn't require a remote control, keyboard, mouse or joy stick.
• Un-sweeten yourself and your kids. Sugar used to be a treat. Now Americans guzzle it all day long — sweetened coffees, exercise drinks and cereals, candy, sugary snacks, fruit-flavored sugar water. The average American downs about 64 pounds of sugar a year, and per capita consumption of added sugars has risen by 28 percent since 1983, according to Natural Health. Limit yourself to one sugary drink/pop a day. Push more water and milk, not empty calories. Too much sugar can lead to obesity (and its related health problems), moodiness and unhealthy, uncontrolled cravings. Local dentists are noticing an upswing in cavities and just plain rotted-out teeth, especially among older teens and young adults who bathe their teeth in sugary drinks from breakfast till bedtime.
• Eat your fruits and veggies. The evidence mounts, and it's pretty clear that fruits and vegetables are just plain good for you. They're high in vitamins, minerals, nutrients and other substances that can help your immune system do its job more efficiently, never a bad thing.
• Get sexually informed. Talk about sex with your partner and your kids. Abstinence is a fine concept, but it's a disservice to kids if all they learn is what not to do. Parents are responsible for morals. But children and teens also need critical health information on how to be sexually responsible, sexually safe and sexually protected when they become sexually active adults. Some teens are having sex (why else 12 million teens with sexual diseases?), no matter how much adults hide their heads in the proverbial sand. If you can't talk about sexuality because of your own embarrassment, direct your kids to experts who can. Examples: Postponing Sexual Involvement program (872-8948), Social Health Education Inc. (721-2912), American Social Health Association (919) 361-8400.
• Don't supersize at the fast-food restaurant. Ever. There's no reason to eat THAT much food, and supersizing is a way for restaurants to profit-ize at your expense. You're basically paying 25-50 cents (and higher) for a few cents worth of food or drink. Something is amiss in the portion-control department when a single super-jumbo fountain drink can feed 4-5 people.
• Keep it simple. Remember this: More than 90 percent of diets don't work because people focus on short-term results rather than lifelong patterns of healthful eating. It's this simple: eat less, exercise more.
• Open your mind. There are plenty of ways to get well and be well, and your doctor may be familiar with only a few. It's your responsibility, in this HMO-driven system, to educate yourself and take charge of health. Know your body. Be observant about what works and what doesn't. Consumers, not always the doctors, often fuel the trends in health care.
• Get a smoke and CO detector: Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are cheaper and better than ever before, thanks to new technology. If you don't have one, get one now. It can be a life saver — yours.
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