Joan discusses the importance of correct nutrition as one gets older
and how a lack of essential vitamins and minerals can affect one's physical
and mental wellbeing.
RECIPE FOR THOSE RETIREMENT YEARS
How does one enjoy those “Golden Years?” Those years which some look forward toand others dread.
‘The Golden Years’, should be the reward for the period spent striving to provide for,
and educate our children, but they often find us suffering from the physical and
mental ailments of advancing age. Instead of being active with the free time to enjoy
golf or tennis or to travel, many retired people find themselves handicapped by, for
example, arthritis. Worse, many men find that the stresses and strains of their
business life have left them overweight and with heart problems in their retirement.
Alzheimers is another condition which robs us of the quality of life which we should
be able to enjoy in our retirement years.
Is there an answer? Can the perils of poor health in what should be our Golden
Years be avoided? Many nutritionists and experts in anti ageing, think the answer lies
with supplementation of the essential minerals, trace elements and vitamins which
are missing from food.
Our food nowadays is bereft of nutritional value due to the processing which it
undergoes before it reaches us. The soil, treated with artificial fertilisers, in which
vegetables, fruit and other crops are grown, is so denuded of the minerals which are
so vital to our well-being. We are engulfed with free radicals each day. With this
onslaught and poor nutrition it is little wonder that our bodies lose the battle against
the major diseases of our time, cancer, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, to name only a
few.
The medical profession knows that an ageing body is not able to assimilate vitamins
and minerals as well as a younger one. By the time we reach our 60’s and 70’s
unless we supplement our vitamins and minerals intake, it is likely that we begin to
feel less energetic, mentally as well as physically. The danger then is that we
become less active just at the time when exercise is so important. Nutritionists agree
that supplementation of vitamins A, C, E and, particularly the B complex, along with
the minerals calcium, magnesium, manganese, selenium, potassium and zinc is
necessary as we age.
One symptom of B.12 deficiency is senility and studies show that most people over
50 are deficient in B.12. A protective programme for the brain requires good nutrition
plus a broad base multi vitamin and mineral supplement. Certain vitamins are of
particular importance for the brain, including the B complex from thiamine (B.1),
through to cobalamine (B.12).
One of the problems with the B complex is that they are often difficult to absorb from
food, particularly as one gets older. Often one’s appetite diminishes with age and
today’s inferior food will not provide these ingredients in the quantities we need.
Supplementation is the answer.
There are many choices of supplements on the shelves, many of which are not worth
their cost as they are produced synthetically. It is worth making an effort to find a
brand which is produced from natural plant sources, though there are not many of
these on the market and those that are, may appear to be expensive. However, their
cost will ensure that money is not wasted on worthless synthetic products.
The importance of diet to a diabetic person is well known, but the danger of insulin
resistance and Syndrome X, which can precede diabetes, may not be so well known.
Endocrinologist Gerald Raven of Stanford University has identified Syndrome X as
the ‘most destructive collection of age related abnormalities known to man,
encompassing high blood pressure, distorted cholesterol and triglycerides’. Little
known, as yet, Syndrome X makes us prone to obesity, heart disease, stroke, and
diabetes amongst many other degenerative conditions.
Simple changes in how we eat – and exercise – can reverse these abnormalities.
We can live longer and be fitter in our old age.
Self neglect or being ill informed often lead to our ending up with all manner of
physical, mental and emotional disabilities which are wrongly assumed to be a
‘normal’ part of growing older and with which we have to ‘cope’. Degeneration need
not be a ‘normal’ part of ageing.
One of the most persistent false notions about ageing is that as people get older their
brains falter; they are unable to learn new things and they lose their creativity – their
usefulness to society. Research shows that many of these deficiencies can be
overcome. It is never too late to make simple changes that can alter your life.
It is biological age NOT chronological age which counts.
Refs: Age Power, Lesley Kenton
Prescription for Nutritional Healing, James F and Phyllis A Baach.
The Optimum Nutrition Bible, Patrick Holford.