Quick question.
When do you generally visit a healthcare set-up? The commonest answer given, “When I fall ill, of course!”
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And what about prevention and precaution? “Well, if it ain’t broken, what is the need to fix it?” Men tend to skip the doctor’s visit until they become sick, injure themselves or are facing serious health concerns. Preventive healthcare is an aspect not many people set aside time for, unless there is a very strong family history of a disease.
Taking such a chance seems less risky when young, but once you cross the age of 50 years, it is not a sensible road to take. Post 50 years, it is important to note every little change in health. More so, it is better to take preventive steps towards sustaining and maintaining a healthy constitution.
Adopt and mold these practices into your lifestyle for a healthier post-golden anniversary.
- Be Active – As the body tends to become slower in its reactions after the age of 40 years, put special emphasis on being physically active. It helps to improve muscle strength & flexibility and ensures a healthier heart. Indulging in any activity of your choice be it aerobics, brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc. help to increase the strength of the heart and prevent lifestyle diseases like Obesity, High Blood Pressure and Diabetes.If you have never been active before, consult your family before starting any particular exercise or activity.
- Eat Consciously- Gone are the days when you could have a pizza for lunch and burger for dinner. It is time to get more conscious about what you eat. The digestive system and liver become more sensitive to what you eat as you grow older. Consume more of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Beans, lentils, nuts, eggs, fish and poultry are rich sources of protein and should make up at least 15% of your daily diet. Cut down on refined sugar, salt, and foods with a high amount of cholesterol and trans fats. This includes most of the packaged and processed foods that have flooded the food markets today. For optimum weight and robust heart, the more natural foods you include in your diet, the healthier you will be.
- Evaluate Your Lifestyle- The usual suspects in the list of diseases related to lifestyle are high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Put it bluntly, these diseases are proof that there is something very wrong about your lifestyle. Which is why a close watch on your blood pressure, blood sugar levels and blood lipid levels help to warn you where and how you are going wrong. If you have never had high blood pressure, a check-up is required to be done every 6 months. The higher the blood pressure, the more are the chances of heart attack and stroke. Go for regular blood sugar testing (at least every 3 months). A high blood sugar puts you at risk of neurological, eye-related, kidney-related and heart-related ailments. Risks of suffering from heart disease or stroke are also high when cholesterol or lipid levels are elevated. Lipid profile testing should be done at least once a year for men post 50 years.
- Quit The Stick- When you stay away from smoking, you do yourself a favor on many levels. You drastically bring down your chances of high blood pressure, while keeping lung cancer at bay. Lung cancer is among the fastest spreading cancers in the body and are often discovered well into the later stages, where recovery is painful, and often, short.
It is only through proactive behavior that you can ensure you have a healthy life after 50. Act now for a healthier you!
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