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There seems to be a lot of media focus recently on “breathing” and “the breath”. Maybe it’s like noticing more red cars on the road after having just bought one, but it seems like there are so many more articles being published on the importance of breathing for the benefit of both mind and body.

We can go without food for a long time. We can go without water for a moderate amount of time. But we can’t go without oxygen for more than a few minutes. Breathing is critical to life. All too often we take it for granted; after all, it’s a natural and automatic function and something we rarely even notice.

“Just by paying attention to breathing, you can access new levels of health and relaxation that will benefit every area of your life.” — Deepak Chopra, MD.

During the next several weeks I will be publishing a series of articles on the most effective ways to breathe to get the maximum energy benefit. I’ll be writing about deep breathing vs. shallow breathing; abdominal breathing vs. chest breathing; The new trend of “hyperventilation”; how personal energy is derived from breathing; meditation and breathing; spiritual meaning of breath and breathing (the word breath is derived from the Latin: Spiritus); breathing and voice quality as an indication of aging; and other points related to breathing.

Let me start by saying that the body has a tremendous filtering system. By the time most air gets to your lungs and into your bloodstream, it has been well filtered. That doesn’t mean you should stand in the middle of an Interstate Highway with a lot of truck traffic, and go through a series of deep breathing exercises. It does mean that if you are a runner, running on a local road with normal automobile traffic shouldn’t present a major problem. It also means that if you are a normal adult, breathing most air on a day to day basis shouldn’t cause alarm.

The normal respiration rate of the average adult, including seniors, is between 9 and 15 breaths per minute plus or minus a few either side of that range. This assumes you are at rest and not exerting yourself. Normally your respiration rate will increase with exertion and will slow down as you recover. Duh! Your respiration rate can also be affected by medications of various varieties. It will often decrease with narcotic based medications and alcohol. Respiration can increase as a result of other medications. Your doctor knows best. Shortness of breath or rapid, uncontrollable breathing can indicate a major medical problem — time to see your doctor.

So much has been written on the proper way to breathe that most adults understand the difference between proper abdominal breathing and breathing with the upper chest. How do you know if you are using abdominal breathing? Lie down on the floor (on your back please) and put your hand on your abdomen. Breathe in. Your abdominal area should rise and expand. Exhale and your abdominal area should contract. It’s that simple. But many of us were taught, as kids, that it’s the other way around. Now you know.

The oxygen you take in is absorbed into your bloodstream and transported throughout your body to the cells where it is converted to energy for your body to function. During the next several weeks, I will be covering many aspects of breathing and how your respiratory system works to energize and vitalize your body (and your mind). I’ll also mention how some new research on oxygen use in the body, including purposeful hyperventilation, is leading to increased performance abilities of some athletes, and how it can be adapted to your own daily life.

I think you’ll find the upcoming articles on oxygen consumption and energy conversion in the body to be interesting and personally useful. Your personal energy as a senior is dependent on how you breathe.

Thank you for reading.

When I was a kid, while in one of my rebellious stages I suppose, I once suggested to my parents that I would much prefer to take my meals as a pill of some sort rather than eat overly boiled green beans or peas and carrots. My parents didn’t think much of the idea and told me to eat my vegetables.

But more and more, fake food seems to be becoming part of our eating regimen. Consider the fake butter (oleo margarine) that my mother used to make by kneading fat and food coloring of some sort. We have always had hybrid foods where one food was intertwined with another, one fruit bred with another to come up with a new variety of the same basic fruit (think tomatoes and apples). We’ve had hybrid corn around for centuries.

We are now seeing synthetic versions of food genes being implanted into many of our foods to create part real, part fake foods. A Swiss company has developed synthetic vanilla and synthetic saffron and claim that it is much less labor intensive to create foods in the lab rather than growing them in the fields.

We already have many powders and supplements that their manufacturers claim to replace or enhance existing foods on the market. Many of these are unregulated.

Astronauts are eating partly synthetic foods in space.

The crowning glory is illustrated by an article in today’s Washington Post, Science and Health Section, where food scientists are considering producing lab grown beef. Scientists claim that it is much more environmentally sound to make lab grown beef than it is to produce a real cow in the field. It would take less water and electricity to produce, and the environmental benefits of less cow gas would be enormous.

Apparently the color of the lower fat beef currently being produced in the lab is “yellow”. Yeech! And if the lab folks add too much omega 3 fatty acid, the fake beef tastes like fish. Hmm. Seems like there are some bugs to be worked out.

The effect at the grocery store will be interesting, too. Right now a lab grown burger costs $330,000 according to the Washington Post article. Meatballs cost only $18,000 per pound to produce. According to the Post article an American Company is producing lab grown “steak chips” which are expected to be in the stores soon. More reasonably priced I presume.

Are we ready for all this? I suppose it is inevitable and that we should probably prepare ourselves for a future of at least partly synthetic, laboratory designed and produced foods.

I suspect that lab grown food will become a major part of our nutritional future. I hope that cool heads are part of the development process as these synthetic and lab grown treats slowly become a reality. Will lab grown foods fuel our bodies as well as natural grown foods? I imagine that evolution will alter some of our own genes to accommodate the realities of the future.

And all this, just as I’m learning to enjoy my vegetables.

Thank you for reading.

 

 

Group exercise can be a very positive experience.

My wife, Edie, just got back from her exercise class. She goes to an excellent exercise class two times a week if she can. She prefers to exercise with a group rather than exercise by herself, even though when she can’t get the two per week classes into her day, she will sometimes go to the gym and work on the machines, and use the weights on her own. She prefers the camaraderie associated with group exercise.

It is not an easy class. I tried it once. Her class leader, who is a friend of mine and a tough but fair taskmaster, once told Edie that I wouldn’t like the class because I had my own routine that I did by myself. She was right. I prefer individual exercise. But the time I tried it was an eye opener for me. It was an eye opener for several reasons.

First it was very challenging. There were a lot of bodyweight strength movements along with the normal stretching and aerobic movements that I assumed the class would consist of. The instructor challenged all the major muscle groups in the body, as well as lubricating the hinges (joints) with suitable mobility and flexibility moves. She covered all the bases. The instructor motivated everyone do all the movements — and they did them . . .  all of them.

Second, there were a lot of older adults in their late 60s and 70s who participated in the class. No one got a free pass. Even those over 70 did all the moves.

Third, there was accountability. This is important. You can’t make excuses. The other members of the class hold you accountable for full participation. This accountability includes showing up, showing up on time and doing the movements along with the entire class. No sloughing off.

Fourth was the amount of fun everyone seemed to be having, even though they were working hard together.

Years ago, I was involved in the original Boot Camp style program in the Washington, DC area. I had proposed to introduce a program for Seniors and ended up marketing as well as participating fully in the program. I was 62 at the time. The marketing pieces emphasized the following:

NO MUSIC

NO DANCING

NO MIRRORS

NO MACHINES

NO SPANDEX

NO JUICE BARS

NO CRYBABIES

NO REFUNDS

Their tag line was: BE ALL YOU USED TO BE! One of the most motivating aspects of the program was accountability. Sometimes, if you didn’t show up for class, the class might just go by your house and knock on your door. It was all in good fun and the programs were always full, usually 24 plus to a class, and held all over the DC area.

Classes and group exercise programs are great for many people and it might pay to look into a few of them. They can range from the full body exercise classes like my wife takes, to classes where older adults simply sit in a chair and move around a bit.

If you want to exercise but are uncomfortable being on your own, I would recommend that you find a class that emphasizes all aspects of fitness: Strength, flexibility, mobility, and some aerobics. They are held in gyms, Community Centers, YMCAs and many other locations. Talk to others already in the class before you join. Try to find a class where there are other Seniors participating. If they say that the instructor makes it easy — don’t join. If they say it is challenging — consider joining.

Give it a shot, you might just enjoy it.

Thank you for reading.