The Come Alive Project

Tag: Senior Wellness

  • Energy Bite 334 – Blue Zones Revisited

    I’ve written about the Blue Zones a number of times. Blues Zones are parts of the world where a substantial number of the population tend to live over the 100 year mark. Dan Buettner, a former National Geographic writer who explored these regions, gave them their name, popularized the term, and wrote several books on the reasons people live longer in these areas.

    I was reminded of this when I saw an article in this morning’s Washington Post, Health and Science Section, promoting a book about things other than exercise and nutrition as keys to longevity.  The book is called Growing Young: How Friendship, Optimism and Kindness Can Help You Live to 100, by Marta Zaraska.I haven’t read it, but from the description, it seems to echo those longevity factors pointed out by Dan Buettner years ago. 

    What stands out in Dan Buettner’s Blue Zones writings, as well as reiterated in the Washington Post article, is that while Physical Movement and Eating nutritionally are the major factors in keeping you young in body and at heart, there are other factors, common to Blue Zones, that are major contributors to longevity, too.

    What are they, you ask? Among those common to all the Blue Zones, are

    1. Live with Purpose. Have a reason for getting up in the morning. A purposeless life is a boring life.

    2. Shed the stress. Stress is one of the major contributors to aging and illness. Meditate. Become present. Take afternoon naps. All help reduce stress.

    3. Wine. Most Blue Zones locations, with the exception of Loma Linda, California, consider that a glass or two of wine or alcohol beverage, taken with friends, contributes to longevity. I’ll point out that this is not a recommendation from me.

    4. A sense of belonging to a community of supporters and friends. People from Blue Zones areas all seem to have a strong sense of small group community — a tight circle of friends with whom they socialize.

    5. A Positive Attitude. According to the Washington Post article, a recent study found that “optimistic men and women have 11 to 15 percent longer lifespans than their counterparts. They characterized optimism as ‘a psychological resource that promotes health and longevity.’ “  Hmm, that sounds sort of like a chicken and egg thing but the reality is that positive people seem to live longer according to numerous resources I have come across. Common sense would seem to apply, too.

    The point of all this is that there really are significant factors beyond Exercise and Good Food that contribute to our longevity. We should be aware of those factors and put them into practice in our own lives as we get older. Most likely, we will live longer and better if we do.

    Thank you for reading.

  • Energy Bite 329 – I Need Your Help, Please

    Am I out of topics? There are probably a lot of topics I haven’t covered in these 329 articles. But in my mind, I am running out of topics. I need your help. I need your questions and comments. I want to know your questions, wants and concerns about your Health, Fitness and Personal Energy for Living.

    So, this week’s post is NOT an article. It is a request.

    I need your input. I don’t take comments on this website, mostly because I don’t like Trolls, negativism and unwanted spam in the comments section.

    But I do like feedback. I get most of my feedback in the form of the emails you send me. That’s why I include my email address when I send out these articles every week. Please keep those emails coming.

    But I need more comments and questions and thoughts. Yes, I welcome them. I want them from anyone and everyone who reads these articles. I will use them to get questions to answer either in print or in a new and upcoming video format I will soon be trying out. I want your comments as to what you would like to see covered, questions you want answered, and anything I can do to improve the quality of these short weekly messages.

    Remember that my goal is to provide useful and practical information and commentary that will help active seniors look and feel better, be fitter, healthier, discover the Fountain of Youth that is already within each of you, and tap into the flow of life. What I write is not always relevant to all readers. “Take what you find useful, disregard the rest, and add your own unique perspective.”   — Bruce Lee

    So, I thank you in advance for your comments, thoughts and questions. My email address is bob@thecomealiveproject.com.

    Please let me hear from you. I do read and respond to my emails.

    Thank you for reading.

  • Energy Bite 328 – Why These Weekly Messages?

    These weekly messages are Short “Bites” of information, advice or commentary, usually somewhere between 400 and 800 words, that usually take two to three minutes to read. I try to keep the reading time under three minutes, usually two minutes. You can read it quickly, absorb what’s in it, and get on with other things. I hope you choose to read it.

    Occasionally, it is wise to provide a refresher as to why I write and why you should read these weekly articles. I wrote about this four years ago and I thought it might be a good time to have that refresher during this period of disruption to many of our normal daily activities.

    There’s not a lot out there for Active Seniors, so I attempt to provide useful, inspiring, and sometimes entertaining information about Health, Fitness and Personal Energy for Active Adults approaching age 55, 65, 75 or even older. I cover the physical, mental, and sometimes the spiritual aspects of becoming Seniors and how we can be prepared to get the most from our Senior Years. It’s all about how to discover and tap into your own Fountain of Youth. Sometimes I include stories about interesting people and situations.

    The information I offer comes from research, experience and opinion (mine and others). Sometimes I have strong opinions. Sometimes you will agree with me, sometimes you will disagree. I try to cover all sides.

    Often there is so much conflicting information (Nutrition for example), that I use my own experience as the example. At 80 years old, I am reasonably healthy and fit and try to live what I speak and write about. Most of the time it works, occasionally it doesn’t.  There are so many opposing theories on nutrition that there are likely to be two new theories published by the time you finish reading this article.

    Cutting back on meat, upping the vegetables and cutting out a lot of sugar and processed foods seems to be a workable common denominator for weight loss and healthy eating. I lost nearly 40 pounds in 6 months. But that might not work for you. Remember your goal should not be just to lose weight; there are a lot of unhealthy skinny people. Your goal should be overall health and fitness.

    Exercise, too, is a matter of what works for you and what your goals are. Seniors have different abilities than younger people. It takes a little longer to build muscle and a little longer to recover from exercise. Fall prevention is a major consideration. So is injury prevention. Is cardio best? Is weight lifting? Stretching? Running or walking? The real answer depends on your goals. For most of us, our goal is not to be a performance athlete, but rather to have a balanced, healthy and fit body that looks good, feels good and will do the things we want it to do so that we will live a long, functional, happy and independent life.

    I don’t offer medical advice. I don’t always believe what doctors tell me. Sometimes I’m right. Mostly they’re right.

    I’ll always be transparent about what is real, what is opinion and what is nonsense. But don’t forget that today’s nonsense is tomorrow’s science. Science is now getting serious about the whole “mind over matter” thing. Does your body really respond to your thoughts?  What role does your attitude play in your overall health. Can you modify your genes, or do your thoughts just influence the way they act?  “Epi-genetics” is a new buzzword. The possibilities of new discoveries that are being made about our genes can have powerful effects on medical treatment in the future.

    So, I’ll continue to write these “bites” of information about Health, Fitness and Personal Energy for Active Seniors. In a few months, I may be adding some video into the mix so look for that. Stay tuned, you should find it interesting, useful, and even entertaining.

    Thank you for reading.