My take on being Cooperized - What's that?

In living we face our three enemies of cardiovascular, cancer, and diabetes. These three diseases touch all of us no matter what age we are. Cooper from the Cooper aerobics Center has set up a health program he calls get Cooperized. In this months newsletter there are articles of interest for you.

https://forms.cooperaerobics.com/acton/fs/blocks/showLandingPage/a/2187/p/p-0155/t/page/fm/0

One article can give you the edge against diabetes if you get Cooprize. Seven of the steps everybody agrees with. There are different opinions about supplements but I think you're good to follow your doctors advice for your own personal plan of health. Each one of these steps can be a game changer with diabetes. Here is my take on the steps:

1. Get to a healthy weight. Personally I've been reading less health articles and I allow myself one day a week where I follow my sources to new information. I've been putting more my attention to quit eating insanely. Also I've been looking for opportunities throughout my day to move more an exercise. Mentally I've been focusing on my writing and ministry to Liberia.

2. Make healthy food choices most of the time. This is such a good point that's easy to forget. Life isn't perfect and if you have a weight problem being less-than-perfect can really mess with your head. Lately I have had more success looking at my crazy behavior and eating in being more mindful. I know how to eat right, but I also I'm very capable of doing the craziest things, like binge eating or eating large amounts of food in less than a minute. It's unbelievable.

Adaptive push up

3. Exercise most days of the week. 30 minutes of walking can really help someone with type II diabetes. A couple days a week I do a TRX program and resistance bands. Every day I do 2 or 3 sets of modified push-ups, situps, squats, Heel raises, dips and lunges. I call them my fat man exercises. 

4. Take the right supplements for you. Ask your doctor about supplements and which ones might fit you better. Most of these benefits can be obtained with healthy food. But there maybe things that help you and that's the bottom-line.

5. Do not use tobacco. If you have a death wish there is nothing better that you can do but smoke three packs a day of Lucky Strikes. For most people death comes a little earlier. But you have to be prepared to live a while and you can't breathe. You could be very likely have your mouth or jaw, or tongue, Voice box ripped out of your body. Maybe you'll be lucky to have hardened arteries due to smoking for a instant death of heart attack. But then you could be one of the few who lives into their 80s connected to an oxygen tank this cigarette in the hole of your neck. With tobacco you never know but there is no support whatsoever that it doesn't hurt your health. Do you feel lucky, well do you?

6. Control alcohol. If you drink 2 or less drinks a day alcohol may have some benefits. There are no benefits to your health with three or more drinks a day. Even a little alcohol that could help the heart may be an increasing your chances for certain cancers and diabetes. When you look at the big picture we have every reason to get control of our drinking.

7. Manage your stress. Stress kills and is a factor with the big three things that kill us. Stress can put us into a cycle where we quit doing the things that help us and increase the chances that we may lose in heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Learn about the stress in your life and find ways to deal with it. I am a big fan that everybody should have a mental health professional on their medical team. Much of the way that exercise helps against the pain of arthritis and dependence on painkillers; learning how to deal with stress reduces the need for any kind of medication.

8. Get a regular, comprehensive physical exam. By the time you get to be 40 you need to develop a health team starting with a good GP. Never sit and stew with worry about what is going on your body. Please get over your fear and see your doctor. Being on top of your problems is a life saver. I get it, I have no idea when I will pass away. But getting check ups gives you a better chance to live a little longer and even a little better. Keep walking

When it comes to health a good debate is cool.

Everybody writing about the health scene wants people to read their article. Many times when you look at Health articles you see sensational headlines. When you check out the article the information may even suggest otherwise. But if you made a headline about that nobody would read it.
I came across an article in the Chicago tribune, Health watchdog sets the record straight on which studies to believe.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/sc-hlth-0916-evaluating-health-news-20150910-story.html
http://www.healthnewsreview.org
I went to the website and I clicked on an article Half of Americans have diabetes or pre-diabetes? Really? What does that mean?
I read the study and I looked at the articles from the Los Angeles times, webMD and NBC news. The articles weren't wrong but looking at the health news review I had an opportunity to look at a critical analysis of the study. Not all medical authorities agree that half of Americans have diabetes or prediabetes. The study according to medical people who disagree with the study suggest the study has expanded the definition of diabetes and pre diabetes. This would naturally increase the numbers.
Diabetes is a big enough, and along with heart disease and cancer are the top three killers we face. There is no doubt about it as we age weight becomes a bigger factor in our health. For many years we can carry the weight and still be healthy, but as we age this becomes more difficult.
I appreciate it looking at the study from two points of view. Neither view plays down the problem of diabetes, but I think it helps to understand the best ways to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes.
For me, it encourages me to continue to work on losing weight and keep up exercising. To start with a heart healthy diet is the first beginning strategy.
On health news review there is a four minute interview with the doctor with mayo clinic. Nothing beats being aware of your health numbers and following a personal plan with your doctor. Too many times we blow this off and do not follow the recommendations. Remember our three enemies, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. We need to pay attention to the big picture and get a few more years of independent living in return. Keep walking

Enjoy a glass of ice tea to fight diabetes.

Nicholas Bakalar reporting for the New York Times writes 2 positive choices for reducing type II diabetes. Is not writing about those who already have diabetes but those who may be trying to prevent it.

“Substituting just one serving a day of water or unsweetened tea or coffee for one serving of a sugar-sweetened soft drink or dairy beverage can significantly reduce the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, a new study has found.” 

“Drinking sweetened tea or coffee did not change the risk for diabetes, and consuming those beverages without sugar lowered the risk. After an adjustment for all the variables, fruit juice had no effect on the risk of diabetes.” 

When it comes to health ideas one study may contradict another. This particular study was large enough for an evaluation. There are health experts who would disagree with the conclusion of this study. The two recommendations cited here I think are good news and may help you make a simple adjustment that could prove beneficial.

As with all things concerning health follow your doctor's advice and your own personal awareness of the issues that you face.

Barb my wife, puts a lot of sugar in her coffee, but for most of us this study indicates sweet and coffee and tea is okay. Juices as well did not factor into raising the incidence of diabetes. Dairy beverages included milkshakes one of my many failures.

Can you find one opportunity to change a sugar drink with water, unsweetened tea or coffee? In so doing you can fight one of our three enemies diabetes. Overall it would probably help with the other two, cancer and heart disease. Keep walking

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/easing-diabetes-risk-one-beverage-at-a-time/?ref=health