Importance of health

[cw021382]

Hi everyone I haven't been on here for a few weeks.  My dad had a heart attack the 24th of last month.  He had quad bypass, and is now home and doing well.  I am thankful.  I know a lot of you on this board are (seasoned individuals).  Please take care of yourselves.  Your health affects your family as much as it does you.  On a brighter note the weather is warming up nicely here in the midwest.  Temps in the mid 60's next week, and the days are getting longer. 

-Chris

[Bob23]

Best to you and your dad. "Seasoned individuals?" Sounds like political correct term for old fart!
Bob23

[BruceW]

Bob, the answer my friend, is breaking in the wind....

[HeaveToo]

Older people??

Hell, I have already had two heart attacks and I am not even 40 yet.

Scary stuff but I am amazed by what my cardiologist says.  Apparently I may or may not have another heart attack.  He says that if I do I should go to the hospital but it is not big deal.  He says that they won't kill me though.  It is some sort of genetic defect but it is corrected by stints in the areas that are affected by the defect.

So last year I was running about 15K a week and I had lost about 50 pounds from my highest weight.  This year I am not doing as good but I am still doing okay.  I need to get back to workouts but it needs to be something I can sustain easily.  This damn winter weather is not making this easy for me.

I will add that I have an extremely high stress career (Law Enforcement).  That doesn't help things. 

Seriously, though, pay attention to your diet.  A little exercise helps a lot. 

[Craig]

+5 on the exercise! Diet is a little tricky. The experts keep changing the "rules". For years eggs,butter,shrimp,fats.....BAD! Now all are good!. What I do know is that prior to WWII heart disease as we know it was relatively rare. The correlation between the consumption of refined carbohydrates(and processed food)and the incidence of coronary artery disease run nearly parallel. In the last half of the 20th century saturated fat consumption decreased but CAD continued to rise. Go figure!

[mayrel]

Funny how most of us didn't really give our future health a lot of thought when we were young.  Now we're 67, my wife has had open heart surgery and I recently had melanoma surgery, we're beginning to feel the aches and pains associated with our age, and so forth.  We both make a sincere effort to eat properly, easy on the carbs, very limited sugar, no soft drinks, avoid fried foods and all that jazz.  We're active as we bike, canoe and sail.  But we've found out heredity is a major player in your health, particularly as you grow older.  If you have health issues in your family, guess what, you're likely going to have trouble too.  When I think of our health, I thank God for every day.  In fact, everything we have is from God, so we try to be good stewards of all we have been blessed to enjoy.  We also realize we need to do as much as we can for ourselves and others while we're physically and mentally capable.  Sailing is a wonderful experience, it's challenging and rewarding....Fair Winds and Good Health to All!!

[brackish]

Best to you and your dad. "Seasoned individuals?" Sounds like political correct term for old fart!
Bob23

LOL, I qualify under either definition.

[Bob23]

Mayrel has a good take on life except I will never limit "all that jazz"! Brubeck, Mingus, Miles, Chick...the list goes on! I do indeed make it a habit to use copious amounts of olive oil whenever I can and whatever I can put it on. And let's not forget the red wine.
My personal belief is that most people do not get enough of the 2 basic things we should take in: Air and water. Exercise and hydrate! After that, a nice glass of bourbon is a great reward!
Bob23

[Cats Paw]

For everyday you sail a day is not deducted from your lot.   

Chris.... thoughts go out for the healthy recovery of your father.

[JBC]

At 72, I read all this with a little more attention than I paid to the subject of health 20 years ago.  I, too, Chris add my good wishes for your father's speedy recovery.

Bob, on the subject of Brubeck, he certainly added a year or two to my life over the years.  One extra year for listening to that jazz sound in college.  And just two years ago, when he died, my wife and I happened to attend the Kennedy Center's Annual Christmas jazz concert in DC.  So happened it was a piano jazz concert organized by Jason Moran, with five different pianists.  They finished the set with a tribute to Brubeck, playing Take Five for 30 minutes, with each player stepping up to do their take on the composition.

I remember it often when out sailing my 16 in light air and I don't have to pay attention to much else.  Brubeck and boats...good for the heart!

Jett

[Bob23]

Hear, hear!
   I've been a DB fan for many years. Had the chance to see him a few times but one stands out in Morristown, NJ (I think) where the Joe Morrello Quartet was also playing and Joe came out and did a few songs with the DBQ. It was a fabulous show. Dave kept writing and touring up to the end. He certainly was a free thinker who did his own thing even when it was totally unpopular.
  His sons are incredible musicians also!

Bob23

[cw021382]

Thank you for your support everyone. 

[Jim23]

I agree with you Craig. Prior to WWII folks worked a lot harder and ate meals prepared from natural ingredients. Today 75% of the grocery store is filled with processed crap. My parents-in-law are very young at 76. Like JBC they don't pay much attention to health related issues. They do the same thing they've been doing all of their lives...eat meat, fruits, veggies, and most meals prepared from scratch. Add to that a nightly old fashioned or glass of wine and a low stress lifestyle.

My parents and several family members died by the age of 45 from genetic heart disease. I think genetics are the biggest factor. Fortunately I was adopted and did not inherit the same issues but have researched the hell out of it. I'm a firm believer that inflammation is the cause of many health woes and likely stems from consumption of processed food, refined carbs, vegetable oil, and all of the other garbage that's come along in the last 50 years.

Maybe sailing really is the key to good health. It gets you moving and is a great stress reliever. I'm going to tell my board of directors that I need more time off to sail strictly for health reasons.

[kickingbug1]

    im 62 and consider myself pretty fortunate to be in pretty good shape. happily i was always tall and thin and have remained that way for the most part so i havent had to fight the weight (thats a tough one to be sure). after 30 years as a cop i retired and the only stress i have now is an 8 year old granddaughter telling me what to do. i have always worked out ( the eliptical has been a godsend). im hoping that i can stay fit enough to set my mast without assistance for a few more years and sail for maybe 15 more or so. an old tennis buddy of mine always says "when you stop moving youre finished". he's 84 and still going strong.

[brackish]

I think genetics are the biggest factor

I think that is spot on.  You can enhance that with exercise, proper diet, and controlling stress, but I don't think you can beat it if you're not dealt the best genes.  My Maternal grandmother lived to 102 and she did everything in moderation and had the best life attitude of any individual I've ever known.  My Mother is 91 and still walks 2-3 miles a day, walks to the grocery store and pushes her cart back.  Her brother is 93, still goes on cruises, and his hobby is ball room dancing.  None of them have ever done anything special just everything in moderation with a positive attitude.

Unfortunately, I seem to have inherited dominate genetics from my fathers side of the family who were not long lived.  At 68 I run 30 miles a week, race competitively, have always eaten well more or less following the Mediterranean diet philosophy, and have a BMI of 19, yet I had to go on blood pressure medicine recently, and have a few other age related health issues.  I did have a fairly stressful job before I retired.  So you just never know....