Healthy Lifestyle Habits

Healthy Lifestyle Habits

To improve the probability of optimal longevity and good health, having healthy lifestyle habits are essential. All of us must deal with the hereditary health risks we inherit from our parents and the injuries we collect as we go through life. Optimal habits will not change those risks. Most people know what healthy lifestyle habits are, but this section will itemize and review them. In the chapters following this, there will be a discussion on diet and exercise.

Tobacco Cessation

One in five Americans uses tobacco in one form or another, despite widespread acknowledgment that smoking is a leading contributor to lung cancer, oral cancer, chronic lung disease, heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, and peripheral vascular disease. The problem is that it is highly addictive, so it is difficult to stop once it started. But stop, one must. If you are still using tobacco, think about stopping and then see your physician set up a plan to reduce the risk of failure.

Alcohol Moderation

Alcohol has been at the root of much human misery. Use is socially acceptable and even encouraged in our society. Alcohol is not a health problem in moderation (depending on how moderation is defined). It is crucial as we discuss alcohol consumption that we define alcohol equivalence. One and a half-ounce of hard liquor is equivalent to 6 ounces of wine. Twelve ounces of beer is one standard drink of alcohol. A jigger or shot is 1.5 ounce. One definition of alcoholism is three or more standard drinks of alcohol daily. One drink of alcohol daily may be beneficial to one’s health. Red wine is maybe slighter healthier than hard liquor or beer per ounce of alcohol content. There is credible evidence that a subset of the population metabolizes alcohol down an alternate metabolic pathway producing a metabolite that the brain quickly craves. It is this subset that when they stop, alcohol abuse must abstain totally or find themselves returning to uncontrollable alcohol consumption. So my recommendation regarding the healthiest use of alcohol is to consume zero to 10 drinks of alcohol per week on average.

Coffee Moderation

Fresh coffee has healthy anti-oxidants besides caffeine and water. If one gets headaches on vacation away from coffee, then consumption has become a problem. Typically three 12-ounce cups or three espresso shots per day are considered not to be a health risk. Sweeteners and artificial creamers can be more of a problem. Sugar in the morning increases the transition of low nocturnal metabolism to daytime higher metabolic rate, but it only needs 2 tsp of table sugar. Artificial sweeteners may have health risks that exceed the dangers of the caloric content of table sugar.

Recreational (Street) Drug Abolition

Any use of a recreational drug is an unhealthy practice. It is illegal, expensive, and promotes organized crime and gang violence. This includes the use of Marijuana, Benzodiazepines (Valium, Ativan, Librium), Amphetamines (Speed, Meth), Cocaine, and Opioids (Codeine, Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Morphine, Heroin, Opium). However, if you do periodically use recreational drugs, please bring this topic up with your physician for a non-judgmental conversation and exploration of your options.

Ideal Weight

Obesity is a significant health risk in this country. The obesity problem is snowballing as a society becomes more sedentary. Processed foods have added sugars, unhealthy forms of fats, questionable fillers, and all sorts of chemical additives for color, taste, and preservation. The resulting product tastes so good and is relatively inexpensive is designed to push consumption. Obesity is a risk factor for cardiac disease, stroke, hypertension, and diabetes.

At the other extreme, low weight brings up eating disorders and the need for psychiatric intervention. Measuring weight and height allows a calculation of body mass index, which is approximately equivalent to the percentage of body fat. Weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared gives the index value. To use inches and pounds, go to the calculator at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/. Underweight is <18.5; Normalweight is 18.5-24.9; Overweight is 25-29.9; Obesity is >30. There are limitations to this method. It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build. The current gold standard for measuring body fat is with a whole-body DEXA scan which is felt superior to total immersion in a water tank or electrical impedance measures.

In reality, one is not after ideal weight but after ideal body fat composition. 18-20% for men and 23-25% for women as a percentage of body fat should be the goal but in a highly trained athlete, it can get to 8 to 10%.

Diet (see expanded section)

Please see the separate expanded section, “Healthy Diet.”

Restorative Sleep

Restorative sleep is a necessity for a healthy life. The recommendations are between 7 to 9 hours a night. Obstructive Sleep Apnea has an incidence of 5% in the general population and has been reported to be at 25% in the over age 65 community. With increased obesity, there are higher rates of sleep apnea. Any snoring that separates a couple for part of an occasional night should be investigated as a rule of thumb. Only a bedmate can ascertain snoring and breath-holding frequency and duration. The individual with sleep apnea does not recognize the problem until it becomes severe. Consequences are fatigue, auto accidents, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, low testosterone in males. Apnea increases oxidative stress hormones that affect the endothelial lining of our circulatory system and can cause Congestive Heart Failure. Nocturnal hypoxia is responsible for peripheral neuropathies in the long axial nerves and central nerve damage, primarily in the frontal cerebral area with a higher metabolic metabolism than older lower brain function areas. Hypoxic nerve damage causes impairment of Executive functions in the brain that inhibits impulse control and leads to poor decision making.

Anxiety, Stress, and hormonal changes (hot flashes) can also interfere with getting restorative sleep.

Restless Leg Syndrome is another disorder felt now to be more common than previously thought. A formal sleep study can diagnose this problem, and medications have become very useful.

There are now relatively inexpensive monitoring devices such as Zeo Sleep Manager ($90) that record brain waves from a headband worn at night and connected by Bluetooth to one’s smartphone.

Exercise (see expanded section)

Please see the expanded section, “Healthy Exercise.”

Cultivate Hobbies, Interests, and Person Person healthy relationships

Hobbies and other interests besides work help manage stress issues. It becomes imperative to cultivate hobbies and outside interests when facing retirement. The first two years of retirement have a higher illness rate and mortality rate, and in large part, it is due to not having laid the groundwork for cultivating other interests.

Practice Safe Sex

In this day and age of HIV disease, unsafe sex can be deadly. All cervical cancers in women are due to a viral infection with Human Papillomavirus contracted by unsafe sex. Various sexually transmitted diseases to women increase the probability of becoming sterile. Safe sex is a monogamous relationship or sex with a condom. The risk increases with the total number of sexual partners and the sexual partner’s sexual past exposure.

Protect Against High-Velocity Injuries

I like to think of the human body as a bag of water. We are 83% of water by weight. Rapid accelerations or decelerations can rip that bag of water. Automobiles are the prime high velocity means that cause injury. Motorcycles are also the high velocity with less protection. Alpine skiing has speed and the risk of rapid deceleration. We should not avoid such risks, but we should acknowledge them and behave to minimize the inherent risk. One should not drink alcohol and drive a car, for instance. One should use a bicycle helmet when cycling. One should use kneepads and elbow pads when skateboarding. The use of seat belts in the car is a classic means of living a healthier lifestyle.

Maintain Immunizations

Being current on your immunizations can reduce your health risks. There are pros and cons to each vaccine.

• Influenza

• Pneumococcal

• Tetanus, Diphtheria

• Hepatitis A

• Hepatitis B

• Zoster (Shingles)

• Meningococcal

• Human Papillomavirus

• Traveler’s Immunizations

• Testing for TB Exposure

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