Urgent Action Needed Or We Might Outlive Our Children
The Future Is Up To You
Sounds shocking doesn’t it, but there are some serious researchers who believe that this just might be the case. (see my Danger post)
Although our total lifespan has been increasing over the past 50 years our Healthy Lifespan has hardly changed. While better sanitation and emergency medical care have improved to prevent early deaths from accidents and infectious diseases, modern medicine is relatively useless against correcting the problems we cause ourselves.
What are those problems – most cancer, heart disease, dementia, diabetes and lung disease are all down to the consequences of your own lifestyle choices and therefore almost all preventable.
Sad Fact
The sad fact is that even medical doctors are often at a loss to find ways to encourage people to adopt good habits early. This is because of three reasons 1) people often have a lack of respect and love for their own body, 2) they have an underlying belief that as long as they feel fine, there is nothing wrong, and 3) they believe their health problems are for somebody else to solve!
100 years ago these attitudes where not such a serious problem because everyone ate organic food and walked a lot more in clean air. But over time, the food we have available has increasingly become more devoid of nutritional value, and many foods contain what are now termed ‘anti-nutrients’. Our lives have become increasingly more sedentary (which is the leading cause of cancer, back pain, heart disease and diabetes) and there is no drug or operation in the world that can cure a lack of exercise. Our air and homes are becoming ever more polluted.
We now also know that our dietary and lifestyle habits leading up to the conception of our children will affect their DNA! Did you know that? Many of the things we currently think of as ‘genetic’ are actually ‘epigenetic’. This means we have a far greater control over the future health of our children than previously realised.
The sum of all of this is that while we (I’m 43) grew up we were more likely to have been fed real food and got much more exercise and fresh air than our own children. Unfortunately as we grew up, modern life infected us, and got an early start on our own offspring.
So is there hope?
Dentists will save us
Of course there is.
Because of epigenetics and dentists!
Just as dentists realised that the only way they could get adults to brush their teeth was to educate them about the dangers of poor dental hygiene to their kids, we must now educate ourselves about the dangers of poor lifestyle for the sake of our children. We need to teach our kids about daily exercise and food choices. You must lead the way yourself in adopting daily healthy habits and routines.
Two More Problems!
There is however 2 more problems! First, is your own mindset about health again, and the second is with all the confusion about what constitutes a healthy diet, the right amount of exercise etc, who do you turn to? Especially when what is good for one person may be not so great for another.
The answer lies in studying human psychology and the habits of people who live a long time (especially if those long lived people are in healthcare). Changing your mindset and habits depend on certain processes that can be learned, and there are an ever increasing amount of doctors and wellness coaches that can teach you. The same with lifestyle – there are practitioners that will help you find your own unique optimal eating and exercise plan.
There is also the hope that science may yet discover ever more clever ways of defeating death and disease, but it make sense to empower ourselves, and our children with as many survival skills as possible.
The simplest advice I can give you though is ‘listen to your mother’ – stand up straight, eat more greens, and get more fresh air and exercise!
If you would like more help discovering how to develop great habits for yourself, and then for your children, please call us to inquire about coaching on 01707 662 704.
We also have an online coaching program if you prefer: The Anti-Ageing Health Lab
