Efforts to keep healthy/living

We never know how bad we would be if we hadn't done all the taking care of ourselves things. Things could well be worse.

I walk the dogs most days and try include at least a short hill climb, do various exercises when I remember and cycle on static bike. In appropriate seasons do lots of gardening and swimming.

I could do with losing 2 stone, I try and sometimes it works! In general a very good healthy diet but too much of it. I don't take any supplements as I don't think they do diddlysquat, and I have tried them. I also try and avoid painkillers.

I do have knee and heel problems, have one replacement hip and possible other sites of arthritis, but I try and ignore this and just put up with the pain which is manageable. Going for some sort of knee treatment.

In a year when a friend died of lung and bone cancer, my daughter's mother in law and another acquaintance died of pancreatic cancer, a friend's ex from a heart attack, and as he was rather unpleasant he was not missed for six months - very traumatic for the gendarmes who found him in his apartment - and for the rest of us.

Three friends being treated for colonic cancer, one for prostate and bone cancer, another has had a large benign tumour removed from his spine. Plus at least three others with ongoing prostate cancer.

I am counting my blessings and sticking with painful knees.

No GG54 not for everyone. There are people like me with autoimmune diseases and this makes me low on vitamin D and other essential vitamins. I have in the past been a runner but mostly off road as it was kinder on the joints. Now I cycle at least 3 times a week even in the winter. So far no cold or anything.

I really do know how you feel Librarylady and a small comfort may be that as DH has always looked after himself it may help just a bit in his battle against this terrible disease. It is devastating. If you haven't already accessed them the MNDA have wonderful volunteers who can visit you and provide practical help and a much needed shoulder to cry on. Be strong.

I am really sorry to hear you feel like that. Have you considered trying pilates? It's a very gentle form of exercise which really does do wonders for strengthening your back as well as your core muscles and pelvic floor. Also you learn to breathe properly which reduces stress. I hope you can find somewhere nearby to try it.

I take magnesium supplements and have noticed an improvement in muscle strength and function.

Oops, sorry. That was directed at GoneGirl.

I was diagnosed with arthritis in my knee a number of years ago. My knees are still stiff, but not painful, and I put this down to Glucosamine. There may be no studies to prove its effectiveness, but I and many others believe it has helped to keep joints supple long term.

I had arthritis in the knee diagnosed some years ago. My doctor recommended the gym to strengthen the thigh muscles which has worked very well and I am still going to the gym to srenghthen as many muscles as possible. I am seventy eight now.

I am unsure to be honest!
I have always eaten a healthy diet, done moderate exercise, don’t smoke and never did, and rarely drink! However I developed a rare form of cancer (diagnosed last year), which hopefully has been beaten. Nonetheless the consultant did tell me that as the tumour had become so large (and then I contracted post op sepsis which nearly killed me) I have survived (in his opinion) due to my basic underlying good health and previously health life style! Which sounds bizarre!
However I have always tried to take care of my skin and hair and hopeful that’s paying off now.

Vitamin D as prescribed by GP if necessary. Other than that waste of money. I had a deficiency 3 years ago and the dosage was massive but short. GP advised 15 mins a time in daylight is all we need and I stick to this, parking car at end of supermarket, walking round the street and even round the garden when I am not outside for any length of time. In 70s, hate gyms, think they are a breeding ground for germs with folk huffing and puffing in moist, warm atmosphere. No problems so far apart from the arthritis is fingers which I have inherited from my Mother. DH on the other hand who was always very fit, and active, still is in fact had had two cancers one still ongoing, on statins, hearing loss, so what's it all down too, genetics more so than life style I think.

I suppose that (at least to an extent) it depends on how you define "special efforts"? DH & I both take a few supplements, one being glucosamine, which a orthopaedic consultant advised, years ago. We go to the health club twice a week. Try to walk extra bits where posssible (like parking at the far end of car parks.) Keep active at home,. Eat home-cooked food and not much meat. (Lots of pulses and veggies.) Keep up interests, activities, hobbies and a social life. And we have fun!

Well, I will be necking my vit D as soon as Mr Ocado gets them to me today, and I fully expect to be returned to my sprightly seventy year old self by the time they run out in April. So there!

And don't mention the 'p' word.

I started taking VitD six months ago for the usual ‘not enough sunshine’ reasons and after a few months noticed that my finger nails which had gradually started to break and shred easily had gone back to their former strength. Hair condition also improved. This was not a placebo - I had not associated VitD with nails and hair until I happened to read about it. In general I am a firm believer in supplements, a lot of do not have as nutritious a diet as we like to think.

I so agree with what you said librarylady. Motor Neurone can come out of the blue in the most healthy of people. My sister-in-law moved to Canada thirty years ago to marry her second husband. We spent many holidays visiting them over the years and always commented on what a healthy lifestyle her husband led. He did a lot of research into what to eat for a healthy body and spent a lot of time swimming, riding his bike and gardening. Two years ago, out of the blue, he started having falls and was eventually diagnosed with motor neurone disease, they call it ALS in Canada. He was convinced he was going to beat it through diet and exercise and his doctors let him believe this but it soon became apparent that it was something that was unbeatable. Sadly he passed away at the end of November last year.

My best wishes go to you and your husband.

Biggest effort I made to my old age (68)....started by NOT learning to drive. I walk between 4/7 miles a day in my ordinary life style...I swim 3 times a week @ 7.30 am ...and cycle anywhere I need in local area. Don’t take vitamins ...eat very little amounts of food as hate cooking ...find the whole business of shopping for ...cooking it....eating....and clearing up afterwards is a time consuming nightmare when I could be gardening or reading or seeing to my grandkids!! Don’t ‘watch’ what I eat as I’m not interested enough. I think I have a healthy dislike of the whole food business/industry... and therefore don’t overeat. So to sum up....less food in mouth and more exercise...it’s helped to keep me relatively healthy although arthritis is beginning to give me trouble. Must have the only doctor who tells one to take less exercise!Hes on a hiding-to-nothing. Go out with a bang not a whimper!

I’m afraid I don’t set much store by anything the Daily Mail publishes.
The NHS advice is that most people do need to supplement Vitamin D especially in the winter months and there is evidence emerging of it having a wider role than of simply regulating calcium levels in the body.
www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/benefits-vitamin-d#reduces-depression

I retired 7 years ago and feel better physically and mentally now than I did then.
I think this is due to spending more (a lot) of time outdoors, more exercise, and a better diet. And less stress from not having to go to work.
I presume gonegirl that by the p-word you mean that form of exercise that is quite similar to yoga.
All I can say is that as we get older, prevention of falls is one of the most important factors in warding off frailty & immobility & maintaining quality of life, and anything that improves strength, flexibility and helps to maintain muscle mass is a good thing.

Im 59 have been excercising for years especially the HIT workouts i weigh 8 st so being petite thats about right im still a size 8/10. Take no pills. Stopped drinking wine and never felt better. I think keeping active is the key as the chinese say keep moving .

No Janea! I meant 'placebo'!

Actually I have heard that agricultural soil in which our fruit and vegetables grow is not only depleted but also full of chemicals. This means you do not get all the goodness you need from your diet, however healthy it looks. You should always eat organic vegetables and fruit if possible.
l was driving along a country road in Cyprus a couple of years ago and saw a wonderful healthy lot of cabbages growing nearby, Then I saw a man walking along the rows wearing a mask and he had a large container of something on his back from which he was diligently spraying them all. A shop in the nearby village was full of healthy looking produce, but I would never have bought any of it.

(I was joking. Sort of)

I also supplement with Vitamin D3 - as per the NHS guidelines for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere (between October and early March). Would rather rely on NHS advice than the Mail.

I aim to run three times a week for 30 minutes (have been doing this for the past 5 months and feel better for it). I use the gym for the exercise bike and rowing machine about twice a week. DH and I regularly go on 5 to 6 mile hikes about twice a month. I attend one dance class a week. My problem is strength and as I detest weights have booked myself in to a Pilates class to see if that will help. I am trying hard at 63 to do as much as I can regarding diet too but probably drink too much wine three times a week and more when on holiday. Ouch!

I do think it's genes really, with the exception of gross obesity, general excesses & underlying medical issues. We don't have longivity in our family, heart disease & high blood pressure.
I'm not into healthy lifestyle as such, never been on a diet, used to smoke, moderate drinker in the past, no supplements,( I'm a nurse) but i do walk the dog everyday & swim once a week. I love food, i eat a variety of anything i fancy, i like to cook, (no ready meals). I eat chocolate most days. I can't drink coffee as it irritates my stomach, nothing else does! I do drink tea & lots of water.
I'm with gonegirl on the running, bad for joints & breasts!
A positive happy disposition keeps us healthy too..

Gabrielle, that's not true of all supplements. I have osteoporosis and before I could begin treatment I had to take a seven week course of high dose vit d and calcium because a blood test showed my vit d levels were too low.
After the treatment the levels had increased from 34 to 137 so those supplements certainly worked.
My dentist also recommended a vit c supplement to sort out a gum problem. That worked as well so I wouldn't dismiss all supplements. I agree though that some are useless. Multivitamins don't do much and it's better to eat a healthy diet but some obviously do help if you happen to be deficient.
I do twenty minutes a day on a treadmill, attend a tai chi class and tend my garden in the warmer months. I also try to eat a healthy, mainly vegetarian diet but at 75 I do suffer with IBS and acid reflux which was caused by the initial tablets for the osteoporosis, hence my GP switching me to intravenous infusions.
I take probiotics, make my own kefir but still the croaky voice persists so have to take omeprazole which I hate taking but it's the only thing that controls it.
I also take collegen supplements for skin, nails and hair and keep my clothes, makeup and hair modern without following every trend.
I look after my skin but don't spend a fortune on expensive creams and people are always surprised to learn my age. That, or they're being very kind!