Exercise for woman: The news gets better and better still

Wow. Now I know how to justify nipping away during the week to ski my brains out for just a couple hours. It’s good for whatever might ail me in the future.

In an article I read today, the benefits to be derived from regular exercise for women is huge.

From a sampling of studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine:

Midlife exercise, including walking, increased the odds that women would have ‘exceptional health’ (no chronic disease or physical/mental impairment - when they reached their seventies.

Weight training just once or twice a week for a year improved the cognitive skills as much as muscle strength.

In a study of German women over age 55, those who where physically active were far less likely to develop cognitive decline.

Six ways to take a mental vacation for good health

I used to ‘pooh-pooh’ meditation. That was until I was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. You’re willing to listen to a lot of new ideas then.

On one of my first trips down to the University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, I was seated on the airplane next to a Ph.d candidate from Tulane University. We got talking about mental attitudes and disease (I’d told him where I was going and why). He gave me a very persuasive ‘chapter and verse’ about my attitude being everything … and the importance of meditation and visualization as a part of my successful treatment for cancer.

Fortunately, I listened and put meditation and visualization as part of my daily routine through my treatment and continue to do it now.

Here are some ideas that might help you, even if you don’t have cancer:

Stress Relief: Six Quick Mental Trips

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A little dirt: good for what ails you

When I have company over, I do things a bit differently. I wash the daylights out of everything when preparing a meal. Not so much, when it’s for family and self. I’m talking about veggies and such- not meat, fish or dairy. It’s mainly because I have, for years, believed what I just read by Jane Brody of The New York Times,  “Babies know, a little dirt is good for you.”

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Clean air equals a longer life

The evidence and facts are in: our efforts, as a nation, to clean up the air in our cities has had measurable effects of the best kind - longer, healthier lives for all. Now, we finally have people in the White House who will quit gutting the environmental regulations, and stand up for cleaner air. There is still much more to be done.

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If Massachusetts then why not America?

Having noticed when Masachusetts adopted a universal health insurance plan a couple of years back, I was eager to watch this report on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams about how it’s all turned out - very well, indeed, thank you.

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The Omnivore's Dilemma: Michael Pollan

The UC Davis Mondavi Center presents bestselling author and UC Berkeley journalism professor Michael Pollan. He explores the ecology of eating to unveil why we consume what we consume in the twenty-first century. Michael Pollan is the author, most recently, of The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.

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