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Archive for October, 2008

Long Live the Curious Mind

Nobody benefits more from retiring baby boomers than the travel industry – with the exception of pharmaceutical companies, of course. This generation likes to be on the move and there seems to be no letting up. Cynics may say it’s all part of the last stand taken by a spoiled people that had it all and still refuses to accept its place in the twilight. There may be some truth to this, but I don’t think that’s the whole story.

Although, it is undoubtedly true that many of today’s retirees have larger amounts of time and money available to them than ever before and can enjoy a privileged lifestyle more easily than other demographic groups, there is also something new and original about the restless boomers that no other generation before them has displayed to such an extent: Boomers are a curious bunch. I mean that literally. Boomers just don’t settle down – not because they can’t but because they don’t want to. Read more »

Fasting for Weight Loss and What Else?

Dear Timi,
Throughout history, many cultures and most of the world’s religions have advocated the virtue of fasting – not only for the obvious health benefits of dieting but also for the purpose of detoxification and purification of the body as well as spiritual enlightenment. Your thoughts?

Dear Reader,
Unfortunately, I’m neither a historian nor a theologian. So, let me give you my view on the pros and cons of fasting strictly from a dietitian’s perspective.

The human body needs a sufficient supply of nutrients – carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals – at all times. Fasting simply deprives it of its necessary fuel. Fasting also tricks the body into “fearing” that famine is occurring and the metabolism slows, so the body can survive longer on stored fat and muscle tissue. Against common belief, this is not helpful if your goal is weight loss, since the body burns fewer calories.

In other words, there is no nutritional value to fasting. In fact, prolonged fasting can be quite detrimental, especially for people with diabetes, kidney- or liver problems. Anyone who is considering taking up fasting as part of a weight loss regimen should first consult with a physician or dietitian.

While you’re fasting, your body continues to burn calories, although, depending on your activity level, perhaps at a slower pace. Once your calorie supply is used up, the body has to burn protein stores by breaking down muscle mass. Unfortunately, body fat is not as easily moved out of storage and burned as a calorie source.

Dehydration is another significant risk. Two thirds of our body weight comes from water. Even a 10% loss poses health risks, 20% loss may result in death from dehydration. Without sufficient water supply the body can’t regulate its temperature, absorb and transport nutrients or remove waste and toxins from the cells. In other words, fasting hinders the natural detoxification process instead of promoting it.

If fasting is part of your religious or spiritual belief, you may have little choice but to comply with its requirements. You should, however, make sure that you compensate for the nutritional deprivation with a highly nutritious and balanced diet outside your fasting periods.

Dear Reader – October 2008

Timi Gustafson, R.D. The primary goal of every healthcare professional is to restore the patient’s health. In my practice as a dietitian, I see once in a while clients who are confronted with an acute health crisis and are in need of immediate intervention. Losing weight or lowering cholesterol and blood pressure levels can be a matter of life and death.

But emergency measures, although they can be instrumental in improving a patient’s health conditions, are only preliminary and have little long-term effect unless they are followed by the patient’s readiness to “take over” and become responsible for his or her long-term lifestyle changes.

This is not just an issue of discipline and willpower. In my experience, for people to make healthy lifestyle choices is first of all a matter of knowledge. When people know what is good for their health and why they should (or should not) behave in certain ways (e.g. not smoking, not eating fatty foods, exercising regularly, etc.), they are in a much better position to control their behavior permanently. The better they understand what it will take for them to succeed, the more they are empowered to take responsibility for their own well-being. Naturally, this is not a one-step procedure. Quitting “cold turkey” is not to everyone’s taste. Small steps over long periods of time are much more likely to do the trick.
Go to Newsletter of October 2008…

Mind Matters

The other day, I saw a bumper sticker on a car driving in front of me. It said: “Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.” Well, I thought to myself, how can you tell?

When clients see me as a dietitian, they are (for the most part) ready and willing to do something about their physical health. Most would agree that healthy eating habits and regular exercise are only part of the equation and that other issues would need to be addressed as well to achieve greater health– such as stress management and sound sleeping habits. However, most are not aware of the importance of their mental health for their overall well-being. I’m not talking about “mental health” as opposed to mental illness. Therefore, a better term for what I’m trying to say would be “mental fitness.”

Mental Fitness
While the importance of physical health and fitness is commonly acknowledged and well communicated to the public, there is not yet enough attention being paid to the importance of mental fitness ¬– not even by the medical profession. This is no coincidence. Traditionally, the mind and the body have often been treated as two separate entities, each belonging to radically different realms. In this view, the body is seen as a material thing which inevitably ages over time and eventually succumbs to mortality. By contrast, it is believed that the mind does not deteriorate in the same way. On the contrary, old age is believed to provide us with experience, knowledge and wisdom.

One body – One mind
Of course, today we know much more about the interconnectedness between the mind and the body. Clinical studies have shown that physical fitness impacts our mental capabilities as well. NEWSWEEK magazine has recently published several articles on the subject. It states that a “rapidly growing movement in science [is] showing that exercise can make people smarter” and that exercising can coax “the human brain into growing new nerve cells, a process that for decades had been thought impossible, simply by putting subjects on a three-month aerobic workout regimen.” One connection is obvious: Exercise increases the blood flow to the brain and the additional oxygen stimulates the brain cells. What’s new is that scientists assumed that the brain could not make new nerve cells once they were lost. This assumption is no longer valid and there is sufficient evidence now that genuine “neurogenesis” can be achieved by physical exercise.

Regular trips to the gym, however, can only be part of the story. How about the notion that an active brain functions better than a “lazy” one? If the mind is not stimulated, it loses strength regardless of our physical condition. And how can we stay mentally fit when we get older and our physical capacities inevitably decline? For overall good health, it is not sufficient to feed and exercise our body; we need to nurture our mind as well.

Avoid junk food for the body and the mind
So, what would a work-out regimen for the mind look like? As a dietitian I suggest that you start by improving your “diet” – for your mind that is. Examine what you put in your mind that is unhealthy. As with any diet, avoid junk and focus on good nutrition. Of course, that is not an easy task. In this day and age, we are constantly exposed to news, messages and advertisement. There is this tremendous noise level we seem unable to escape.

Learning instead of entertainment
To stimulate the mind, it is not sufficient to watch TV or browse the Internet ¬– not even quality programs or the news. Your mind wants more than being entertained. There are better, more challenging things to do. Here are just a few ideas I recommend: If you are so inclined, learn a foreign language – it’s never too late for that. (I’m trying to learn Swahili, the language of East Africa – at the age of almost seventy.) Read constantly, but be discriminating about your literary choices. Write often, if only a diary or letters to friends and family. Travel to other countries, if your time and finances allow you to do so. It’s a great investment in the quality of your life. Join Toastmasters, if you enjoy (or are afraid of) public speaking. And always keep up your curiosity and hunger for knowledge. There is such a thing as intellectual poverty. It is a terrible condition to suffer.