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Continuing with our series of looking at various subjects relating to health and fitness through the alphabet, this week Mary and I will be looking at the letters I – P.
If you missed A - H last week don't forget you can find all our previous newsletters here.
 I is for Immunity
Following the pandemic, when life began to return to relative normality, our natural immunity to infection was so diminished that we were left vulnerable to catching terrible coughs and colds that lasted for weeks. Our levels of immunity had become so weak and it wasn’t surprising. For a couple of years, we hadn’t been exposed to the germs of normal everyday life because we were protecting ourselves - even when we could go out, we wore a mask. Inevitably, our level of immunity had decreased dramatically.
Today, the only way our immune system is going to get back to full strength is for us to build up our own resistance to germs by going about our lives in the normal way. Over time our immunity increases and we become strong again. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be vaccinated when we are offered a booster for Covid 19 and a flu jab. For those of us of the older generation, particularly if we have health issues making us vulnerable, it makes absolute sense.
We can also boost our immune system by eating healthily, exercising regularly, and consuming foods that are high in fibre which are vital to our gut health. These all work toward a greater level of immunity.
For more information on how you can boost your immunity, take a look at The 28-Day Immunity Plan book which Mary and I wrote during lockdown. It has an amazing eating and exercise plan which has proved life-changing for many who have followed it. In trials, volunteers lost an average of 10½ lbs in 28 days and transformed their fitness. You can also find information about the Plan on the website by clicking here.
J is for Jumping
Jumping may not be something we think of doing very often – particularly as we get older - but jumping plays a valuable role in strengthening our all-important bones. But before you go into a panic because of your arthritic feet and joints, jumping need not be as arduous as you may think to still give us a benefit.
Clinical studies have proven that doing just 10 little jumps twice a day can increase our bone density, and whilst the increase is relatively small, the biggest benefit comes because it helps to dramatically reduce our bone degeneration which happens naturally throughout our lives after we reach adulthood - but even faster post menopause.
You can jump on your carpet, if you wish, and in shoes to give you some cushioning if you need it, and there’s no need to rush - take your time while you do it. And if actually jumping off the floor is too much for you, here is an alternative. Stand as though you are going to jump, bend your knees, arms bent by your side, and instead of actually jumping, just lift your heels and land heavily on them with each mini-jump. By doing 10 twice a day this will still help to strengthen your bones.
K is for Knees
Knees give our legs the ‘hinge’ they need to enable us to sit down, kneel, walk, climb, land softly if we jump etc.
Apparently, most people suffer with arthritis in their knees as they age - even though they may have no pain. The biggest risk to our knees is falling. Landing on one or both knees can cause real damage, which sometimes may not immediately be obvious. Sadly, such accidents are more common as we age so working on strengthening our knees is really important.
The strength of our muscles around our knees is critical and is something we can all work to achieve, helping us to enjoy healthier and stronger knees. The most important group of muscles for our knees is our quads (quadriceps) which, as the name suggests, is a group of four muscles in front of each thigh and attached to our femur (thigh bone). If we have strong quads, our knees are much more stable.
Strength exercises for our knees:
- Squats: Ensure knees bend over your toes (not inwards). Do 12 squats. Rest and repeat.
- Stair climbing: Ensure your knee bends in line with your foot with each step (check knee is not leaning inwards). Walk up and down stairs x 5 consecutively.
- Leg extensions: Sit down and place a Toning Band under one foot and take hold of the band with each hand. Keeping the band quite short to give more resistance, bend and straighten one leg against the resistance of the band x12. Repeat with the other leg. Now do another set of 12 with each leg. This is a fantastic exercise to do if ever you have a painful knee.
L is for Lifespan
We only have one life and how we live that life is primarily our responsibility. Of course, there are socio-economic factors that come into play but taking a very broad overview, it is down to us to choose how healthily we eat and how active we may be.
Factors that work in our favour are: eating a healthy daily diet, exercising regularly and having a positive attitude and generally enjoying life, including socialising, having interests or hobbies and feeling fulfilled. It also helps to have parents that lived to a ripe old age.
Things that work against us are health-damaging habits such as smoking, drug abuse, drinking in excess, being very overweight/obese and working in dangerous environments. All of these can cause serious illnesses which can cause life-limiting conditions and a shorter lifespan.
If you Google ‘Life expectancy calculator’ it will ask you your age and gender and then give you an idea of your likely lifespan. It is worth a look! I put in my details and it has predicted that I will live till 89 years. Let’s hope they’re right!
 M is for Muscles
Muscles are designed to move and I feel I have spent my whole working life encouraging people to do just that, and even more so into older age. I remember many years ago a conversation where a lady was telling me that her mother was failing physically and that she was therefore unable to do any exercise. I asked if her mother could move at all and she said 'yes, of course.' My response was the same then as it is now, her mother could do some form of exercise - a suitable programme of moving her muscles - so that there was enough strength in them to ensure she remained independent and with a good quality of life. Now before you label me as an exercise 'bully' here is the nub of it folks... If you don't move much and those muscles wither away more quickly than they need, you will spend those final years far more frail, and with a poorer quality of life. No matter at what age we start strengthening our muscles we will see enormous benefits – guaranteed!
Exercises for all Exercises particularly suitable for older people
N is for Neuroplasticity
A few weeks ago, I mentioned the capacity for the brain to adapt to change and it is well worth the repetition. The idea that the brain is 'plastic', in that we can change our behaviour according to how often we experience that new behaviour, is life-changing news for those who have struggled with improving their health. Scientists used to think that we had a fixed number of brain cells throughout life, but now we know that's not true. Our brain is dynamic and responds to change in a way that enables us to follow a healthier regime.
Exercising changes our brain by releasing a molecule that helps it to be more adaptive, improving learning and memory. It also triggers neurogenesis which is the creation of new brain cells. If our brain gets injured, neuroplasticity means the brain can ‘re-route’ from an injured area to a healthy area, proving change does happen. If our brain can do that, then the act of just trying to make healthier choices should be a walk in the park!
If we struggle to make healthy choices regularly when our brain is craving something... we should dig in... wait a bit… and the craving will subside. The brain will remember it for the next time we are tempted, so over time it gets easier. Great stuff!
O is for Osteoporosis
The fact that we go through three skeletons throughout our lifetime is often a surprise to people. There is a misconception that bone is a non-active tissue that simply forms the base upon which our muscles are attached. But now we know that bone is forever breaking-down and rebuilding during our lifetime, it may demonstrate that it needs nurturing in exactly the same way we do with our heart and lungs, our muscles and our brain. As usual, the older we get, the more care is needed if we are to reduce our risk of brittle bone disease – osteoporosis.
Initially you may be diagnosed with the pre-curser to osteoporosis called osteopenia. If so, then your risk of a bone fracture is quite small and you have the chance to do something about it. Diet and exercise are the cornerstone of preventing our bones from becoming more brittle:
- Walk for 30 minutes on most days and, if you can, do short bursts of slow jogging to load those bones more!
- Follow a full body strength programme 3 times a week (you have heard that before!)
- Make sure you eat plenty of dairy such as live yogurt and milk to ensure adequate calcium intake.
- Get out in the sunshine for 20 minutes a day to ensure you get enough Vitamin D and in the winter take a Vitamin D supplement.
- Follow a Balance programme to greatly reduce your risk of falling.
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