Aging and diet, exercise, health, companionship, sex and sugery

DIET

 The aging person should at the well-balanced diet we have advocated in Chapter 6. Many older people feel better when they take a multivitamin tablet or capsule daily. If this produces indigestion, ask your doctor to prescribe a diet that will provide the extra vitamins. Old people do better, whenever possible, taking small meals at frequent intervals rather than depending upon one or two large meals a day.

WEIGHT The older person does best to be on the thin side. This can be achieved by regulating intake of calories and by using regular exercise. (See page 65 on weight reduction.)

EXERCISE

 One of the truly important aids to vigorous healthy old age is regular daily exercise. Brisk walking is one of the best exercises.

Swimming another

 But the choices are limit- Aging less. Simply check your kind of exercise, what you enjoy most, with your doctor to determine that it falls within the capacity of your heart and lungs. And reread Chapter 8 on exercise.

HEALTHY EMOTIONAL LIFE

 Good physical condition is necessary for a good emotional life in old age because it is a rare person who can be happy when constantly bothered by chronic illness or pain. On the other hand, good physical condition does not guarantee emotional health. It is such a pity to find elderly people whose bodies are in good shape but who are mentally depressed, lonely, or dispirited from empty hours. Retirement from work is always a serious change and should be discussed with your doctor. If you are a "doer" and not a "sitter," it may be necessary for you to find a new job, full or part time; or if you prefer not to work or cannot find employment you like, then as a doer you need vigorous activities and work hobbies.

COMPANIONSHIP

 This is very important, and as friends and relatives move away or die, new human contacts should be sought in church groups, clubs, and social groups for older citizens. For those who do not work, the day can still be full if there are friends and relatives to visit, books to read, movies and television to see, radio to listen to-and time for exercise. Each season has its appropriate sports, and there is much enjoyment to be found. in viewing them on television or in person.

SEX

 Part of healthy emotional life of old age is sex. Good medical thinking today recommends that people continue sexual activity until they die. The enjoyments and also the health/Disease Scenarios benefits of an active sex life are set forth in detail and persuasively by Dr. David Reuben in his book, Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex (David McKay, Publisher, 750 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017).

SURGERY IN THE AGED

 With the great advances in surgery and anesthesia, even the very elderly today can be operated on safely. There is no need for an older person to be disabled by a hernia for fear of the surgery involved. And the same applies to cataracts and many other conditions that require surgery for correction. 

Stomach and digestive problems and preventive care

 1. LUMINATION

 Choose a time, shortly to defecate whether or not you have "the urge." Allow ten minutes. Relax, be comfortable, read if you like-the important thing is not to feel tense or hurried. Prop your feet on a footstool so your knees are close to your chest. If you choose to go before breakfast, it will help to drink a glass or two of fluid upon getting out of bed; it can be warm or cool water, fruit juice, tea, or coffee. Teaching your bowels to move regularly is a little like training yourself to wake up at a given hour every morning; it can be done, with patience, and once acquired the habit persists.

 2. DIET. 

The residue of foods you eat is easier to eliminate if it contains some roughage in the form of fibers, lubricants in the form of fats or oils, and fluid. These should be included in the diet of healthy people. (In some disease states, there may be an inability to tolerate roughage; in such cases, a physician will so advise.) To cure or prevent constipation, make certain your diet includes: For breakfast: 1/2 to 1 glass of tomato, grapefruit, prune, or orange juice. 

Also include one item from each of the following, (a) through (e): (a) Mixed dried or stewed fruits-prunes, apricots, figs (b) Cooked, whole-grain cereals with milk-barley, brown rice, oats, wheat (c) Margarine (d) Whole-grain bread (e) Beverage For lunch, dinner or supper, some of the following: Green leafy vegetable--beet greens, spinach, escarole, lettuce, turnip greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens Baked potatoes (eat the skins) Margarine, salad oils Dried or stewed fruits-especially for dessert at evening meal Take two glasses of fluid between meals and at least eight all told during the day. 

Drink an extra amount of water in summer because part of it is lost in perspiration.

3. EXERCISE. 

Strong abdominal muscles help elimination. If you do not have a firm, well-toned abdominal wall, start the exercises described on page 89. If your job requires much sitting and very little physical activity, you should indulge in regular sports or other forms of exercise. You will feel better generally as well as have fewer tendencies toward constipation.

 4. LIVE SENSIBLY. 

Try as much as you can to avoid the stresses and strains of modern living. Get relaxation to help temper those stresses and strains. Don't worry about constipation. If your physician gives you a clean bill of health on your regular visits, and you follow our suggestions for home checkups (page 33), constipation is not going to harm your health. Usually, these suggestions are enough to prevent or cure constipation. If they are not, and failure to move the bowels causes real discomfort, you may:

5. TAKE AN ENEMA. 

Use a pint of warm water containing a level tea- spoonful of table salt. If you use an enema bag, hold it about two feet above the toilet seat; if you use a bulb, do not press it too hard-the water should flow under gentle pressure. This should help soften the stool so it can be passed easily. You may take an enema every day-but remember that this is a crutch and the sooner you discard it, the better. If an enema does not help, your physician can show you how to insert olive oil into the rectum at night through a catheter, which will soften the stool and make it easier to pass in the morning.

6. LAXATIVES. 

If you cannot take an enema, use a mild laxative such as petrolatum and agar, aromatic cascara sagrada, or milk of magnesia. Do not do this until you have given your bowels a chance to work by themselves. An important step in curing constipation may be to stop taking all laxatives and cathartics. Strange as it seems, laxatives are frequently the cause of constipation and seldom are necessary in its cure. As noted above, mineral oil may be of value. A final warning: Don't give a laxative to a child, and don't take one yourself, if there is any fever, nausea, pain, or general feeling of illness associated with the constipation. It can cause fatal consequences if the condition is caused by appendicitis.