Did you know that the current
life expectancy for Canadians is 82 years?
Although not in the top 10 (11th) we are doing much better
than our friends South of the 49th parallel (ranked 36th)
(1)…
According to Employment
and Social Development Canada, men were expected to spend 88.0% (68.9 years) of
their life in good health, compared with 85.8% (71.2 years) for women. Although
women had higher life expectancy, men were expected to spend a higher
proportion of their life in good health.
Wow! In other words you can expect about 10
years of life in poor health. Yikes!
Taking gender out of the
equation, Chronic conditions are the main cause of lowered HALE
(Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy. Of that, Depression is a
major cause. In addition, obesity and stress continues to be on the
rise.
For the majority of
people, they can improve their healthy life.
There are no magic pills,
no short-cuts, no special diets, machines or routines that will result in
“getting into shape” Even if there was a magic pill – and you
could afford it…there are much more benefits to exercise. Besides adding
strength and tone to the muscles, exercise works your heart and lungs. An
exercise “pill” won’t build your self-esteem and confidence you get from a good
work-out. Resistance and Aerobic exercise can improve your mood, add
brain power, help your sex life, and change your body for the better.
Your food intake is the
MOST important. - Proper nutrition is 60% of the effort in building
a healthy strong body. Follow a properly balanced Nutritional
eating schedule. “Eat the Rainbow” – lots of Fruits and Vegetables
(NonGMO), Beans, Legumes and Fish. Cut
back or eliminate Meat, Chicken and Dairy – they are NOT needed for being
healthy. Learn from the Centenarians! And of course stay away from sugar, processed
and fast foods. Do not fall in the Diet Trap and become part of the
yo-yo phenomenon. You can’t stay on a diet forever.
It is important to create
a lifestyle that works for you and that you will maintain for healthy life.
The best results come from a long-term strategy involving permanent change in
both eating and activity habits.
You can live your life in
good health – it’s your reality - start now!
