 Photo by Raychan on Unsplash If my wife were pregnant, I'd prefer she avoided ketoHigh-Fat Diets are becoming increasingly popular, especially skyrocketing at the beginning of 2018, according to Google Trends. A just-published research paper might take the gloss off their popularity.
 Photo by Jenelle Hayes on Unsplash How I get five "doses" dailyI recently learned of the specific health benefits of drinking black tea and decided to add it to my regular diet. However, I don't enjoy drinking it.
Here’s how I get the benefit of five “cups” of black tea daily. It’s a matter of process over preference. But why bother? The micronutrients in both black tea and green tea are associated with a range of health benefits, particularly related to cardiovascular health. Studies have shown that drinking black tea on a regular basis helps to reduce the chances of onset of cardiovascular disorders. Both teas have anti-cancer properties and are good for diabetic patients (since polyphenols present in tea inhibit obesity by suppressing the digestion and absorption of fat and complex carbohydrates). They also both reduce the risk of dementia. The research supporting tea’s dementia-fighting benefits isn’t as extensive as research on coffee. But so far, it seems that tea may offer similar benefits to coffee.  Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash Here is what helped me get through fear, anxiety and griefOur personal recovery from the aftermath of Covid has been framed as the process of coming to grips with "the new normal". But the new normal will be anything but normal. Grieving for what we lost from the pandemic will be everywhere. Our families, communities and societies will need to be able to restructure within the context of the grieving. That will take courage, the courage to take action. Based on my experience of fear, anxiety and grief here is what helped me understand how to become more resilient. My wife and I lost a child mid-term. That's immobilising. She subsequently developed a depression so severe that I had to carry her to the toilet from the bed where she lay motionless each day, until I realised that we both needed help. We were lucky enough to later have an IVF baby, although my wife flatlined during the birth. Four and a half hours in the 2 doctors and 3 midwives decided that she needed to be moved to a critical care hospital. But the ambulance declined to take her because they feared that she wouldn't make it. An hour later the flatline turned upwards. Five hours later I took her in a wheelchair to the neonatal intensive care unit where she was able to touch, but hold our baby. Then I drove home to an cold empty house and bed. I was shattered. It haunts me to think about it, but it no longer immobilises me. It helped me understand loss, and joy, and life on the other side - and a few lessons on how to get there.  Photo by Qin Fan on Unsplash Here are ten things that I'd like insteadI attended a family funeral yesterday - that of my late brother's adult son. It convinced me that I don't want a funeral celebrant at my funeral. I'm grateful that it gave me space to think about what I do want.
 Photo by Erfan Amiri on Unsplash I'm drinking more tea since I learnt thisTea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world after water and is a major source of dietary flavonoids. Yet surprisingly, the way in which tea supports our health is still unknown (June, 2019). Some studies have found that drinking tea also reduces levels of cortisol and therefore stress - useful in these times of the pandemic.
If you don't yet drink enough tea (I don't) then perhaps it is time to take up the habit. Here's why. For centuries, tea has been anecdotally linked to digestive health, and research studies have convincingly associated consumption of black tea with reduced cardiovascular risk. This benefit of tea is attributed to substances called polyphenols, such as catechins. Polyphenols are chemical compounds that protect plants from ultraviolet radiation and harmful, disease-causing pathogens. Flavonoids are one type of polyphenol.  Photo by Stephanie Ecate on Unsplash Getting in shape after 40 comes down to two main thingsGetting in shape after 40 comes down to two main things: specific exercises and mindset. The exercises you choose should be those which set you up to live longer better, not just look good in a t-shirt.
The mindset required is that these changes are going to be a permanent part of your lifestyle driven by a desire to preserve the most valuable relationships in your life. That's why now is the time to give up CrossFit. Fitness in your forties is about building the same capabilities that you would need to run a good time in an obstacle course. They are the capabilities which will serve you well as you enter your next 50 years.  Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash Looking good has become more satisfying than sexA recent study reported decreases in sexual activity among adults in the US aged 18-44 years (comparing 2000 with 2018). The percentage of 18 to 24-year-old men who were sexually inactive in the past year increased from 18.9% in 2000-2002 to 30.9% in 2016-2018.
That is a 64% increase in men 80 to 24 not having sex in the past year - that is "sexually inactive" meaning not one sexual partner. Similar trends in sexual inactivity appeared among individuals aged 25-34 years but not among individuals aged 35-44 years.  Photo by Andriyko Podilnyk on Unsplash If you can do one, I'll show you to get to 15Pull-ups are a fantastic pull exercise, and we don't do enough pull exercises. That's why we see so many rounded-hunched shoulders in the gym, and they look bad on men and even worse on women (because it makes them look so much older).
It's a shame to see people putting in all that work and building a poor posture instead of a stronger one. Pulls-ups develop a more robust and more attractive posture. If you can do one proper pull-up, I'll show you how to build that up to 15.  Photo by Erik-Jan Leusink on Unsplash Here’s why, and how to fix itVitamin D is free - from sunshine, yet amazingly vitamin D deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide (2019).
This deficiency is terrible for our health, and neglectful, considering how easy it is to get the optimum dose.  Photo by Jordan Heath on Unsplash Here's how, and it's not too hardThe disease of diabetes has dire consequences for the health of our vascular system - our arteries, veins and capillaries. These vital pipelines become clogged up with excess sugar in our blood. This clogging results in nerves, cells and organs dying, e.g. hairs falling out, nerve pain as they die, blindness, kidney failure.
Every cell in our body relies on efficient blood flow, including our muscles. If we can increase the number of capillaries in our muscles, we can improve the blood flow and offset some of the adverse effects of diabetes. |
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ChoicesSince I was diagnosed at 50 with Type 2 diabetes I've been learning how to do bone-building fitness training which lowers my age. You can too. It's your choice. Walter 
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