Why Girls Just Wanna Have Support

I have been having increasing back pain, mainly in my neck, upper back and shoulders. I have also become more hunched over. First I was worried that maybe I was getting Parkinson's Disease like my grandmother had. Most people with Parkinson's are hunched over when they walk. Then I realized the answer was a plain as....well the boobs on my chest. I switched to sports bras after I retired and although they are comfortable, they just don't offer the support I need. So I switched back yesterday and voila! No more back pain or slouchy posture. A recent French study says that it is bras, not the lack of them that cause back pain. I am not buying it. Besides the researcher in charge was a man (hmm, no wonder he said women would be better off without bras, ha ha). The fact of the matter is that the older we women get the more support we need. A good bra may not only help alleviate upper back pain, neck tension and help your posture, but it will perk up your spirit as well as other parts.

Eat a Variety of Food for a Healthy Diet

Prehistoric people ate a more varied diet than most modern people. Early humans were opportunistic omnivores. They lived a hunter-gatherer existence and the source of their food depended mainly on the locale and climate in which they lived. Although we do not know whether the few remaining hunter-gatherer societies today are completely comparable to prehistoric people, we can get somewhat of an idea of what life may have been before the advent of modern agriculture and animal husbandry. When I was studying anthropology in college I researched the Sans/Kung people (Bushmen) who live in the Kalahari Desert in Africa. Before being influenced by modern life, the Sans/Kung people lived a nomadic survivalist existence in the harsh environment in which they lived. There is little water in the Kalahari Desert and so even though the Sans/Kung people do hunt, large game animals are scarce. At least 80 % of their food were plants, including their staple, mongogo nuts as well as berries, the fruit of the baobob tree, bitter melon, various tubers and cactus fruit (hoodia). In fact it has been documented that the Sans/Kung people ate as many as 100 different kinds of plants. The remaining food they ate were insects and small game.

Most modern people have a much more restricted diet. I counted up what I ate yesterday and it came up to about 20 different foods. (banana, blueberries, strawberries, flax, almonds, walnuts, pecans, soy milk, peanuts, kale, turnip greens, spinach, black eyed peas, tomatoes, onions, romaine lettuce, fig flavored vinegar, broccoli, rice and herbal tea). Nutritionists say that the more variety we have in our diet, the better. So I am striving to add even more variety to my diet.

Living Longer

Most of want to live as long as possible, but also want to be in good health as we age. While modern medicine has certainly helped humans to live longer lives, it is up to us to take personal responsibility for our health and well-being. The famous Yankee baseball player of the 1950's, Mickey Mantle thought that his family history of Hodgkin's disease made a short life inevitable. His father and uncles had died in their fifties and because he thought he would suffer the same fate, he decided to have a "devil may care" attitude about his own health. He partied hard and drank alcohol in excess. He never developed Hodgkin's disease, but instead died of alcohol induced cirrhosis of the liver which could have been prevented if he had taken charge of his own health rather than just accepting what he thought was his fate. I am using the suggestions and many of the recipes in the Reader's Digest LIVE LONGER COOKBOOK. In addition to the recipes, it has a chapter entitled "Common Sense Guide to Living Longer," in which it explains the nutrients our body needs, a pictorial guides to beans and grains, a section on exercise and physical fitness and tips for losing weight. Although not entirely plant-based, it has chapters with recipes for salads, vegetables, pasta, rice and grains, breads and an entire chapter of meatless main dishes.