HEALTH ISN'T AN ACCIDENTAL

(New thoughts are posted two to three times each week)

There is an old saying that “Whoever prescribes for himself has a fool for a doctor.” Which is why you should not practice self-diagnosis when it comes to aches and pains. It waste money and time to run to the doctor every time your nose runs or your head aches but it can also be extremely dangerous playing doctor.

When should you go to the physician and what kind? Dermatologist take care of people like you and me who when we were young bathed in the sunlight until sometimes in place of a golden tan we looked more like a lobster. Skin cancer is a reality and ignored can become a deadly reality. Catch a cell gone bad early and it’s easily fixed. Let it get out of hand, it isn’t. It’s that simple.

Eyesight? Does it seem you are seeing through a fog these days? Your side vision deteriorating? Haloes around lights? An ounce of prevention is certainly worth a pound of blindness. Go see an eye doctor even if you are afraid you may find out something you don’t want to know. By way of example, glaucoma doesn’t send pain but it can send darkness.

Teeth? Past 60 half of all people have lost all their teeth. It’s true but not necessary. How to avoid being a member of the lost tooth tribe? Regular visits to the dentist keep your teeth around longer and when one goes neighboring teeth quite often follow. In short, see your dentist at least twice a year. See him less and it will cost you more; both in dollars and in pain. Want to cut cavities down to a minimum or even nothing. I switched from having my teeth cleaned twice a year to three times a year and I’ve had only one cavity in four years. Before that I had a cavity every time I went to the dentist.

It is good to remember that a health tip in hand is worth two ignored in a bush. Love sweets? I do! But I also try to remember that one cookie will taste just as good and not give me the negative sugar kick back that a handful will. And yes, sometimes I practice substitutions. Nuts instead of nougat, a wedge of lettuce instead of a square of lasagna, cottage cheese instead of cheesecake. Yuk? Well, an occasional foray into such good habit eating really is worth it. Honest.

Consider adding oats to your diet. They may not necessarily make you feel as frisky as a colt but scientists are saying it is one of the best ways to reduce the type of cholesterol that contributes to heart disease.

Do you like a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack? Would cutting them out make you weigh less? Do you find the very thought more than you want to handle? Would you like to have these snacks and still eat no more calories than if you hadn’t indulged? Simple! Only eat half as much for breakfast and lunch and eat the other halves later as your snack. You may leave the table hungry, but a few minutes later your hunger pangs will have caught up with the reality that you really did eat enough and are not about to starve. Mathematically such a culinary trick will add up to monumental caloric savings in no time at all.

Can push-ups in the morning give you more get up and go for the rest of the day? Can a morning run or fast walk at seven oxygenate your system so that it keeps you going longer and with less effort? Can a stretch or two on a regular basis keep a disc from slipping or a muscle from pulling?

I have always subscribed to the attitude that even if I fell flat on my face in the mud, or was pushed, I must still turn over and stare up at the stars. And since I’ve had 21 major accidents and operations I’ve have plenty of opportunities to practice my own advice. By doing this, there have been times when I have been one of the healthiest unhealthy folk around.

There is, indeed, great satisfaction in waking up in the morning and knowing you are looking in the mirror at someone who is at least trying to be their best.

(Go to the top right of the blog page and click on "Click here to watch Neil as Franklin, Lincoln, Wesley & Luther" You will then be able to watch on your computer One Man Dramatizations by Neil who has been called "the new Hal Holbrook" There is no charge.)