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'In this section of the Unwind website you will find an integrative and holistic approach to health.
Ultimately to restore normal function and balance of all your body's systems requires the advice of your primary healthcare practitioner and at the same time looking into natural, proactive steps you can take along the lines of improving how you eat, move, think, sleep & breathe. The aim of all this is to make a difference to your health-span - the length of time you get to live a physically and mentally healthy life. Most of us will agree that our ideal future will have a short disease-span (the time at the end of life characterised by frailty and disease) and a long and happy health span. Wherever your starting point, today, all you have to do is make one small change to the area of your life you need it the most and build up from here. I invite you to read what I have collected here, apply what makes sense to you and reap the benefits. |
I invite you to read through the following information, apply what makes sense to you and reap the benefits. |
"Life extension should no longer be the primary goal of medicine when applied to people over 65 years of age. The principle outcome and most important metric of success would be extension of health-span".S. Jay Olshansky - University of Illinois at Chicago Epidemiologist.
A Healthy Life Expectancy (Health Span).
If you got to choose how the rest of your life plays out what would you wish for?
In 2003 my 83 year old Granny, Joan died suddenly. She was a slim, fit woman, still gardening and dog walking. She collapsed suddenly, just as she was about to go out to dinner with friends, with a dissecting aortic aneurysm and died within 48 hours. Fortunately we had time to speak on the phone and say 'See you soon'.
Unlike our current national average of living the last 20% of life in the 'red zone' of sickness, pain and disability, Granny Joan got to live a full, healthy life with very minimal time suffering.
20% of life potentially means 16.2 years for a male and 19.2 years for females in the UK*.
In 2003 my 83 year old Granny, Joan died suddenly. She was a slim, fit woman, still gardening and dog walking. She collapsed suddenly, just as she was about to go out to dinner with friends, with a dissecting aortic aneurysm and died within 48 hours. Fortunately we had time to speak on the phone and say 'See you soon'.
Unlike our current national average of living the last 20% of life in the 'red zone' of sickness, pain and disability, Granny Joan got to live a full, healthy life with very minimal time suffering.
20% of life potentially means 16.2 years for a male and 19.2 years for females in the UK*.
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Olshansky refers to diseases and conditions in the 'red zone' which typically bring to mind our grandparents who's conditions have deteriorated to the point where their choice is limited to living their final years in care.
There are a growing number of healthcare practitioners, including myself, who are talking about an additional, ever expanding time frame which I'll call the 'amber zone' - this is the years spent with ongoing health issues which gradually hinder normal daily life. Whilst this is a rather depressing note to begin on, it is important to gain insight into the way our odds are stacked so that we can make decisions now that will change our future for the better. |
*The World Health Organisation have developed indicators to estimate the population's healthy life expectancy.
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The Good News...
Our genes are programmed for health.
We get sick because our bodies are forced to adapt to unnatural physical, chemical and emotional stresses we expose them to. As soon as you start stacking up healthy choices on a daily basis these positive environmental signals soon start to show up as better health.
What we're aiming for is to identify the root cause, the faulty environment your body had to adapt to in order to survive.
We get sick because our bodies are forced to adapt to unnatural physical, chemical and emotional stresses we expose them to. As soon as you start stacking up healthy choices on a daily basis these positive environmental signals soon start to show up as better health.
What we're aiming for is to identify the root cause, the faulty environment your body had to adapt to in order to survive.
'Everything in Moderation'
It's worth bearing in mind that in all areas you are likely to find conflicting advice among respected experts and research evidence.
I do like the concept of 'everything in moderation', and I am also acutely aware that everyone's interpretation of what 'moderation' means varies massively. This can boil down to your own personal beliefs and values about what's healthy and what's not. Knowledge is power as they say and that's the reason I'll invite you to listen to the experts and latest research findings to make your own informed decisions about your strategy for being healthy.
Most importantly, know exactly why you want to make the effort to be healthy and what you'll get out of it.
I do like the concept of 'everything in moderation', and I am also acutely aware that everyone's interpretation of what 'moderation' means varies massively. This can boil down to your own personal beliefs and values about what's healthy and what's not. Knowledge is power as they say and that's the reason I'll invite you to listen to the experts and latest research findings to make your own informed decisions about your strategy for being healthy.
Most importantly, know exactly why you want to make the effort to be healthy and what you'll get out of it.
6 Foundations of Health
Click on each section to read more...
