MEL WALSH--LIFE & HEALTH AFTER 60

SABOTAGED BY SWEETENERS? THE DOC WHO THINKS SO

    This morning I got a new best friend. He doesn’t know it, but it’s Dr. Richard Daines, the State Health Commissioner of New York. I read that he is sticking his neck out, an unusual position for a public official, trying to get through a tax on sugary sodas. The proposed tax would presumably discourage the consumption of unhealthy drinks and also---I figured this one out myself---help the strained state treasury.

To understand why Doc Daines has a passion for this issue, you have to answer this question: how well do know your soda? Well, according to the Mayo Clinic, my go-to folks for medical info, if you take 8 teaspoons of sugar and add it to something liquid, you would approximate the sweeteners in a 12-ounce can of soda.  Think deeply on this image. Consider adding 8 teaspoons of sugar to your cup of coffee or tea. You wouldn’t do it, but with a can of soda, the soft drink industry does it for you---130 calories, 8 teaspoons.

Specifically, why does Doc Daines worry?

He and many others think that sugary soft drinks contribute to obesity, one of the imperative national health issues and certainly, for many of us, a private health issue too. The American Heart Association says that women should consume no more than 100 calories a day of added sugar----men, no more than 150 calories a day.

 But guess what we really do? Most Americans get more than 22 teaspoons a day of added sugar. That’s 355 calories and, as the Mayo Clinic report says, this “far exceeds USDA guidelines and the American Heart Association recommendations.” I would add that it takes 3500 excess calories to make a pound of weight gain, so drink a soda a day for ten days and voila, you have your weight gain right there.

Is diet soda an answer?

Well, it’s not a health drink and some studies suggest that drinking more than one soda a day---diet or regular---increases your risk of obesity and related health problems such as diabetes. Me, I’m trying to get off the soda bandwagon altogether. I have switched to---are you ready?---water, the original Garden of Eden beverage. I also drink teas and my own version of orangeade: ½ inch of orange juice in a glass and fill the rest with water. These actions can save on your calorie budget. Ditto for your household budget.

The culture that catches you and yours

We are surrounded with the siren calls and marketing snares of the soft drink industry. Entire aisles of supermarkets are devoted to soft drinks. Fast food places bundle soft drink specials with your burger and fries. Even gas stations are sugar sinkholes---whole walls of them devoted to sugary drinks. And that says nothing about the advertising or the fact that soft drink manufacturers have bought influence into the nutritional centers of universities, the source of many studies that underlie public health recommendations. Just last month the Yale School of Medicine accepted money from PepsiCo to do “nutritional science research”.

Now, if you think this sweet soda stuff isn’t your issue—you don’t drink them----remember, as Doc Daines does, that this is a public health issue, which means, among other things, that the public may end up paying one way or the other for the treatment of fellow citizens who are downing sodas as their mealtime drink, constant drinkholder choice, gas station watering selection and regular “treat”.

If you don’t believe any of this, when you go to the supermarket, notice the relationship between what people have in their carts and what those people look like. Lurk in the soda aisles. I won’t say more. Just try it. To me, that connection is both a warning and an inspiration.

 And if you see Cranky Pants with his cart, tell him this: Put those things back!

 

Digital Missionary Work: Converting Computerless Seniors

I feel sorry for people who are netless, webless and otherwise suffering from computer deprivation. What they're missing is immense—the world at their fingertips. Almost anything you want to know, see, read, watch---it’s there on the World Wide Web.

And yet, and yet---some older people who were not online witnesses to the birth of the Internet in the early 1990’s have not caught up or caught on to its magical powers.

What's needed are Internet missionaries---people (maybe you) who will try to convert the computerless into net surfers whose lives are lit up by three letters: WWW. Even people who never learned to type can learn how to download videos and browse YouTube.

But how do you motivate a skeptical older person to get a computer life? The most powerful motivator: Staying in touch with family---not being left out of the family circle. This means learning to how to use email and download photos and videos of the family or even to use Skype or Facebook. Bottom line: The promise of closer family ties certainly motivates most of us with adult children and grandchildren.

I find just showing the computer-suspicious what’s possible on my laptop can get them interested. Then telling them about the classes available at senior centers or community college shows them an open door to a new world. Volunteering to help out when they get frustrated or stuck---that’s another way to break through the fear barrier.

The other barrier is cost, but small Asus netbooks are under $400 now on Amazon. The warehouse stores and Walmart sell desktops for less than a weekend trip to a gambling casino. And it would be a generous act to help any neophyte set up the computer and the broadband service.

So that's the deal: If you want to add to the world of a valued older person, you could enlarge that world by a little computer missionary work. You will do good for sure. I don't know one person who ever regretted joining the Church of St. Digitalus. 

 

Sugar and Geezer Spice

    First, let’s do sugar….and take a quick look at the subject of pre-diabetes. Don’t run away now, because you may be pre-diabetic and don’t know it. An estimated 30 percent of Americans are pre-diabetic, which means their blood sugar levels are above normal, but have not yet reached the level of diabetes. Other names for this condition are metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance.

Risk factors include being overweight, inactive, over 45 and having high blood pressure. (Man, that describes a lot of us.) Excess fat and inactivity seem especially important as causes. Even inadequate sleep has been linked with the development of pre-diabetes: current recommendations are to make sure you get more than 5.5 hours a night.

Test indications

Your doc may have told you that you’re pre-diabetic if a fasting blood sugar test measured out at 100-125 mg/dL. If you test lower than 100, you’re considered normal, and if 126 or more, you are in blood sugar trouble.

The good news is that you can get those levels down and become post-pre-diabetic and yes, I made that name up, but it describes how you can reverse those bad blood sugar readings.

Getting back to normal

            It’s so simple to say and so hard to do: First, aim for 30 to 60 minutes of moderate activity a day. (The only way I get close to this ideal, other than walking, is to watch TV and dance around at the same time. A hilarious spectacle to be sure, but it works.) Second, if you are overweight, losing just 10 to 20 pounds will make a significant difference in your risk---so say the experts. Third, eat more healthy foods. You know what they are….the green leafies and other members of the plant kingdom, whole grains and lean proteins such as fish, unbreaded and unfried. (Can you say poaching, broiling or grilling?)

            As for treating pre-diabetes, you don’t have to over-worry about access to health care because you always have access to yourself and your own behavior---at least that’s what I tell myself. And here’s my other self-lecture as I look in the mirror:

            Health is the best health insurance.

So that’s pre-diabetes in a nutshell.

And now for something completely different…

The grand opening of The Geezer Dairies

            My job in this column is to write about health, but there’s so much more to say about adult life that I’ve started writing The Geezer Diaries on my blog. There’ll be at least a new column every week. This week there’s one entry about the stages of age and another about birthdays, yours and mine. And those curious about Cranky Pants can at last see him.  So visit when you can. Now would be good. I live at www.melwalsh.com or just google Mel Walsh to get there. The door is always open at The Geezer Diaries.