Geriatric care – self-help:

Caring for yourself in the youth of old age means more than just cleaning the teeth and dentures, going for a walk and eating a cooked meal once a day.

It means ensuring that

your body has an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals – and in the correct balance

All the right muscle groups are exercised regularly

Your body has a daily “oxygen flush”

Your food supplies plenty of fatty acids of the omega-3 and omega-6 variety

Adequate daily protein – from meat, legumes, pulses etc. (about the amount that would occupy the volume of the palm of your hand at two to three meals daily) – preferably pesticide-free and organically grown

You combine brown rice with legumes for optimum amino acid value

You also get plenty of detoxifying amino acids from your food – like the sulphur types that occur in garlic, onions and Jerusalem artichokes

You eat generous portions of fruit and vegetables – as they are a also a source of Anti-oxidant vitamins and of soluble fibre – but modest serves of cakes, pastries and breads.

You include at least one of the Indian spices daily in your foods – ginger, fenugreek, turmeric, cumin, coriander, fennel, liquorice.

Food for thought

Sometimes your short-term memory starts failing you when you approach the fifties. This is not a big deal – if you do something about it – and you can help reverse it any time.

What is causing you to develop these signs and symptoms younger than your parents? Consider this…

What do you do if your food is not always fresh, chemical free and grown in rich, nutritious soil? What if your local water supply is mainly “run-off” water and not bubbling spring water? Or worse still, if the water has washed off farms or downstream from plants using chemicals or pesticides – or picks up even more chemicals in the treatment works?

What if you are eating some processed or takeaway foods which contain artery-clogging “synthetic” fats and free radicals* which accelerate the normal ageing of your body?

What if the fuel pollutants in the very air you breathe are also contributing to the acceleration of the normal ageing process?

And importantly, if you have been persuaded to avoid butter, meat fat and dipping your bread in olive oil or flaxseed or other nutritious oils?

If that is you, then you may start to slowly develop conditions which cause the following signs.

Worrying memory loss

Pins and needles in hands and feet

Poor circulation

Chest pains, gradually increasing over the years

Shortness of breath

Unexplained mood changes

Sweet cravings

Big meals not satisfying

Uncharacteristic thirst after the main meal

Are you just ageing gracefully – or is this a sign of premature ageing?

We say that ageing of this type in under 55s is not normal but accelerated a result of a “soft-living syndrome”.

To start to reverse the trend is simple:

Simply increase the amount of oily fish (ocean-caught) that you ingest

Add plenty of garlic and onion regularly

Commence the day with carrot and celery juice (80/20)

Include in the one of the daily menus some fresh, grated ginger

Targeted supplements

What else can you do about it?

Sometimes, food alone simply can’t reverse the effect of years of damage to your body. You do need to supplement with precious anti-oxidants, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals – which the diet is simply not supplying.

And you need to do this in a targeted way – which ensures that what you take does the most amount of good.