07/06/2025
Be a Modern-Day Revolutionary
It’s been 249 years since we got rid of Britain telling us how to live and over taxing us to pay for their wars and mismanagement of the treasury. That doesn’t mean our hearts are any less rebellious with age...
Wanna be a rebel?
Grow a garden: Even if it is just a few herbs or veggies in a planter. Some areas have community gardens where everyone grows something different and they all share, or you could start one in your neighborhood. This is real food, and gardening is considered one of the healthiest things you can do for longevity. You’d be surprised what you can grow in small spaces. I grew potatoes in trash cans and corn in a planter box on my patio in Huntington Beach.
Eat Real Food: Don’t have a garden? Find a farm. This time of year, is the best because of all the fresh produce available at our local farms. Support them! Choices you make now, make a difference in how you age. At the store, stick to produce, meat, fish, eggs. Rule of thumb is, eat like a caveman. Whatever a caveman could hunt, grow or forage is good. They didn’t forage for pasta or hunt Cheetos. Read the labels and get to know what is in your food and where it comes from. Learn why “natural” ingredients could be harmful.
Do your research: COVID is a perfect example of how misinformation can hurt people. Read the inserts in your medications. Ask questions of your doctor. Tell him/her that you don’t like how it makes you feel or its not working and ask for alternatives or how to get off it. Dig deeper. Be curious. It could save your life.
Go naked: Ha! Ha! Got your attention? Isn’t that how you feel when you don't’ have your phone or devices? Unplug. Even if it is just 10 minutes. Did you know that 100 years ago the amount of information that a person was exposed to over their lifetime was equal to one edition of the Wall Street Journal. Now, with phones, TV, radio, social media, we are exposed to a stack of Wall Street Journals a few feet high, and it keeps getting worse. We have not physiologically evolved to handle all that is coming at us. Beeps, ringtones, constant availability...this has been proven to contribute to stress, anxiety, depression and over-stimulation. I’ve known people that went back to a flip phone just to escape the madness. Turn off your phone at night and let it recharge in another room. Start paying attention to how much you are on it and make some changes. Eliminate notifications and let voicemail answer calls and get back them after you have had some quiet time.
Go for a Walk: This is another activity that is proven to increase longevity and the pace you walk at is an indicator of your health. Walking also improves neurological function and vision. 10 minutes after meals lowers glucose levels and improves digestion. A walk in the morning exposes you to sunlight that sets the circadian rhythms, so you sleep better. A walk at lunch gives you a healthy break and a walk at night is a good way to unwind from the day.
Be Social: The old-fashioned kind, where you meet with people and talk face to face? Attend community events. Undo the isolation that is becoming an epidemic of loneliness, even among our children. Have family dinners without devices. Play outside together. Volunteer. Nothing like helping others to make you feel better and adds to quality of life.
These are just a few, simple things to start incorporating into your routines. It doesn’t have to be hard or big. Little changes add up and make a big difference, in the long run. There is a rebel deep down in all of us. These days it isn’t a risk to life and limb to be a revolutionary, but it could lengthen or save your life.
P.S. This week I had someone come in that struggles with high blood pressure from a stressful living situation. Here blood pressure had been in the 200’s and she showed me a picture of her blood pressure monitor when she got home, and it read: 159/85. WOW!
