Earthsuit Care Instructions

You’ve probably already heard this philosophy on life.

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave
with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive
and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways,
chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO what a ride!"

I couldn’t find the name of the author of the above philosophy, but he/she makes me laugh.  They talk about enjoying life instead of preserving the “earthsuit” where earthsuit is a euphemism for the human body.  (BTW, I couldn’t find the originator of the word “earthsuit” either, but I’m making a mental note to use the term more frequently because I think it’s funny, and I believe that a person is more than the sum total of their exterior appearance.)

At age 50 my thoughts on my aging are simple: it’s happening to me whether I like it or not, and the only alternative that I know of is death.  Every day there’s another wrinkle or gray hair.  Our youth-oriented culture tells me that it’s not good, and that I ought to send my “earthsuit” to the cleaners.  (Thus the first picture to this blog.)

It seems easy to respond to this blog by saying that people who take care of their earthsuit, i.e., eat right, exercise, avoid excess alcohol and nicotine, are going to age more slowly.  Isn’t that a given?  Doesn’t everybody know this by now?  Do we still need to blog about it? 

But then I take a look at the 2010 National Vital Statistic Report from the CDC http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_04.pdf , and I see the same old story.  The leading causes of death are heart disease, malignant neoplasms, chronic lower respiratory diseases, CVA, accidents, Alzheimers, Diabetes and Nephritis.  Most of the diseases just mentioned (and the premature aging that accompanies them) are preventable. 

I found a good article called The State of Aging in America on the CDC website, see  http://www.cdc.gov/aging/pdf/State_of_Aging_and_Health_in_America_2004.pdf .  It talks about 15 indicators that determine whether or not a person can expect to “grow old gracefully,” i.e., to experience “healthy” aging.  The following are indicators the CDC has determined to be factors of unhealthy aging:

1.    The number of sick days taken per month

2.    the amount of mental distress experienced

3.    tooth loss

4.    the limitation of activity due to a disability

5.    a decrease in physical activity

6.    insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables

7.    obesity

8.    smoking

9.    lack of flu vaccine

10. lack of pneumonia vaccine

11. irregular/nonexistent mammograms

12. irregular/nonexistent colon cancer screening

13. lack of utilization of all available preventative screening

14. lack of cholesterol screening

15. having a hip fracture

If the rate of aging is dependent on lifestyle choices, why aren’t we as a nation doing something about it?  Did the patients that I see now, totally “blow off” the Surgeon General’s initiatives? 

See http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/initiatives/index.html

In my opinion the patients that we see now, have heard of, and believe, the Surgeon General’s recommendations for improved health.  Why, then, don’t they follow these recommendations?  I suspect that these lifestyle changes, while simple in theory, are very difficult to implement.  These changes require modifications to a person’s habits/routines and that’s easier said than done.

While aging can’t be halted, it can be slowed.  Our patients, with OTA encouragement and instruction, can take measures to slow the aging process.  They can maintain a physically active lifestyle.  They can extend the life of their earthsuit AND enjoy the ride.