How To Improve Chances Of Old Age Good Health..Starting Now

This article is not about living a lot longer, rather it is about improving your chances of feeling well as you age. Nothing you can do is foolproof, hence the term “improve chances" is to be carefully noted. I am 77years old and counting. I know of few people who probably should have been long dead more than I. And I certainly am thankful to our Almighty God for having watched over me through these years. I do not take personal credit for it. Let me briefly tell you of a few close calls I have had in my life and I do believe that these helped me to consider doing what I could to overcome some of the problems I have encountered.

I was born September 20, 1930 in a sharecropper house near Gadsden, Alabama. As most of you know, this was the depth of the “Great Depression". There was no money to be had, some people were starving, others had committed suicide and life (for adults) was very discouraging.

My mother, who had been totally without prenatal care, proper diet or vitamins, developed kidney poisoning and was extremely ill, causing me to be born 8 weeks early. My fingernails were not developed, I weighed 4 pounds and 3 ounces and I’m told that I was still mostly head.

A lemon sized head with a tiny blue torso. The doctor who helped deliver me told my mother not to worry about me, that I would die and she needed to concentrate on saving her own life at that time. My elderly step-grandmother and my oldest sister (age15), took charge of me. For those who are unaware, you just didn’t be born 8 weeks prematurely in those days and survive, even if you were in a hospital. My mother was too sick to feed me, adding to my poor chances. My step-grandmother mixed a little cow’s butter, a little sugar, and a little soft inner portion of a home made biscuit into a mush and simply put tiny smears of it on my tongue. My sister held me while I slept fearing to put me down lest I die. And I lived. The doctor was astounded. All of those are now dead but I cherish the memories of such devoted and loving ones.

My other escapades I will only briefly mention so I can get on with our subject. At age fifteen, was thrown from the back-end of a pick up truck at about 45 miles per hour, landing on my head and shoulder, flipping a time or so, skinned the back of my shoulder and head badly, tore a hole in my right wrist and injured both ankles, my shirt was torn off. But I got up and walked back to the truck. Then at age 59, I had a single, ninety five percent blockage in a major heart artery, from which I received 3 angioplasties and finally bypass surgery.

I now have aches and pains as most people my age do, however, I thank God that so far I am not on any prescription drugs. My wife and I still love to go the Birmingham Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, Callaway Gardens, and so on. So, what are my recommendations? Read on.

I strongly advise parents to stop showering their children with hot dogs and hamburgers. They do not provide a balanced diet. My own preferences pretty much follow what doctors and nutritionists advise. Everyone does need green leafy vegetables, fruits and nuts in their diets.

And regardless of what doctors and nutritionists say, I think it is wise for everyone to take vitamin supplements. I have taken a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement now for at least 40 years. I also take additional sizable doses of Vitamin C and relatively small doses of B6, B12, Folic Acid and Potassium. You might want your doctors approval for the potassium. Your potassium level can be hazardous in either direction. But the thing I advise most is, don’t wait until you have a problem to start taking these supplements. Vitamins and minerals are not medications for an illness, but rather they help your body to get in shape and stay in shape. I venture the opinion that 95% of the public could be tested on any given day and would show a deficiency of some vitamin or mineral. It is uncalled for since supplements are so reasonably priced and not difficult to take.

Your immune system, your self healing features and all of those built in protections will take care of you if they are kept in good condition. The writer of Psalm 139:14 wrote:

I don’t advise anyone to be a body builder. I started into that for a short time once and I found out that my body wasn’t the type. But the extreme effort necessary for building a show body, can cause enlargement of the heart that will cause you grief in later years. Taking steroids to help you is even worse. You are asking for troubles later on.

But, you know what? You may laugh at this and if so, great! I believe an attitude is far more important to good health in old age than any of the above. And it should be developed as early as possible. Everyone needs to laugh a lot, and even when you’re not laughing you should carry a happy smiley attitude. I was fortunate, as tiny as I was at birth, I was born with a sense of humor and I’ve been fortunate enough to keep it. I learned early on that to benefit others with it, it was necessary to direct any funny sarcasm towards self. I you know of some really stupid incident, tell it as if you were the one who pulled it off. I still carry on with everyone I meet and often leave them bellowing with laughter. It makes my day. Just a short while back I was going into a Wal-Mart store and a lady employee was standing at the entrance with a small roll of rope in her hand, staring with concern out over the parking lot. I said, “Don’t tell me…you’ve lost a horse!" She about folded over in laughter but explained that a customer had purchased the rope and left it.

Also recently, my wife and I were in line to pay out at a Wal-Mart store ( have considered renting a room from them…we just about reside there). And we began to joke about all the different candies beside us and what we would look like if we ate all of it we desired. We were laughing and joking (both of us are beginning to spread out) and when the young lady in front of us finished checking out, she turned and said, “You two have made my day, I was feeling kindly down until I listened to you carrying on." And that made my day.

I am married to a wonderful mate. We constantly joke with one another and it helps to keep a good mood. Our normal greeting, when she walks into the room, I yell a hateful, “What??" and she comes back with a, “What, what??? I worked for about 40 years, missing no more time than perhaps two weeks from illness, and I credit a lot of that to attitude and to vitamin supplements. I always wanted to go to work. I worked when I felt bad sometimes. I would get up about half sick, but I went to work anyway and invariably I felt better. But even laughter and a good attitude works no miracles. After a record like that, in 1990, I lost almost 3 months from work. I started the new year right with a horrible case of influenza, followed by pneumonia in both lungs, then a few months later severe angina pains announced the heart problem that I mentioned above. I retired at age 67 in 1997 and have had other problems since but I still have been blessed with good recovery from those things and mainly I still feel good and bounce eagerly out of bed at 4:00 A.M. Of course, I went to bed at 7:30 the night before. Of our 52 years of marriage, the most incompatible factor we have had is that I am an early morning person and my wife is definitely NOT! She is not to be spoken to until about 9:00 or later. Just depends.

So all this boils down to is just do what your Mama told you to do.