The Peters Township Source

Recently, with the passing of Tim Russert, NBC News lost one of its most respected journalists. Everybody was shocked by his untimely death at 58.

How can it be that someone so influential could die so suddenly of a massive heart attack and not have an early diagnosis of his condition? If it can happen to Tim Russert, what are the chances of this happening to you or me? Are there ways to prevent this?

In the days following Mr. Russert’s death, medical experts began to ponder why he succumbed to the massive heart attack.Many attributed it to his weight, in particular to the amount of “belly fat,” and the exhausting lifestyle he led. In this article I will address the six key areas of health and lifestyle to have total health and wellness.

Genetic Potential
There is an old saying that if you want to be healthy you must “choose your parents wisely”We do inherit certain traits of health from our parents. If your parents have a history of diabetes or heart disease, you too have a higher predisposition for these diseases.

Exercise
The second area that is important in the maintenance of health is exercise. Simply stated, the human body is not meant to be sedentary for extended periods. However, work, postural habits and our method of transportation all force us to lead sedentary lifestyles.The amount and type of exercise we do to overcome our lifestyle will vary greatly depending upon overall physical condition, age, and the goals we set.

Nevertheless, there are certain types of exercises that are best suited if you are attempting to lose weight as compared to increasing your aerobic activity or building muscle. In terms of improving your overall health, my recommendation is to begin to walk for at least 40-45 minutes per day. I also strongly encourage resistive training, such as weight training, at a frequency of about three times per week.

Nutrition
The next area that is grossly overlooked is nutrition.This can be seen abundantly in people now that it is summer time. You will see they are moderately to severely overweight. Obesity can be linked directly to the rise in heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancers. Unfortunately, most Americans do not know how to eat properly.

Emotional Stress
One of the biggest effects on most Americans’ health is high levels of emotional stress. If your mind is constantly in overdrive, worrying about things you can’t control, the energy has to go somewhere and will begin to affect your body negatively. In today’s society, it is impossible to get away from stress. But, again, it’s how you vent your emotional stress that can have a huge impact on your physical makeup.

Nervous System
Lastly, as a chiropractor I deal with the proper function of the nervous system through the spine. I saved this for last because this is one of the most important areas of your health that is often overlooked.The brain and the nervous system virtually run every function of your body.The nervous system controls how many times per minute your heart beats, how much air you absorb, how your food is digested, and how well your muscles and glands function.

Rest
Another important area of deficiency is rest.The amount of rest a person needs again varies depending on their physical condition.The average is between 71/2 to 9 hours of sleep. Quite often we receive enough sleep but they not the right kind of sleep to rejuvenate the body. In other words, many Americans will get 8 hours of sleep but they are never resting comfortably and never getting into the deep sleep pattern they need.Many factors can affect this, such as the level of stress a person is undergoing, the type of food and amount of caffeine ingested, even the type and dosage of medications consumed.