Today’s diatribe will address the more physical and metabolic aspects of the word balance.
Yet again I refer back to my Yoga deck. I had a piece of reasonably straight flat 4×4 x 10 feet lumber left over. If you’ve seen what passes for lumber these days the words straight and flat rarely exist in the same sentence!
Anyway, this lumber made a perfect balance beam. I have noticed in my career of Anti-Aging Medicine that the ability to maintain physical balance is often one of the early signs of decline. It would also be fair to state that it often keeps company with “sarcopenia and dynopenia” 2 words that I am beginning to see in the lay press and of course the many age based “thought leaders” out there.
These words mean loss of muscle mass and loss of strength respectively. Coupled with flagging proprioception (sense of where you are in space) they spell a steady decline in your ability to cope with a changing world and in increased risk of sickness and death.
Sound like aging to you?
Now the balance beam is wonderful for improving balance rapidly but even a narrow curb can be used and is a bit safer if you are just starting out. Similarly, one legged balance and one-legged yoga poses are great for improving and maintaining balance. Tai Chi and just about any martial art are huge as well if you are able and interested in them!
Finally, probably the most easily accessible balance challenge is trail hiking or trail running. I still use trekking poles for the upper body workout. It’s important to choose trails that are less groomed. “Rails to trails” are fine for an aerobic workout but contain almost no proprioceptive challenges. The trail should be rougher and rockier, the kind you’d need a fully suspended mountain bike to navigate.
Like many age related declines these specifics can be directly addressed and will help you stay younger, fitter, stronger and far healthier.
Now let’s move on to perhaps the number 1 imbalance facing our nation. This is hitting younger and younger and bodes poorly for the health of future generations as well as ours.
I am talking about Sugar Balance. This is the sole reason I make an all natural support product for blood sugar! It’s a boring topic that most people don’t even equate with accelerated aging but it’s an epidemic if not a pandemic!
It’s also one of the few overlaps between Anti-Aging and allopathic medicine that doesn’t get called lunatic fringe or worse by the later!
Even regular doctors acknowledge the need to balance one’s sugar and combat AGES– Advanced Glycosylation End ProductS. If you spill sugared soda on your kitchen floor you will rapidly see what happens inside your cells when sugar coats, glycosylates and gums up the cellular mechanisms and proteins.
The elevation of insulin is also an inflammatory state- something we’ve talked about for decades in my emails and the main reason I stay low carb/keto in my own eating patterns.
Sugar Balance Support Formula is designed to harness natural “pre drug” herbs and compounds like Goat’s Rue the original source of metformin. Pleased be advised this supplement is not designed to treat, diagnose or mitigate any disease including diabetes or the new epidemic of “pre” diabetes which will soon simply be called diabetes.
Right now, over 100 million people in the US have one or the other. That is almost 1/3 of the population.
Given the propensity of this condition to cause sickness and death you might want to consider a supplement as part of your “life insurance”. Along with a healthy diet and lifestyle of course.
So much of what we are told is a fait accompli of getting older is not so!!!!
Do something about it while it is not a fate!
Staying Balanced,
Dr Dave