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Starting in 2009, Make Vgor and Longevity a Matter of Choices.
by Fred Lanting
Copyright January, 2009 -
There is no single, simple "secret to a long and healthy life," although many make money by selling books, products and programs based on such a title and concept. But the obverse is true: a combination of ignorance and lack of will inhibits most of us from reaching toward that goal.
As one trained in the scientific method, I have been asked for my "formula" for health and vigor. Yes, tomorrow I could be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer or have a piano fall on me, but my odds for avoidance of such hazards are greater than average because of my lifestyle.
The Bible teaches that a man is most in danger of falling when he is most cocksure of his ability to stand, but here goes, anyway...
First, you need good genes. The way my family has dropped like flies is evidence that I have plenty of bad ones, but I also know that environment has much to do with whether these "bad genes" will be turned on.
I have found key factors in not only prolonging life but remaining vigorous and healthy to the end. You can't change your genes, but you can protect them and survive what life throws your way.
The second key to success in health and longevity is activity. Exercise, manual labor, or sport, move that body around so muscles retain strength, and the heart and lungs benefit, too.
I maintain a big vegetable garden, mow an acre with a push mower and cut perhaps a hundred cords of wood for winter heat. I climb steep hills behind my house, and exercise my dogs by foot and bike. Outdoor activity benefits you, as sunlight allows the body to manufacture vitamin D.
Third, get rid of the alarm clock. If you need one, you are not getting enough sleep, and you aren't hitting the sack early enough. Give up the TV and you'll rarely need the alarm.
"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, etc." is very true - at least up to that part of the rhyme.
Fourth, learn how to handle emotional stress. The inability to manage it - when there is no outlet or you are frustrated in your attempts - is what's harmful. Try self-help solutions ranging from transcendental meditation and prayer to foot massage and simply counting to 10. Or invent your own technique.
Remind yourself what life's priorities are and don't "sweat the small stuff." Strenuous exercise - the physical kind of stress - can actually be good for you and can reduce emotional stress.
Finally is one's lifestyle attitude toward nutrition. This is something extremely important, though it probably will be rejected by most of you who are prone to piecemeal suicide by bad eating habits.
Most Americans are overweight and are poisoning themselves with what they - you - eat and drink. Processed "food" can be very bad for you, but the effects are so gradual that it's easier to see the hour hand moving on an analog clock.
People of all ages are swilling great volumes of such non-essential or deleterious fillers and additives as high-fructose corn syrup, saccharides, preservatives, residual insecticides and hormones, cholesterol, saturated fats and high-gluten foodstuffs. Yet they are pretending they are putting something nutritious into their bodies.
My backyard "victory garden" gives me most of what I need for health, but I also supplement. As an inexpensive insurance policy, I take vitamins E and C for immune system optimization, half an aspirin (when I think of it) for cardio-vascular functions and a "multi" capsule.
But it is primarily the food I eat - and what I don't eat - that keeps me from problems many people a couple decades younger complain about.
Long ago, I cut out salad oil and red meat to lose some paunch, and immediately lost 20 pounds. My herb salads need nothing more than vinegar. I eat no bacon, very rarely sausage, very seldom fry anything and generally stay away from sweets.
Most of the stuff that's bad for you is white: fat, sugar, white bread (they have to "enrich" it to sell you that cardboard), Irish potatoes, ice-cream, etc. Instead, eat plenty of green and orange veggies and colorful fruit.
My basic diet is a combination of Native American (squash, greens, grains, a little venison or poultry) and Mediterranean (hard-wheat whole-grain pasta, tomatoes, olive oil on occasion, lots of flavenoid-rich spices and herbs). The amount of meat of all kinds that we eat is very small.
My twice-weekly omelets are made with jalapenos and onions from my garden and mushrooms from my own woods. I have cholesterol-lowering oatmeal with fruit and black walnuts, plain, live-culture yogurt and a little honey at all other breakfasts.
I don't use doctors or drugs. We get no more than one little cold every couple of years, and we know more about our bodies than most physicians would.
Of course, if we needed clinical tests to tell us more than our education and self-study have, we'd use them. We monitor the important things every couple years at an annual senior health fair. Blood-pressure cuffs at a drugstore are as reliable as those used by the doctor's nurse.
If you can read, can learn how to become aware of your body and take proper care of it. You can safely cut out of your life almost all the causes that have made healthcare and insurance costs astronomical.
If you wish to contest my formula, gather a random group of people my age - in their early- to mid-70s - and test us with much more than a shuffleboard game or wheelchair race. I'll even pit myself against those much younger in years.
We could start with a 2-mile run, then cut, split and load a couple truckloads of firewood, followed by anything else you suggest. It's a challenge, a gauntlet that this septuagenarian is happy to throw at your feet.
Make vigor and longevity a matter of choice. Make it a life change, not a fleeting New Year's resolution.
General info on The Sieger Show Experience with tour guide Fred Lanting
The SV Bundessieger-Zuchtschau (BSZS or Sieger Show) in Germany is generally held in the last week of August or first week in September at a different location each year, depending on stadiums available. (The cost of stadium for this one-weekend event, and the competition with soccer/football events that sign contracts for many per year, determine the choice.) For the past 20 years or so, I have offered my non-profit 6-7-day guided tour of the show and sightseeing, including visits to kennels and training clubs. Get an SV judge's perspective of the bloodlines and procedures, along with experienced introductions to Germany's culture and beauty. My groups come from all parts of the globe, so even just the companionship is like a world-travel experience. We usually arrive on the Wednesday or Thursday before the show, and return the following Wednesday.
Looking for a great dog-related experience combined with seeing a different part of the world? Whatever your breed or activity in dogs, the annual Lanting guided show-and-sightseeing tour could be the experience of a lifetime. Read my annual “Impressions” articles on various websites for an idea of what we've seen in recent years. Tours centered on other countries’ Sieger Shows, the BSP, and world Schutzhund trials are also available if enough people sign up.
None of "my people" have ever been sorry, and all have wished they had done it earlier! You will see the best of the breed, meet important GSD people, sometimes see another country or two, and have the over-all greatest dog show experience of your life. I also include, if you decide to join us, a variety of travel tips. I offer an SV conformation judge's perspective of the show (I also have AKC, UKC, and foreign judging experience). One year, when a travel-agency tour leader again deserted his group, they came to where my group was sitting and asked me questions. References available from previous tour participants. Testimonials are numerous. I hope you will join us and recommend this tour to your friends and acquaintances. As a judge with much experience in Schutzhund training and competition, and being very familiar with Western Europe, I am able to give the best tour possible. People going it on their own cannot see the important parts of the country (sometimes we tour adjacent countries, too), and paying for your rental car is more than chipping in to pay for the van and my expenses. Read my "Impressions" on various websites for an idea of what we've seen in recent years.
There will be 3 long days of the big show, and about 3 to 4 days of sightseeing and visits. Please let me know as soon as you can, with a $400 (US) deposit, so I can start putting my notification list together and finalize (hold) hotel reservations for you. There is a lot of work involved in putting together such a tour! I will make the hotel plans based on your deposits, & arrange the visits and van(s). Easy, fun, educational and, for most --- the unique trip of a lifetime. You will not be any younger next year, and if you don't make the decision to get out there and smell the roses NOW, while you think of it, you're more likely than not to lose the opportunity and desire. Join the group! Tell others about it, too. Fred
Contact me at Mr.GSD[at]netscape.com and tell your friends and Internet contacts.
Postal mail: 3565 Parches Cove, Union Grove, AL 35175-8422 USA
Editor’s Note: A well-respected and frequent GSD specialty and all-breed judge for many clubs around the world, with KC and other-country credentials, Mr. Lanting since 1966 has lectured on Gait-and-Structure, Canine Orthopedic Disorders, and other topics, and has judged in about 30 countries, including the prestigious FCI Asian Shows hosted by Japan Kennel Club and the KC of India, the Scottish Kennel Club, and many National Specialties in the USA and elsewhere. He has been described by a former OFA director as the world’s leading non-veterinarian authority on hip dysplasia. A dog breeder since 1945, a GSD owner since 1947, and a show judge since 1979, he has lectured at numerous veterinary schools in the USA and abroad. He is the author of “must read” books for the dog owner (see below for ordering info). Curriculum Vitae available upon request.
Announcing the new “Canine HD and Other Orthopedics Disorders” book: The expanded revision is a comprehensive (nearly 600-page), amply illustrated, annotated, monumental work that is suitable as a coffee-table book, a reference work for breeders and veterinarians, and a study adjunct for veterinary students. It is equally valuable for the owner of any breed. It covers every aspect of HD and other orthopedic, bone, or spinal disorders, and includes genetics, diagnostic methods, treatment options, and the role of environment. Your autographed copy will be mailed from the USA as soon as the appropriate amount is received and is processed. Pricing: US $68, plus $5 postage in the U.S., or ask about mail overseas. Combine orders with “The Total German Shepherd Dog” by the same author ($50 plus postage). 17 of the 20 chapters are suitable for owners of any breed.
