Conditions and Diseases

How to prepare yourself to deal with disease

As we age, especially after we reach 50, our bodies are just naturally more prone to injury, chronic conditions and diseases. Women experience menopause, men experience andropause and our risks for conditions and diseases like diabetes and cancer increase with each passing year. Our risk for developing other devastating conditions like Parkinson’s disease increase as well.

While all that sounds bleak, there’s no need to spend your retirement years counting down the days until you receive that dreaded diagnosis from your doctor. Despite what the headlines might claim, these conditions and diseases aren’t inevitable. There are steps you can take to lower your risks. And if you do find yourself faced with one of the conditions and diseases that so many other seniors face, there are ways to help you cope.

Menopause and Andropause

Unlike some other conditions and diseases, these are perfectly natural stages of life that everyone will experience as they age. Andropause is a condition similar to menopause that occurs in men. While women have the lack of menstruation to clue them in to the beginning of menopause, there is no clear marker for men. Symptoms of both menopause and andropause include irritability, change in sex drive and sadness or loss of interest in things previously enjoyed. Both conditions are caused by a change in hormones. Exercise and good nutrition can help immensely with symptoms, but if they’re troublesome, see your doctor.

Diabetes

Type II diabetes is, for the most part, a preventable disease. A proper diet can go a long way toward diabetes prevention. Such a diet would be rich in whole grains and complex carbohydrates like oatmeal and most fruits, and low in simple sugars and starches like white flour and sugar. If you’re diagnosed with diabetes, the same healthy diet that works at preventing the disease can help you manage it. If you’re careful with your diet, get exercise and take good care of your skin, you can manage your diabetes and live a full, rich life.

Cancer

Diet, exercise and a healthy weight can’t be stressed enough for prevention of this and so many other conditions and diseases. If you smoke, quit. Drink moderately. Wear sunscreen. Learn how to give yourself a breast exam. Be aware of changes in your skin, your bathroom habits and how you generally feel. Cancer is almost always highly treatable when caught early, so be your own best advocate and pay attention to your body.