Maintaining A Healthy Immune System

By Chuck Marone and Gayle Larson

Maintaining youth is definitely a full time job. It is a lifestyle choice we should adhere to while we are still relatively young. The good or bad choices we make about food and nutrition and exercise can greatly determine how long we live and the diseases we may get. My passion to stay as young as possible through exercise and diet grew out of the loss of my bride of 47 years. She passed in March of 2005. She lost her courageous battle with pancreatic cancer after about a year and a half of being diagnosed. This is a deadly disease, not many people ever beat this type of cancer. The causes of pancreatic cancer are unknown. It is known that smoking and a family history of pancreatic cancer are possible risk factors. It was difficult for me to watch her struggle with a disease we knew little about and could not control.

As I reflect on our 47 years together, I can see many things that we could have done that may have prolonged her life and helped her to maintain her youth. My wife was a smoker for many years. She battled with weight gain, like so many women, and was not as focused about eating healthy foods as she could have been and hated to exercise. I could not convince her to come to the gym with me.

As a young man, I was skinny and under weight and was diagnosed with asthma. My doctor recommended that I exercise and begin a weight lifting program. I am passionate about exercise to this day. I work out about 3 times a week , bike ride , and follow a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken and grains.

I know now how important it is to have a healthy immune system. Having a healthy immune system is absolutely essential to our well being and helping us to maintain our youth. Without proper immune function, disease attacks our bodies, shortening our lives and impacts the quality of our lives. The immune system defends us against germs and microorganisms every day. For the majority of us the immune system does a great job of keeping us healthy and preventing infections. It is an anti-aging defense.

It is a known fact that problems or disorders of the immune system fall under 4 categories.

Allergic disorders
Autoimmune disorders
Immunodeficiency disorders
Cancers of the immune system

We can protect our immune system from many of these problems by making good lifestyle choices in all aspects of our lives. We can avoid getting run down, eliminate stress, eat a balanced diet, eat fresh nutritious foods, get plenty of sleep, wash our hands frequently, avoid alcohol and cigarettes and get plenty of exercise. Exercise is wonderful for your immune system . Choosing A program of regular, exercise helps to relieve stress and makes it easier to sleep at night. Alcohol intake also interferes with the immune system working properly. Research indicates that drinking alcohol is linked with certain types of cancers and infections. Another negative impact to the immune system is Cigarette smoke (inhaled or second hand) it is full of toxic chemicals. I can't help believe that these were contributors to my wife's weakened immune system and contributed to her death.

If you hate going to the gym and exercising like my wife did, you may try dancing as an alternative exercise, which she loved. I was not much of a dancer and have often regretted not learning . What fun we could have had together. There are many things we can do to create a healthy lifestyle and fight the aging process. Understanding how important it is to maintain a strong immune system in order to fight aging and disease is only one area of antiaging this blog will focus on. Look to us in the future for additional thoughts, tips and ideas to help you maintain your youth and create your own personal antiaging plan. We'd love to hear your comments let us know your stories. We'll be talking to you!

Chuck Marone and Gayle Larson are both retired senior citizens who are passionate about sharing with others tips on staying youthful, anti-aging, as well as health, fitness and good nutrition for their age group.

http://maintainingyouth.com

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