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With Dusty 
HAPPY NEW YEAR! With hopes that 2012 brings bright and enjoyable happenings in your life!
From our guest writer this month, Nic East: By Nic East As we age, we increasingly encounter physical ailments that cause us discomfort and concern. Since our bodies are the most valuable possessions we own, it is our great responsibility to care for them so that they do not fail or cause undo pain so that we can have long, satisfying lives filled with wonderful experiences and relationships. Your healthy body is the most comfortable and empowering tool you will ever own. It is the tool with which you operate all the other devices you may ever own. Most important about the care and feeding of our bodies is that we become consistent and vigilant in their maintenance. Our Human bodies need a well-rounded regimen of vitamins, minerals and even a few herbs along with lots of physical activity in the form of exercise and perhaps even some weight-training. Along with eating a well-rounded diet of vegetables, meats and grains, we need lots of water and other liquids to help flush away the waste products generated by our healthy cellular metabolism. So, eating really healthful food, sticking to a well balanced vitamin routine and adhering to a well thought out exercise program takes care of your body, but what about our minds? It is not enough to just eat a diet of what some people might term “brain food” and doing nothing more. We need lots of sensory stimulation too, because we are excited by novelty of all sorts. Just traveling down a familiar street or road we naturally are attracted to differences we notice in the passing scene. Perhaps someone has a new vehicle or pet, painted their house a novel color, had a fire or simply has not mown their lawn. We usually see only the changes compared to the last time we followed that route and they cause us to take notice. All of what we see can be important for various reasons. Some of us are more visually aware than others and so they see more changes in the environment. Generally, the better your senses, the more alert you will be and the more enjoyment you will get. Keeping all your senses sharp and in good condition is vital so that you will remain as sensitive as possible to what is going on around you. Normally we have five traditional physical senses along with a few others. We have senses of balance, time and well-being that enable us to act in our best self interest and protect us from harm. We also have a full battery of emotional responses that serve to help guide our progress throughout our lives. Caring for our eyes is important because seeing and understanding what we are seeing enables us to drive safely, avoid dangerous environmental hazards and read for information and recreational enjoyment. If we cannot see properly, we should visit an optometrist or ophthalmologist to have your eyes tested, get glasses or get other help. Getting your hearing tested regularly can help to keep you included within your conversational group. Hearing what is going on around you can help you gain information from the media, allow you to be part of the conversation, warn you of impending danger like an approaching vehicle when you’re your concentration is otherwise engaged. Our senses of smell and taste enable us to learn about what is invisible but nevertheless important around us. Smelling a gas leak or baby’s dirty diaper is very helpful. Tasting our food increases enjoyment or prevents illness if the food is contaminated. Smelling the roses is also a wonderfully enjoyable act. Our sense of movement and touch also give warning and pleasure in a large variety of ways. Our balance and rhythm enables us to walk, dance and otherwise enjoy the movement of our life. Some people have very sensitive balance ability and can walk on a high wire or otherwise do acrobatics. Love is all about touching and involves all our other senses as well. The sense of time’s passage is important and though some people may not wear timepieces, they still must respond to schedules, deadlines and dates with loved-ones. As we mature there is also a psychological phenomena termed “the apparent acceleration of time with age”. This means that the “passage” of time subjectively seems to accelerate and even though all clocks agree, your personal time sense seems to have speeded up. Perhaps most important is our sense of Well-Being. This is the physical barometer that enables us to enjoy life while engaging our other senses. It is to this sense that I wish to speak. The basis of our good health is strongly affected by our caloric intake as well as our exercise and vitamin consumption. We will grow and store fat on our bodies if we take in too many fatty foods and this will cause great discomfort due to lugging that unnecessary weight around. Extra weight also causes other problems in our joints and internal organs. A fat heart will not last nearly as long as one that is not carrying extra weight. Obesity also is a cause of the need for larger clothes, shoes and even bedding. At the extreme, obesity can kill you even if you are young and otherwise strong and healthy. VITAMINS CAN HELP Vitamins are organic molecules that function in a wide variety of capacities within the body. The most prominent function of vitamins is to serve as cofactors (co-enzymes) for enzymatic reactions. The distinguishing feature of vitamins is that they generally cannot be synthesized by mammalian cells and, therefore, must be supplied in our diet. Vitamins are of two distinct types; water soluble and fat soluble. All B vitamins are water soluble. Other water soluble vitamins are Folic acid and Ascorbic acid. Fat soluble vitamins are A, D, E, K and alpha Lipoic acid. Dietary vitamins enable the modern Human to achieve a greater level of strength and health along with better brain function. We need to take a multivitamin at minimum in order to get trace elements and minerals that we may miss due to an erratic diet. We cannot depend upon getting everything our bodies need from simply eating regular food since they often do not contain enough of some element that may be vital to an obscure bodily requirement. We can never feel the direct effects of a vitamin imbalance, so we should take care to cover all the bases, as it were. White women have a tendency toward osteoporoses and black people have a tendency toward sickle-cell anemia. Many people have self-selected a restricted diet like Vegetarianism, Vegan or Macrobiotic, low fat, low carbohydrates etc. From what I have discovered, Human beings are not always able to respond favorably to restricted or specialized diets. If a person has to limit their diet due to philosophical or medical considerations, they should be careful to supplement the missing vitamins, minerals or elements such as calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium, zinc, etc. Missing any of these elements can lead to severe difficulties, especially in your later life. Taking calcium to guard against Osteoporoses should be done using a Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc formulation, which is far more digestible than just calcium by itself. The minerals that are considered of dietary significance are those that are necessary to support biochemical reactions by serving both functional and structural roles as well as those serving as electrolytes. There are both Quantity Elements required by the body and Trace Elements. The Quantity Elements are sodium, magnesium, phosphorous, sulfur, chlorine, potassium and calcium. The essential Trace Elements are manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, selenium, molybdenum, and iodine. Additional Trace Elements (although not considered essential) are boron, chromium, fluoride, and silicon. An antioxidant is a molecule capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons or hydrogen from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals. In turn, these radicals can startchain reactions. When the chain reaction occurs in a cell, it can cause damage or death to the cell. This is a part of the aging process that we can well do without. Although oxidation reactions are crucial for life, they can also be damaging; plants and animals maintain complex systems of multiple types of antioxidants, such as glutathione, vitamin C, and vitamin E as well as enzymes such as catalase, superoxide dismutase and various peroxidases. Low levels of antioxidants, or inhibition of the antioxidant enzymes, cause oxidative stress and may damage or kill cells. Again, this is avoidable. So you see, vitamins and minerals are necessary for good health and well being. We should be careful to never overdose or poison ourselves because too much of a good thing can be toxic to your system. Moderate and judicious megavitamin therapy can add many years of healthy life expectancy. Nic East, Jim Thorpe, PA Dusty’s Sharing – Are you seeking to be more attentive to your health? Rest, nutrition and fitness are three areas that require our love and attention. In the ruthless busyness of modern life, the symmetry between work and keeping good health has been lost. Pursuing a healthy regime is a personal decision. A person will continue to follow through with a regimen only if a personal commitment is made to do so. Once that commitment is built, nothing can get in the way. There may be temptations but commitment will reign superior. It becomes a lifestyle. All life requires an identity with rest. There is a harmony in our waking activity and the body’s need for sleep. There is a time in all seasons as with the active growth of spring and summer being subdued by the necessary dormancy of fall and winter. There is a tidal rhythm, a deep, eternal conversation between the land and the sea. In our bodies, the heart rests after each beat; the lungs rest between the exhale and the inhale. Maintaining healthy exercise is the dream for many. It often goes in spurts and eventually gets set aside for other so-called needs. When it becomes a desired passion, it can become a desirable lifestyle. That approach can find fulfillment with a few simple changes in one's current way of living. Any lifestyle, especially a simplistic one, can offer many occasions for natural exercise. Walking or bicycle riding for errands, raising a vegetable garden, or developing an appealing landscape all promote natural exercise. Joining a group at an athletic club encourages discipline as well as a time for getting together with friends. A University of Nebraska study shows that proper foods and exercise give added benefits in reduced fatigue, sharper memory and sounder sleep. Routine vigorous exercise is important. Running, jogging, aerobics and bicycle riding are highly promoted. Much of the emphasis and importance is to develop deep, healthy breathing. Putting fresh oxygen into the body system in big doses helps unclog the blood system, increases cardiac and lung capacity and provides new energy. It is used as it is supplied and cannot be stored for future benefit. Food can be stored but oxygen needs to be consumed continuously. A person tends to forget to breathe deeply when in a passive activity. The body consumes enough air to keep him alive but without the full, deep breaths, there is not enough to supply a healthy dose to all parts of the body. If there are any medical problems, a physician's advice is recommended. For a healthy person, doctors usually recommend bicycle riding, swimming, or walking at a spirited pace. The body may complain but that is because it is aging and wants to continue the process. Detemination can slow that process. A healthy affirmation offers service: "My body is firm and strong." Exercise should and can be joyful. A ten or fifteen minute segment can offer a quick walk. People must let themselves feel free to give themselves this slice of time as often as possible. It offers a refreshing vitality. Upon retiring as a schoolteacher, a friend decided to join a group in a walk-across-America from California to New York. It would take nearly five months. She was in a good state of health, eating properly and getting exercise by running whenever possible, even between buildings at her school. The walk proved to be a delightful adventure and a warm memory. From there, she put her teaching skills back to work by joining the Peace Corps and travelling to China for two years. Her good health enabled her to easily accept the suitability of a different lifestyle. Developing the follow-through for this inner yearning for good health is not complicated if one is truly dedicated to his passion. Finding five goals to achieve to become more physically whole brings awareness to the situation. What are five activities for each of these goals? For example, Goal 1: Get an hour of fresh air daily.These are realistic activities.Activities: A) walk around the block when going to get the mail; B) water the yard and flowers; C) sit outdoors for morning meditation and Bible reading.Goal 2: Lose ten pounds.Activities: A) walk briskly for ten minutes each day; B) go swimming twice a week; C) eat well-balanced meals; D) "pig out" one meal a week; E) do twenty sit-ups every day. Anyone can begin this moment doing something on his list. For example, if Goal 2 above, eating well-balanced meals, were my choice, right now I could write a menu and grocery list. If I choose to do twenty sit-ups every day, I could do ten of them right now. The key is to get to the action. Thinking or writing the goals do not bring them into being. Doing an activity immediately begins to bring the goal into focus. Performing actions repetitiously develops habits. By being aware and filling life with favorable actions, those that are not desirable as part of the regime can be shooed away. Playing games to make desired actions more desirable to appropriate into one's lifestyle may sound childish but it works. No one else needs to know one is doing it. It is a method that challenges the old thoughts and brings about desired changes. By games, I mean something meaningful, which helps get the job done. As an example of games to play, for developing a regime and doing it every day could bring the reward of a special leisure time. It could be giving self a special time to accomplish some new physical exercise. Each person must create his own rewards. Eventually, after developing the desired habit, the mind and body do not need the reward each time. Accomplishing the activity will provide the reward. This may take discipline. Developing the follow-through for this inner yearning is not complicated if one is truly dedicated to his dream. When an individual attains his desired state, he can be assured he is on his way toward maintaining a healthy body.
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Enjoy every moment to the fullest! - Dusty
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