Chapter 26

Nutrition and Exercise

Our lives are not in the lap of the gods, but in the lap of our cooks.

—Lin Yutang, “On Food and Medicine”

 

Good nutrition and exercise are even more important to your health than to people without any health concerns.

Section 1. Nutrition

Good daily nutrition helps to decrease your medical costs, increases your income by allowing you to work longer, and contributes to the quality and quantity of your life. On the other hand, if you don’t eat well, your natural defenses against illness are weaker. Poor nutrition also prolongs recovery from illnesses and so tends to increase the costs and incidence of hospitalization.

Tip. Think of nutrition as a therapy—one as important as the drugs you may be taking or the treatments you may be undergoing.

Cost. Good nutrition may cost you more money than your current eating patterns. The extra expense is not tax deductible as a medical expense if it is merely to improve your general health. However, if your doctor prescribes certain foods for specific conditions, the cost may be deductible.

If you can’t prepare your own meals. Organizations across the nation deliver meals to homebound people who need assistance. To identify your local choices, call your GuardianOrg, your church, or the Eldercare Locator Service (800-677-6116). Also see chapter 27, section 3.6.

Food stamps. Individuals living in households that meet income eligibility criteria are permitted to participate in the federally financed, state-run food stamp program, which provides a free coupon allotment, the amount of which varies according to household size and net income. The coupons may be used in participating retail stores to buy food or to have meals delivered by authorized delivery services.

Nutrition that works for you. What nutrition works for you depends on your health condition, your lifestyle, and your exercise. Sources of information are

• your primary care physician, although historically there has not been much emphasis on nutrition in medical schools and your doctor may have only general knowledge on the subject.

• a registered nutritionist, who can tell you about the best diet for you as well as how to use foods to address symptoms that may accompany your condition, treatment, or drug regimen, such as loss of appetite, changed sense of taste or smell, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, weight gain, weight loss, and dry mouth.

• your GuardianOrg.

• computer programs and the Internet. Software programs are available to help you analyze your food intake and create an optimal program. There are also sites on the Internet that provide a simple nutritional analysis of different foods. I hope by the time you read this text there will also be sophisticated sites to provide individualized nutritional information.

• the USDA. For free information call 800-535-4555.

• the free book noted below from the National Institutes of Health that is targeted at people with cancer, but the principles apply across the board.

Water. If you want to have your water analyzed, use a state-approved testing laboratory. To find out where you can get a list of such labs, call the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791. For a report on the different treatment systems available for your home and what each protects against, call the National Association of People With AIDS at 202-898-0414 for a free copy of “Should You Be Concerned about Your Drinking Water?”

For cancer. Eating Hints for Cancer Patients from the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD. Telephone 800-422-6237 for a free copy.

For HIV/AIDS. Living with HIV: A Nutrition Guide, Eating Tips for HIV Disease, published by God’s Love We Deliver. Telephone 212-865-6500. Free. Nutrition and HIV: Your Choices Make a Difference by Peggy A. Wickwire, M.S., R.D., available free from the Division of Nutrition and Supplemental Food Programs, Tennessee Department of Health and Environment, C2-233 Cordell Hull Building, Nashville, TN 37219.

For MS. Food for Thought: MS and Nutrition, free from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society at 800-344-4867.

Section 2. Safe Food Handling

Safe food handling is as critical to your health as your food intake. Just because you didn’t get sick before doesn’t mean you are not at risk now. Each of the following informative publications is free:

• A Quick Consumer Guide to Safe Food Handling, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service. Call 800-535-4555, 10–4 ET.

• An excellent guide for food storage and handling (as well as how to choose food) is Eating Hints for Cancer Patients, described in section 1, which works for everyone, not just people with cancer.

• Eating Defensively: Food Safety Advice for Persons With AIDS, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, DHH publication no. (FDA) 92-2232. Call 202-619-0257.

Section 3. Exercise

Along with good nutrition, regular exercise is important to your health and, of course, your Life Units. It acts as a natural immune booster, helping the body keep infections at bay. Additionally, regular exercise can help reduce stress, anxiety, fatigue, and depression as well as improve sleep patterns and even bowel function. It can also increase appetite.

Any regular physical activity is good, from brisk walking to weight lifting. Participating in a sport is another good way to keep in shape. Common sense is the key.

Ideally, now is when exercise should be started. It can be adapted if changing health dictates. Don’t overdo exercise. Your body is the best gauge to let you know when you’ve done too much.

Caution. Speak with your doctor before starting any vigorous exercise program—or restarting after a long period of rest. Then start slowly and work up to an appropriate intensity and frequency. Adjust your exercise program if you begin to lose weight.

Gyms. While not a problem for healthy people, bacteria and fungi at gyms can be a health threat to people with compromised immune systems. If you have a compromised immune system

• stay out of the steam room. It breeds bacteria and promotes dehydration.

• from the moment you start exercise until you wash your hands thoroughly with an antibacterial soap, don’t touch your hands to your nose, mouth, ears, or eyes. If you want to be extra safe, wear exercise gloves, or take a box of alcohol or other antibacterial wipes with you. If you can, wipe off the areas you are going to be touching, if not, immediately after use wipe your hands or other exposed skin that has come in contact with equipment.

• never use bar soap from the gym. Bacteria actually breeds in the hot, wet surface of the soap. Take a bottle of antibacterial soap to use at the gym.

Drugs. Drugs and exercise can be a hazardous combination. Consult with your doctor about the drugs you are taking, including over-the-counter drugs, and learn about the risks.

Tip. Especially if you are taking a heavy daily dose of prescription drugs, avoid dehydration by drinking water before, during, and after workouts,

Cost. You don’t have to belong to a gym to exercise. You can do plenty of things at home for free. The costs of joining a gym or hiring a personal trainer are not tax deductible or generally covered by insurance. The odds are a free or low-cost public gym and/or pool is nearby.

Tip. Check with your health insurance company for possible arrangements that provide gym-membership-fee discounts, or premium refunds for attending.

Tip. If you are going to join a gym or your membership is up for renewal, find out their policy in case you become ill for a time or are permanently disabled. You should at least be able to put your membership on hold for the duration of a flare-up in your condition. Also, do not renew multiyear memberships without comparing the benefits of banking the money in excess of a one-year membership against the potential future savings.