retirement advice

RETIREMENT ADVICE
when i retired 3 1/2 years ago
i was like a race car every day
zooming around all day up every day
to work before 7am
seeing patients from 730am to 500pm
not really stopping for lunch
sitting eating doing all that paperwork thats required
then
bam i hit the brakes on that ferrari called work
never to drive again

the next day i was in retirement

no time to plan or think about it really
like i guess when you get old and your employer
lets you go out of the blue
i guess its the same thing

now i will admit i knew my day was coming about
6 weeks before it happened
so i was able to prepare things over that time period
and
years before i moved to the country n knowing that
when i retired i would have these things to do to keep
it going
boy was i right about that

but even though i prepared myself for years and i had
those 6 weeks to get ready
there it was
on that thursday
a blank slate for the day

i must say it took be about 6 months to get into some
type of groove as i gradually filled in my time doing
those things i like to do
almost too much at times

i do the country n stuff garden a lot
maintain the place
maintain the water system
you really dont ever catch up

i also dialed in a noon time nap
the best thing ive ever done
maybe we all should do that years earlier
ive worked with doctors that take noon naps

i do my volunteer work with habitat for humanity
with meals on wheels
with the alzheimers association
give alzheimers presentations like im doing later today
and travel especially in the summers

my plate is full
i feel fulfilled every day
i guess i feel as good about what i do as i ever have

now thats what retirement should be about
right

my bff gh from medical school had his retirement party this
weekend
it was fun to see his family and friends again

i spent time talking with him about retirement
he has had time to plan his and plans to stay busy

he will work some part time
thats good

i told him he needs something to do 1 or 2 days a week
working or volunteering
then
take the rest and let them be his days
i know i had a lot of old projects old honeydoes that needed to be
done
they all got done
now that im busy that rate of completion has dropped
i do things now in stages
like the barn its in stage 2 now


so stay busy
but have downtime for yourself and your wife
try some new things
and
most important part of all

take those naps
youll feel better
and
live longer

best wishes on your retirement

the organicgreen friend

habits can be good, A4 study we need help

HABITS CAN BE GOOD
i frequently give presentations on alzheimers disease
or question and answer ones which i like to do since
people can get their answers about this disease from someone
who is
a doctor and has treated alzheimers patients
a family member of parents who had the disease and a younger brother
a patient himself who may have the disease

one of the areas i always talk about in my presentation
and
an area i make sure i talk about in the q&a sessions
is
things to do to slow down or prevent the disease
so
im always on the lookout for articles on how to do this
that may add to my list

recently i found an article from abc news
on 5 healthy habits that can cut your risk of alzheimers disease

go organic
a lot of our vegetables come from foreign countries that have
not banned ddt
ddt breaks down to dde which has been found in alzheimers
patients at levels 4 times those found in persons without the disease
going organic means no dde

eat healthy
even if you start in your 50s and even if you have a genetic
predisposition to get alzheimers disease like i do
you can slow down the progression of the disease
or
even in some of you prevent the onset of the disease
by eating a healthy diet like the mediterranean diet
fruits berries veggies nuts milk products lean meats fish olive oil red wine
in moderation of course
and
by maintaining a normal body weight

the risk can be decreased by as much as 90% according to recent
research by eating healthy

speak another language
and you can delay alzheimers by 4 1/2 years
speaking that extra language develops parts of the brain that
handles executive functions and attention tasks

sleep right and read
sleeping greater than 8 hrs or less than 6 hrs plus not reading
increasing the risk for cognitive impairment by 2.6 times
in a recent study
thank goodness for my naps each day so i can stay in that sweet
spot between 6-8 hrs sleep and i read every day



feed your hippocampus
thats where alzheimers disease starts
by atrophying that underneath area of the brain

those folks who had a genetic predisposition to alzheimers
if you are kin to me thats you
had a 3% drop in the size of that area over an 18 month time period
if they did not exercise
adding exercise those who were susceptible maintained the
volume of the hippocampus ie it did not shrink

if you do ancestry.com and get a dna hit to me
i highly recommend that you do the exercise every day
as well those other things above
and
all those other things we recommend

the trifecta of controlling your blood pressure cholesterol and diabetes
controlling stress anxiety depression
being happy
being socially active
listening to music
dont smoke

so yes there is something you can do to slow this down
most of it doesnt involve medication or special treatments

A4 STUDY-WE NEED HELP!!!

antiamyloid treatemt in asymptomatic alzheimers study
they are looking for

people age 65-85 years old
who have normal thinking and memory

patients will have the new amyvid pet scan i have written about
so many times
it identifies those who have that beta amyloid in the brain
patients with alzheimers disease have beta amyloid in the brain

for those with postive scans  some will be given an infusion of a
new alzheimers vaccine
that will hopefully bind to the accumulated beta amyloid
and remove it from the brain
and hopefully remove it also before it can get stuck in the brain

if this all works then you wont get alzheimers disease or if you do
it will be much milder

folks i would jump at this in a minute as its right now my only hope
to slow things down beside those healthy things i mentioned above
i would be first on the list
except im too young to qualify

what if i told you
you can have a test that may show you may have alzheimers disease
but you could take this new drug that may make it go away
would you do it
no doubt i would

and i know that its really about helping your kids and your grandkids
your nephews your nieces
im afraid to say but it appears that once you get  alzheimers disease
and have symptoms then this stuff may not work as well

take to the time to go to these two links
look for your state
and consider joining the study

researchers have to sort through a lot of volunteers to find those
at risk
they desperately need volunteers!!!

so dont give me this crap about you dont want to know
were talking about your kids their kids and future generations
being able to be treated for this disease years before it hits them

just think of your family member or friend who has or has had
this terrible disease
what if you could have prevented it from happening to them

it can only happen right now if you folks help us out in finding a cure

click here
a4 study
and
a4 study now is the time

to read more about it and to find one near you
they need more volunteers

please pass this information on to those who might qualify

the organicgreen doctor

a walk into the past

A WALK INTO THE PAST
one of the highlights of our trip to southern utah
is that the owner of this mcr place mr db knows the area so well
he knows the history of the area probably better than folks
who have lived there all their lives
especially when it comes to the anasazi indians who
loved in the canyons where the ranch sits
they lived for miles and miles in those cliffs
in the ad 1000+-
then they just poofed disappeared
they were there when the mesa verde ancestral puebloans were there
in southwestern colorado
probably the best known sites in that area

mr db has been exploring this area since he was a kid
and has developed a love and appreciation for the area and
its history

because of this knowledge and respect for the land and its
history
the local landowners allow him to explore their properties

we the ogd and my wife she and the wwoofers get to benefit by
going on long hikes with him to areas that no one really knows about

some sites he has discovered have stimulated archaeological evaluation
of the sites

how he found these places on those cliffs and then remembers how
to get them is amazing to us
our hike was 5-6 hours long
but was well worth it

we drove down the canyon for several miles
then off the road we went down a dirt road
which stopped
now i was skeptical even though we had done this last year
and was amazed at what we saw

we werent disappointed again this year

now we left at noonish in the middle of the day when the
temperatures were in the low to mid 90s
luckily the humidity not like austin is low so the heat is more
tolerable
it reminds me of the high dessert we lived in while in college

luckily we carried a lot of water in our back packs
walking at a good pace not too fast
i think mr db was use to moving faster when he is with
younger folks or by himself

ok so i got real hot but i kept up my water intake as i went
since ive seen a lot of folks in my career with heat exhaustion
severe leg and muscle cramps from dehydration
plus
we took our time took some breaks under shade
especially those small caves in the cliffs
man i could live there

i did think a lot as we walked across the canyon floor
up the canyon walls thinking how in the hell did those
anasazi indians live here
water food was sure a problem
there is a river that runs through the canyon
but its dry part of the year with areas where the
water is present

i think they mainly ate corn and beans called anasazi beans
which i am able to buy at our local supermarket
they have a good sweet flavor and dont have to be cooked as long
as other beans
and what my wife she likes is they produce less you know what
flatulence

we hiked up to this small area where the petroglyphs were
and dogs hank and jack took a break
it was amazing at times they seemed to know exactly where
we were going

i did share some of my water with hank the ranch dog

then we climbed up to the tower rock where we are told you can
stand and see four states-utah colorado new mexico arizona
my wife she and i didnt make it to the top
but we came close
there was a jump from one rock to another that was an
upward jump i didnt want to do

you cant really appreciate it in this picture but there is a dwelling
under the left side of the large tower rock

then off we went across the valley to the other side of the
canyon
up the wall of the cliffs
i was wondering whattheheck are we looking for
then seemingly out of the blue
or turquoise

we saw this long row of petroglyphs along the cliff wall
how did they get up there to do that

there was the area where they ground their corn
you could see where the rock has gotten smoothed out
they decorated the work site carving pectros in the rock

then there was what i called the peace symbol one
my favorite one of course

then the large tourquoise petroglyph that stood out over the rest
the final destination of the hike
worth all the effort

good job again mr db

as we made it back to the truck i put the mouthpiece of
my camelback in my mouth and as i began to suck in the
remaining water all was left was air
good timing on my part

i survived the hike
but
in the end it was worth it

when we left that last day
we took a deep breath
i even climbed up on the roof and looked around the ranch
took in its beauty
thought of all the new friends we met
our interactions with these interesting folks
and
realized that people would actually pay to spend five days here
to do what we did
and
we got to do it all

we are ready to return already

the organicgreen doctor