Aging is part of life and as time goes on, we all have to deal with its effects. But we don’t have to start falling apart as time goes on if we realize some simple concepts. The most fundamental concept is that all of life is energy. Every cell in your body is like a microscopic mini-battery. When we are young, the battery is fully charged and we are full of life and energy. As we get older, our batteries run down and we feel tired, move more slowly, injuries don’t heal quickly, and gradually aches, pains and illnesses become more common.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some of the things to consider. First, it is important to realize that diet will affect our health profoundly. Of course it is important not to consume too much animal fat because of cholesterol and too much processed carbohydrates like sugar and white flour because you want to prevent diabetes. But did you know that this can affect your energy and how you feel?
Eating too much animal protein can cause you to feel tired and sap you of energy. This happens because the high concentration of protein in meat, chicken, fish, etc. causes acidification of the blood. When this happens, your body’s voltage decreases and you feel tired and want to go to sleep. Just think of what happens to a lion after it consumes its kill. Sugar and processed flour also acidifies the blood because it ferments and has no other natural nutrients to neutralize the acid.
Conversely, eating more vegetables can help to alkalize your blood and increase your energy. Plant-based foods are full of alkaloids and other nutrients that protect your cells and boost your energy. Did you know that we are blood-related to plants? Most people don’t realize that the hemoglobin molecule in our blood cells is identical to that of chlorophyll in plants. I don’t mean similar — I mean identical. The only difference is that chlorophyll chelates magnesium at its core and hemoglobin chelates iron at is core. Chlorophyll helps to capture energy and hemoglobin helps to deliver oxygen and allow cells to produce energy. This is why I emphasize that it is important to eat greens and chew it well to get chlorophyll and thousands of other helpful nutrients into your system.
Other ways to keeping your energy up includes breathing properly and exercising. Breathing deeply helps to oxygenate your tissues and alkalize your blood. It is important to avoid smoke, pesticides, herbicides, and other environmental toxins that can sap your energy. Exercise — regular exercise — can boost your metabolism.
We are also looking into the effects of scalar energy which is a new technology that seems to help people feel more energy just by sitting in an energy chamber. For more information, listen on Sundays at 8 pm on KWAI 1080AM for “Healing and You” or call 808-628-8784 for information about two new books about this and a FREE seminar about scalar energy.
One in three adults in the U.S. has high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. If pressure stays high over time it will damage the body. Hypertension is the persistent elevation of blood pressure. Blood pressure rises with age and is a common health problem in seniors. The only way to tell whether you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure measured with a blood pressure cuff (sphygmomanometer). This is usually done in a doctor’s office. It is important to know your blood pressure numbers. “Systolic” (the top number) refers to blood pressure when the heart beats while pumping blood. “Diastolic” (the bottom number) refers to blood pressure when the heart is at rest between beats.
Low in saturated fat, cholesterol and total fat
We have all heard the term “rotator cuff.” What is a rotator cuff? A group of four muscles: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor that connects the shoulder blade (scapula) to the arm bone (humerus).
Emphysema is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. Emphysema, along with chronic bronchitis are referred to as Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD). COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Smoking is the leading cause of emphysema.
Rarely, emphysema is caused by an inherited deficiency of a protein that protects the elastic structures in the lungs called alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency emphysema.
The National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii has prepared a cookbook of kidney-healthy recipes available to the public. Go to 
The Chinese call healing energy Qi — the life force, or vital energy, that flows through all things in the universe. In Japan, the life force is termed Ki, while yoga practitioners refer to the body’s life force as prana or pranic energy. These terms all relate to the same universal healing energy, which exists in our environment and links us to all forms of life. It’s the primordial force of nature.
ear ago that Marion Iwane, 88, read a story in Generations Magazine about a senior in her 90s who started exercising at age 77. Inspired by the story, Marion decided to come in for help with balance, weakness and pain in her hips and shoulders. One month into the program, Marion suffered a mild stroke. After a brief stay in the hospital, she was sent to a nursing rehabilitation facility. Two months later, Marion’s daughter brought her back in to see me. Seeing her with a walker and weak on the left side of her body due to the stroke, I knew we had some work to do. I had successfully worked with another client who suffered a much stronger stroke, so I had high hopes for Marion’s recovery.
Marion has come in twice a week for the last 10 months. We started with moving the joints and light stretching, working our way up to strength and flexibility exercises. While training the right and then the left side of the body, it was important that she not lead with her dominant side. When she accomplishes one task we move on to a new one, continually stimulating her brain and connecting the mind to the movement. In the beginning there were times when she wanted to stop coming. Thanks to her daughter who encouraged her to continue, her attitude toward exercise has changed. One day she said to me, “I want to be strong like you.” Wow, that made my day!
In addition to exercise, Marion and I have worked on infusing her diet with healthy nutrients through green smoothies. Getting enough fruits and vegetables into our diets is important for good health and longevity. We also need healthy fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats from avocados, raw nuts, fatty fish, etc.) to maintain brain function and help with cellular communication. We add flaxseed and coconut oil into our smoothies as an easy way to ensure we get our good fats.
More than ever, we have to take charge of our own health, including doing what we can to avoid health problems, such as preventing falls. According to the Centers for Disease Control, falls are the leading cause of accidental fatal and non-fatal injuries among Hawai‘i’s older adults. Every five hours a kupuna is injured so severely in a fall that he/she must be treated in a hospital.
One in seven adults in Hawai‘i has kidney disease. An additional one in three people are at risk for getting it, and most don’t know it. Kidney disease can be found and treated early to prevent more serious kidney disease and other complications. Three simple tests can help.
A physical therapist specializing in cardiac rehab will perform an evaluation and develop a plan consisting of patient education on diet, relaxation techniques, aerobic training and strengthening exercises. The therapist will closely monitor vital signs, such as blood pressure, heart rhythm and rate, and oxygen saturation levels. The therapist should also prescribe a safe exercise program, with appropriate duration, frequency and intensity. While everyone can exercise at a gym or at their home after a cardiac event, a rehab program offers a safe and effective en- vironment to improve your heart health with the supervision of a medical professional.