Heath Ideas, Part VIII

by

John Stephen Mauldin, MLA (not AI assisted)

All right reserved, copyright © 2025

Exercise

Exercise is a tonic for the mind and the whole body. So, if you are not exercising regularly, start today.

Begin by talking with your physician before starting an exercise regimen, asking for his or her advice about the best workout for your age and health. If your doctor determines that you are healthy and able to pursue a full exercise program, you might follow these suggestions.

Let’s assume you’re new to exercising. In this case, walking is probably the best place to start. First, buy a quality pair of walking or running shoes that give you good support. The cushion of quality athletic shoes will absorb the rhythmic shock that ordinarily would be absorbed, not only by your feet, ankles, shins, knees, thighs, and hips, but also your spine, chest, back, shoulders, neck, and head. If all these body parts, and more, are receiving hundreds or thousands of shocks in a concentrated amount of time, it could cause debilitating fatigue; this is particularly true when we are over the age of fifty.

By contrast, the extra shock absorption afforded by high-quality athletic shoes alleviates this trauma, allowing us to recover faster from a workout that includes walking or running. This will help us feel stronger and more vigorous rather than tired after a workout.

Take it easy at first. Don’t overdo it. You should, however, be able to walk one mile each day in around 30 minutes. This is the minimum time that you should maintain an elevated heart rate needed to give your heart, lungs, circulatory system, and lymph nodes an elementary workout.

With the assumption that you are walking in the fresh air, breathe deeply during your walks.

After walking a quarter of a mile or so, you may try inhaling and then holding your breath for anywhere from ten to twenty seconds. Each time your left foot touches the ground, count until reaching the number you choose, up to twenty. This will help you breathe more deeply, invigorating your whole being, especially your lungs, heart, and brain.

When you feel the need to expend more energy, try running an eighth of a mile on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Once you’ve consistently run an eighth of a mile, try a quarter of a mile until you are able to run one full mile three times a week. The health and mental rewards will be astonishing.

After you feel comfortable with this exercise level, you may want to add an isometric routine to walking. Isometrics are excellent for the results they offer as well as the fact that they can be completed without equipment or a gym. Push-ups are an example. This exercise develops

1. the pectoral (chest) muscles

2.   the latissimus dorsi (muscles beneath the shoulders on either side of the rib cage and often called “lats”)

3.   the deltoid (shoulder muscle)

4.   triceps (on the back of the arms between the shoulder and elbow)

5.   the trapezius (the muscles above the shoulders extending towards the neck)

6.   the abdominal or stomach muscles.

Men and boys who are in shape and within their height/ weight ratio (see the section on Weight for the height/ weight chart), should be able to do two sets of thirty push-ups for a total of sixty.

This may seem impossible. Maybe you are unable to do even one push-up. But in a week, by trying each day you work out, you will be able to do one push-up. You will be surprised that by trying one more push-up each workout day, you will be able to do two sets of ten push-ups in three or four weeks, and two sets of twenty in six weeks, and two sets of thirty in eight weeks. Your schedule may vary, of course.

Here’s an important tip: never do push-ups every day. Do them only three times a week—Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, for example. This allows your muscles to rest and recuperate; for once you tear them down with a workout, they must have time to rebuild. Therefore, consistent workouts with intervals of rest cause muscles to grow.

Another excellent isometric workout is stomach crunches. These are essential to keep a flat stomach, as well as strengthening the muscles to keep your spine in the flowing S curve necessary for healthy posture and a pain-free back.

Lay on your back with your legs crossed at your ankles. Draw your knees toward your chest, and while holding your knees in this position, cross your arms over your chest. Now, lift your upper back off the floor while lifting your chest and head forward. Avoid rocking back and forth as this will negate the stress on your stomach. This strengthens:

1. the rectus abdominis (stomach muscles) and

2. various muscles in the neck.

Start slowly, adding more crunches each time you work out. A man or woman who is in shape should be able to do two sets of 75 for a total of 150 or more of these.

If you cannot do even one crunch, do not let this discourage you. Let it encourage you!

By steadily adding one or more crunches to every workout, you will be able to do more than 100 crunches, maybe 150 crunches, in a few months. Be sure of it. You may even want to hold thirty pounds on your chest as you do them. Just take one small step at a time. This is how every weakling became a muscle-bound brute—one little bit at a time. It will work for you, too.

Now, you might want to buy a set of dumbbells. Start with those that weigh about fifteen pounds each.

Try curls. While standing, hold them in each hand and, alternating from one hand to the other, bring one up toward your shoulder, taking turns. Set a goal to do two sets of fifty for a total of 100 curls. As with the other exercises, begin with a few repetitions and add more weight and reps each time you work out.

I suggest exercising early in the morning before eating. You may first wish to drink a glass of room temperature water, for most people receive better results by not eating or drinking more than that before exercising. Immediately after your workout, you must recover. Consider drinking a smoothie. Here’s one I love, the Green and Purple Smoothie:

• One frozen organic banana

• Big handful of fresh organic kale

• Chopped celery

• Chopped cucumber

• One-half cup of organic blueberries

• Eight to ten oz. of purified water

• Vanilla vegan protein powder without sugar

Another positively delicious smoothie is the Carrot, Strawberry Smoothie:

• One frozen organic banana

• Big handful of fresh organic spinach

• One cup of organic strawberries

• Three stalks of organic celery, chopped

• Eight to ten oz. of carrot juice

• Vanilla vegan protein powder made without sugar

While enjoying your smoothie, it is an ideal time to take your vitamins and supplements. Follow your smoothie by carbing-up with a healthy breakfast. This is one you may like:

• One-half cup (before cooking) of organic buckwheat cereal

• One tablespoon of organic cayenne pepper

• Three tablespoons of organic olive oil

• 
  

You may want to try a smaller portion of cayenne pepper to test its heat.

This will not only provide plenty of carbs to help you recover from your workout but the cayenne pepper and olive oil will serve as a powerful anti-inflammatory, as well. It will also help to reduce sports injuries.

Of course, if you are running eight miles each morning and bench pressing three hundred-fifty pounds thirty times, you will need more carbs to recover. We must find the workout and recovery routine that is best for us. The important thing is to start today.

Face

It is unnecessary to have what is generally considered a pretty or handsome face to be uniquely attractive. Our facial features, in fact, can be quite incidental to facial attractiveness.

A glow emanating from a clean, happy soul is magnetic, and this magnetism can be wonderfully enhanced by a few glasses of purified water each day and a diet of mostly fruits and vegetables. Certain vegetables can even give us a tan without the Sun; the carotene from carrots, for example, will cause the face to have a beautiful, Sun-kissed blush, making our teeth appear a little whiter, the whites of our eyes a tad more blanche.

This might be a motivation to eat carrots and drink carrot juice. Adding carrot juice to a smoothie may be something to try. Should we exercise vigorously every day, all the above benefits will be enriched, giving our face the unmistakable appearance of salubrity. Add a generous smile, and we will look fully alive, a trait that will draw others to us.

Also, vitamin A is a natural skin potion and is, therefore, good for our face. Vitamin A-rich foods, in order of potency, are sweet potatoes, winter squash, kale, collards, turnip greens, carrots, sweet red peppers, Swiss chard, spinach, and romaine lettuce. Do something nice for your face today: toss a salad with these life-giving foods.

But the Sun will age and wrinkle our faces. Even one sunburn will accelerate aging in only a few hours. So, avoid direct Sunlight, especially between 10 am and 4 pm, when the Sun’s rays are most damaging. If you must be in direct sunlight, wear a hat that protects your face and sunglasses that protect you against UV rays. Sunscreen may be needed, too. But avoid rubbing toxins into your face that are in most Sunscreens; find one that is free of them. More about protection from the Sun is found under the section Sunburn.

Most of our women know many ways to keep their faces beautified, so I may not have anything new to tell them about facial care. Men, however, usually don’t subscribe to facial care, possibly because it seems unmanly to them. It did to me until I aged a little. But, gentlemen, we are only issued one face. It is how we are judged most often, and it must serve us all our lives, so we are better served by taking care of our face each day. If you are an alpha male, such a notion will not be intimidating.

I testify that witch hazel (without toxic chemicals) is a superb way to keep the face clean, smooth, soft, and glowing; it is the best way I’ve found to tighten pores and remove dirt, and excess oil, too. I use it morning and night, and, after each use, I massage about one-quarter teaspoon of organic coconut oil into my face; this is a particularly good moisturizing routine after a shave. But without a moisturizer, our faces may look dry, pale, and old rather than the true ruddy, peach color of our complexion.

Above all, our faces are animated by a clean body.

Feet

If we are to enjoy robust health, we must care for our feet since walking, running, and, general liveliness depend on them.

Our first concern is cleanliness. Therefore, we should change socks three or four times each day. This is especially important to those of us who exercise five to six days each week. Socks must be removed after every workout. Our feet should be soaked in warm water daily or at least several times each week. Soaking them in apple cider vinegar is ideal.

Yet, if we shower rather than bathe, soaking our feet for a minimum of five minutes in a foot tub is necessary. Allowing our feet to air-clean without shoes or socks is important. But it is suggested that this is enjoyed at home rather than outdoors, for many harmful parasites may be contacted in nature. These often enter the body through our feet so be wise and wear shoes and socks while outside. Clipping our toenails is essential to cleanliness and provides the appropriate room within our shoes, too.

Shoes profoundly affect our posture, energy level, and freedom from injury. So, we are wise to wear high-quality running and walking shoes with appropriate cushion and lateral support. Cushion literally protects us from head to toe. For, when we run or even walk, shock waves jolt our feet, ankles, shins, knees, thighs, hips, pelvis, back, shoulders, neck, and head. These are the eleven main points of potential injury. However, high-quality shoes protect these vulnerable points from damage. Moreover, shoes that are properly designed will preserve our vitality since these eleven connecting points needn’t compensate for the thousands of small concussions they absorb daily, particularly during vigorous exercise. So rather than missing out on a single day or sometimes several days of exuberant life caused by energy drain, wear the right shoes and thrive.

Fever Blisters

Should you feel a tingling, or itchiness on or around your lips, this could be the onset of a fever blister, especially if you have experienced undue stress in the last few days. That stress may have compromised your immune system, breaking down the gates and guarding your lips against hostile bacteria.

Without delay, take an ice cube and, with a washcloth to protect your fingers from the cold, hold the ice directly on the suspect place. You might need to go through several ice cubes, but this may save you from weeks of discomfort and embarrassment in public.

One of the key points is to ice it down immediately. Once it begins to fester, it will enlarge and spread rapidly. By acting right away, you may be able to freeze it before it can make a noticeable appearance.

But fever blisters are a strong virus. So, you might want to ask your doctor about a prescription that you can keep on hand when such a breakout occurs.

And if you are a man and you shave, you may want to stop shaving until you have overcome this little malady because a razor can spread the infection to other parts of your face.

Fatigue

If we are eating a diet without fried foods, processed foods, or dairy products but one that is rich in organic fruits and vegetables, particularly leafy green vegetables, and exercising regularly in the fresh air, we should have plenty of energy.

Yet even while doing all the above, we may still feel drained of pep, and the reasons could be myriad. A significant drain on our energy is walking in shoes that have insufficient support. Wearing high-quality shoes is especially crucial the more we age since the cushions throughout our bodies begin to weaken. This is why I suggest wearing only the best quality shoes constructed with plenty of cushion. Insoles may also be a solution. And when we walk for exercise or run, it is essential to wear athletic shoes. This will alleviate the great stress that runs all through our body and causes debilitating fatigue.

If we are feeling drained of energy, one important question we might ask is this: with whom are we spending the precious moments of our life? Are these successful, happy people? Or are your associates unsuccessful and unhappy people who drain your energy? Find people who are succeeding and enjoying life; listen to them, emulate them, and decide that you will also be successful.

One cause of fatigue may be depression. If you have any of the following feelings, reread the section on depression.

• Overeating or appetite loss

• Lack of direction in life

• Lack of normal energy

• Difficulty concentrating and making decisions

• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness or helplessness

• Feelings of hopelessness and negativity

• Insomnia or excessive sleeping

• Irritability and restlessness

• Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed

• Loss of interest in sex

• Chronic aches pains, headaches, or cramps

• Digestive problems, unresponsive to normal treatment

• Persistently sad, anxious feelings

If you experience these feelings, they can be replaced with positive thoughts. So, read the section about depression and believe you will turn things around. Simply believe, believe, believe.

Another reason for fatigue is gluten.

Gluten

Gluten, which is found in wheat, is valued for its viscosity, which gives elasticity to dough, helps it rise, maintains its shape, and often gives the final product a chewy texture. Yet, this viscoelasticity has a tenacious quality that lines the digestive tract, inhibiting digestion and, in turn, causing weight gain, fatigue, and arthritic symptoms. Anyone who wishes to lose weight, enjoy robust energy, and avoid arthritis should also avoid gluten.

Grieving

I was told I would never again see my dearest love. The soul-cleansing embrace was forever and ever gone, the cheery, childlike smile would never again cast life cross my face.

I involuntarily fell to my knees and cried one thousand times, “No!” There, with my face in my hands on my neighbor’s couch, I wept for two hours, calling the name that would never again answer. I lost ten pounds in four days, and friends said I aged a decade overnight. There was no sleep for three weeks.

During this time, to keep a morsel of my sanity, I went to a local coffee shop and wrote a screenplay about our lives together. As waves swamping a drowning man, grief came upon grief. Then there was a lull. Then I was viciously swamped, yet again. Over the months, the waves came less frequently and less violently. Upon the end of the ninth month, I had completed my grief.

Though six years have passed, tears filled my eyes when I wrote this. Yet, I also smile when the sweetness of that precious gift visits my heart as though a butterfly flitters through a garden lattice, and I whisper, I love you.