Beyond
Walking

By Ronda Gates, MS

Ronda Gates, MS, is a pharmacy grad who traded her white coat for a pair of athletic shoes and never looked back. Her health promotion business, LIFESTYLES, provides motivational speaking, program development, and fitness assessment services to support people making a lifestyle change. She has developed health promotion programs for many organizations nationwide.
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An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.

— Henry David
Thoreau

High Level Wellness

When a friend tells you she doesn’t feel well, saying, “I think I’m getting a cold,” you may sympathize, but know it could be worse. If that friend develops pneumonia, your concern is greater. You know she is sick.

Suppose you sprain your ankle. It may hurt like the dickens, but if you ice, elevate, and rest your foot for a few days, it will heal. But if, instead, you break that ankle, you will have pain and need more than just rest — you need a doctor to assist in the repair process by splinting, casting, or in the worst case, repairing the fracture surgically. But in each case, you wouldn’t say you were sick.

Consider the opposite: a person with heart disease or diabetes who may be very sick but not feel much pain. If you ask if s/he feels great, the response, “I’m OK,” may be muted because s/he knows s/he could feel better. In between are the people whose path you cross who have a minor problem such as some hearing loss or a need for a prescription glasses to see well. No one would call them sick.

The point is that most people think if they are not sick then they must be well, or if they feel OK, they aren’t sick. But health is more than the absence of sickness. It is about more than dragging your body through the day. To be healthy is to glow with enjoyment, to look and feel fit and healthy, to have a good attitude — a zest for life — and to know you are more than “not sick,” you are “super well.” Professionally, I describe this as high level wellness.

Researchers continue to tell us that the average human lifespan could be much longer than the current life expectancy. In North America, that is close to 80 years old. Nevertheless, when compared to other animals that live out their natural years of life, humans typically do not. There are exceptions to the rule. Consider the Hunzas, who live high in the Himalayas. They continue to dance, be sexually active, and work hard well past 100 years of age. Cancer, heart disease, heart attacks, high and low blood pressure, and childhood diseases are virtually unknown.

Researchers at gerontology institutes know much about the diseases that affect people and cause death. Much less is known about real aging because it involves fundamental cell processes, which are quite complex. So, they continue to probe the secrets of cultures, like the Hunzas, that live beyond expectations.

There seem to be a number of factors. Long-lifers tend to consider overeating a disgrace so they eat in moderation — even when celebrating — so they are rarely overweight. Their diets are rich in unprocessed fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, milk, and small portions of meat at holidays. They eat very little candy, sweets, jams, or other sugar, and drink wine, not liquor. They don’t supplement their diet with vitamins, minerals, herbs, and over the counter products. They remain active throughout life, choosing to work hard every day. They laugh easily and often and value harmony in personal relationships over wealth, status, and achievement. As they age they find ways to be socially useful. In the case of the Hunzas they also breast feed their babies well into the second year of life. Once again we discover that diet, exercise, and lifestyle are still the cornerstones to living long and living well.

I believe that every day I have a responsibility to myself to aspire to high level wellness. Here’s my personal wellness scale:

10 = feel on top of the world
9 = feel balanced and well; on my game
8 = challenges can be met with a positive
attitude
7 = when tired I’m revitalized by a nap
6 = feel OK
5 = lethargic, but I can keep working
4 = time to focus on my well-being
3 = an accident or illness is limiting my
activity
2 = degenerative disease seriously limits
my activity
1 = overt sickness

As summer comes into full bloom in your neck of the woods, commit to yourself that you will be more than OK. Strive for more than the absence of feeling sick. Make every effort to live like the Hunzas! Aspire to your own measure of high level wellness.