I hope everyone had a happy holiday season and you are ready to get yourselves back in shape after indulging in all the goodies. There is a true story that I am going to tell you about, that I hope will be an inspiration to you even if you feel perfectly healthy and have no need to change any lifestyle habits at the present.

One thing that I hear from patients over and over again in the office is that "... I am getting older, and I don't recover from my injuries or pains like I used to and I just don't feel as healthy as I used to." What I find amusing is that I hear it from patients of every age, even teenagers!! After you read the following truly remarkable story I hope you will think twice about falling into that mind set.

This story starts in 1976 in Manhattan with a man whom I will call Mr. Green. He had such a weak heart that he couldn't step down a curb, walk across the street and step up the curb without experiencing angina pain (this is heart pain which is brought on by exertion). Even after this small amount of exertion he needed to take a nitroglycerine tablet which would relax his heart.

He had had a problem with his heart for years and it was getting worse. During a regular visit to his cardiologist he was told that his heart was continuing to weaken and was told that he only had about six months to live, and that he should get his affairs in order, and prepare his family for the inevitable. After that visit he was very upset, but instead of listening to his doctor he decided to take more control of his health. Mr. Green decided to start walking every day on the flat sidewalk in front of his residence. He was determined to walk a little further every day. He also decided to buy some books on nutrition and changed his diet to one that consisted of lean proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and whole unrefined grains. In other words, he stopped eating junk foods (those which are made of refined processed grains, fried foods, and foods high in sugar).

He found that he could walk further and further. He got up to 1/4 mile, then 1/2 mile per day, and after a few months he was up to 2 miles per day and didn't need to take his nitroglycerin tablets anymore. His angina wasn't happening anymore!!!! He kept at it and after a year, he was up to walking 5 miles per day. He then decided it might be fun to jog a bit, and he started with 1/2 mile added to his walk then 1 mile, and soon he was running up to 3 miles per day. He then thought it would be fun to run in a 5 Kilometer race which is slightly over 3 miles. He keep up with his running and soon he was up to 5 miles or more per day. He then entered 10 Kilometer races which are 6.2 miles long. He was now 78 years old. He kept running and training. By the time he was 80 he ran in his first MARATHON race which is slightly over 26 miles!!!! He kept running, training and watching his diet and kept running MARATHONS. At age 90 he won the 80-and-over category at the New York City Marathon. His goal at that time was to be the first person to run the New York Marathon at age 100!! Well, Mr. Green kept it up and, while he didn't quite make his goal (he did pass away at age 96), this was 20 years longer than his cardiologist had predicted. He also had outlived his cardiologist!!!

What can we learn from this story? I looks like you get out what you put in. If you excercise, your muscles stay in tone. If you don't, you will lose muscle tone and most likely gain weight in addition to the weakening of your heart and lungs. If you eat healthful foods most of the time, you will provide your body with the nutrients that your organs need to function properly. If you eat foods lacking in vitamins and minerals, you will most likely end up with one of the five major degenerative conditions which are heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis and cancer.

I have lots of interesting topics for this year's health tips. I will present such topics as calcium, allergies, blood type diets, case histories from my office, water, sleep, as well as book and newsletter recommendations. I will return to the topics of sugar and cholesterol again because they are so important. I hope that you will find them informative.

Many of you have asked me to put your friends, co-workers and relatives on my e-mail mailing list. If you have anyone that you would like to get the health tips just send me their name and their e-mail address.