John Aaron Wellness

As you approach and go over 40, you can start to feel a difference in your body. Even if you were an athlete all through your younger days, it is inevitable that changes happen in your body that will prevent you from doing things you could. However, you can largely reduce the effect of these changes. You can keep your energy levels, strength and flexibility in good shape enabling you to delay the effects of the aging process. This is because inactivity and poor nutrition actually speed up the aging process. Some of the first changes you will notice are: • Losing your balance • Getting out of breathe easily • Tightening up of your body • A decline in muscle mass • Weakening and thinning of bone mass • Cartilage, ligaments and tendons becoming less elastic Understanding why these changes are happening, what your new nutritional needs are, and which kind of physical activity is good for you will help you stay fit without hurting your body. A sedentary lifestyl...

Back pain affects at least 4 out of 5 persons. Whether it's due to lifting heavy objects, twisting or turning, bad posture or stress, this widespread medical condition can cause a lot of pain and discomfort. But you don't have to suffer. There are ways you can strengthen your back so that you can be pain free. These 4 simple exercises will go far in helping ease your back pain and strengthen your lower back. Before you start any new exercise program, it's important to always check with your doctor first. Choose comfortable clothes that have some give to them and find an area with plenty of room for you to stretch out and do your exercise routine. Back Pain and Sciatica Relief: The first and most simple of all exercises you can do for your back is walking. Yes, plain and simple taking a walk will go far in helping to reduce back pain. Start with a light stretch and set a small goal. Don't stop to rest until you have reached this goal. All forms of lower back exe...

As much as we hate to admit it, there are times where death seems inevitable. Whether it’s a severe terminal illness or the body slowing down with old age, certain conditions can make death unavoidable. Preventable death, however, is different. Just as it sounds, preventable death is any kind of death that we actually have the power to avert. Sadly, although these deaths are preventable, and therefore largely within our control, they still occur at an alarming frequency. For more information on preventable death, check out this infographic by Katherman Briggs & Greenberg. Top Causes of Preventable Death Smoking If you’ve ever thought about lighting up, you might want to think again. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death, causing 467,000 deaths in the U.S. annually, and it’s the culprit behind 1 in every 5 deaths. In addition to causing cancer, heart disease, stroke and lung disease, smoking can shorten your life span: smokers die on average 10 years earlier tha...

Ever since the fat phobia of the 1980’s, I’ve been battling the misconception that all fats are evil. They are not. However, oils and fats are not all created equal. Which means some are more beneficial while others are downright dangerous. For example, heavily processed, hydrogenated, “trans” fats and oils that are used to prepare the vast majority of packaged and fast foods can be extremely damaging to the body. In contrast, fats and oils from whole foods and other high-quality sources can steady our metabolism, keep hormone levels even, nourish our skin, hair and nails and provide lubrication to keep the body functioning fluidly and even help our brains process and think more clearly. Including a small amount of high-quality fat in a meal also serves to give us a feeling of satiety, energy, fulfillment and warmth. It is when there are excess fats and oils in the diet, especially heavily processed fats, that we can experience weight gain, skin breakouts, high blood pressure, li...

How was your Halloween? This year I took four children trick-or-treating; a five, a four, a three, and a two year old. Talk about work! And, dang it if one of them little boogers didn’t give me a head-cold! Anyway, Halloween swooshed by me like those kids chasing candy door to door. It was enough to make your head spin. What’s more, the coming holidays don’t seem to be slowing down for me either. Life can be a whirlwind at times, but it’s all good. It’s when things feel like they’re ‘literally’ whirling around you, that you may want to stop and reconsider. When you’re over forty, loss of balance can mean your health is out of whack. While some of us older folk will feel dizzy from time to time, the sense the surroundings spinning is called vertigo (yes, like the old Hitchcock movie). Your inner ear works with your brain to give you a sense of your body’s position. Your skin, joints, and muscles also send balance signals to the brain. If something goes wrong in any of these a...

For those of us that have managed to live for over 40 years or more, an interesting and somewhat morbid thing begins to happen to us. We become increasingly aware of the reality of mortality and just how precious our time here on Earth is. Perhaps this semi age related milestone helps us bypass the trivial things that distract us from living our remaining years to the fullest. Today many celebrate Dia de Los Muertos (day of the dead). Traditionally a holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. This holiday focuses on the gathering of family and friends to pray for, remember and celebrate loved ones that have died. Now, I'm not one to read the obituary column, but plenty of my over forty clients are. I guess it's like a scorecard; as long as we're not on the list I suppose we're still winning. The unfortunate truth is that life comes with no guarantees but with one exception: death. It's a harsh reality, death. We take life for ...