NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

For the most part New Year resolutions are not always taken seriously. They are last minute decisions made when we are asked or when we are contemplating the things we want to change or make better in our lives. They are usually the same things over and over again, year after year. I.e. stop smoking, lose weight, exercise, pay more attention to a loved one or get rid of someone that we should have gotten rid of years ago.

This year seems much more important for strong thought out resolutions then they did in the past. Perhaps it is that we baby boomers, as the largest age group in the country, are becoming the Matriarchs of our families and extended families. Many of us have lost our parents, have dealt with an illness as I did with cancer, and have been around long enough to realize what is wrong in our lives. We are finally coming to the realization that we won’t live forever and need to put focus on those resolutions above and stick with them in order to live longer.

Of course exercise, not smoking and losing weight is necessary to live longer. You need to do this slowly as a life changing method of living. Our diets we need to address immediately. The nutrients in foods today are vastly diminished from ten and twenty years ago. How many farms do you know are still left in NJ that produce fresh fruits and vegetables? Most of our fruits come from Chile and are picked weeks before losing nutrients during the course of shipping. Eggs, the perfect food, are now weeks old before they get to the stores also losing 60% of their food value. Cookies and cereals can take from 6 months to a year to get to the shelves, pretty scary.

Until we find a source of fresh foods we need to take supplements and vitamins more so now then ever before. If you can’t go to a nutritionist reading some good books on diet and nutrition can go a long way. If this doesn’t work for you find someone that has done the research, most will be happy to share their knowledge with you. Lastly read the labels on anything you buy to see what you are consuming. All this does not have to be done over night and a slow change in all of the above can extend our lives for years. Whatever you learn, pass it on to your friends and loved ones. You can’t keep it unless you give it away.