a january challenge.. 31 days to a fitter, healthier you

So I came across this article today while perusing my news headlines. Of course the title, "31 Days to a Fitter, Healthier You" caught my attention. I can use all the help I can get this year. I decided my blogs this month would be centered on whatever topic or piece of advice or challenge was the focus of each page of this article from Shape, and I would let my thoughts go from there. Some will be more reflective topics than others, but I think it will be nice to not have to work so hard to come up with something to say that wasn't automatically about my ex. It's a new year, and I truly want to leave him in 2013 (I've even deleted his number from my phone, though I wish his email address wasn't so easy to remember.) So here goes, and here's to new beginnings 2014.

First up: Switch to mineral water.

I'm not sure exactly what to say about mineral water, other than it tastes like any other water to me. I'm a big fan of the environment, so my preference is definitely to refill my Nalgene or stainless steel bottle with tap water and go about my day. Water is my beverage of choice. I'll only crave a Dr. Pepper when I'm driving long distances, I don't drink coffee though do like tea, and of course I enjoy an adult beverage here and there. But really, it's almost always water for me.

However this blog entry got me thinking, and I did my own research on it. The link between aluminum and Alzheimer's disease has long been known. A study published in 1999 followed a cohort of elderly folks for 8 years and was able to establish a link between high concentrations of the neurotoxin and the development of Alzheimer's dementia specifically. Conversely, they found that a higher concentration of silica in drinking water was associated with a decreased risk of dementia overall. This begs the question, why aren't we drinking more silica in our water?

Here's a link to an abstract of a study just published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (and the inspiration for this blog entry) which builds off the already established link by showing it might actually be possible to reverse the effects of cognitive impairment by drinking mineral water. And this I find fascinating. I'm all about prevention. I firmly believe if there were more incentives for taking care of ourselves and more healthcare dollars spent on preventative medicine that we wouldn't be in the pickle we're currently in, trying to treat an entire country of obese diabetics with heart disease.

However, I'm also a realist and I know while we might be able to (and most definitely should!) start incorporating preventative medicine with the younger population, we're already past that point with the older population. The damage has been done, so to speak. And with the boomers now officially entering old age (yes, old is technically anything over the age of 65, as harsh as that sounds), these issues are only going to intensify. So if there is a way to slow the progression, or even possibly reverse, the effects of dementia, we should jump on it. Please note, I am not advocating for finding the fountain of youth and firmly believe we spend way too much money on end of life care in this country because we are so afraid of death. I just hope further studies are done on this area. I'm curious to know if the effects are temporary or longer lasting, and what other parameters might be involved.

I'm also very much aware that purchasing mineral water is cost-prohibitive for some. The study gave participants 1L to drink daily. A quick search on Amazon shows that a 12 pack of Volvic 1L bottles costs $49, that's $4.08 a piece, not including shipping. Fiji is slightly more affordable at $2.08 a piece. Tap water is almost free in comparison. But maybe it doesn't have to be consumed daily to have an effect.. maybe a couple times a week really is enough. Again, further studies really need to be done.

In closing, I know I can turn this blog into a rant on the state of healthcare in this country, but I will spare you my soap box today. Here's to a healthy and happy new year for you and me.