To maintain health, ask your doctor how
Dr. Alison Moy, medical director for Liberty Life Assurance Co. Credit: Handout
Your loved ones aren't the only ones hoping you live a long life. Your life insurance company is also rooting for you.
There is no magic elixir that can guarantee longevity, but there are numerous ways you can raise the odds of being healthy even as you head into your 70s and beyond, says Dr. Alison Moy, medical director for Boston-based Liberty Life Assurance Co. Moy has put together a list of behavioral and lifestyle changes that can make a difference in the health of people 50 and older. "As a person's health awareness increases, so does their actual health," she says.
The doctor-patient relationship needs to be updated so that the patient is an equal participant in health care decisions, according to Moy. "Health care is now a two-way conversation," she says. "There's a lot of building of alliances to create a healthy road map."
Instead of focusing on not getting sick, older folks should concentrate on what she terms a "health-retention program." When a physician tells us everything is fine, many breathe a sigh of relief and let the conversation end. But Moy says this is the time to speak up.
Ask the physician what you need to do to remain healthy. If your blood sugar is normal, Moy says ask the doctor what you should do to ensure that your blood sugar stays normal. The same goes with your blood pressure. If the physician says your readings are normal, ask how you can keep them normal. And don't stop there. Moy says ask what you need to do to have better fitness, better muscle tone, improved immunity, better brain function and better recuperative capacity. "We know that all those things ultimately lead to improved life and longevity," she says. Moy offers more tips and advice on Liberty's Be Well for Life website (bit.ly/liberty-bewell).
Another key part of your health-retention program should be to inform your physician about emotional pressures that could affect your health. For example, have you become a caregiver for a loved one? Have you changed jobs or retired? Are there any changes in family life that are worrying you? "Your physician needs to know about your stress level," Moy says. "These are all part of addressing the entire picture of health."
