Tips on Aging Gracefully

My dear wife recently turned thirty, finally joining the 30-something club. She had been looking forward to the momentous birthday for sometime, eagerly looking to turn the big three-oh.

I think most of my friends and colleagues who are well into their 30s or 40s thought it was endearing at how excited she was to step into the beginning of her fourth decade; meanwhile, the rest of us are all starting to sweat a little as we approach our next "big" birthday.

There are definitely physical changes that we notice as we get deeper into our thirties. Strange little cues from our body telling us that it is actually mortal, and, at least physically, we are past our peak.

For the first time, you notice you have to put in more effort to get the same outcome. To run or play sports as hard as you did in your teens and twenties, you have to monitor and tweak your diet, hit the gym regularly and keep an eye on your stress levels to maintain your lung capacity and strength. In your earlier years, a Big Mac meal and an exercise routine that only worked your thumbs on Nintendo would do to keep you running around for hours. Keep in mind that most professional athletes retire in their mid- to late- thirties.

And what is up with hair as we age? Sure, hair loss is well-known as well as a random influx of white hairs; but, in a weird type of second coming of puberty, random hair growth pops up in new places...but all the wrong places! Eyebrows, back, nostrils...ears?? Come on, give us a break.

Of course, we also start to notice the development of fine lines and wrinkles on our face, random new aches and pains, and start keeping count of our daily sodium or fibre or protein or whatever it might be to balance out your genetic predispositions.

Going to the doctor may mean a prescription for your ailments or the start of regularly scheduled and highly undesirable testing method (mammograms, prostate exams, colonoscopies).

The one thing I have noticed from patients in my practice, who teach me something new and inspire me on a daily basis, is how to age gracefully. I can almost guarantee that any patient whose date of birth surprises me incorporates exercise very regularly. The majority of the time this is accompanied by a relatively healthy diet. I use these extraordinary people as models for prevention for others and now, for myself.

Rules to live by as all of us human beings age together in unison...at the same speed, but at different paces:

1. Know your genetic susceptibilities, and take extra precautions to thwart them.
2. EXERCISE!! This means at age-relative high intensities and activities that are enjoyable to you, at least 3x/week, with other moderate daily exercise in-between.
3. A diet chock-full of naturally occurring anti-aging whole foods and deplete of pro-inflammatory (re: processed) foods.
4. Maintain a balanced life, and keep an eye on your stress levels (big-time age-accelerators).
5. Got a nagging problem...GET IT CHECKED OUT! (yes, guys, I'm talking to you)
6. Be cautious about settling for prescription medication that may be avoidable by lifestyle/diet modifications (see #2-#4). Once you get on the medication bandwagon, it's difficult to get out. Make sure to talk to your family doc or a licensed naturopath to make a fully informed decision that works for you.
7. Always keep an eye on your piss and poops...they are great indicators of what is going on inside your body.
8. Don't forget the basics: Get a good sleep and drink water regularly.
9. Roll with the punches of Father Time; acceptance of aging and finding humour in it definitely helps ease the inevitable.

Oh, and always keep in mind that although aging may be noticeable in physical decline, boy is it made up for in expanding knowledge and experience.

The ear hairs sure don't make me look forward to getting older, but wisdom certainly is appealing.

Happy Family Day!!

HAPPY FAMILY DAY EVERYONE!!

It's SooOooo Cold!! Beat the February Blues Now.

Last year, around this time, we were doing this (Tulum, Mayan Riviera, Mexico):



Today, this is what our local dog park looks like (Riverdale Park, Toronto):



Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! :(:(  I'm from Calgary, Alberta so I know I should be used to the cold but I'm sooo not!!  When it snows in Calgary, I know this just means that we are going to have an awesome ski weekend in Banff....in Toronto, this much snow means that everyone will lock themselves at home for the weekend.  So sad.  So sad.

Even though I'm Korean and my very Korean mom, grandma and aunts have brainwashed me into believing that tanning my skin is the equivalent of selling my soul to Satan himself, I still live for basking in the wonderful, glorious rays of direct beautiful sunshine (thank heavens for Sprout Botanicals SPF 30 sunscreen :)).  Makoto and I worship the sun and we are definitely summer people.  So, it's no surprise that we become a taaaaaaaaaaaaaad bit miserable in February. 

This year, I was determined to not get hit by the usual February blues.  Here are some things we did to prevent ourselves from feeling the effects of the dark, cold winter days of our Canadian winters:

1.  Vitamin D - we both take Vitamin D religiously (make sure to see your Naturopath or GP to make sure that you are on a correct dose).  Winter time is a busy time for us at the clinic so that means it's dark outside by the time we get home.  No sunshine for poor Aileen and Makoto :(  When the weather is nice, we go for a coffee break at the park across the street from our office but there is no way I'm even going to pretend to enjoy hanging out in the park when I'm freezing my buns off.  Since we are not getting the usual dose of natural Vitamin D production that we would in the summer, we supplement with a high quality Vitamin D3 supplement.

2.  Bundle up! - It's amazing how you can actually enjoy the winter when you're dressed appropriately.  Invest in a great down jacket, earmuffs, scarf and mitts and get out and enjoy the winter!  We try to go for a walk around Toronto with a yummy warm cappuccino/tea/hot chocolate on the weekends instead of staying holed up in our house and cursing the snow. 

3.  Cut the carbs - try cutting your carb intake by even just 50g per day.  The last thing you need when you're less active and feeling glum is forcing your body to regulate another influx of excess carbs. 

4.  Stay active - I can't stress enough how important it is to get some constant activity all throughout the winter.  We tend to be less active in the winter (hey....I totally understand.....I make Makoto drive us to the office on cold days....it's a 10min walk from our front door to the office :(...SHAME) so that means we have to make an extra effort to get to the gym.  Make sure to incorporate cardio 2-3 times a week to boost your circulation and get your blood pumping. 

5.  Do things that you LOVE - whether it's going for a facial at your favorite spa, taking that language or art class that you've always wanted to or just roasting a yummy chicken and inviting friends over for dinner and gossip......don't let the cold weather interrupt your life!!

I didn't have my annual February breakdown this year (the one where I start packing our belongings...promising that we will forever move to a warm location and never endure another cold, dark and gloomy winter day ever again) and instead embraced this refrigerator that we call Canada, eh!!

Getting in touch with your roots: Our Trip to Japan & Korea

It was amazing to travel back to the motherland with Aileen.

I know for both of us, we feel an affinity with our respective cultures in Japan and Korea, despite having both grown up in Canada. I always notice how passionate Aileen is about her Korean heritage, and having been back to Japan after a hiatus of almost fifteen years, I realize how amazing it feels to be connected back with my roots as well. I was also so excited to share a part of my culture with Aileen (and of course, I knew she would go nuts with the endless shopping in Tokyo!). This made it an important and incredible trip for us both.

The one thing I do notice about the Japanese culture, is that there seems to be a well functioning hybrid of extremes. Japan has always been on the leading edge of advanced technology, but this is fused with culture that is steeped deep with ancient tradition. This is apparent in the core of bustling Tokyo, with endless retail and fluorescent signs...

...Yet, turn a corner and you may find youself at a serene well-preserved and active temple:



You can also notice this in most bathrooms, which often still maintain the custom of changing into bathroom-specific slippers, yet have the most high-tech toilet seats as standard issue (photo: notice the array of buttons and dials on the control panel).


One other thing I learned from being in Japan is that for such a populous place (Tokyo's current population is about 13 million!), there is an unbelievable amount of respect, courtesy and cleanliness. Check out this rack of bikes in busy Shinjuku...notice there aren't any locks (this would be cleaned out in 2 minutes flat in Toronto):

We were helped out with directions countless times (the network of trains and subways in Tokyo is boggling!), and were consistently amazed with how patient and helpful everyone was despite my broken Japanese.

Unfortunately, as Aileen also pointed out, we were surprised with how much of modern Japanese food has become saturated with preservatives and artificial chemicals...which is in great contrast to the health-optimizing traditional Japanese diet.

Just a few of the many other contrasts include the typical stature of Japanese compared to their monstrous athletic brethren in sumo; conservative clothes contrasted with bold, sometimes outlandish streetwear; quiet, respectfulness varied with well-known crazy Japanese gameshows and manga culture.

Reminders we took home from this trip:

• Get in touch with your heritage, and know your roots
• Incorporate traditional Japanese foods as part of a healthy diet: miso soup, seafood, seaweed, healthy stews
• Cold, unsweetened tea is an affordable, refreshing and healthy alternative to juices
• Always be respectful and helpful to others
• Be sure to balance a busy worklife with a much-needed vacation!
  

We're Baaaaaack! Amazing times at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul and Exploring Tokyo!

Oh my goodness!!  I LOOOOOOOVE KOREA AND JAPAN!!  What a wonderful way to begin 2011 :)


We started our trip in Seoul at our fave hotel, The Shilla.  After working straight through the holidays, we wanted to start our trip with some uber relaxation and there is no better place in Seoul than The Shilla to do this.  It has excellent, EXCELLENT service, an awesome gym, yummy restaurants and an extensive wine list at the lounge, amazing outdoor pool to enjoy in the summer  and THE BEST sauna and Korean Bath amenities EVER (Makoto and I are huge hydrotherapy fans and basically live in the pool/gym/sauna/steam room every time we stay here).  We went out our first night in Seoul to meet up with friends but after that, we spent the next few days relaxing, eating yummy food and visiting our fave spots in Seoul.

Entrance to gym/sauna at The Shilla:


Thank goodness we took the time to decompress because...

TOKYO IS CRAAAAAAAAZY!!  Since it was my first time in Tokyo, Makoto was my wonderful tour guide and we spent the week checking out all the major sites (Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya, Imperial Palace, Tokyo Tower, Roponggi, Tsukiji Fish Market (the best sashimi I've ever had), Ginza, Asakusa, etc) which were insane, beautiful and completely inspiring.  I can't get over how clean and organized such an intense city can be. 

And...of course...THE SHOPPING.  Oh. My. Goodness.  I was in shopping heaven.  I shopped.....

and shopped....



and shopped...



and Makoto was so patient...until he finally had a mini (much understood) freak-out on me and reminded me that we had bought another two pieces of luggage to carry all of my treasures back home in :) hehehe.


We were also so lucky to be there during the Sumo Tournament.  Even if you know nothing about sumo, you quickly become a fan.  They still strictly follow all the interesting rituals and traditions of the game, the rules are easy to follow and you can feel the love that everyone has for the Sumo wrestlers (who are considered national heroes).

Makoto eating Chanko Nabe (Sumo Soup):

Even though we were on holidays, we still tried to keep ourselves as balanced as possible.  We knew we'd be doing a lot of this (how can you resist fresh draught beer and "highballs" which are whiskey/soda/lemon at almost every snack bar/cafe/restaurant/izakaya in both cities):


So we still made sure to hit the gym, drink lots of water/green tea and get lots of good sleep in.  One thing we noticed in both cities is that there is such an extreme in the food.  It's either completely healthy, natural and nutritious if you choose to eat traditional Korean/Japanese (Korean soups/ban chan, Japanese nabe mono/sushi/sashimi, barley/green tea) food or completely synthetic, fried and MSG laden (ramen, curry rice, aspartame in almost everything sweet...especially beverages in Japan).  We definitely gravitated towards more traditionally prepared foods but had fun trying everything!|



Also, one thing we always splurge on whether at home or away are massages.  We were in massage heaven in both Seoul and Tokyo but I must say that Ariran Spa in Shinjuku was AAAAH-mazing!  They incorporate both Swedish and Shiatsu massage techniques and finish every treatment with layering hot towels over your body then wrapping you up in a thermal blanket while they gently knead your muscles.  To. Die. For.


I've been up since the crack of dawn (forgot to take my melatonin last night!!) so I did laundry (5 loads) and am looking through all my souvenirs and pics.  I heart Seoul and Tokyo forever and caaaaaan't wait to go back!!!



Now...time to plan the next trip!!!  Spain?  South of France?

Vacation Time!! Korea and Japan!!



Makoto and I often write "TAKE A VACATION!!!" on our prescription pads to our patients.  There is nothing more relaxing and healing for your mind, body and soul than taking off to a fun and exciting destination!  It's amazing how countless patient's eczema/IBS/migraines will completely vanish while on vacation....this is our body reminding us how healthy we can be if we take time to enjoy life!!  We decided to spend my upcoming 30th birthday in Korea (going home to the motherland!  I LOVE KOREA!!) and then Makoto is taking me to Japan...he's been there a handful of times but this will be my first!!  TOOOOOO exciting!  Our office manager now refers to January as Japanuary :)  I was looking at pics of our last visit to Seoul last summer and here are just a few highlights:

Visiting my old school and dorm where I spent the last year of University - Yonsei University:





Drinking shi-keh (Korean rice beverage) at Dragon Hill Spa...great place to go for a massage and a manicure if you can`t sleep at 4 in the morning!!! 



Visiting Palaces, making paper, playing with traditional Korean toys and exploring Hanok Korean Village:

Late night shopping for the most random things:

 Food, food and more food:

And of course karaokeing!!

We were so sad to go (last late night/post Dragon Hill Spa 3am meal):

But at least we were able to come home to our little Rambo and give him his new Taekwondo outfit!



Rx:  TAKE A FUN VACATION!!

Merry Everything!!



Wishing everyone a very healthy and happy

holiday and a joyous new year!!!