Active Aging: Life Design for Health

This book is a case study of two active agers who began this Active Aging journey when in their late 40's. Their understanding of how it might work, why it should work came in large part from their academic studies. Both were in academic and consulting occupations with a strong orientation to public policy and its implications for the health of people. McCool had a long career spanning nursing, hospital administration, academic post at Northwestern University in the Kellogg School of Management and the Department of Health Administration at Duke University and School of Nursing at Duke. After embarking on a consulting career, she earned a Master in Transpersonal Psychology, thus building on her spiritual beliefs with secular training in this closely related discipline. Montague Brown's career spans, academic post while at the University of Chicago studying business and management. His doctor of public health degree leading to a faculty post at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern and professorship at Duke University. His work on bringing management thinking into healthcare continues to play out in the field. His work on health care systems led to a law degree. His passion for wellness contributed to bringing this book into reality. This book is a study of how beliefs about diet, nutrition, aging, and lifestyles change over time. The authors lived this journey from 1984 or so until the present. At ages 86 and 88, they live actively, continuing research into how lifestyles can be designed to live a healthier and longer life. What did they study to inform this journey? First among many are exercise and nutrition. Now both McCool and Brown work out five or more days a week. The aerobic exercise stresses intervals. In strength training, time under tension makes the sessions productive.Other subjects given much attention include training for the brain. Indeed writing this book was a brain-boosting exercise. All of our eating is scrutinized for its impact on the brain, as is our exercise regimes. We are whole organic persons, not just a collection of parts. We are social beings; we are spiritual beings, and we are psychological and spiritual beings. All of these factors make for an Active Aging life designed to deliver excellent health for long life.Why write the book? It was for us a brain-building exercise and one focused on avoiding dementia, a scourge of the idle mind. It is also a robust case study of two health professionals who have not just researched the work on the subjects covered but have tested the ideas in their life. Other can learn from this experience. It is a sharing in the hope that others will benefit from reading this story and our learnings.This book has a more significant meaning. Our health care system which we served for many years excels at solving problems once our bodily systems break down. It is not, yet, doing much to aid individuals in improving their health status. The very fact that we refer to the field of medical services as the health field is wrong. What one does for oneself has the most significant impact on health status and length of life. Our bodies evolved to do work, to hunt, fish, cultivate, and think. And they are well adapted to using mostly whole plant foods to sustain our health. We evolved to be self-sustaining provided predators did not eat us, and we secured enough food from our environment to live. With a whole food plant-based diet and exercise, ((we no longer work all day to secure food and shelter.)) The active aging life design for good health remains still a work that must be done by individuals and cannot be purchased in a store or rented from some health care provider. We must each learn to eat right and exercise to keep our bodies, minds, and spirits going in a good direction. It is our sole duty.