Good Health is the Absence of Disease

This is common sense. Think about it. There is no other way to describe good health, other than lack or absence of disease.

Most people would not say that they have a disease, but some synonyms that they would use include ailment, complaint, complication, disorder, illness, infirmity, sickness, trouble. It’s all the same thing: disease, any condition that includes dysfunction of the body, distress, or social problems. For instance, Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder and a social disease. It causes involuntary movements, and vocalizations called tics (the social disease part). Science points to abnormalities in certain brain regions including the basal ganglia, frontal lobes, and cortex. These in turn have issue with the circuits that interconnect these areas and the neurotransmitters responsible for communication along the nerves.

It affects dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, which our brain needs to function effectively.

What does it really mean? Our body isn’t talking to itself very well. The signals along the nerve paths are not firing. If our brain isn’t working correctly, we have less than optimal function throughout the rest of our body. We pay a price for this in balance, visual skills, and mobility. We have disease. Don’t wait until it’s cancer or stroke or something big to start thinking about brain health. Start today.

Poor brain health can be helped with exercises that stimulate the brain: crossword puzzles, playing an instrument, learning a new language or anything else, coordination drills, joining the Roller Derby. Anything novel and new can stimulate the brain to create better neural paths, better communication. This is why lifelong learners and fearless adventurers fare better than people who are not.

It all gets back to keeping disease in check before it gets carried away with itself. Keep learning, get enough sleep, eat with intent instead of boredom, move more.

It all matters. It’s all Aging Intelligently.