Healthy diet, plenty of water, exercise, restful sleep and prescribed medications, Dr. Arrega’s advice for the elderly

• Radiation oncologist gave practical advice at VII Semana del Mayor.
• In terms of mental health, he also valued an active social life..

In the seventh week of Mayor of Almodóvar del Campo, which is being developed by the city council, yesterday there was an interesting presentation by Dr. Elena Arrega López, who introduced the theme “Tricks and reflections for healthy aging”.

A discussion that, due to his interest, left little room for the activities of the Municipal Market, thanks to the adviser for the care of the elderly, Carmen Santos, the influx of the public and, of course, the helpful indications of who is a radiation oncologist.

A doctor from the General University Hospital of Ciudad Real, located in the city of Almodova, explained the convenience of “a lifestyle that is necessary to lead in order to try to lead a healthy old age”, away from habits that can be harmful.

And that’s why he focused primarily on what they eat, because “in the scientific literature, it has been shown that an antioxidant diet with polyunsaturated fats, etc. makes us age better and, above all, prevents many diseases.”

Faced with these fats or pre-cooked foods, he called for cooking with extra virgin olive oil for its preventive properties at the cardiovascular level, whether strokes or heart attacks, and for eating fruits and vegetables, legumes, cereals and much more. if they are whole grains and even “drink a glass of red wine because it’s an antioxidant.”

She defended her consumption of bread, especially whole grains, because “we need gluten”, and about milk she said that “we would not exist if people did not consume lactose”, a product that “provides a lot of protein and calcium, which essential for women.”

He also acknowledged that “in Spain we are used to eating much more than the body needs, so you have to have a balance between your activity and diet”, and encouraged you to drink “a lot of water, a liter and one and a half to two liters a day.

Health conditions “that are a major cause of death, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer,” added Arregui, who called for supplementing this diet with “a good body mass index in the normal range, which means we’re not obese.”

Research in this regard demonstrates the benefits of “multi-modal” exercise, which has “a little cardiorespiratory, a little flexibility, a little strength,” which the doctor told them and which the doctor supplemented with some illustrative guidelines. .

Another “advice” offered by Elena Arregui concerns the medical treatment of the elderly, “because the problem is that now there are several specialists, each of us prescribes one thing, and at home they have a very important ratatouille.” recognized by the doctor.

That’s why he told them about keeping “in order, that the storage is correct and always have the doctor in charge and the same pharmacist as a guideline so that they can change the position of all these medicines a little, because polypharmacy often causes a lot of interactions and, in Instead of doing good, it does evil.”

Similarly, he identified the relationship between the number of hours of sleep and mental health, pointing out that “healthy sleep” should last from 7 to 8 hours, and “no one should take it away from you”, and also gave recommendations to alleviate this. target .

In terms of mental health, Arregui López also advocated maintaining a social life, apart from one’s own family and everything to share in it, one should “try to have a group of friends”, looking for “an activity that will make the mind think a lot.” better and mental health, we already know that, after all, it’s a bit of the engine of everything.”