Your body MOT

Do you spend more time, money and effort on servicing your car than on maintaining your own health? If so, then read on. Like any machine used on a daily basis, your body needs care and attention to ensure it stays in good working order

The Heart

Your engine: Your heart beats around 40 million times a year to circulate blood around the 90,000 miles of blood vessels within your body, once every 32 seconds. If you want this vital organ to last as long as possible, it’s important to follow a healthy diet and lifestyle. Otherwise, your engine may succumb to angina, heart attack or premature failure. One in five men and one in six women eventually dies from coronary heart disease.   

Lifestyle

You know the most important maintenance rules: stop smoking, lose any excess weight, and take regular exercise - at least 30 minutes on most days. Moderate your alcohol intake, cut back on salt and avoid excess stress. Eat at least 5 portions of fresh vegetables and fruit per day, and have regular services so you know your blood pressure, maintain a healthy cholesterol balance, and are screened for diabetes. 

The Brain

Your On-board Computer: You are born with over 200 billion brain cells - the same order of magnitude as there are stars in the Milky Way - and have the capacity to produce more ideas than there are atoms in the universe. Unfortunately, poor maintenance can mean your brain becomes less like a super-computer and more like a broken abacus. Almost three quarters of a million people in the UK have dementia, of whom two thirds are women.

Lifestyle

The maintenance tips for a healthy brain are similar to those for a healthy heart. In addition, ensure you get enough rest and sleep, and lay down new brain pathways by continuing to learn new skills. Doing crosswords and other mental tasks can reduce the programmed destruction of unused brain cells. Write memory-jogging notes to yourself and make up mnemonics to help you remember lists. If you keep losing something (eg your keys) form a mental picture of where it is whenever you put it down. 

The Joints

Your Bearings: Healthy joints are vital to maintain mobility, but just as your car’s bearings can seize, so can your joints become painful, stiff and creaky. Osteoarthritis affects at least 1 in 2 people over the age of 60. Bones also thin with age, and as many as one in two women and one in five men over the age of 50 will experience a fracture due to brittle bones (osteoporosis).  

Lifestyle

Take regular exercise, which does not have to be weight-bearing - stretching and swimming are beneficial, too, as are activities such as dancing, gardening, golf, bowling and DIY. Ensure a good intake of calcium-rich foods such as dairy products and wholegrains, and drink plenty of water to maintain joint hydration. Sensible sun exposure boosts vitamin D levels so you can absorb dietary calcium. Avoid fizzy drinks containing phosphoric acid, which leaches calcium from your bones.

The Intestines

Your Fuel Management System: Your gut extracts fuel and nutrients from your food, sending them straight to the liver for processing. Your liver also acts as a catalytic converter to detoxify harmful chemicals. As your gut is around 4 metres long, there’s plenty of room for problems to occur, such as indigestion, heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome and constipation. Your liver is also susceptible to damage from excessive alcohol. One in eight deaths in the UK are related to digestive illnesses, including bowel cancer and liver disease.

Lifestyle

Eat little and often - avoid heavy meals, especially in the evening. Avoid stooping, bending or lying down immediately after eating. Cut back on alcohol intake and avoid excessive use of aspirin and related drugs (eg ibuprofen) which can irritate the stomach lining. Try to stay calm - stress is a major cause of indigestion.

When you compare your body to a machine such as your lawn mower or car, it makes sense to invest in continuous maintenance, and regular servicing, as insurance against mechanical and functional problems in the future. 

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