Vim & Vigor - Spring 2011 - North Mississippi - (Page 32)

ONLINE ComFort and ConFidenCe Minkin notes that this is a great time to be a woman of any age. “A lot of younger women don’t really understand the opportunities they have,” she says. “We have opportunities that our mothers didn’t have. … We have to take advantage.” Whether looking at your career or your personal life, this is the time to be comfortable and confident in your decisions—and to go for what you want. “I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we’re supposed to make,” Bullock said in an interview with Glamour. “We waste so much time making decisions based on someone else’s idea of our happiness—what will make you a good citizen or a good wife or daughter or actress.” Key 3: Find To learn about women and children’s services available at North Mississippi Medical Center Women’s Hospital in Tupelo, visit www.nmhs.net/women_children_ services.php. After she turned 40, Bullock decided to take her career in a new direction, shunning the romantic comedy label she’d become synonymous with. Instead, she took on more serious roles like those in Crash, The Lake House and The Blind Side, the latter of which led to her first Academy Award. Bullock still takes comedic roles, but she isn’t afraid to be picky, seeking to find depth in each character she portrays. “By 40, [women have] their feet on the ground,” Somer says. “Women come into their own at 40. And the 50s are even better!” Access Your Health Resource Four More Ways to Defy Your Age If you’re loyal to your moisturizer and wrinkle cream, that’s fine. But there are ways to look and feel younger from the inside out. Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., author of A Woman’s Guide to Menopause and Perimenopause, offers these suggestions: 1. Stop smoking. “Smoking actually ages you,” she says, noting that smoking is bad for your heart, increases cancer risk and exacerbates osteoporosis. “If you want to go through early menopause,” she adds, “take up smoking.” 2. Skip alcohol. Consuming alcohol, Minkin says, is simply not good for you. It increases your risk of breast cancer and liver disease, and the calories contribute to weight gain. 3. Get enough calcium and vitamin D. Many women are deficient in calcium and vitamin D, she explains, noting that it’s fine to get these nutrients in supplement form. 4. Start young. Don’t wait until you’re 40 to start healthy habits, Minkin says. “It’s never too early to start,” she says. “The things you do in early life affect you later in life. ... If you don’t have your health, you don’t have your happiness.” Key 4: reCognize today’s 40 really Is diFFerent As if Bullock’s beauty and poise (and that of many other women her age) aren’t inspiration enough, Minkin points to statistics to help women understand why 40 today isn’t such a big deal. In 1900, she says, the average woman started menopause at 48, and the average female life expectancy was 48. Just 100 years later, the average woman starts menopause at 51 and lives well into her 80s, she says. “If anything, we don’t think of ourselves as old until closer to 80,” Somer says. “It’s important to begin by recognizing that staying healthy and happy has a lot to do with what you’re doing,” Reno adds. “It’s not just going to be bestowed upon you.” When Bullock looks 10 years into her future, she focuses on health and happiness. “I would like to be healthy. And for everyone I love to be healthy. I hope I’m as content as I am now,” she told Glamour. “If I die tomorrow, will I have gotten everything in the world I’ve ever wanted? No. But I will have gotten everything that’s made me happiest.” 32 Vim & Vigor • SP R I N G 2 011 http://www.nmhs.net/women_children_services.php http://www.nmhs.net/women_children_services.php

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Spring 2011 - North Mississippi

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2011 - North Mississippi
Table of Contents
Opening Thoughts
Pump It Up
Heart of the Matter
Every Minute Counts
A Workout for Every Mood
Don’t Fail Your Heart
If Your Bones Could Talk
Healthy Travels
Over 40 and Fabulous
Do-It-Yourself Health?
Fighting Words
Balancing Act
Giving & Getting
Brighten Up
Welcome Aboard
Catch the Spirit

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2011 - North Mississippi