What’s the number one thing that brings our country down? You’re right, health care. No, wait a minute, it’s not health care, it’s sickness. Another thing to remember is that you didn’t get sick an hour ago before you got sick. You got sick perhaps a month ago or a year ago, or even five years ago. It just took this long to catch up with you.

Another saying is “you can’t fool Mother Nature” I’m sure you all heard that one. You can get away with all kinds of things when you’re young, but as you get older that same rule doesn’t apply. You probably heard that joke that goes “if I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself when I was young.”

I read a lot of material about the human body, and scientists say they don’t really know how long humans should be able to live. The way the human body is constructed, as long as it’s fed properly and elimination is what it should be, cells should just continue to live. There’s a passage in the Bible that goes; Gen:5:27: And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.

But I guess that doesn’t apply to modern-day man. I mean that part about being fed properly and right elimination.

By now you all know that the scientists are working on mapping out our genes, supposedly to give us a way to have longer lives. I’m sorry, but I just don’t buy that! First of all, I have been around this planet long enough to have seen many revolutionary health ideas go down the drain.

As far as I’m concerned, the medical institutions have called Wolf too many times. How often have they have told us they were on the verge of discovering xyz, only to find out later that the xyz idea killed or harmed most of the people they tried it out on. It seems to me that we are listening to the wrong people. The one true scientist that really has a handle on giving us ways to have a long life is the one we seem never to listen to. I’m speaking of MOTHER NATURE!

Many eons ago in a far away mythical land known as the Garden of Eden, the kindly old care taker Mother Nature, told us she was giving us this fruit bearing, herb bearing, seed bearing, green growing land.  She wanted us to have access to the multitudes of healthy foods that she had laid out before us, so we may live long and healthy lives!

Now I ask you this. Do you think for a moment you would have found, in the Garden of Eden, things such as, a soda dispensing machine, double cheeseburgers, French fries, malted milk’s, donuts, cookies, cakes, candy bars, potato chips, hot dogs, hydrogenated oils, fried chicken, alcoholic beverages, and a cigarette dispensing machine? Just to give you a rough idea, a cheeseburger with fries and a soda, pack 1,805 calorie and 84 grams of fat! Do you think Mother Nature had those kinds of items in mind when she told us that the TRUE way to a long and healthy life was to eat the many foods from her cupboard? I think NOT!!

It might sound crazy but the average person is under an illusion that illnesses just strike randomly. Oh why me Lord, why me? People are also under the illusion that if they have health insurance they can run to the doctors’ office and get a pill of some kind, and that will make everything all better. But it doesn’t. There’s a saying that goes, “Nature does the healing, but the doctor collects the fee.” Not to take anything away from doctors, because I’m not, I’m totally thankful we have them; one actually saved my life. However, doctors are super when it comes to acute medical problems, but not so much with chronic situations. Chronic situations fall under Mother Nature’s specialty.

I spent many years out on the circuit giving lectures on healthy living styles. I always told people to pretend they were living in the Garden of Eden and whatever they would find they could feel sure it was OK to eat. I can guarantee you wouldn’t find a double cheeseburger in the Garden of Eden. Today folks seem to think it’s OK to eat triple paddies with cheese and bacon!  You wouldn’t find a cigarette machine either, or even a candy bar. No hot dogs, steaks, honey glazed hams, or that proverbial bacon…

I guess I was about 35 years old when I decided I didn’t want to eat meat anymore.  So I became a vegetarian.  I am a very healthy individual and always get good marks when I visit my doctor for my yearly exam.

I must say that I did eat some meat back on the farm, but mostly in a casserole for flavoring. We didn’t sit down to the table and each have a 1 lb. steak…  And the milk I drank was basically unpasteurized and unhomogenized.  It was right from the cow. And the meat we ate came from cows that were fed grass, hay, corn, and water. Today you hear some frightening things about the substances cows are fed.

If you go to the online version www.seniormaglive.com go to the archives and click on the August addition. Then turn to page 11 and in my article you will find an icon to click on which will take you to a television program I did with three vegetarian chefs.  Just be sure to take your appetite along with you because they are going to cook up some very tempting vegetarian dishes that I know you will want to sample…

Have you ever forgotten where you put your car keys, or perhaps you drove to the grocery store to buy some particular item, but when you got there you forgot what that item was? Could you be on the verge of developing Alzheimer’s disease? I invited the Alzheimer’s Society to my television program, Health in America, to talk about this particular issue.

They said we all have short lapses of memory. But, if you see a pencil and you forgot what the name of that object is or if you forget what a washing machine is, after using it for the past 40 years, then you might have a problem. We are a society of people who like to have all our ducks in a row. However, in this case, one day we wake up to find that three ducks decided to swim in the wrong direction!

The Alzheimer’s patient may feel angered, confused, or lost. A large percentage of patients can’t sleep and end up pacing the floor day and night. They might walk out of the house and get lost, not knowing the way back home. The last thing they need at this point is more medications that might confuse their minds even more.

Alzheimer’s patients require care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for a long time. Perhaps 10 or even 20 years. In the meantime, the caregiver doesn’t get a break, vacation time, or holidays. This can wear down the caregiver beyond your wildest imagination. They may feel isolated, angry, sleep deprived, constantly on the verge of tears, or feel as if they are at the end of their rope!!!

Caregivers may need to learn how to do the laundry, cook, pay bills, and even take out the garbage. Other new duties may include bathing, feeding, and changing diapers of the Alzheimer’s patient. Some caregivers may have a fear for their own well-being, as some Alzheimer’s patients may become violent! Alzheimer’s patients sometimes have a fear of the bathroom. They may resist the caregiver trying to bathe them, which could lead to violence.

Most caregivers are women, the wife or daughter of the patient. Son’s back off from being caregivers because of the dignity issue. They cannot bring themselves to perhaps having to bathe their mother or father or put them to bed or change their diapers! The stresses can build to a point where it’s not uncommon for the caregiver to die from a heart attack or stroke, long before their patient dies.

And if they even think of putting their loved one in a care facility, the guilt would eat them alive. There is something called the caregiver’s Bill of Rights that says “I have the right to get help if I need to,” “I have the right to have sad feelings and get angry,” “I have the right to have a break and get rest.”

Remember what ever the Alzheimer’s patient thinks, is all right. If they think they’re in Arizona when they’re in California, don’t try to correct them, just go along with it! If they want to wear a jogging suit with Velcro tennis shoes, that’s okay. Try to be “WHERE THEY ARE,” wherever THAT is! If you try to argue with them or try to change their mind, it will only make matters worse. If you feel like you can’t go on caring for your loved one any longer there is help out there for you. You can call the Alzheimer’s aid society for all kinds of help and great information. (916) 483-2002 or 1-800-540-3340

Your loved one may not even have Alzheimer’s disease. They may only have a vitamin B-12 deficiency. You can talk that over with their doctor. A simple blood test will tell the story. If they have a B-12 deficiency their mind can become very forgetful! Doctors sometimes correct this problem by using vitamin B-12 shots. If your loved one is taking too many prescription medications, which might cloud a persons mind, the doctor may want to adjust their dose or even eliminate some of the medications.

Let’s see now, where did I put my glasses???

Americans talk a good story about wanting good health, but they’re not concerned in actually achieving it! Some of the dumb things I see Americans do to themselves and their children make me wonder if they’re not on a suicide mission! For example, we have THE BIG FOUR better known as holidays, or I should say “several good reasons for knocking our immune systems out of whack.”

Let’s start with Halloween. Do you have any idea how many tons of sugar are consumed by our children in the course of about four hours? And if that’s not bad enough, here comes Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving brings alcohol, fat, grease and more sugar by the truckloads. Enough fat and grease to stop the heart in mid beat! (If you think I’m kidding, check with your nearest emergency room. They say that Thanksgiving is the one day of the year that is associated with heart attacks) not to mention all of the food dyes and additives packed in all that so-called food, surrounded by e-coli bacteria and salmonella! It’s pretty good when they tell you to make sure you wash your hands thoroughly and scour down your countertops with bleach, to kill all the bacteria put there “by something that you’re actually going to eat!!!”

Then along comes Christmas… Once again, more fat, grease, candy, alcohol, food additives, sugar, food dyes, e-coli bacteria, salmonella, and to top it all off, your biggest concern is that “oh my goodness, I’ve gained 10 pounds. I guess I’ll have to go on a diet.” What about all the damage you did to your internal parts? You know, things like your heart, your arteries, your liver, your digestive system, just little things like that!!

And now we come to the granddaddy of them all. New Year’s Eve! Millions of gallons of alcohol wash down millions of tons of potato chips, corn chips and dips. Plus we can’t forget those turkey and ham sandwiches. Now, after you and your kids come down sick, what is the first thing you think of? “What over-the-counter medication can I take to feel better, and why isn’t the government doing a better job to protect my health???”

For all of you who used to listen to me on radio and watch me on television and then wondered where I went, well wonder no more…

I write a monthly column for www.seniormaglive.com  I write about health issues. That’s what I’m known for. However, I do have a tongue-in-cheek way about writing. Actually, it’s more like in-your-face writing, but folks seem to enjoy it and have for the past 35 years so I guess I’ll continue with that style.

I have a lot of fun stories to tell about all the famous people I interviewed on radio and television. I had my own radio program for 25 years and also my own television show for 18 years. I went on the lecture circuit for seven years and also write columns for magazines for the past nine years.  Wow, I’ve been busy. I need a protein drink …ha…

Whenever you visit my Blog you’ll have to bring your seat belt with you and buckle up real tight because I talk about health issues in a way you have never heard before. It’s called, telling you the truth! What a concept…

You have been lied to by the medical profession all your life!  If you make it a habit to come join me I’ll see if I can straighten out some of those lies for you.

Hi and welcome to my column.  My name is Bob Crimmins.  I live in California with my daughter, two sons, and four grandchildren. I’m semi-retired at the moment, but that’s subject to change at any time.  For 25 years I was the host producer of the Health in America radio/television programs which aired for 25 years.  I am also an author, columnist, and traveled the lecture circuit for seven years.

On my television and radio programs I interviewed hundreds of the most famous authors of all times.  People such as the doctor that Discover vitamin C Dr. Linus Pauling, self-help experts Dr. Wayne Dyer and Dr. Deepok Chropa, Fitness Guru Jack Lalanne, Attorney Melvin Belli, and baby Dr. Dr. Lendon Smith, just to name a few.  I also interviewed heart and cancer surgeons, medical researchers, psychologists, attorneys, highway patrolmen, drug enforcement agents, and the list goes on.  I even interviewed Santa Claus and Captain Kangaroo. Join me on my blog and I will tell you such incredible stories you won’t believe.