This Is Your Life
Who doesn’t know that taking care of your body early on will pay off in the end? How to do that is another story. Seattle doctors answer 30 of the biggest questions you’ll have at every stage of your life.
20s
Preparing & Preventing
I travel internationally for my job. How do I stay healthy while I’m overseas? Congratulations! You’ve been promoted to team leader, which comes with a 12 percent raise, a corner office, and an increased risk for typhoid. The economy being what it is, overseas business travel ain’t what it once was, but if you do have to fly to Mumbai, says Dr. Peter McGough, chief medical officer at UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics, it’s critical to be “in tune to what kinds of immunizations are going to help you when you’re overseas.” Bottom line: Some of the most common ailments you’ll need to protect yourself against are hepatitis A and B and typhoid, but visit www.cdc.gov for a country-by-country list.
Based on my family medical history, what conditions am I at risk for? In your early 20s, the only thing you may be suffering from is delusions of invincibility, but that will pass—and may be replaced with something more serious. McGough advises talking to your primary care physician (if you don’t have one yet, it’s time to get a referral) to put your hereditary health cards on the table. Bottom line: By identifying “any genetic traits that we need to be potentially screening for,” McGough says, you’ll be aware of potential problems and what to do if they crop up.
What sexually transmitted disease am I most at risk for getting, and how do I protect myself? Even if you caught the occasional after-school special and paid attention in sex ed class, you may not know as much about STDs as you think. For example, human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cervical cancer, is one of the sneakier infections you’ll encounter because not only can you have it and not know it, condoms aren’t 100 percent effective in preventing its spread. Little revelations like that, says Dr. Mia Wise, who practices family medicine at Swedish Medical Center, are reason enough to talk to your doctor about sex. “The more you know, the better off you’ll be,” she says. “It doesn’t mean you can’t have sex without getting these diseases, but gosh, wouldn’t you rather know your risks and not just get surprised by it?” Another tip: If you were born before 1991, there’s a good chance you haven’t received the vaccine for hepatitis B, another relatively common STD that can cause liver damage or cancer.
Is my weight healthy? It may not seem like the most self-aware of questions—What, you can’t look in the mirror or step on a scale to figure out that you’re headed in the wrong direction?—but it will open up a dialogue about lifestyle choices that does you more good the sooner you have it. “I want to plant a seed for them that healthy lifestyle choices in your 20s can make such a difference in your health,” Wise says. “It’s my opportunity to say, ‘You need to keep your weight below this range, let’s check your cholesterols, and make sure you know what a low-fat diet is.’ ” Bottom line: No matter how much you weigh, now’s the time to start cutting back on the fast food and beer and start eating more fish, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains.
SELF CHECK IN: Am I getting enough calcium? Like a lot of bodily breakdowns, osteoporosis doesn’t start demanding your attention until your chance to prevent it has passed. Get your calcium now (the Institute of Medicine recommends at least 1,000 milligrams a day, or what you’d get from about three eight-ounce glasses of milk), while you’re still reaching your peak bone mass, to reduce the risk of severe bone loss in your 60s and beyond.
SELF CHECK IN: Am I wearing sunscreen? That golden brown tan may look good now, but it’s going to come back to haunt you later. If you want to maintain young-looking skin when you’re in your 40s and 50s, start investing in sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays in your 20s, says Dr. Annalisa Gorman, a dermatologist at Swedish Medical Center. “The most important thing you can do is just protect your skin from the beginning.”
FOCUS / Nutrition
“It’s never too early to start eating well,” says Minh-Hai Tran, a nutritionist from the local dietary counseling group NutritionWorks and cocreator of Zing nutrition bars. “But the earlier you start, the easier time you’ll have in maintaining these healthy habits.” With that in mind, Tran helped us identify six vitamins and nutrients you’d do well to add to your diet now.
NUTRIENT: FOLIC ACID
WHAT IT DOES: Good especially for women trying to get pregnant; helps prevent neural tube defects.
YOU’LL FIND IT: Leafy vegetables, beets, citrus fruits
NUTRIENT: VITAMIN E
WHAT IT DOES: Helps male fertility
YOU’LL FIND IT: Wheat germ and avocado
NUTRIENT: OMEGA-3
WHAT IT DOES: Decreases heart risks, improves brain health
YOU’LL FIND IT: Wild salmon, flaxseed oil, grass-fed beef
NUTRIENT: VITAMIN D
WHAT IT DOES: Supports bone health, regulates immune system
YOU’LL FIND IT: Can be found in fish and fortified milk; supplements are best bet
NUTRIENT: LYCOPENE
WHAT IT DOES: Linked to lower risk of several cancers
YOU’LL FIND IT: Tomato, watermelon, pink grapefruit
NUTRIENT: LUTEIN
WHAT IT DOES: Promotes eye health
YOU’LL FIND IT: Kale, egg yolks, spinach, corn
Published: December 2008
