Body & Spirit
BOOMER CORNER
12
The Parish Pump in an Age of Algorithms By Paracelsus Asia
I’m anot War Baby as opposed to a Baby Boomer,about which coverage equals the best anywhere. By this I mean, no If Immortality what Thethat120 Club? I hope will not invalidate anything I have to contribute to a column entitled Boomer Corner. Such generational categories are helpful and fun, if notdied demographically My good friend Alexander Everett in 2005 aged or geographically exact. As a War 85 on his ranch in Oregon. It wasn’tBaby really(1939-45), a ranch, vintage 1944, I was born in Britain, as was my elder more like an Ark. Alexander just liked to hang out brother. In his case in 1940. My American cousin, if I with animals, certainly not eat them. Hewas an had had one, born in the same year as my brother, educationalist and an English eccentric much would not have been a War Baby at all. He would have influenced bycalled Rudolf Steiner and Huxley’s Perennial to have been something else, as the US did not Philosophy, who decamped to Oregon in the enter WW2 until 1941. My wife on the other hand,1960s born becoming leading in the in 1946, wasa very much figure in the first wave personal of Baby development or movement that became at that Boomerdom, what later came to bepopular described as time. Asgeneration” a young man he had crippled by polio the “Me - don’t askbeen me why. but claimed to have cured himself. He was, he told me a member of the 120lasted Club, 18 all years of whom The Baby Boomer cohort untilcommitted 1964 and if popular musicto is alive large what120 defines a generation, themselves topart be of over years old. Alas, as I believe didn’t it does,make it was it. theHe Wardied Babies theshort Baby Alexander 35 and years Boomers who, through the 1950s, 60s and 70s, brought aged 85, which is respectable. us the rock music and radical social change of the era. And later, alas – it must be of owned, the neo-liberal and Somewhere around the age 18 or 19 our bodies cease conservative claw-back that took place as they aged, developing and from that moment on the various body prospered and put on weight. The Gen X’ers (1965-76) clocks that comprise what is us, start their remoseless and the Millennials (1977-95) are the ones who created countdown to our eventual demise. How and brought us into an online world and... to the brink of long we last from that point on depends on a post-human future. With all that under the belt, where good luck, our genes, lifestyle the Centennials (1996 our onward) will and leadhow us... we can only much money we have. The process wait and see. Whatever that future isdoesn’t - War Baby through usually start visibly Centennial - itto ismanifest something we until haveour all brung upon mid-30s or so and, given good genes, ourselves... and the rest of the planet. psychologically we don’t usually start to oldretirement until our early Iffeel early can 70s. be taken aged 50, often the case nowadays as the middle-aged seek new occupations more in what keeping with people they have become, then Here’s we’re allthe up against: a 50-year old man or woman relocating to Bali today would have been born in 1968, a soixante-huitard at birth Chronic Inflammation and a gilet jaune at his or her “re-birth”, you could say. And -Aging dare people one hope, portent of of more equitable days to suffera an epidemic outward come. inflammatory diseases such as arthritis,
but chronic inflammation also damages Boomer Corner with the exception of myself, a male War brain cells, arterial walls, heart valves and Baby, currently comprises four Boomer ladies who could other structures in the body. Heart attack, hardly be better qualified to explore and relay to the Bali stroke, heart valve failure, Advertiser readership the and ins Alzheimer’s and outs of forging an have all been linked to extended and pleasant stay inthe Bali.chronic Ines Wynn, largely inflammatoryforcascade. responsible birthing the concept, ably set out the parameters; Ibu Kat, tellingly addressed the problem of Glycosylation medical insurance, which weighs heavy on so many of us; Susan Tereba movingly recounts her experience Diabetics prematurely, non-diabetics suffer taking careage of her husband but witheven Alzheimer’s in Bali; and Shari, whochemical gave the reaction, best steer possible on going grey from this where protein molecules gracefully, courtesy molecules of Canggu Max. bind to glucose forming non-functioning structures. Glycosylation is most evident in senile Take Ibu Kat’s piece on medical insurance for example. dementia, stiffening of the arteries, and degenerative Her report of is quite chilling and the younger we take aboard diseases the eye. the realities of how this industry operates the better it will go for us down the pike.The message is, choose early Methylation Deficit and choose carefully, making sure there a no horrors embedded in the small print to swag you when you hit Our cellular DNA requires constant enzymatic action for your 70’s. That requires informed research and don’t maintenance and repair. Aging cripples forget - portability. Then, having consultedmethylation a trusted metabolism causing DNA damage that can yourself manifestand as professional (Kat mentioned several) get cancer, liver damage and brain cell degeneration. your family aboard.
Mitochondrial Energy Depletion It’s wise to check out your own country’s national health entitlements for its expatriates too, if they have one. The cellular energy mitochondria, Some, like France withpowerhouse, its CFE, willthe provide overseas essential at very reasonable rates which, with a requires coverage a complex series of chemicals to maintain small up from theasprivate sector,nutrients can give you criticaltop functions such transporting through
age increases, no exclusions or loadings for pre-existing conditions, plus emergency evacuation. A major heart operation costing over Singapore cost the cell membrane andUS$100,000 purging theincell of toxicwill debris. under Euro 40,000 in Germany or France. Mitochondrial depletion lead to congestive heart failure,
muscle weakness, fatigue and neurological disease. If you are an Australian, it’s a no-brainer. Australia has one of the best public health services there is (and what’s Hormone Imbalance more, the service itself is in robust good health, unlike the venerable NHS in Britain or the Bolshevik tendency that Trillions of French cells insystem the human body are synchronised to afflicts the ). function by chemical signals called hormones. Aging creates hormonal imbalance that can lead to depression, osteoporosis, coronary heart disease and loss of libido. Excess Calcification Calcium ions are transported into and out of cells through calcium channels into the membrane. Aging disrupts this process and the result is excess calcium in the cells of the brain, heart valves and arterial walls that can lead to arteriosclerosis and Alzheimer’s.
As noted, swank new hospitals do not a good health service make. There are good doctors here and there are times when the art of medicine combined with long experience can work as well, if not better than the science of it. But are there enough such doctors? How is it that we see the same doctors’ names appearing on the practitioner boards in so many different hospitals in Bali? Do they have Fatty Acid Imbalance the modern diagnostic equipment needed and when they do, are the technicians available to operate and translate The body requires essential fatty acids to maintain cell the results effectively? energy output. Aging causes alterations in the enzymes required convert fats into specificsalivates fatty acids the I doubt it.toMy wife’sdietary pulmonary specialist visibly body Thestandard effect of and fattydetail acid imbalance manifests whenrequires. he sees the of X-rays she brings back from Singapore. months ago, Ilow don’t know as irregular heartbeat,And joint18degeneration, energy, about now, there was onlyand onea holter a hyper-coagulation, dry skin host ofheart other monitor, conditions. wearable device used to measure heart beat over a 24hour period, available on the entire island. DNA Mutation For the uninsured and those with limited resources Numerous synthetic and natural compounds mutate you can find good treatment from an experienced doctor cellular DNA and cause cancer cells to form. Aging cells here who will, if he’s doing he’s job properly, tell you if he lose repair mechanisms resultgo is can their treat DNA you gene successfully here or if and you the should DNA genetic damage causes cells to proliferate out of elsewhere for diagnosis and treatment. In which case, control, i.e., into cancer cells. hospitals in turn Bangkok, Penang and India are where you need to look. For diagnostic purposes only, the Raffles Immune Centre inDysfunction Singapore is hard to beat. Unless you are covered or are very wealthy, do not get yourself admitted in Singapore, if itreasons, can be avoided. you are, the costs For a variety of the agingOnce immune system loses areability eye-watering. its to attack bacteria, viruses and cancer cells. In
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For all of us, insured or not, disease prevention is by far the best option. That means a healthy life style in terms of exercise and diet. Therapeutically, clinical nutrition is the great shame oflevels modern medicine, incytokines that it is aging scandal humans,and excessive of dangerous relegated to the closet. Eating well will keep you healthy are produced that cause the immune system to turn on its and properly applied can cure or alleviate many chronic host and create auto-immune diseases,, such as allergies, conditions. Real food is by far the best option but effective lupus, anemia, rheumatoid heart disease and arthritis. supplementation under expert direction can work wonders. Non-Digestive Enzyme Imbalance However there are snags. First you need to know that Internal cellular on multiple what your takingfunctions is 1) anydepend good, and 2) if yourenzymatic taking it reactions occurring precise timing. Aging in the right amount with to do you any good. Andcauses lastly enzyme disturbances in most the brain and liver, which result in 3) supplementation and of the alternative treatments severe neurological diseasesintegrative such as Parkinson’s or prescribed by a qualified MD may be cost-effective but they are not cheap and often persistent memory loss. Impaired liver function resultsnot in covered by insurance. toxic damage to every cell in the body. The biggest snag here is that it is next to impossible to Digestive Enzyme Deficit purchase any of the formulations that can help you in Bali. As mostpancreas countries,often in the past allowed you to Theinaging fails to Indonesia secrete enough digestive import nutrititional supplements by post providing they enzymes, while the aging liver does not secrete enough were for personal consumption and in a reasonable bile acids. The results are the chronic digestive problems quantity, not for re-sale. A reasonable supply was many face as they age. considered to be three months worth. The import tax was minimal. Excitotoxicity Regretably there was a ministerial land grab recently on Thedepartment aging brain control ofof the its behalf of customs at loses the expense release of neurotransmitters such as national postal service and now no nutritional supplements glutamate and dopamine, and thisback results are allowed to enter the country and must be sent to in can’t devastating brain cell and place of origin. You even ‘ransom’ themdamage at any price. They are in factdestruction. treated as if they’re pharmaceuticals , which means they cannot be imported until each individual ingredient in a formulation has been approved by BPOM, Circulatory Deficit the regulatory body. This is a lengthy and expensive process and not an option for individuals. It is atomisapplied Microcapillary flow of blood the brain, restrictive practice that in theory is intended to protect eye and skin is impaired as a part us of from the import of unregulated pharmaceuticals. normal aging. The result is that disorders of the eye (such as cataract, macular Until a less corporate or a more user-friendly regime degeneration, glaucoma) are the No.1 prevails, the only practical option is to bring in the age-related degenerative disease. Major supplements you need yourself, or to set up an informal andand mini-strokes are common problems ring among friends acquaintances so you can assist associated with circulatory deficit to the each other when you return from overseas trips. brain. As Ines Wynn says when introducing the column, she Oxidative Stress hopes there can be a lively interaction and exchange of useful information developing in and around Boomer Free radicals are unstable molecules that have been Corner. implicated in most diseases associated with aging. In a world that ishave already heavily influenced by manipulative Antioxidants become popular supplements to algorithms, in ways we are only now beginning to perceive, protect against free-radical-induced cell damage, but few an open-hearted BA readers as to their people take thesharing properamong combination of antioxidant knowledge and experience of Bali is a one good way of supplements needed to do any good. fighting back. A lively exchange of information and views alongside this column and hopefully online would not only be an organic and valuable resource but a refreshing change. By Shari By Adrian The Boomer Boomer Corner Corner is is aaa column column dedicated dedicated to to people people over over Corner is column dedicated to people over The 60 living living in in Bali. practicalities, Bali. Its Its mandate mandate is is to to cover cover topics, topics, practicalities, practicalities, 60 activities, issues, life in in issues, concerns concerns and and events events related related to to senior senior life life in activities, Bali. We We welcome welcome suggestions suggestions from from readers. readers. Bali. E-mail us us at at :: Baliboomers@gmail.com Baliboomers@gmail.com E-mail Copyright © © 2019 2019 Boomer BoomerCorner Corner Copyright Copyright © 2019 Boomer Corner You can can read read all allpast pastarticles articlesof of You You can read all past articles of Boomer Corner Corner at at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz www.BaliAdvertiser.biz Boomer Boomer Corner at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz
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