Copyright © 2011 by Barbara Ebel, M.D.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means – whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic – without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.
ISBN: 978-0-9829351-5-6
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means – whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic – without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.
ISBN: 978-0-9829351-5-6
Younger Next Decade:
After Fifty, the Transitional Decade,
and what You Need to Know
by Barbara Ebel, M.D.
After Fifty, the Transitional Decade,
and what You Need to Know
by Barbara Ebel, M.D.
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Every book begins with page one. You and I are going to start fresh, especially if you just had your fiftieth birthday or if that big one is looming just ahead. Please consider that your fiftieth birthday is a mile marker in your life and that the next ten years - what we’ll call your transitional decade - will fundamentally set the stage for how you decide to live the rest of your life.
Also, introductions are in order. Instead of you getting to the end of this book and reading “about the author,” I’m giving you a short scoop from the get-go. First, I’m an author and have multiple published works, including multiple genres. But here’s the thing - not only am I a physician - but I try whole-heartedly every day to practice what I preach by incorporating what I’m about to tell you into my lifestyle. I, too, am only human, and you can strive to be perfect, but don’t come down on yourself too hard if you can’t live up to ideal lifestyle standards all of the time. What I’m going to do here is to give you some insight into the why and how of living smarter after fifty. After all, we are simply young people born earlier.
Second, since conciseness is a big thing with me, I am going to try my best to deliver advice as succinctly as possible. Since we’re multitasking and leading busy lives, time is a precious commodity. Heck, actually, we need to talk about that later. My goal is also to make this a fun read. It’s a turn-off to be preached to. I want to supplement what your family doctor may or may not tell you and I want to add to all the other information you read, believe, don’t believe, fail to follow, or are as stubborn as a mule to incorporate into your life. I hope to give you some brand new ideas. We’re going to make this enjoyable, we’re going to do it together, and I’m going to deliver some fresh approaches.
Third, if you’re clicking page turns on an eBook reader you may not see this; if you have a paperback, then you may have noticed it already. There will be more than one chapter titled Spirit. No. It has nothing to do with spirituality or religion, although perhaps you could argue that underneath my philosophy, spiritualism has to do with its foundation. Whether you are religious or not, I will lay the cards on the table and tell you I have no right or background to give you a spiel with religious overtones. My Spirit chapters have to do with a feeling and a love for being alive.
If you’ve hit that milestone birthday and are becoming increasingly unhappy when you look in the mirror, here’s a fact that the infomercials and the big cosmetic companies won’t be too pleased about. Those crow’s feet popping out around your eyes, and those baby vertical lines sprouting from your upper lip, and those puffy lower lids aren’t erased by the contents in a bottle.
However, there are good products out there that help subdue those budding features but don’t deplete your bank account for them. You can find appropriately priced products which have the latest dermatological ingredients for revitalizing and moisturizing your skin, including scrubs and exfoliants. I went on a medical mission several years ago to Mexico and, lo and behold, was I surprised to find Retin-A tubes of varying concentrations - non-prescription and dirt cheap - on drug store shelves. Many of you know that Retin-A is the ingredient of some high-end commercial products advertised to slow skin aging. I bought a bag of tubes and I’m still occasionally smearing a light film on at bedtime.
So, yes, there are some products that help your skin look refreshed, but as we all know, or should know, the Hollywood women who “look so good,” and “haven’t aged at all,” probably have a preferred plastic surgeon for facelifts, forehead lifts, blepharoplasties, cheek implants, rhinoplasties, a tuck here or a tuck there, and a large chest double curvature. Even easier than those, are all the injectable prescription botulinum toxin products such as Botox, Dysport, and Javederm. Injections with these products can help camouflage facial wrinkles and are becoming as routine for some people as a once or twice a year formal dental exam; not to mention teeth whitening.
Do you remember American history which incorporated beliefs from our founding fathers? The generation reading this was taught straight factual American history as a subject way back then, just like they were taught cursive, a soon-to-be archaic means to communicate, because it seems to be on its way out. All you’ll have to do in the future is type. (I hope younger people practice a signature however; they may need it in the transitional decade to sign a credit card slip for anti-aging cream).
I digress. Here’s my history. Juan Ponce de León y Figueroa was the Spanish explorer who led the first European expedition to the state of Florida, which he named. He was looking for the Fountain of Youth. Well, he didn’t find it. Today, there are more older people in Florida than ever, and they look pretty weathered to me. I’ve done the living in Florida thing, too, so I’m not picking on them. It’s just that I’ll have something to say about the sun. But right now I do have something more to say about the Fountain of Youth.
Here’s the thing. Or here’s my bright idea founded on sound principle. And I am a firm believer in new ideas, which usually take some time to accept. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite Albert Einstein quotes is “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is not hope for it.” The Fountain of Youth is not to be found in a jar or in a sink hole. It’s going to be found in the laboratory.
Every book begins with page one. You and I are going to start fresh, especially if you just had your fiftieth birthday or if that big one is looming just ahead. Please consider that your fiftieth birthday is a mile marker in your life and that the next ten years - what we’ll call your transitional decade - will fundamentally set the stage for how you decide to live the rest of your life.
Also, introductions are in order. Instead of you getting to the end of this book and reading “about the author,” I’m giving you a short scoop from the get-go. First, I’m an author and have multiple published works, including multiple genres. But here’s the thing - not only am I a physician - but I try whole-heartedly every day to practice what I preach by incorporating what I’m about to tell you into my lifestyle. I, too, am only human, and you can strive to be perfect, but don’t come down on yourself too hard if you can’t live up to ideal lifestyle standards all of the time. What I’m going to do here is to give you some insight into the why and how of living smarter after fifty. After all, we are simply young people born earlier.
Second, since conciseness is a big thing with me, I am going to try my best to deliver advice as succinctly as possible. Since we’re multitasking and leading busy lives, time is a precious commodity. Heck, actually, we need to talk about that later. My goal is also to make this a fun read. It’s a turn-off to be preached to. I want to supplement what your family doctor may or may not tell you and I want to add to all the other information you read, believe, don’t believe, fail to follow, or are as stubborn as a mule to incorporate into your life. I hope to give you some brand new ideas. We’re going to make this enjoyable, we’re going to do it together, and I’m going to deliver some fresh approaches.
Third, if you’re clicking page turns on an eBook reader you may not see this; if you have a paperback, then you may have noticed it already. There will be more than one chapter titled Spirit. No. It has nothing to do with spirituality or religion, although perhaps you could argue that underneath my philosophy, spiritualism has to do with its foundation. Whether you are religious or not, I will lay the cards on the table and tell you I have no right or background to give you a spiel with religious overtones. My Spirit chapters have to do with a feeling and a love for being alive.
If you’ve hit that milestone birthday and are becoming increasingly unhappy when you look in the mirror, here’s a fact that the infomercials and the big cosmetic companies won’t be too pleased about. Those crow’s feet popping out around your eyes, and those baby vertical lines sprouting from your upper lip, and those puffy lower lids aren’t erased by the contents in a bottle.
However, there are good products out there that help subdue those budding features but don’t deplete your bank account for them. You can find appropriately priced products which have the latest dermatological ingredients for revitalizing and moisturizing your skin, including scrubs and exfoliants. I went on a medical mission several years ago to Mexico and, lo and behold, was I surprised to find Retin-A tubes of varying concentrations - non-prescription and dirt cheap - on drug store shelves. Many of you know that Retin-A is the ingredient of some high-end commercial products advertised to slow skin aging. I bought a bag of tubes and I’m still occasionally smearing a light film on at bedtime.
So, yes, there are some products that help your skin look refreshed, but as we all know, or should know, the Hollywood women who “look so good,” and “haven’t aged at all,” probably have a preferred plastic surgeon for facelifts, forehead lifts, blepharoplasties, cheek implants, rhinoplasties, a tuck here or a tuck there, and a large chest double curvature. Even easier than those, are all the injectable prescription botulinum toxin products such as Botox, Dysport, and Javederm. Injections with these products can help camouflage facial wrinkles and are becoming as routine for some people as a once or twice a year formal dental exam; not to mention teeth whitening.
Do you remember American history which incorporated beliefs from our founding fathers? The generation reading this was taught straight factual American history as a subject way back then, just like they were taught cursive, a soon-to-be archaic means to communicate, because it seems to be on its way out. All you’ll have to do in the future is type. (I hope younger people practice a signature however; they may need it in the transitional decade to sign a credit card slip for anti-aging cream).
I digress. Here’s my history. Juan Ponce de León y Figueroa was the Spanish explorer who led the first European expedition to the state of Florida, which he named. He was looking for the Fountain of Youth. Well, he didn’t find it. Today, there are more older people in Florida than ever, and they look pretty weathered to me. I’ve done the living in Florida thing, too, so I’m not picking on them. It’s just that I’ll have something to say about the sun. But right now I do have something more to say about the Fountain of Youth.
Here’s the thing. Or here’s my bright idea founded on sound principle. And I am a firm believer in new ideas, which usually take some time to accept. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite Albert Einstein quotes is “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is not hope for it.” The Fountain of Youth is not to be found in a jar or in a sink hole. It’s going to be found in the laboratory.
