Have you noticed that the older generation are living longer and the ‘new’ generation are dying younger? The people we call old fashioned are growing older gracefully and those of us ‘new fashioned’ cannot even boast of growing into old age thoughtless of doing so gracefully.

A disease ‘meant’ for people in their 60+ is now for all ages. When we compare and contrast, the difference is big. Too many cars (pollution), processed foods, technology and ‘white collar’ jobs I personally think are adding to our woes.

Heart attacks, diabetes, hypertension, strokes, high cholesterol and even fibroids which were known to be old age sicknesses/diseases are now being ‘suffered’ by young people. My dad died at a very young age of 55years in his sleep, post mortem results showed he had a heart attack.

A young man of 25 years was found in his room dead, the only explanation they could give was heart attack. Kids are undergoing chemotherapy for cancers. Diabetes is killing especially the blacks, because unfortunately, doctors don’t pick up the signs early, by the time it is diagnosed, one leg needs to be chopped off to save the body. Bottom line, young people are dying.

The 21^st century lifestyle is killing us. Most of us have two kitchens, our home kitchen and McDonalds/KFC/Papaye, you name them. If it’s not the ‘fast’ food we’ve prepared in the microwave, it’s the fast food our alternative kitchen is ready to serve. We’re stuffing our faces with saturated fat and clogging our arteries. It’s not bad to indulge yourself once in a while, but let the cooking exceed the KFC.

We should endeavour to do more walking. Let the cars go on leave especially if we’re just going down the street or not going very far. Some of us even jump on the bus if we’re getting off the next stop. Our lives have become too sedentary. Work behind the computer, eat behind the computer, even develop relationships and friendships behind the computer, then from there, either we sit and watch TV or jump into bed. Walking is free, so let’s do more of it. Use the stairs more often and leave the escalators alone.

Some of us can go a day without water (I’m the biggest culprit), because water is not sweet. Truthfully, healthy things are not tasty, the junk always appeals to us. Let’s learn to flush our system with water; it even works wonders for your skin according to dermatologists. The fruit juice we know is full of sugar, so it is advisable to reduce the intake.

Those of you who always say ‘I was not brought up with fruits and vegetables so my tongue does not know it’, you better start ‘bringing yourself up’ with it. Our wealth is our health, we need to insure it.

Don’t carry the whole world’s problem on your shoulders; you cannot solve all at once, stop stressing over issues you’ve no control over. Worrying ages you quicker, a happy life is a healthy life.

And for us the slim ones, being slim does not mean we’re healthier. That is the stern warning my doctor gave me when I asked him why he was telling me to exercise since I’m slim. We’re also just at risk. We cannot stop living fast, but we can help ourselves live healthily. Life is one, handle it with care. Learning should not end in the classroom; we should make it a habit to educate ourselves, read more.

So, let’s get talking, is it ignorance or we just cannot be bothered? What is happening to the 21^st century generation with the ‘Swag’? Let’s share and learn.