We’re all trying to look after our bodies, but it’s not straight forward

I’ve come to the conclusion after sixty-five years on this planet, that life is not supposed to be enjoyed. We all have to deal with the ups and downs of daily living, and some get more than their fair share of bad luck but perhaps that’s how it’s supposed to be. Maybe we’re meant to be miserable.

Take eating for example. Treating ourselves to a nice meal when we feel down can sometimes help lift the spirits and it should be a pleasant experience but even choosing from the menu now is stressful and could give you a guilt complex.

When I was young, you could eat what you liked without worrying about the consequences. Now it seems if you choose anything more than a piece of lettuce, you could be placing your life in danger. Experts tell us almost everything else will either raise your cholesterol level, give you heart disease, induce diabetes or just make you fat.

If you want to wash down the leaves with something, better stick to water. Not from the tap though, too risky. Stay away from beer too because the pints are full of calories and will give you a big belly. Avoid wine because that contains too much sugar and rots your teeth and stay clear of coffee because that contains caffeine which can affect the nervous system and make you twitch. It can keep you awake too.

On the other hand, that might be OK because too much sleep can be a bad thing. Between seven and nine hours is considered normal and anything more than that, according to WebMD, can make your brain feel foggy. It could also result in headaches, body pain, fatigue, memory loss and weight gain.

Sleeping too little isn’t great either and could be a sign of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or metabolic problems such as cognitive issues including difficulty with memory. That’s bad news for me. I make do with six hours so maybe I should be worried but worrying is stressful and that’s also bad.

We’re told to exercise regularly. It’s good for the body and the mind they say but that’s not without drawbacks either. Playing a game of tennis, golf, snooker or even visiting an art gallery these days could get you covered in yellow paint from protestors trying to ban oil production. Even getting there might be difficult while these characters keep letting the air out of the tyres of our SUVs.

I drive one of those because I have a dodgy back and I prefer to sit up into it as opposed to getting into low seats and I would advise any would be protestor contemplating an assault on my wheels to think again.

I do exercise though. I had back surgery last February and as part of my recovery I was advised to go swimming three times a week for thirty miniute sessions. That sounded OK. to me. I swim a lot when I’m away and I enjoy it, so it was no big deal.

There is a 25-metre pool in Cobh that opens at 6.30am three mornings a week and it suits me to head up there early. I started in April when the weather wasn’t the best so getting out of bed at 6.30am wasn’t easy but once I was in the car and on my way, I was fine.

I was a little self-conscious making my debut because I wasn’t very mobile. I didn’t want to appear as if I needed medical intervention, but I needn’t have worried. I was among similarly afflicted souls with various body parts in need of repair. We wouldn’t look out of place in Lourdes.

I didn’t know it at the time, but a swimming pool is the place to go if you want to surround yourself with the walking wounded and swimming is good exercise for many ailments apparently. At least that’s what I was told and then I made the mistake of reading up about it.

According to Livestrong.com, the pool season isn’t complete without the scent of disinfectant. Chlorine is added to pools to kill germs and that’s essential because there’s a lot of stuff that can come off and out of the human body in a pool. A strong scent of chlorine probably isn’t from the chlorine itself but from chloramine, which is a reaction between chlorine and amines.

If you didn’t already know, amines are compounds that can occur in sweat, urine and stool. This reaction kills bacteria and causes that ‘chlorine’ smell. I didn’t need to know that and from now on I won’t be able to get in there without looking for floating bits.

On the other hand, chlorine kills off bacteria like salmonella and E. coli, parasites like giardia and viruses that cause diarrhoea and swimmer’s ear so that’s good but too much of it can cause stinging and irritation of the eyes. Other symptoms to look out for include nasal irritation, coughing and wheezing.

It’s not all bad news though and according to medicalnewstoday.com swimming can help a person to manage or lose weight, build strength, and improve breathing control. The benefits of swimming can also extend to mental health and better overall health and fitness so there are some plusses.

Walking is another form of exercise that I thought was good for the health but according to Anil Ramsey, an expert in back and muscular health, physical dangers from walking every day include foot and leg problems such as plantar fasciitis, which is when inflammation in the heel and the arch of your foot causes pain. The bigger risk is long term he says.

So, there you have it. If you’re sore or miserable, don’t worry about it, it’s normal. That’s how life is supposed to be.