Diving health
Brainpower is more important than brawn when you are diving. Good divers use their brain and equipment rather than their muscles to manoeuvre underwater. They control their buoyancy and expend as little energy as possible during a dive. In that way, they can keep their heart rate and their air consumption low.
Diving is not a competitive sport. It is an activity suitable for adults of all ages. Many of the pioneers of scuba diving, now in their 80s, are still diving regularly.
Lost fitness
When we are young, we are usually fit and healthy. Children are often on the go from the moment they wake until the moment they finally fall asleep. We normally carry this fitness with us into young adulthood. After that, we may adopt a sedentary lifestyle, spending many hours behind a desk each day. This is often combined with a diet that is based on convenience rather than good nutrition. When you add to this the fact that we have little time to walk or ride a bicycle, and instead travel everywhere by car, it is no wonder there are more obese people in the world than ever.
A healthy lifestyle
Good health for diving is more to do with healthy living than any special exercise regime. Breathing cold air from a regulator can use up a lot of body heat, and this is where most of the calories are burned. Divers only need physical strength for walking down to the shore or climbing the ladder of the boat.
Good health starts with your diet. Instead of sweets and salty snacks, you should eat fresh or dried fruit and nuts. Instead of sweetened carbonated drinks, drink plain water. Replace all refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and rice, with whole-grain versions. Try having oatmeal for breakfast instead of processed cereals. Pasta, tortillas and sweet potatoes are better for you than chips. Stick with lean meats, fish, chicken, legumes and beans for your supply of protein. Reduce the amount of alcohol you drink.
Apart from being full of calories, drinking too much can weaken your resolve to eat well, making that high-calorie take-away meal much more appealing. It is also important to walk or ride a bicycle instead of driving.
Today, raised levels of blood pressure are common. You can combat this by reducing your salt intake. Salt is added to nearly all processed foods, so cut them out of your diet. Eat fresh foods instead. Losing excess weight can also reduce your blood pressure.
Cholesterol can collect on artery walls and reduce the blood’s ability to flow, increasing your blood pressure and making decompression illness more likely. Losing excess weight and eating wisely helps control cholesterol. This includes eating plenty of fibre and the supernutrients found in garlic. You should reduce the amount of saturated fat, such as that found in butter, in your diet and add oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, to improve blood circulation.
