John Arts Abundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz

Assuming we can stay clear of trauma and chronic illness, we can generally expect to live into our late 80s and, increasingly, our 90s.

We can really divide our lives into three 30-year blocks. The first 30 when we are younger, the 30 years of middle age and our older years from age 60. My area of health interest is Nutritional Medicine where we focus on using optimum nutrient levels to prevent disease. We then use the same principles to help our body's healing processes to restore our health when things go wrong.

For example I have been helping a couple in their 70s with a number of problems, including joint and muscle pain and generally low energy and motivation. A targeted nutrient programme has seen them both make major improvements in just a few months. Our bodies can only be expected to heal when they have the nutrients they need to function properly.

While there are an increasing number of younger people falling to chronic disease, most people who I talk to are in the second or third 30-year blocks. I see the middle 30 years as incredibly important, as these years in many ways predict your health in the latter 30.

Healthy living is not some optional extra you select like when buying a new car. These are central behaviours and choices that help prevent disease from taking hold.

This is especially true for those like the couple mentioned who have already developed health problems. When I give advice, I often use an analogy of an archery target. The bulls-eye are the things we absolutely must do to ensure continued health or to return to health. The next circle includes things that could be beneficial, but are not essential. The outer circles are things that may be of some assistance, but will not fundamentally change things. Unfortunately, I often see people doing these peripheral things and omitting the essentials.

We always need to eat well, but well formulated micro-nutritional supplements can ensure the optimum levels of essential nutrients to help preserve our health and to enable our healing processes to function at their best. This is especially important if you are over 30 as your future health, quality of life and ultimately, your lifespan, depend on it.