INTRODUCTION:

These are my personal opinions and may not be the personal opinions of all physicians: 

1. Take one coated aspirin or one baby aspirin daily with food to reduce the risk of heart attacks and colon cancer.
2. Take one generic multiple vitamin a day with food.
3. Take vitamin C 500 to 1000 mg a day to stimulate the immune system and prevent atherosclerosis and colon cancer.
4. Take vitamin E 400 to 800 international units a day to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and colon cancer.
5. Take folic acid 400 to 800 mg a day to reduce the risk of heart attacks and colon cancer.  Note:  Folic acid and folate are the same medicines over-the-counter.
6. Take selenium 200 mcg a day to help circulation and reduce the risk of colon cancer.
7. Take beta carotene 10,000 to 20,000 units a day to help circulation, but this is not recommended if you smoke cigarettes.
8. Drink one small glass of dark grape juice a day to help improve circulation.
9. Females over 50 should take estrogen daily to prevent heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis and colon cancer.  There are alternatives to regular estrogen that females may want to consider.
10. Females over the age of 50 should take calcium and vitamin D to slow osteoporosis.
11. Diet should be relatively low in fat and high in fiber to reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and colon cancer.
12. You should have five helpings a day of fruits and/or vegetables and increase the intake of bran and fiber.
13. I would recommend eating fish 3 times a week to reduce the risk of heart disease.
14. I recommend not smoking, but if you must smoke keep the cigarettes to five cigarettes a day or less but absolutely no more than five cigarettes a day.
15. I would recommend not drinking more than 2 drinks of alcohol a day and absolutely no drinking and driving together.  I prefer people not to drink, but if they do drink I would recommend absolutely no more than two per day and you cannot save up if you don’t drink for a couple of days.
16. Exercise should be a total of 150 minutes a week divided in three to five episodes, 30 to 45 minute sessions.
1. Start an exercise program with shorter sessions – say ten minutes each and gradually increase the time of each work out.
2. Exercise to the level in which the heart is beating fast and you are breathing a little fast but not too fast.
3. Do not over do it.  Do not exercise so hard that you feel your heart racing or need to pant or cannot speak in a sentence to an exercise partner.
17. Ideal body weight is 110 pounds for five feet.  Add six pounds for each inch over five feet.
18. We recommend a yearly physical for any person age 40 and over. The best way to remember this is to see your physician the week that you have your birthday every year age 40 and over.

 Thank you,

 WAYNE A. Hughes, MD

Family Practice/After Hours Clinic, PLLC 
(601) 261-5710