The HolidayMagazineforaLongLife. Feel better, live longer! Spring2014 #01 News: Rethinking for a The Salzburg Pinzgau: The Lifetime Hotels: Vacation for Healthy Future. A Place of Power Touches the Senses. a Long Life. 1 Contents RETHINKING FOR A HEALTHY AND STABLE FUTURE. 03 Our healthcare system currently deals primarily with people who are already sick. A new approach is strongly required to avoid a collapse of the system. VACATION FOR A LONG LIFE. 05 The Lifetime Hotels explore what is specifically needed to sustain health for a long time. Thus, the Lifetime Hotels set standards in the entire healthcare sector. A PLACE OF POWER TOUCHES THE SENSES. 07 Mighty waterfalls, impressive moun­ tains, unusual rock formations, stunn­ ing lighting effects—the Salzburg Pinzgau region in sight. THE ART OF HIKING. Hiking is much more than just walking. 15 It is a profound experience that brings you further in life. SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT SPEED. 21 In the long run, stress harms our health—when is it enough? 2 EDITORIAL PERMANENTLY HEALTHY AND HAPPY AT THE SAME TIME—IS THIS POSSIBLE? Dear Readers! Unfortunately, our modern everyday life is all too often characterised by pressure and a fast pace. We lose perspective on the essentials and only recog­ nise this if we have completely lost our true values or have had a burnout. To be permanently healthy, it is not enough to delete a few “to­dos” from the agenda. Rather, we should develop an attitude for long­lasting health and happiness. We have founded the Lifetime Hotels to commem­ orate a spirit which surrounds us and is inherent in all of us: nature. Together with the Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, we have done research Spokes­people of the Lifetime Hotels in the Salzburg region and found out that exercise in an intact natural are Isabella Dschulnigg­Geissler from the Saalbacher Hof landscape at higher altitudes, a regional authentic and Sepp Schwaiger from the Hotel Eder am Hochkönig diet, and a “natural” way of thinking can markedly increase body values. We had not anticipated that this which is taken for THE FOUNDING granted and is available to us unlimitedly, has such LIFETIME HOTELS: a high health value. That motivates us to continue • Lifetime Hotel Active by Leitner’s our research and to inspire our guests with the find­ • Lifetime Hotel DIE SONNE ings to revaluate. • Lifetime Hotel Eder • Lifetime Hotel Habachklause Concerning the subjects that surround nature and health, we would like to light the same fire in you • Lifetime Hotel MAVIDA that burns in us—with our Lifetime Magazine. Treat • Lifetime Hotel Riederalm yourself to some inspiring moments while reading • Lifetime Hotel Saalbacher Hof and let yourself be motivated with every action and more awareness to live your life better. THIS IS HOW A LIFETIME VACATION AFFECTS YOUR PERSONAL FITNESS: Increase of fitness in % Lifetime Vacation (+ 10%) Isabella Dschulnigg­Geissler Josef Schwaiger Hiking Vacation (+3%) Normal Vacation (­3%) Days after a vacation in a Lifetime Hotel 3 NEWS Rethinking for a healthy and stable future. At the moment, our healthcare system involves primarily the treatment of already sick people. Due to medical and technical advances we can live longer today than we did in the past. However, one is more apprehensive to interact with the increasing proportion of older people, who are prone to diseases and are thus no longer actively participating in the labour market. The healthcare sector is hardly able to financially cope with this situation. Prevention means doing something for your health. PREVENTION MEANS TO NOT EVEN LET FOCUS ON EXERCISE, NUTRITION, AND HEALTHY DISEASES EMERGE. THINKING. In Austria today, about 80 percent of the ca. € 30 billion According to the WHO (World Health Organisation), health is health expenditure per year is used for chronic diseases. “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being Most could be avoided through prevention. To avoid a col- and not just about the absence of disease or infirmity.” It is lapse of the system, the focus should be placed on preven- clear that, in addition to a focus on exercise and nutrition, tion, not about the early detection of diseases, but about thinking the right way also plays an essential role. On the their anticipation. one hand, it is important to get to know yourself and resolve deeply rooted patterns of thought. To do this, a variety of options exist. Vaccinations, for instance, protect against often deadly sicknesses. Another When thinking patterns such as “I can’t do this” or “I am too example is strengthening muscles that can help prevent weak for that” are uncovered, they can be transformed into backaches. Wholefoods and natural foods counteract over- something constructive. Social contacts and the develop- weightness. Hence, there are many approaches that make it ment of a life-affirming attitude are also an integral part of possible for you to do something for your health. preventative health maintenance. 4 SUPPORT FROM STATE INSTITUTIONS. Health insurance companies now offer a series of information sessions, seminars, and courses, which cost little or are free of charge. The State is also involved in many projects and in- formation campaigns. In Austria, the fund “Healthy Austria” (FGÖ = Fonds Gesundes Österreich) is the federal contact point for health promotion. This fund deals specifically with preventive measures such as exercise, diet, or mental well-being. Precautionary Measures BY FRIEDL HERBST, LIFETIME HOTEL RIEDERALM—LEOGANG • exercise at least three or four times a week • high fibre diet with wholemeal food • at least five servings of fruit or vegetables per day • eat only when you’re really hungry • do something good for yourself every day “These small changes have completely changed my life. I changed my diet gradually to one that is as natural as possible. As often as possible, I did not use the car, but walked more and had more exercise during the day. Today, I ’m hungry for exer­ cise. I feel full of energy and am looking forward to the good food that gives me the strength to do so. And without torturing myself, I’ve lost 20 pounds along the way.” 5 Support also after the Vacation Holidaymakers will find support even after the vacation. The Lifetime Hotels run an exciting blog on the topic “be NEWS healthy and live longer.” Almost every day on Facebook, there are inspiring items to motivate you to improve your Vacation health and prolong your life. for a long life. The Lifetime Hotels are seven family­run hotels of the Salzburg Pinzgau region, which have set themselves the goal of improving the quality of life of their guests sus­ tainably and thus extending their lifetime. With the focus on a “vacation for a long life” and its focus on nature, they set new standards in the entire healthcare system. ACTIVE VACATION AND STAY HEALTHY LONG. BASIS OF A LIFETIME VACATION. A Lifetime Vacation aims to increase the body values of The Lifetime vacation is based on the HICO study (Hiking the guest and to launch a health-oriented sustainable & Coaching), developed and carried out jointly by the PMU rethinking. Different from a wellness holiday, which is Salzburg (Paracelsus Medical University) and the Institute purely about well-being, guests learn methods of prevent- of Economic Psychology of the Paris-Lodron-University of ing diseases. Thus, varied exercise programmes, a natural Salzburg. A total of 100 test subjects were observed and authentic cuisine, and special coaching are the basis for their health values checked at regular intervals for over a an increase in life quality and a healthy and long life. year. Hiking, in combination with healthy nutrition, result- ed in a significant increase in cardio-respiratory THE POWER OF NATURE. fitness, even after only one week. The Lifetime Hotels orient themselves toward nature, which is of outstanding quality especially in the locations of the COACHING FOR THE FIRST STEPS. participating hotels. At over 1,200 metres above sea level, To promote these processes, the Lifetime Hotels provide the mountain air is extremely low in allergens, germs, and their guests with specially trained coaches. They help to hazardous substances and is particularly conducive to the find the perfect form and the right amount of exercise for regeneration of lung cells. The differences in altitudes participants. Guests are helped to identify thought patterns bring significant health values while being physically which prevent them from taking the step towards change. active. They increase cardiorespiratory fitness and ensure The study found that this group, which had additional good stamina. The diversity of nature offers a whole variety coaching, scored even better cardiorespiratory values than of regional foods, which are important for a healthy diet. the other groups, even after only two months. Industrially processed foods such as sugar, isolated car- bohydrates, as well as low quality fats contain hardly any essential nutrients and can lead to chronic inflammation in the body, which is the basis of most diseases. In the Lifetime Hotels, the chefs cook exclusively with regional, natural foods, which are rich in antioxidants and fibre. Together with outdoor exercise programmes, they can lead to an increase of health. 6 NEWS The Three Pillars of a Lifetime Vacation. Lifetime Active Lifetime Cuisine Lifetime Coaching With each step, we come closer to To eat healthily does not mean to The knowledge for successful change good health. abandon something, but to replace it exists in each of us. with something better. Regular endurance sports are impor- Few things are more important than Coaching means “living learning” in tant to keep the organism in full swing, nutrition for the preservation of health. the sense of being self-aware.