Archive for the ‘Cardiovascular’ Category
Why Coffee Is Healthy for Seniors!
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Recent studies have shown that coffee has a number of health benefits for seniors who want to take preemptive aging steps to foster their senior health. Coffee is loaded with phytochemicals that contribute to coffee’s ability to protect us against diseases. In addition to the health promoting phytochemicals coffee contains healthy polyphenols that act directly on our cells. The leading phytochemical in coffee is chlorogenic acid. It turns out that drinking even one cup of coffee a day can reduce a persons risk of diabetes by more than 10 percent. The more coffee a person drink the greater the risk reduction for contracting diabetes. A dozen cups of either regular or decaffeinated coffee can reduce the risk more than 65 percent. This is good news for seniors who are living under the shadow of an oncoming national epidemic of diabetes. Coffee is a natural, tasty and healthy drink that seniors can imbibe to their good health. For those who do not want to drink coffee standardized chlorogenic acid supplements are available. These supplements deliver high levels of the healthy coffee compounds to help reduce the risk of contracting diabetes.
Why is Cinnamon So Healthy for seniors?
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With the onset of the cooler weather brought by Autumn, we typically shift from drinking cool drinks to savoring warmer ones. Hot ciders, hot teas and hot chocolates are the choices for many folks for Autumn beverages, because they warm us up on cold mornings and evenings. The spice that is often chosen to enhance these beverages is cinnamon, because it enhances the taste of the hot drinks. Cinnamon does more than enhance the flavor of hot beverages, it’s water soluble component provides a balanced anti-inflammatory effect for our senior bodies. It turns out that inflammation in our bodies is like a two-edge sword. We need an inflammatory response, because without it infections and wounds would never be healed. The second edge of inflammation acts as an accessory in many serious diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and many others. For good health, especially for good senior health, we need to keep the inflammatory response in balance. As we age the inflammatory processes tend to fall out of balance causing those serious diseases.
Fortunately our bodies have their own balancing mechanisms that utilize certain proteins that can be induced by insulin, which is an anti-inflammatory hormone, and cinnamon extract. Recent research has shown that water soluble cinnamon extract lessens a type of intestinal inflammation. In addition to lessening inflammation, cinnamon has been shown to mimic the effects of insulin, manage blood-sugar metabolism, help regulate fatty acids, help reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and act synergistically with insulin. Working together with insulin cinnamon reduces the type of inflammation in order to improve cardiovascular health.
Why is Soy So Good for Seniors’ Health?
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The multiple health benefits that can be achieved by seniors who consume soy products continue to be promoted in the press. Over twelve years ago in an unusual action the FDA even permitted soy to be advertised as a health food. A number of critics attacked the FDA over this issue, but they turned out to be associated with a narrow group within the food industry. The critics appear to have been worried that the success of soy products would reduce the profits of some of their non-soy food products. The final result brings good news for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to foster their senior health. The criticism against soy resulted in multiple clinical studies and research on the health benefits of soy. The research and studies confirmed that soy is a very healthy food for folks of all ages including seniors. The research showed that soy proteins and its isoflavanones provide a wide range of health benefits through direct and complementary paths in our bodies. They operate by various means to reduce inflammation and block oxidation. It turns out that soy protein and isoflavones have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. This is very good news about soy for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to promote their cardiovascular health.
Why Are Nuts Healthy for Seniors?
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Seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive steps to foster their senior health should seriously consider adding nuts to their diet. A number of popular nuts can provide major benefits toward maintaining senior health. in addition to walnuts, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts and pistachios round out the full spectrum of healthy nuts. It turns out that walnuts are at the top of the list of heart healthy nuts. They are the edible seeds of walnut trees that have been cultivated for thousands of years. The latest research has shown that walnuts are full of vitamins, tannins, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and omega-3 fatty acids. This combination of healthy compounds contributes to cardiovascular health. By eating just a handful of walnuts a senior consumes almost twice as many antioxidants compared with an equivalent amount of any other typically consumed nut. Much of the research on the nutritional benefits of walnuts has centered on the benefits to cardiovascular health. Walnuts contain large amounts of alpha linolenic acid, or ALA, which contributes to heart health by thinning the blood which reduces the risk of clots or heart attacks.
Strength Training for Cardiovascular Health
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One of the issues seniors face is diminishing muscle strength. Seniors who want to take preemptive steps to maintain the strength of the muscles need to hear some good news. Recent studies about the difference in strength between younger adults and seniors show that 70 percent of the muscle loss is due to lack of physical activity and absence of strength training. Only 30 percent of the loss of muscle strength is due to aging. Seniors need strong muscles in order to live a full senior life. The good news is that seniors can maintain or regain their muscle strength by engaging in strength training exercises. Strength training fosters weight control, bone health, and improves cognition. By reducing body fat with strength training seniors lower their risk of diabetes. Improving muscle strength seniors reduce their risk of injury from falls and other injuries. Seniors need adequate muscle strength in order to exercise at a rate that promotes cardiovascular health. Strength training helps build up the muscle strength of seniors so that they can easily participate in cardiovascular exercise. Seniors can engage in strength training at home or in a gym. This training needs to be tailored to the starting condition of each individual senior. For example, seniors can begin slowly at home with simple exercises such as sit-ups and push-ups combined with the use of resistance tubing. As their strength builds up they can include light weights such as barbells. Finally they can advance to performing strength training at a gym.
Why Strawberries Are Good For Seniors!
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Seniors who want to take preemptive steps to foster their senior health should consider eating strawberries this June. The alternative of practicing caloric restriction is not as much fun as eating delicious strawberries. The benefit of caloric restriction is life extension, but most seniors do not want to eat like monks at a monastery. The longevity benefits that result from caloric restriction in diet have been researched for more than sixty years, but most seniors would prefer another path to achieve life extension. It turns out that the folks who research new nutrients have discovered a set of nutrients that can safely stimulate the effects of caloric restriction. These nutrients mimic the the effects of caloric restriction. In addition to the previously known caloric restriction mimetics of resveratrol, pterostilbene, grape seed extracts, quercitin and black tea, researchers have discovered the flavonoid fisetin which is found in strawberries.
The flavonoid fisetin in a somewhat rare nutrient found in very small quantities in plants. In terms of benefiting senior health it is fosters senior health in a least six ways. It maintains healthy levels of the our cells’ internal antioxidant, glutathione. Fisetin is the only polyphenol that induces antioxidant activity with a two-fold benefit, because it protects against cancer and cardiovascular disease. It inhibits glycation in humans that would over the long term can result in Alzheimer’s disease and other types of cognitive deterioration. Among the flavanoids, fisetin holds a very high rank in terms of preventing DNA damage. Fisetin very effectively suppresses inflammatory responses that would otherwise open the door to cancer proliferation. Finally, fisetin provides mitochondrial support to the cells of our bodies and protects them against oxidative stress. This is very good news for seniors who are seeking preemptive aging information to promote their cardiovascular health and avoid cancer, because all of these nutrients are currently available in supplement form.
Pomegranate Compared to Resveratrol
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The benefits of resveratrol for extending life appear to be very similar to the benefits demonstrated for caloric restriction for senior health. Both of them work to promote longevity, because they change the way our genes are expressed. Both turn off the senescence genes and turn on the youth genes that promote cellular vitality. Medical research has shown that pomegranate protects against age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer, and type 2 diabetes by altering gene expression in a way similar to the action of resveratrol. Pomegranate extracts work in a multifold manner to prevent atherosclerosis and to undue the effects of atherosclerosis that has already attacked the arteries. Pomegranate juice has been shown to reduce total cholesterol and LDL levels which effectively increases cardiovascular health by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Pomegranate has an amazingly broad spectrum of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it is no surprise that it has shown excellent results in preventing certain cancers and reversing the progress of already existing cancers. Folks treated with pomegranate extracts, juice, and oils have experienced beneficial results for breast, colon, and prostate cancer.
Cinnamon Can Help Seniors Stay Healthy
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According to a recent health report from London, cinnamon may provide health benefits for seniors, because we typically suffer from increasing blood sugar levels despite making the recommended changes in our daily diet. The London study reported dramatic positive results when patients with type 2 diabetes took cinnamon. The researchers concluded that supplementing with cinnamon should be considered as an added dietary supplement, in order to regulate blood glucose and blood pressure levels in parallel with conventional medications for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Additional information about taking cinnamon for controlling blood glucose specifies that one should take the water-soluble extract and avoid the fat-soluble portion of cinnamon for optimum results. It turns out that type 2 diabetes is one of several diseases that are triggered by inflammation in our bodies. Recent research has shown that water soluble cinnamon extract lessens a type of intestinal inflammation. In addition to lessening inflammation, cinnamon has been shown to mimic the effects of insulin, manage blood-sugar metabolism, help regulate fatty acids, help reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and act synergistically with insulin. Working together with insulin cinnamon reduces the type of inflammation that is known to the increase the risk for cardiovascular disease.
Mediterranean Diet Lowers Seniors Cholesterol
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The popular health news reports are typically full of suggestions that are designed to lower your cholesterol. Usually they do not tell you about the form of cholesterol of LDL cholesterol that is more likely to cause the health problems that lead to heart attacks or strokes. The type of LDL cholesterol that is the deadly form is oxidized cholesterol. The oxidized cholesterol is the form that typically causes the process that leads to narrowing of the arteries that results in heart attacks or strokes later as the narrowing or clogging of the arteries increases. Seniors who are concerned about fostering their cardiovascular health want to take preemptive antiaging steps to protect their senior health. Here is the good news for seniors who have these concerns. The Mediterranean Diet provides a tasty, healthy path for seniors to preempt the development of the deadly oxidized cholesterol. The Mediterranean Diet does this through the foods that it provides. It stresses eating more vegetables, nuts, herbs, and fish. It uses virgin olive oil for cooking. It suggests eating more white meat instead of red meat or processed meat. For those who drink alcohol it recommends drinking moderate amounts of red wine. In a recent study that involved over 370 seniors, those who followed the Mediterranean Diet showed a significant decline in their levels of oxidized cholesterol compared with the seniors who just followed a low fat diet.
Vinegar Aids Seniors’ Blood Sugar Levels
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As we age our bodies undergo changes. One of the changes that seniors face is rising blood sugar levels that can lead to type 2 diabetes unless some measures are taken to deal with this change. Some of the measures that can contribute to lowering blood sugar levels in seniors include changes in diet, exercise, weight loss, and supplements. Seniors who are interested in taking preemptive aging steps to foster their senior health should certainly includes these measures in their daily routines. In the event that blood sugar levels are still too high another step can be taken; it requires a prescription medication. The alternative to that well known prescription is a common household item that is often used in salad dressings. The household alternative is none other than common vinegar. Numerous studies over the years have documented the ability of vinegar to reduce blood sugar levels by 25-35% provided it is taken before or with meals. Vinegar lowers the glucose levels by inhibiting the enzymes required to digest starches and complex carbohydrates. Similarly taking vinegar upon retiring in the evening will result in lower morning fasting blood sugar levels. In this case it turns out that vinegar acts in a manner parallel with the well known prescription drug metformin to lower blood sugar.
