Archive for the ‘Exercise’ Category
Strength Training for Cardiovascular Health
Image via Wikipedia
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.
Vinegar Aids Seniors’ Blood Sugar Levels
Image by AndyRob via Flickr
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.
Seniors Can Reduce Risk of Colorectal Cancers
- Image by Transportation for America via Flickr
For seniors who are concerned about taking affordable, preemptive steps to promote their senior health, here are five steps that, if taken, can greatly reduce the risk of contracting colorectal cancer. The results are from a study in Europe that were recently published in a medial journal in Britain. The researchers found that folks who lost weight, limited their consumption of alcoholic beverages, stopped smoking, maintained a healthy diet and exercised about 30 minutes a day reduced their risk of colorectal cancer by more than 20%. This was the first study that combined all five factors, because earlier studies had considered these factors individually in isolation from the others. It is not certain why following these recommendations helps to prevent colorectal cancer, but suffering from high insulin and diabetes are known risk factors for colorectal cancer. Lack of physical activity and obesity lead to high insulin states, that typically lead to the growth of cancer cells. The European study found that women who lost weight sufficient to reduce their waist size to 35 inches and men to reduce their waist size to 40 inches were in the healthy zone. In terms of alcohol consumption men who consumed no more that 14 drinks per week and women no more than 7 were also remained in the healthy zone. In summary seniors who want to take preemptive aging steps to foster their senior health would be well advised to implement these five lifestyle recommendations.
Can Green Tea Extract Provide Dual Anti-Aging Protection?
- Image via Wikipedia
Recent British research has shown that consuming green tea extract greatly increases the burning of fat and it additionally benefits insulin sensitivity in healthy men. In the study the men engaged in half an hour of moderate intensity exercise before and after taking the green tea extract or a placebo. In the case of the men who took the green tea extract their fat oxidation was more than 15% greater compared with the men who took the placebo. For the men who took the green tea extract their fat burning proved to be a larger contributor to their total energy expenditure.
In the second half of the study the researchers measured the subjects’ glucose tolerance before and after they consumed the green tea extract. The researchers found that after consuming the green tea extract the subjects showed improvements in insulin sensitivity. A similar study in Japan reported that adults suffering from visceral-type obesity showed reductions in body fat, blood pressure, and low density lipoprotein (LDL) after consuming a high-catechin green tea extract. The results of these two studies indicate that consuming green tea extract can provide anti-aging effects against both cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This is good news for seniors who are concerned with taking preemptive anti-aging steps to improve their senior health.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9046e495-d22d-493a-8388-f9db52be544f)
Supplements Support the Big Five Health Categories
- Image by vieux bandit via Flickr
During the last few years numerous articles have appeared in the popular press in favor of taking nutritional supplements and other against taking them. In the reports in professional literature from medical and nutritional professionals a very healthy majority of medical professionals that includes both doctors and nurses recommend supplements to their patients. More than 75% of physicians and more than 80% of nurses recommend that their patients use supplements in addition to consuming a healthy diet and engaging in exercise. Typically a majority of both nurses and doctors recommended that their patients take multivitamins.
The use of supplements was recommended for five big health categories including overall health, bone health, joint health, healthy cholesterol levels, and cardiovascular health. The doctors and nurses practiced what they preached, because a healthy majority of both reported using supplements themselves. Multivitamins were the most popular supplement used by the doctors. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about geting preemptive aging information so that they can take steps to improve their senior health.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=024e41bd-f6de-4ea5-9331-8f567704dd34)
Burn Off That Holiday Fat!
- Image by sirwiseowl via Flickr
During the holidays most of us manage to pack on a few extra pounds, because we like to enjoy ourselves when we are socializing with our friends and family members. Who can pass up those especially delicious desserts that are served up to celebrate the holidays? After the holiday feasting we need to take effective action to remove the weight we have added during the holidays. Amazingly enough we can achieve our goal of returning to our pre-holiday weight without resorting to drastic measures. Aerobic exercise is generally one of the means folks can employ to take off some of the fat they packed on during the holidays. For seniors walking or bicyling are fine exercises, but it turns out that walking or biking using the interval training approach provides a more rapid amount of fat-burning. In the interval training approach folks walk or bike a nearly their fastest pace for about 2 minutes and then walk at a slower pace for 3 minutes. This interval training type of walking apparently increases the amount of fat-burning enzymes. Compared with straight brisk aerobic walking or biking at about 70% of maximum heart rate, interval walking or biking folks lost nearly nine times as much fat and the fat-burning effects lasted for 24 hours. This is good news for seniors who are trying to take preemptive aging steps to enhance their senior health by participating in cardiovascular activities.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=a6b9df21-cf34-460c-959b-347387eadc59)
A Positive Attitude Is Healthy
- Image by ziga-zaga via Flickr
The list of preemptive aging remedies is long, but one obvious remedy is frequently overlooked. Most seniors know about the importance of eating healthy foods, frequently engaging in exercise, and taking supplements including vitamins and minerals designed for seniors. It turns out that a fourth category that can contribute mightily to fostering a healthy life is attitude. A negative, pessimistic attitude does not contribute to a healthy life, but a positive, optimistic attitude does contribute to a healthy life especially for senior health.
A number of studies have provided hard evidence that fostering a positive attitude promotes a healthy life. In one eight year study of nearly 100,000 women, the optimists reduced their risk of heart attacks by more than 15%. In an earlier study of about 1000 elderly folks in the Netherlands found a lower risk of death from heart disease among the optimists. The contrary was found to be true for the pessimists. In a long term 30 year study at the Mayo Clinic that tracked more than 800 patients the pessimists showed a 19% greater risk of an early death compared with the optimists. Researchers have not found a specific mechanism for optimism, because it takes different forms. In one form optimists do not dwell on life’s setbacks, but cultivate expectations of a positive future. Another form of optimism is manifested by folks who maintain a can-do attitude in the face of obstacles. Cultivating an optimistic, positive attitude toward life appears to provide an immune system boost that is vital for healthy senior living.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c5b12a24-9ba3-4e68-b817-acbbb76ca8fe)
Will Tart Cherry Juice Make Exercise Easier?
- Image by .Larry Page via Flickr
One of the pillars supporting healthy living is exercise for seniors, but many seniors find difficulty practicing the rule of frequent exercise. When folks were younger they found that they could exercise regularly without unpleasant consequences such as aching muscles. Muscles that are still aching from the last period of exercise tend to weaken the will to initiate a new round of needed exercise. A report this year from a meeting on sports medicine provides some very encouraging information for seniors in terms of a means to take the edge off aching muscles after exercising.
In two different tests folks who exercised by running and others that engaged in arm exercises were given tart cherry juice or a placebo for several weeks before their event. The exercisers who received the tart cherry juice reported significantly less pain following their long distance running event. The other group that engaged in arm exercises suffered from fibromyalgia showed better muscle strength and less pain after their exercise. The pain reduction due to consuming tart cherry juice could well be due to the well known anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of tart cherries. Seniors who consume tart cherry juice before exercising may find that it reduces their muscle pain after exercising. Taking the edge off post exercise muscle pain will foster regular exercise and promote senior health.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=cb47bb38-a4b0-4983-a0de-dd63302f70f3)
Preempt the Big 3 Diseases or Not?
- Image by lachshand via Flickr
With all the smoke and mirrors in the media about reforming health care maybe its time to take a new look or think out of our usual health care box. It turns out that there is a lot that ordinary folks can do to prevent or preempt diseases from ever getting started. This goes double for folks as we get older, because of the special issues that affect senior health. We can choose our lifestyle so that we head in a direction with a high probability of attaining greater health or in an opposite direction with an equal probability of coming down with one of the big three diseases. The big three killer diseases are in order diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Four straight forward lifestyle changes can reduce the probability of contracting one of the big three by 80%. These lifestyle changes will not raise your health insurance premiums, but in some cases may actually lower them.
The big four lifestyle changes are within the reach of most folks, but they do require serious commitment. They are not monumental challenges like trying to climb Mt. Everest and return safely. The alternatives for not embracing these changes are higher health insurance premiums for everyone, seriously degraded quality of life and early death. The big four lifestyle changes include eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking. As one motivation coach put it, “Where attention goes, energy flows, and the result shows”. This is something that we can do for ourselves and our country, because a healthy people make a country healthy and prosperous.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=54605206-4139-43b2-9b4a-ddd142ea2ee7)
Keep Your Muscles after 65!
- Image via Wikipedia
As adults grow older they lose the muscles that they had when they were younger, because their muscles shrink. Previous research has shown that seniors are less efficient at building muscle from food compared with the way they did when they were younger. Smaller, weaker muscles means less strength, but they also increase the probability of falling injuries that have a very negative impact on senior living. If that were not bad enough, recent research in England at the University of Nottingham has discovered more bad news that hinders seniors’ muscle building efforts. It turns out that the mechanism that blocks the breakdown of muscles does not work very effectively in folks over 65 years of age.
This discovery was made during a comparison study between 25-year-olds and folks in their late 60′s. The young people’s muscles were able to stop the muscle breakdown and the older folks’ muscles were not. The researchers also discovered that the older folks had a lower blood flow in their legs than the younger folks. One conclusion that the researchers drew from this finding was that the rate at which nutrients and hormones are supplied is lower for the older folks which may explain the cause of the declining muscles. The researchers performed a follow-up study in which the older folks performed at least three exercise sessions a week for 20 weeks. Instituting this weight training exercise for seniors was enough to increase the blood flow to the legs of the seniors until it was identical to the younger group. By increasing the blood flow to the legs of the seniors their muscle wasting was reversed.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6b97db82-c0a1-439d-b6fa-77b5504a991b)