Archive for the ‘Prostate’ 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.
Flax Hull Lignan Routs Cancers
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Seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health by taking preemptive aging steps against cancer will be encouraged to learn that nature has provided a remedy in the hulls of flax seeds. Recent research has verified that the lignans in the hulls of flax seeds provide three way protection against a number of cancers, particularly hormonal cancers including both breast and prostate cancers. It turns out that the SDG lignan found in flax hulls supplies the anti-cancer ingredient that has shown success in preventing those cancers from starting, slowing them down after they have already started, and preventing them from recurring by keeping them in remission. Numerous former cancer patients have reported that the flax hull SDG has kept them health by keeping their cancers in remission. Those former cancer patients had been afflicted with stomach cancer, basal cell skin cancer, lymphoma, and bladder cancer. For senior women who want to take preemptive steps against breast cancer taking the SDG lignan found in flax hulls is a very good choice. Similarly for senior men who are concerned about fostering their prostate health taking the SDG lignan found in flax hulls is a very healthy choice.
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.
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.
Curcumin Can Preempt Senior Illnesses
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In the US cancer is the second leading cause of death. As we age the risk of contracting cancer increases. Seniors who are concerned about their senior health are wise to take preemptive steps to lower their risk of developing cancer. It turns out that in terms of cancer prevention there is a multimodal cancer-preventing agent known as curcumin. Curcumin is derived from the Indian spice tumeric. In 2010 the multimodal cancer-preventing capabilities of curcumin were reported in more than 230 published studies. Curcumin provides several active components which contribute to its cancer-preventing and anti-inflammatory power. The studies revealed that curcumin can target ten different factors that cause cancer to develop. In the case of hormone-negative breast cancers, curcumin has been shown to induce programmed cell death of those cancers. This is good news for senior women. Curcumin has shown similar success in the case of prostate cancer which is a threat to senior men. It turns out that curcumin can provide help to prevent prostate cancer from starting. In the case of prostate cancer that has already begun curcumin can interfere with the growth of that cancer in multiple modes. This is very good news fro senior men who are concerned about taking preemptive steps to protect their prostate health.
Prostate Health and Vitamin D3
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At this time of year we are living in the dark days of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The amount of sunlight that shines on our uncovered skin is but a fraction that we experience during the summer months. This lack of sunlight can have unwanted effects on men’s prostate health, because the vitamin D that our bodies make in response to the ultraviolet light in sunlight is greatly reduced. Although it is called vitamin D, it is really a hormone that interacts with more than two thousand genes in our bodies. In terms of our health vitamin D has been shown to support the prevention of certain cancers including cancers of the prostate, breast, pancreas, and colon. Many medical studies performed to date indicate that it is better to have more when it comes to the level of vitamin D in the blood. For men prostate cancer is in third place behind heart attacks and lung cancer in terms of the number of disease initiated deaths. Exposure to sunlight that allows our bodies to make our own vitamin D3 has been shown to reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer by more than 65% for men who had the highest exposure to sunlight. In the winter months the lack of sunlight can be compensated by supplementing with vitamin D3 which is readily available. This is good news for seniors who want to take preemptive aging steps to foster their prostate health.
Healthy Senior Hearts – From Fish to Nuts!
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Most health conscious seniors are well aware of he many benefits of the omega-3s fats from fish which are the richest source of the omega-3s. The omega-3s were discovered in the 1970’s when researchers figured out that the Eskimos in Greenland ate a high fat fish based diet, but very seldom developed heart disease. Many additional studies have been conducted by both the FDA and the American Heart Association that have confirmed the benefits of eating oily fish or consuming fish oil. It turns out that in addition to fish there are plant sources of omega-3s. The plant sources include flaxseeds, flax oil, and chia seeds. They provide alpha-lineolic acid (ALA) which our bodies convert to the EPA and DHA forms that are found in fish. Other good foods sources of ALA are pumpkin seeds and walnuts. The list of benefits is long and impressive. Here are some of the highlights. The omega-3s are known to improve cardiovascular health, to provide relief from inflammatory diseases, to raise the levels of the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, and to lower the levels of the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. This is good news for seniors who are looking for preemptive aging information that they can implement to enhance their senior health.
The Dynamic Duo of Vitamin E for Seniors
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Today most multivitamin supplements contain vitamin E, but seniors need to read the small print. The small print says the vitamin E in most multivitamins is just the alpha tocopherol component. It turns out that nature provides all the components of vitamin E. Our human bodies evolved using the natural vitamin E from nuts and certain fruits and vegetables, so we will not be as healthy getting only part of the whole vitamin E. Seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health need to get another component of vitamin E, the gamma component. It is called gamma tocopheral and it is very important that seniors get enough of the gamma if they are taking a multivitamin with just the alpha tocopherol. This is certainly true for senior men and is probably true for senior women. Studies have shown that senior men who do not get the gamma component, but only the alpha component are at risk for their prostate health, because their bodies require a balance of both the gamma and alpha components of vitamin E. Further studies have shown that the gamma component provides protection against cancer and cardiovascular disease. The alpha component provides powerful antioxidant for the body. The gamma component provides superior anti-inflammatory and gene regulatory activities. The good news for seniors is that certain tasty foods such as sunflower seed kernels, avocado, and asparagus provide both all the components of vitamin E which include both the alpha and gamma components. Special supplements are also available that contain multiple components of vitamin E.
Selenium Lowers Prostate Cancer Risk.
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During the last few years researchers have been debating the value of achieving higher serum selenium levels in order to lower the risk of prostate cancer. Earlier research did not find any benefit in reducing the risk of prostate cancer as a result of attaining higher serum selenium levels. A very recent publication in a journal devoted to cancer this September detailed results that were obtained by comparing the serum selenium levels of men with prostate cancer and those who were free of that cancer. The study included more than 490 men without prostate cancer and more than 240 men with prostate cancer. The researchers grouped the men into four different groups based on their serum selenium levels. The men with the higher serum selenium levels showed a measurable reduction in prostate cancer risk. Men who were in the third highest group in terms of serum selenium levels showed a 39% reduction in the risk of prostate cancer. This is good news for senior men who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to foster their prostate health. Foods that supply selenium include wheat germ, bran, tuna fish, onions tomatoes, and broccoli.
Seniors Need Full Spectrum Vitamin E
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The health news regularly includes articles that claim that vitamin E is very good for our health, but the articles tend to be a little slim on providing the details that can make a real difference in getting the form of vitamin E that is genuinely healthful for seniors. Seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to benefit their senior health require more than the typical form of vitamin E found in most supplements. Many multivitamins contain vitamin E, but typically they contain only the form known as alpha tocopherol. This alpha tocopherol is the principal component in vitamin E that supports our health, but it is not the only form that is necessary for senior men and most likely for senior women, too. The vitamin E found in foods such as sunflower seed kernels, avocados, and asparagus contains all the components of vitamin E which number at least eight. For senior men research has found that in addition to the alpha component they need the gamma component, in order to ensure their prostate health. It would not be surprising to discover that senior women need the gamma component to insure the health of their breasts and reproductive organs. It turns out that for senior men the lack of the gamma component of vitamin E can have a very negative effect on their prostate health.
