Archive for the ‘Health’ 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.
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.
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.
Is Vitamin D Really a Cancer Fighter?
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The information being published about vitamin D in the health media are generally very favorable about encouraging folks to make certain that they get sufficient vitamin D. It turns out that vitamin D is not really a vitamin, but it is a hormone that interacts with more than two thousand genes in our bodies. We have vitamin D receptors everywhere in our bodies. In terms of cellular health vitamin D has been shown to support the prevention of certain cancers including cancers of the prostate, breast, pancreas, and colon. All the medical studies performed to date indicate that more is better when it comes to the level of vitamin D in the blood.
For example in the case of breast cancer, women who are deficient in vitamin D when they are diagnosed with cancer are more than 70% more likely to die of it compared with women with sufficient levels of vitamin D. After heart disease, breast cancer is the deadliest killer of women in the United States. Exposure to the sun and a vitamin D rich diet significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer for women.
For men only heart attacks and lung cancer claim more men that prostate cancer. Exposure to sunlight that allows our bodies to make our own vitamin D has been shown to reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer by more than 65% for men who had the highest exposure to sunlight. Those men who had the lowest exposure to sunlight were three times more likely to develop prostate cancer. This is good news for seniors who want to take preemptive aging steps to foster their prostate health.
Senior Men Can Enjoy Avocadoes for Prostate Health
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This post is written for senior men who are concerned about promoting their prostate health and avoiding the effects of prostate cancer. Two of the possible paths taken by a developing prostate cancer include either the path of androgen-dependent or the path of androgen-independent cancer cells. Both of them will result in deadly consequences unless they are stopped. Current therapies can target the androgen-dependent prostate cancer cells and delay them in the short term. Androgen-independent cancer cells are much more difficult to treat and they tend to metastasize. What is needed is a way to inhibit the growth of both types of cancer cells.
It turns out that there appears to be some genuine hope on the horizon for senior men in terms of reducing their risk of prostate cancer. Recent research at the University of California has found that avocadoes are loaded with nutrients that promote prostate health and inhibit the growth of both the androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer cells. Avocadoes are loaded with carotenoids including lutein, zeaxanthin, alpha-carotene, and beta carotene. They also contain a significant amount of vitamin E and they are a source of monosaturated fatty acids. Apparently the fatty acids assist the absorption of the carotenoids into the blood. The researchers discovered that extracts of the carotenoids and vitamin E from avocadoes inhibited the growth of both the androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer cells.
Walk Frequently for Senior Health.
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The latest statistics show that about 50% of American adults to not engage in exercise despite the common knowledge that exercise is very beneficial for a healthy life. Seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to foster their senior health need to take the big important step of exercising frequently. It turns out that one of the simplest exercises that many seniors can perform is walking. For seniors even walking slowly can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Obviously walking farther, faster, and more frequently will provide greater benefits for senior health. It turns out that walking is a generally ideal exercise for many seniors, because it can be tailored to each person’s ability and needs.
Walking at any level of exertion will increase breathing and heart rate which will improve the health of the entire circulatory system including the heart. Walking regularly will generally improve balance, coordination, and leg muscle strength. A recent study reported that very senior men who walked more than two miles a day reduced their risk of dying by 50% compared with those who walked less than a mile every day. It turns out that walking which improves cardiovascular health usually results in attaining a healthy weight, because obesity is the enemy of good health. Obesity is linked to cardiovascular disease and many cancers. Among the cancers that strike seniors breast cancer afflicts women and prostate cancer afflicts men. Walking can promote a healthy weight, prostate health in men, and breast health in women.
Can Sunlight Reduce Cancer Risk?
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About 30 years ago a research paper was published that raised the question of the connection between sunlight and reduction of cancer risk. The paper elaborated on the obvious conclusion that followed from sunlight’s effect on humans ability to synthesize vitamin D in its golden presence. The data that triggered the study was geographical data of the incidence of cancers across the United States of America. The southern half of the USA had a lower death rate from cancer than the northern half, but the northeast had the highest rates. For example its rates for colon cancer were twice as high as the southwest region. At the time it was published most of the medical establishment rejected it, but today the paper’s conclusion about the benefit of vitamin D for reducing the risk of cancer have been validated by many medical studies.
The best known studies include breast cancer and colon cancer, but other studies have validated the benefits of adequate vitamin D for 17 other cancers including prostate cancer. It is estimated that if everyone maintained even moderate levels of vitamin D that the deaths from many common cancers would be reduced by about 60%. For folks such as seniors who do not absorb the sun very well and those who live in a region where the sun is not high in the sky, supplements are available. This is very good news for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive steps against cancer to protect their senior health. In particular senior women can reduce their risk of breast cancer and senior men can protect their prostate health by supplementing with vitamin D.
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