Archive for the ‘Senior’ 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.
Seniors Need Vitamin D in the Winter
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During the winter months the Sun is low in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere which means that we receive very little sunlight and almost none of the UV that we need to synthesize vitamin D in our skin. For folks who do not move to sunny southern locations during the winter there is a solution to raising their level of vitamin D, the ‘sunshine vitamin’. The sunshine vitamin is currently available in supplement form in doses of 1,000 IU to 5,000 IU. To give folks an idea of suitable level of the vitamin D supplement, just 20 minutes spent in the summer sun will typically generate about 10,000 IU of vitamin D. The technical name for the sunshine vitamin is cholecalciferol which is also designated vitamin D3. It is no surprise that folks typically do not come down with the flu in the summertime, but when winter arrives the flu comes right along and infects those whose immune systems are weak. By supplementing with vitamin D3 in during the winter seniors can take a preemptive aging step to strengthen their immune system against the winter flu.
Drinking Green Tea Builds Immunity to the Flu
We are are in the middle of October this autumn, but it is an excellent idea to begin to build up our senior immune systems against the coming flu season. Beside the well known natural substances that have been proven to boost immunity, such as the vitamins C and D, a new arrival has entered the immunity field. When coupled with the old standbys vitamin C and D, this new arrival can form a strong, synergistic immunity team to fight the winter flu viruses. The new arrival on our immunity team is Green Tea taken daily. Substances in the Green Tea appear to act in a way similar to the substance in the flu drugs Relenza and Tamiflu that fight the flu. A recent study conducted in Asia reported that folks who consumed green tea at least six days a week reduced their risk of contracting flu by more that 45%. Using all the members of the immunity team will provide an immune system boost for seniors.
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.
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.
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.
