Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
Pick the Right Type of Vitamin D
- Image by Thai Jasmine via Flickr
Recently the major health publications and the press have been promoting the significant health benefits that result when folks consume an adequate amount of vitamin D. Sadly some of the reports fail to identify the form of vitamin D that produces the better health results which are especially important for achieving senior health. The form of vitamin D that produces the better health results and last for a longer time is the same form that our bodies synthesize using sunshine. This is the form of vitamin D that is sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin” which is vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). The form of vitamin D that is often put in many multivitamins is the vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) form which is not utilized in our bodies as well as is the vitamin D3 form.
Seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to protect themselves against as many as 27 age-related diseases need to verify that they are getting the vitamin D3 form. This is particularly true in the winter months when the amount of sunshine is at its yearly lowest. Seniors who are deficient in blood levels of vitamin D3 are at greater risk to their cardiovascular health and to contracting cancers, particularly the hormonal ones.
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Increasing Prostate Awareness
Over the course of a lifetime, more than one in five males will have medical issues with their prostate. It’s important to be aware of potential risks of improper prostate health, and also to take precautions to ensure the well-being of your prostate. Ironically, maintaining a healthy prostate begins as easily as most other health improving practices; balanced diet. It’s important to avoid eating foods that are high in fat or cholesterol, and also to be sure to eat green vegetables when possible.
You can also increase prostate health by taking various vitamin supplements designed for men of all ages. The prostate can repair and prevent future damage with a correct allocation of vitamins and minerals.
How To Boost Immune System For Seniors
- Image by TeeJe (very slow link…) via Flickr
Spring will be starting soon and with the change in season come the typical colds and flu infections that tend to strike seniors particularly hard. The best defense to protect senior health is a good offense which means that seniors need to take the initiative to insure an immune system boost. A strong immune system is the best medicine to preempt the flu and colds that try to latch on to seniors. How to boost immune system is the subject of this post. The first step is to take the vitamins to boost immune system.
Vitamins C and E are two leading antioxidant vitamins that boost the immune system. A third vitamin that needs to be added is vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin. Two minerals that complement the vitamins are selenium and zinc. The members of the anti-inflammatory team are the omega-3 fatty acids, curcumin which is extracted from the spice tumeric, and bromelain which is extracted from pineapple. Two foods that are known to inhibit bacteria and viruses are garlic and green tea. Particularly in the case of seniors the supplement DHEA is known to boost the body’s immune system. Taken together the members of the immune boosting team can provide the means for building immune system for seniors against the respiratory infections that typically strike in the spring.
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Can Vitamin D Assist in The Rescue?
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In the case of a diagnosis of lymphoma standard medical treatments are available and are generally successful provided the type of lymphoma is correctly diagnosed and treatment initiated as soon as the disease is diagnosed. At a recent conference researchers reported on finding that vitamin D blood levels appeared to be predictive of survival by individuals who were being treated for lymphoma. In the study over 350 patients who had been diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma had their blood levels of vitamin D measured. About half the patients had levels below the minimum level for good health.
The group with the deficient levels of vitamin D showed a risk of disease progression that was 1.5 times greater than those patients with optimal levels of vitamin D. The patients with optimal levels had a 50% reduced risk of dying during the study compared with those with deficient levels. These results were reported for one study and one type of lymphoma which means that more research needs to be performed to validate these findings over a broader range of lymphomas. The good news for folks who are concerned about their senior health is that building up their vitamin D levels will probably insure that an optimal level of vitamin D will assist and complement any medical treatment that may be needed in the event that they contract a lymphoma. Optimal levels of vitamin D have already been shown to assist in the prevention and reduction of cancers other than lymphoma, so it is very probably that the same would apply in the case of lymphoma.
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Breast Cancer Prevention by A Dynamic Team
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The diagnosis of breast cancer is always dreaded, because it often results in death or severe disfigurement of the patient. Once breast cancer gets a foothold, it becomes very difficult to treat without negative side effects. Recent research at an American university has found a way to prevent breast cancer from developing and spreading the way its typically does. In lab tests they tried varying the concentrations of curcumin applied to cultured breast cells and compared the results against untreated cultured breast cells. They found that even at the lowest levels of curcumin the number of stem cells was reduced. The reduction in stem cells meant that the cancer could be prevented.
The researchers doubled the concentration of curcumin and achieved complete inhibition of the stem cells. In further tests they tried varying concentrations of piperine and achieved lower reductions in stem cells compared with curcumin. Finally they combined curcumin and piperine and achieved a reduction in the stem cells that was greater then that resulting from either piperine or curcumin alone. The combination of curcumin and piperine did not affect the normal development of the cells, but it reduced the stem cells that fuel breast cancer. Curcumin and piperine combine to form a dynamic team against breat cancer. These results are very encouraging, because they have opened a path to possibly preventing breast cancer without serious negative side effects. This is very good news for senior women who are concerned about fostering their senior health by taking preemptive measures against breast cancer.
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Supplements Support the Big Five Health Categories
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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.
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Sweeteners, Metabolism, and Senior Health.
- Image by Joshua Rappeneker via Flickr
At the beginning of the 20th Century table sugar (sucrose) was the main source of sweeteners in the diet of Americans. Sucrose is made up of 50% fructose and 50% glucose. Another sweetener that was not introduced until the 1970’s is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that has the same number of calories as sucrose, but can contain as much as 80% fructose and only 20% glucose. Up until the later part of the 20th Century folks consumed no more than about 15 grams of fructose per day that was obtained from fruits and vegetables. At the end of the 20th Century less than 30 years after the introduction of HFCS the daily consumption had suddenly jumped to over 80 grams of fructose per day. This change in the balance of fructose and glucose has had negative health consequences in terms of glucose metabolism that are a concern for anyone trying to improve their senior health.
Parallel with this fivefold increase in the consumption of fructose has been the appearance of a number of unhealthy symptoms in the general population that are typical of an unbalanced metabolism. Our bodies are used to a sweetener with a 50/50 balance of sucrose and glucose, but the current high dietary intake of HFCS has upset that balance. The typical high intake of fructose which is found in all soft drinks and 40% of the sweeteners added to foods and beverages should be of concern for seniors who are concerned about avoiding diabetes. This imbalance of fructose upsets the metabolism of glucose in the liver and can induce insulin resistance that is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes. For seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps against developing diabetes, eliminating or at least seriously reducing their intake of fructose by avoiding foods and beverages containing HFCS is a high priority.
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Save Your Senior Skin
- Image via Wikipedia
As we age some changes in our skin are inevitable, but if we learn to take care of our skin we can maintain a more optimum skin function as well as appearance. Seniors definitely need to protect their skin from the sun between the hours of 10 AM and 3 PM standard time, because that is when the ultraviolet radiation from the Sun is the most intense. It is during those hours when exposed skin will suffer additional damage even if it is already spotted or wrinkled due to aging. Exposure between 10 and 3 increases the risk of developing skin cancer, too.
Several means can be used to protect the skin during that time; wearing protective clothing and applying sunscreen with a high sun protection factor (SPF) at least 30 will help. Exposure to the Sun before 10 AM and after 3 PM for about 20 minutes will allow our bodies to generate vitamin D the ’sunshine vitamin’ that we need for our good health. For some seniors this type of brief expose may not be effective, but they can check with their physicians about supplementing with vitamin D3, in order to maintain a healthy level of that vitamin. Vitamin D is needed to promote senior health by providing preemptive aging support against more than 25 age related diseases.
Seniors can take additional steps to protect the condition of their skin. Gentle washing with warm, not hot water is important. Using a mild soap like a glycerin soap is very helpful, too. Finally after bathing and patting the skin dry, apply a moisturizing lotion to the skin. The final word about taking care to save senior skin is to drink lots of water.
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Seniors Can Reduce the Risk of Diabetes
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A recent study in Europe reported that folks who had a higher level of vitamin C in their systems had a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study included more than 21,000 participants who began the study as nondiabetic participants. At the start of the study their vitamin C levels were measured and they answered dietary questionaires. At the end of the study which lasted lasted 12 years slightly more than 300 woman and 400 men had developed diabetes. In terms of the levels of risk of developing diabetes, those participants who ranked in the top 20% of the vitamin C levels had more than a 60% lower risk of developing diabetes when compared with those in the lowest 20%. In addition those with the higher intakes of fruits and vegetables showed lower risks of developing diabetes compared with those with the lower intakes of vegetables and fruits. The researchers concluded that the results of this study provides strong evidence of the benefits of vitamin C along with a high intake of fruits and vegetables for lowering the risk of developing diabetes. This is wonderful news for seniors who are concerned about fostering senior health by lowering their risk of developing diabetes.
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Dynamic Combo Defeats Atherosclerosis
- Image via Wikipedia
The nutrition health literature is full of reports about the health benefits of drinking green tea. The polyphenols in green tea are known to contribute to cardiovascular health. Olive oil which is used in the Mediterranean diet is known to contribute to preventing cardiovascular disease. In a recent study olive oil and green tea polyphenols were used in lab tests to study the heart healthy effects of olive oil versus the effects of combining olive oil with green tea polyphenols. Earlier research had shown that consuming extra-virgin olive oil raised the level of the beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL) which benefits cardiovascular health by removing potentially harmful cholesterol from the bloodstream. Olive oil is known to produce a second heart healthy effect which is the reduction of lipid peroxidation.
In the study olive oil increased the removal of cholesterol by more than 40%. When the extra-virgin olive oil was combined with the green tea polyphenols the cholesterol removal was increased by more than 135% compared with a placebo. In terms of reducing atheriosclerosis, olive oil by itself reduced the size of the atherioschlerotic lesions by more than 10% and the dynamic combo of olive oil and green tea polyphenols achieved a 20% reduction.
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