Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
Black Tea Aids Healthy Blood Sugar Levels
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The health literature is full of glowing reports about the many health benefits of drinking green tea, but what about the other tea, black tea? It turns out that it can provide a number of health benefits, too. Both types of tea contain polyphenols that are generally regarded as the substance that has been source of the teas’ historic ability to alleviate a wide range of medical ailments. Recent university research on nutrition reported that the polysccharides from black tea might moderate the spike in sugar levels that typically follow a meal. This report is good news for folks who are struggling to manage pre-diabetes or diabetes.
The researchers studied three types of tea including black, green, and oolong tea. All three were rich in polysaccharides, but they discovered that the black tea’s polysaccharides had a unique feature that made it better suited to support the body’s own function that reduces the spike in glucose levels in the blood after a meal. The lower molecular weight of the black tea’s polysaccharides is suspected to be the cause of its enhanced ability to lower the post meal spike in the glucose levels. Based on this research black tea has the potential to provide a natural glucose inhibitor against diabetes that will be a genuine benefit to senior health. For seniors drinking black tea after meals can provide a preemptive aging effect against diabetes.
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The Top Foods To Boost Immune System
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With the imminent arrival of winter, folks have major health concerns about contracting colds and the flu, especially the H1N1 flu. Instead of waiting until a cold or the flu has already arrived and is causing illness, why not take preemptive measures before any respiratory infection occurs. It turns out that a number of common foods can provide an immune system boost. More than a dozen are included among the top immune system booster foods. For breakfast orange juice and oatmeal are first class contributors to a healthy immune system. The oats are a source of beta glucans an immunity system booster and orange juice supplies more than the daily requirement for vitamin C. Pouring milk fortified with vitamin D over the oatmeal will provided additional strength to the immune system to prevent upper respiratory infections. To provide further protection drink a cup of black tea and continue through the day, because black tea builds up your immune system’s T cells into super T cells that end up successfully fighting flu and cold infections.
Later in the day you can snack on yogurt that has been fortified with Lactobacillus acidophilus as well as Bifidus and L. rhamnosus, because they appear to stimulate the white-blood cells that fight infection. For lunch make sure that you include chicken soup several times a week, because it thins mucus and relieves the symptoms of a stuffy nose. By adding garlic and onions you can increase the immune boosting strength of the soup. The allicin in garlic is a strong bacteria fighter. For dinner a soup of clam chowder or oyster stew will provide selenium that helps the white blood cells fight viruses. For the main course make certain to include some fish like salmon, mackerel or herring in order to get the benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids that boost the activity of the cells that eat up the bacteria. For dessert a slice of pumpkin pie with black tea can round out the day. The pumpkin contains abundant vitamin A that will combine with zinc from the shellfish like oysters to fight infection.
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A Positive Attitude Is Healthy
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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.
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Draino For Your Arteries
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One of the major health hazards that seniors face is clogged arteries that reduce blood circulation and can result in heart attacks. Relief may be available by adding a green vegetable to your diet to improve your cardiovascular health. In a recent study in London that was funded by a British Heart Foundation researchers discovered that a compound found in broccoli provided protection against clogging of arteries. The compound that protected arteries from clogging is called sulforaphane.
Sulforaphane is found naturally in boroccoli. It turns out that sulforophane is capable of activating a key protein that prevents clogging of arteries. In the absence of sulforophane the key protein, Nrf2, is inactive which allows the part of the arteries that are vulnerable to become clogged. The sulforophane used in the research was a purified form that allowed the researchers to highlight the protective effect on arteries. The next stage of the research will be focused on determining the effect of the sulforophane as it is found naturally in vegetables such as broccoli.
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Will Tart Cherry Juice Make Exercise Easier?
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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.
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Why Increase Your Potassium Intake?
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Recent studies of the typical American diet revealed that most Americans are consuming only 50-70% of the amount of potassium recommended by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine. The recommended amount of potassium is 4.7 grams/day. This is amount of daily potassium is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but most Americans are not getting even this minimum amount. Most Americans are nutritionally deficient in potassium. One result of this potassium deficiency is that the same folks are inverting the potassium/sodium ratio in their diet. This inversion of the potassium/sodium ratio can have negative consequences for senior living.
Seniors who increase the potassium intake in their diet by consuming potassium rich foods can usually preempt the decreased muscle strength that is typically observed in older women and men. Maintaining muscle performance is vital for senior health, in order for seniors to enjoy their golden years. Restoring the dietary potassium/sodium ratio by increasing the potassium intake to at least the minimum level recommended level of 4.7 grams/day will contribute to enhanced muscle performance in seniors.
Seniors can increase their potassium intake by consuming potassium rich foods such as fruits, leafy green vegetables, vegetable fruits, and roots.
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Try Foods Before Moisturizers
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Every day we are bombarded with ads that promise to remove the wrinkles that typically accompany aging. These ads show the before and after pictures of folks who improved their skin’s appearance by using the vendor’s anti-aging moisturizer product. Unfortunately the same folks who pay top dollar for the moisturizing products typically sabotage their plan for younger looking skin by consuming foods that contribute heavily to causing the wrinkling of their skin. For example consuming products with refined sugar very often causes a sudden jump in blood sugar levels. These sudden increases in blood sugar levels induce inflammation and aging of skin. Simple carbohydrates convert easily to sugar and contribute their share of skin aging which includes adding deeper wrinkles and sagging skin to the detriment of senior health. Limiting consumption of simple carbohydrates and refined sugar must be the first step in promoting younger looking skin.
On the positive side folks can select from over seven different groups of tasty foods that promote healthy, younger looking skin by providing antioxidants. At the head of the list is the berry family whose members are loaded with antioxidants. They include blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, pomegranate, cherries, and acai berries. Next is the yellow and orange root vegetable family that includes sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, and pumpkins. Joining the healthy skin team are the red vegetables which include tomatoes, red and pink grapefruit, and watermelon that supply lycopene which provides the antioxidants to fight the free radicals. These vegetables inhibit sun-induced skin aging. The green vegetables spinach and kale provide antioxidants and enhance skin hydration. Onions, garlic, and scallions are good for your skin and they provide an immune system boost. The list would not be complete without including salmon that provides excellent protein and omega-3 oils. The texture of your skin will show the positive result of consuming salmon on a regular basis. Rounding out the healthy skin team remember to drink lots of green tea and water, but limit drinks with caffeine, because it tends to dehydrate skin. The water hydrates your skin and the green tea provides special antioxidants.
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Preempt the Big 3 Diseases or Not?
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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.
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Can Vitamin D Bind the H1N1 Flu?
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By all indications the H1N1 Flu is already beginning to pay a return visit to the Northern Hemisphere. In the USA the Government is promising that a vaccine will be ready in time to head off the H1N1 and protect us from the consequences of this disease this fall of 2009. Due to the short time required to prepare the new, H1N1 vaccine we do not know how well it will work in the general public. The second issue that has been raised concerns the availability of and accessibility to the vaccine by the general public. Putting all our hope on this new, H1N1 vaccine to provide protection from the H1N1 flu is like putting all our health protection in one basket. Common sense says that we should have a layered defense in place that will preempt the H1N1 flu. The key to such a layered defense will be to take steps that will strengthen a weakened immune system.
Taking the path to boost immune system has strong support from diverse groups that are concerned about preventing the spread of the H1N1 flu. An agency of the Canadian Government is studying the role of vitamin D in preventing the onset or mitigating the severity of the flu infection. Numerous studies have shown that a deficiency of vitamin D is linked to influenza infections. The Harvard Medical School, that normally recommends getting vitamins through food, makes an exception for supplementing with vitamin D. The good news is that the vitamin D supplements that duplicate the form D3 made by our bodies in sunlight are very inexpensive. The D3 form that is more readily absorbed by our bodies is preferred over the less potent form D2. Together with eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep, supplementing with vitamin D3 will support a layered defense against infection by the H1N1 flu.
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Keep Your Muscles after 65!
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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.
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