Archive for the ‘Senior’ Category
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.
Mediterranean Diet Lowers Seniors Cholesterol
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The popular health news reports are typically full of suggestions that are designed to lower your cholesterol. Usually they do not tell you about the form of cholesterol of LDL cholesterol that is more likely to cause the health problems that lead to heart attacks or strokes. The type of LDL cholesterol that is the deadly form is oxidized cholesterol. The oxidized cholesterol is the form that typically causes the process that leads to narrowing of the arteries that results in heart attacks or strokes later as the narrowing or clogging of the arteries increases. Seniors who are concerned about fostering their cardiovascular health want to take preemptive antiaging steps to protect their senior health. Here is the good news for seniors who have these concerns. The Mediterranean Diet provides a tasty, healthy path for seniors to preempt the development of the deadly oxidized cholesterol. The Mediterranean Diet does this through the foods that it provides. It stresses eating more vegetables, nuts, herbs, and fish. It uses virgin olive oil for cooking. It suggests eating more white meat instead of red meat or processed meat. For those who drink alcohol it recommends drinking moderate amounts of red wine. In a recent study that involved over 370 seniors, those who followed the Mediterranean Diet showed a significant decline in their levels of oxidized cholesterol compared with the seniors who just followed a low fat diet.
Save Your Senior Brains
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As we age seniors face the threat of diminished mental capacity that range from some diminished mental capacity to the dreaded Alzheimer disease. These diminishments are linked to changes in senior brains due to aging. Seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to protect their brains have a way to take such a preemptive aging step. The good news for seniors is that a single vitamin has a long history of providing support for the aging brains of seniors. The vitamin is commonly called niacinamide which is a type of vitamin B3. Beginning in the 1940s, clinical research into nurturing the brains of seniors led to the discovery that niacinamide removed or improved symptoms such as memory impairment, unwarranted anxiety, and unreasonable annoyance. This is very good good news for seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health by protecting and nurturing their brains. Preliminary results of using niacinimide with patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease has shown very good promise in terms of mitigating the effects of that disease in seniors. It appears that the patients who took it in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s benefited the most.
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.
Preempt Cancer with Green Tea & Mushrooms
Recent research in an international cancer journal reported that women who ate mushrooms daily reduced their risk of developing breast cancer by more than 60%. This high level of risk reduction was reported after adjusting for variables such as smoking, overeating, exercise, etc. This research was performed on over 2,000 women in an Asian country of whom half had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The study showed that eating the plain button mushroom was sufficient to provide this high level of risk reduction. The better results were obtained by consuming fresh button mushrooms rather that the dried mushrooms. This is good news for senior women who are concerned about taking preemptive steps to protect their senior health. The researchers identified a substance in the mushrooms that they suspect may provide the key to reducing the risk of breast cancer. The substance called linoleic acid may be that key, because it inhibits aromatase activity that is linked to producing estrogen. It is known that high estrogen levels have been shown to be a risk factor for breast cancer. On top of this good news about the benefits of consuming button mushrooms the researchers added more good news. They found that the women who added drinking green tea to their button mushroom diet achieved a risk reduction of nearly 90% against developing breast cancer.
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.
Ginger A Spice for Senior Health
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Ginger’s health benefits have been known from the beginning of civilization. References to the use of ginger have been found in the writings of most ancient societies such as the Chinese, Indian, and Roman societies. Ginger tastes good, smells exotic, and provides proven medicinal benefits. It turns out that ginger contains powerful phenolic compounds that have been studied for their benefits over a wide range of illnesses and ailments. The spice ginger contains a number of powerful antioxidants including gingerols, shogaols, and zingerone. These antioxidants have been linked to providing relief for ailments from bronchitis, upper respiratory tract infections, motion sickness, rheumatoid arthritis to colon and ovarian cancer. Several studies documented the relief from the pain and lack of mobility resulting from their previously debilitating arthritis. Another study measured the effect of red ginger on reducing acute and chronic inflammation.
Additional studies revealed that the gingerol in the spice ginger showed anti-inflammatory effects and antitumorigenic effects against colon cancer. In the animal study the growth of the colon cancer tumor was suppressed due to the action of gingerol. In another study gingerol showed the ability to kill ovarian cancer cells, but did it in a way the cancer cells did not become resistant to its anticancer properties which has been the case with some chemotherapy agents. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about their senior health, because they can include fresh ginger in their choice of spices.
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.
Don’t Forget the B Vitamins!
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The health publications often point out to us the importance of taking the A, C, and D vitamins, but what about the B vitamins? The labels on the multivitamins list various B vitamins in their ingredients, but they don’t tell you what health benefits they bring to the seniors who take them for their health. It turns out that some of the latest research on vitamin B6, B12, and folic acid (vitamin B9) has uncovered numerous health benefits that improve our health and the health of seniors in particular. Major benefits conferred on seniors by the Big 3 Bs include contributing to the prevention of cardiovascular disease, to the reducing the risk of cancer, and lowering the risk of osteoporosis. Complementary benefits of the B vitamins for seniors include contributing to improved mental ability, to decreasing the risk of developing macular degeneration, to boosting the energy level, to elevating the mood level, and to mitigating allergies. A final benefit that is like the frosting on senior’s health cake is the research that indicates that one member of the Big 3 Bs improves longevity. The B vitamins are particularly important for senior women, because they reduce the risk of breast cancer by 38% and other cancers by 25%. The Big 3 Bs definitely improve cardiovascular health for both senior men and women by lowering the level of homocysteine.
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.
