Archive for January, 2010
Step Into The Light
Everybody should be concerned about his or her health. With information readily available nobody should be left in the dark about their particular health issues. One group who really needs more information about their health is the elderly and, luckily, there is a wealth of information on independent living for seniors.
Elderly health information should be sought out because a lot of medical issues arise and get complicated when we get older. One of the concerns raised is the depletion of glutathione levels in the body as we age. Other factors are stress, exercise, injury and environmental toxins. But with glutathione supplements, we can easily increase the glutathione levels in our body. This can boost our immune system and fight off the damage of free radicals on the cells. We will feel and stay young longer with the supplements.
Spice For Fostering Seniors’ Memory
- Image by iwishmynamewasmarsha via Flickr
This spice has been used medicinally throughout history in China and India. Both its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects are well known. The folks in India have used it for centuries as both a spice and food preservative. This spice which is a member of the ginger family is the well known spice with the deep-yellow color called turmeric from which curcumin is derived. Curcumin is a multitalented healthy spice because of its many “anti” properties that include antimicrobial, antitumoral, and anticoagulant to mention just a few. In India the seniors who live in the rural districts have the lowest rates of Alzheimer’s disease in the world which is of particular significance for senior health. Recent medical research in America showed in animal tests that those on diets with curcumin showed large reductions in amyloid and other markers for inflammation of the brain.
At the present time while drugs are being developed to combat Alzheimer’s disease seniors can chose to follow the example of the seniors in rural India and add turmeric to your foods. It will spice up your meals and you might find that you develop a taste for Indian curry and dishes prepared with turmeric. Alternately supplements are available with curcumin extracted from tumeric. The better supplements include bromelain or piperine to assist in absorption of curcumin.
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Reduce Inflammation With These Tools.
- Image by .Larry Page via Flickr
Reducing inflammation is one of the best ways for seniors to reduce their risk of heart attacks, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. It is true that inflammation is a positive part of the healing process, but this type of inflammation is a short term, intense process, not a long term, low level process that upsets our immune system. It turns out that a number of vitamins and minerals can make strong contributions to reducing low level inflammation. These minerals and vitamins have been shown to reduce CRP levels that are a marker for cardiovascular disease.
The vitamins C, D, folic acid, and niacin are four that offer the most reduction of inflammation. Among the spices tumeric and ginger both provide strong anti-inflammatory compounds. Among the flavonoids, quercetin is one with the strongest anti-inflammatory activity. Other sources of flavonoids include red onions, apples, and both green and black tea, as well as the cruciferous vegetables, dark chocolate, red wine, all citrus fruits, and nuts like almonds and pecans. Finally berries of almost all types provide polyphenols that provide anti-inflammatory activity. It turns out that tart cherries score very high on anti-inflammatory activity.
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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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Green Tea Extract For Blood Glucose Control
- Image via Wikipedia
Recently a study about the effects of green tea extract on blood glucose control was conducted in the Far East. The study was conducted over a four month period in the following manner. The participants include both men and women who showed elevated blood glucose levels prior to the start of the study. The volunteers were divided into two groups such that one group drank a supplement of green tea extract every day for two months and then ceased taking the supplement for two months. The second group followed the same schedule but in reverse order. Prior to the initiation of the study all the volunteers were borderline diabetics or prediabetic. Their blood glucose levels measured at the start of the study provided the baseline against which any changes would be compared. The blood glucose levels were measured using the hemoglobin A1c levels.
The first group that started taking the green tea extract saw a reduction in their hemoglobin A1c levels. This group started at a baseline of 6.2% which declined to 5.9% after two months. Their levels continued to decline to 5.8% after two more months during which time they did not supplement with the green tea extract. For the second group that delayed two months before starting to take the green tea extract the results were nearly as good with the hemoglobin levels coming in at 6.1%, 6.1% and 5.9%. Healthy hemoglobin levels range from 4% to 5.9%, so supplementing with green tea extract modulated the long-term control of blood glucose. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about their senior health in regard to controlling their blood glucose levels and avoiding diabetes.
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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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Preemptive Steps Against Cardiovascular Disease
- Image via Wikipedia
The modern drugs that are used to treat cardiovascular disease are well known, but the modern nutritional approach to preempt cardiovascular disease is not as well known. The term cardiovascular disease is a very general term used to cover a set of conditions that are ultimately caused by atherosclerosis. Until recently atherosclerosis was simply known as “hardening of the arteries” that appeared in folks who ate too much fat and got too little exercise. Today it is known that one of the earliest triggers for artherosclerosis is oxidant damage to fat molecules. This damage alerts the immune system that swings into action, but one of the results is inflammation. These are the initial steps in a cascade of events that produce the deadly final stage of cardiovascular disease.
The medical countermeasures against cardiovascular disease are aimed at establishing the proper balance between the levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and the low-density lipoproteins (LDL). Typically this means increasing the HDLs and decreasing the LDLs and triglycerides. It turns out that recent medical research has discovered a “third great wave” of cardiovascular disease prevention in terms of anti-inflammatory agents and antioxidants. This new approach offers the same benefits as the earlier approaches, but with far fewer side effects which is good news for promoting senior health against cardiovascular disease.
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Seniors Can Reduce the Risk of Diabetes
- Image by val’sphotos via Flickr
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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The Red Super Food
- Image via Wikipedia
It is well known that certain members of the berry family are super stars when it comes to nutrition. One member of that family stands out from the rest, because of its sheer potency for fighting a variety of diseases and health issues. The good news is that the popular strawberry provides such a variety of health benefits from improving heart health to combating inflammation. It is known to protect cognitive function which is so important for senior living. Strawberries can deliver these diverse health benefits, because of their dense phenol content. The bright red color of strawberries is due to the presence of phenols known as anthocyanins. The anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants that defend the organs of the body. Another phenol found in large amounts in strawberries are known as ellagitannin that has antioxidant and anti-proliferative poperties. Strawberries are high in vitamin C, folate and potassium which when combined with the ellagitannin and anthocyanins put them near the top of the list among fruits for antioxidants. The list for strawberries goes on to include flavonoids, querctin, and catechin which when combined with phenols and antioxidants makes them a top performer in terms of cancer-fighting and heart disease-fighting capability. This is good news for seniors who are looking for nutritional paths to take preemptive aging steps against cardiovascular disease.
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When Pets Take Care of You
There’s no doubt about it-pets cheer people up. They wait by the door for you to get home, they cuddle with you at night and, if you’ll let them, they’ll even share a meal with you.
But can pets actually work as an immune system booster? Many would say that they can, and they do. Research conducted on ill hospital patients and pet-therapy dogs shows that visiting with animals can: relieve depression and loneliness, provide distraction from pain and illness, and reduce symptoms induced by stress.
When someone is under a great amount of stress, it can lead to a weakened immune system, and if you are a cancer patient, for example, you want all the immunities your can get.
Pets can also take part in helping accident victims through the trying period of rehabilitation. Brushing your dog or cat’s coat, or playing fetch with your pup can work as low impact muscle exercise important to a full recovery.