Archive for June, 2010
Why Colorful Foods Are Healthy For Seniors!
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Vegetables and fruits come in a broad spectrum of colors including all the colors of the rainbow starting from purple through blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. They come in additional colors including white, tan, and brown. Bright colorful fruits and vegetables are loaded with health promoting phytochemicals. The colors that include red, white, and blue are most appropriate now, because they are the colors of the upcoming 4th of July celebration. For example tomatoes, cherries, watermelon, red apples, red peppers, and cranberries all contain the phytochemicals lycopene and anthocyanin that help reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers such as prostate cancer. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps against cancers and for cardiovascular health. Alternatively white vegetables including garlic, onions, and cauliflower which contain the phytochemical allicin which lowers cholesterol and blood pressure and increases the body’s immune system’s resistance to infections.
Finally the blue fruits including blueberries, blackberries, purple grapes, and plums contain the phytochemicals anthocyanin and phenolics that reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Nuts Complement Senior Health.
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Everyone has heard the warnings about eating too many fatty foods, because it can lead to obesity. Some folks think that they should not eat nuts, because they do contain more fat than say fruits and vegetables. There is some good news for seniors who want to receive information about preemptive anti-aging steps that they can take to foster their senior health. It turns out that nuts which are often complimentary in bars and restaurants are actually complimentary to our health needs. For example, a grand analysis of over 24 clinical trials demonstrated that folks who regularly consumed nuts had improved blood lipids meaning improved triglycerides and LDL/HDL cholesterol ratings. This is very good news for seniors who are concerned about fostering their cardiovascular health.
Additional benefits of eating nuts include reduction of hypertension, reduction of the risk of heart disease for women suffering from diabetes, and improved blood sugar control when nuts are consumed with carbohydrates. For all of these reasons it would be a good idea to include nuts as part of one’s daily diet. The preferred type of nuts are those that are raw or dry roasted. Consuming about 1/4 cup every day is a good general rule, because eating more than that quantity will supply too many calories.
Will Grapefruit Juice Improve Absorption of CoQ10?
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The warnings against drinking grapefruit juice if folks are taking certain drugs have been known for a number of years. Certain compounds in grapefruit inhibit the normal absorption of drugs such as the statins, antidepressants and many other drugs. The absorption of these drugs is increased when they are taken along with grapefruit juice which makes the concentrations absorbed dangerous, because the doses are too high. Seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health need to take heed of these warnings about mixing these drugs with grapefruit juice. By way of contrast drinking grapefruit juice when taking supplements may be beneficial.
It turns out the drinking grapefruit juice when taking the supplement CoQ10 can actually improve the absorption of CoQ10 by nearly 50%. Researchers in the Far East verified that the absorption of CoQ10 is improved this much by drinking grapefruit juice. This is very good news for seniors who are taking CoQ10 for their cardiovascular health, because it means that they will be increasing the absorption of this vital heart healthy supplement. The main caution concerns drinking grapefruit juice would be for seniors who are taking drugs under a doctor’s care. They need to check with their doctor before drinking grapefruit juice or eating grapefruit.
Is Folate or Folic Acid Good for Seniors?
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In the popular media and even some health media folic acid is treated as being equivalent to folate. Results from recent research show that folate is not interchangeable with folic acid in terms of health benefits for folks and this is especially applicable to seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health. It turns out that folic acid is actually an oxidized vitamin that can initiate cognitive decline in some seniors. It can can raise the risk of some cancers such as colon and rectal and can also speed up the growth of existing cancers. By way of contrast the folates are found in green and leafy vegetables such as asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, spinach, romaine, and lettuce. No folic acid is found in any of these foods, because folic acid is a single molecule that was crystalized back in the 1940′s by a patent medicine company.
Folic acid is a relatively stable and patentable substance that is low cost compared with folate which has a very short shelf life, is expensive and can not be patented. Back in the 1940′s companies chose to promote folic acid over folate for the above reasons. For younger folks folic acid can be a healthy supplement, because their bodies can convert it into the folates that their bodies need. For older folks such as seniors it turns out that their bodies can not convert folic acid into folates very efficiently. Current research has uncovered cases of cognitive decline in seniors that appears to be due to supplementing with folic acid instead of folate. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about seeking preemptive aging information, in order to promote their senior health.
Soy Is a Healthy Nutritional Source for Seniors
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Many articles in the press have promoted the health benefits of consuming soy as a food. In fact in 1999 the FDA allowed a health claim to be made for soy as a food. This action by the FDA was very unusual; it came under attack by certain folks who were later identified as representing a narrow slice of the food industry. These critics apparently felt threatened by the success of soy which would take away some of their pre-soy approval profits. The end result of this story has a happy ending for seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health. As a result of the criticism, many clinical studies and research were performed on soy and the verdict is in; soy is a very healthy source of nutrition for all ages including seniors.
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. These healthy effects provide a multilayer protection against cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis as well as many other unhealthy conditions that accompany aging. 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.
Another Longevity Gene Activator?
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The longevity that results from caloric restrictions in diet have been studied for about seventy years. Caloric restrictions really extend longevity in all forms of life. Except for the difficult issue of trying to eat like folks at a monastery, this would be good news for seniors who are concerned about their senior health. 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.
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How Sugar Shocks Your Heart!
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Despite all the glitzy commercial advertising about the many products that contain refined sugar, the cat is finally our of the bag. A leading US medical research publication reported that consuming sugar may actually be bad for your heart. For seniors who want to find preemptive aging information, in order to foster their senior health, this information about the dangers of sugar to the cardiovascular health of seniors are clear. Sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has come under a lot of criticism from the folks in the healthy dieting community, but it is not the only sugar that is causing major problems in the US population. Some of the alternatives that have been recommended are honey, raw sugar, and molasses, but they all drive up blood sugar and insulin.
In our bodies all the sugars are broken down into equal parts of fructose and glucose. It turns out that fructose in small quantities such as are found in a piece of fruit are good for us. The massive amounts of fructose that are contained in carbonated drinks, sweetened drinks, and desserts pump too much fructose into our bodies. Consuming this high level of fructose results in raising folks triglycerides, lowering the good HDL cholesterol, and speeding folks on the road to cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. The bottom line for seniors who are concerned about their cardiovascular health is to limit their consumption of drinks and foods that contain sugar in any form.
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