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.
Why is the Omega-6 GLA Good for Seniors?
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The health news reports are full of glowing accounts of the health benefits of the Omega-3 fatty acids especially the EPA/DHA from fish and other foods. In parallel many health reports point out that the typical American diet is unbalanced, because it contains too much omega-6 fatty acids. It turns out that most vegetable oils including corn, soybean, and safflower provide an excess of omega-6 fatty acids. Eggs and poultry are additional sources of excess omega-6 fatty acids in the typical American diet. The one exception to this general rule is the omega-6 fatty acid known as gamma linolenic acid (GLA), because research has shown this nutrient has the power to combat atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, diabetes and cancer. As we age our bodies begin to stop producing GLA and most folks do not get enough from their diet. The latest research is providing very strong evidence that GLA can contribute to preempting a wide range of typical age-related disorders by itself and together with EPA/DHA. Many of these disorders are caused by inflammation that senior bodies can not moderate because of the breakdown of of the aging bodies ability to produce the anti-inflammatory enzyme. This enzyme produces anti-inflammatory molecules from dietary fats. Taking supplemental GLA derived from Borage can substitute for this defect in senior bodies, in order to reduce inflammation. The health results can be substantial particularly in regard to promoting cardiovascular health.
Blood Sugar Control On Your Kitchen Shelf
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Reading the reports in the health news a number of articles are promising to control your blood sugar which is of considerable importance to seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health. A number of articles promise that they can control your blood sugar provided that you purchase their supplement with all the right ingredients at a price that benefits the seller. It turns out that seniors can access some common inexpensive items typically found on the selves in their kitchens that will assist in lowering blood sugar. It seems hard to believe, but cinnamon and vinegar can both be taken separately in the manner appropriate for each, so that they can produce the desired effect of lowering blood sugar levels. Seniors who take both of these common kitchen items will be taking preemptive aging steps to promote their senior health. The appropriate manner recommended for cinnamon is to add a half a teaspoon of it to tea or coffee before brewing. Vinegar is best taken right before a high-glycemic meal in this way. Mix two tablespoons of vinegar in water with a sweetener other than sugar such as stevia or xylitol. An alternate way is to put it on a salad.
The Dynamic Duo of Vitamin E for Seniors
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Today most multivitamin supplements contain vitamin E, but seniors need to read the small print. The small print says the vitamin E in most multivitamins is just the alpha tocopherol component. It turns out that nature provides all the components of vitamin E. Our human bodies evolved using the natural vitamin E from nuts and certain fruits and vegetables, so we will not be as healthy getting only part of the whole vitamin E. Seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health need to get another component of vitamin E, the gamma component. It is called gamma tocopheral and it is very important that seniors get enough of the gamma if they are taking a multivitamin with just the alpha tocopherol. This is certainly true for senior men and is probably true for senior women. Studies have shown that senior men who do not get the gamma component, but only the alpha component are at risk for their prostate health, because their bodies require a balance of both the gamma and alpha components of vitamin E. Further studies have shown that the gamma component provides protection against cancer and cardiovascular disease. The alpha component provides powerful antioxidant for the body. The gamma component provides superior anti-inflammatory and gene regulatory activities. The good news for seniors is that certain tasty foods such as sunflower seed kernels, avocado, and asparagus provide both all the components of vitamin E which include both the alpha and gamma components. Special supplements are also available that contain multiple components of vitamin E.
Seniors Need Vitamin D In Darker Winter Days
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When we head into the winter the hours of daylight shorten. The amount of sunlight decreases and our senior bodies do not synthesize as much vitamin D as we did during the sunny summer months. The flu and cold viruses that our senior immune systems easily resisted during the summer months become more difficult to resist. Before the winter arrives is the time for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to safeguard their senior health to take action to increase the vitamin D in their senior bodies. Increasing the amount of vitamin D is critically important for seniors who want to build up their immune system against the flu viruses during the dark, gray winter months. The good news for seniors is that they can supplement with vitamin D in the form of vitamin D3 which is the type that our bodies synthesize when our skin is irradiated by the ultraviolet light from the Sun. It turns out that vitamin D3 is easier for our bodies to absorb than the D2 type which is often found in multivitamins and fortified milk.
Lowering Blood Glucose Protects Senior’s Hearts
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The general news and the health news publications are full of articles recommending ways to deal with diabetes, but most of them do not make the connection between high blood glucose and cardiovascular disease. Many of the news articles address what folks can do to relieve their diabetic symptoms, but not too many provide preemptive remedies to prevent diabetes. They are following a ‘fix the sick’ approach or what has been called ‘sick care’ versus genuine health care which initially provides preemptive steps to prevent diabetes and other diseases. It turns out that the current medical standard used for deciding whether or not a person’s fasting blood glucose level is too high is about 15% higher than it should be according to a report in the one of the American Diabetes Association’s journals. In addition the report found that older men with glucose levels above the lower number of 80-85 mg/dL were predictably on a path to cardiovascular death. For senior men and most probably for senior women who are concerned about taking preemptive steps to foster their senior health it turns out that there is a solution that can provide a preemptive remedy against the dangerously high blood sugar. This remedy can provide a preemptive remedy against diabetes and promote the cardiovascular health of seniors. The remedy includes a water-soluble extract of cinnamon, chromium, and nutrients from seaweed and bladderwrack.
Eat Dark Chocolate for a Healthy Heart
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The typical recommendations from the health experts tell us to exercise more and eat healthy foods such as whole grains, but one of the results of recent medical research comes to an unexpectedly happy conclusion. The conclusion of that research revealed that eating dark chocolate is very good for our heart’s health. This is very good news for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to foster their cardiovascular health. More recently, some medical researchers in Sweden discovered why consuming dark chocolate is so good for our hearts. They found that folks who consume dark chocolate benefit from its effect on an enzyme that helps to regulate blood pressure and the body’s fluid balance. The dark chocolate inhibits the activity of that enzyme which is nicknamed ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme). In this way the dark chocolate achieves the same effect as the drugs that are designed to lower blood pressure. The tests used to determine the effect that dark chocolate consumption has on the enzyme were performed on volunteers. The researchers measued the activity level of the ACE enzyme in the volunteers before and after eating the chocolate. The volunteers consumed about 2.5 ounces of 72% dark chocolate in the tests. After eating the chocolate the blood tests showed that the ACE activity was nearly 20% lower which is similar to the level achieved by taking the drugs that are designed to lower blood pressure.
Beyond Red Wine and Green Tea
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The health news reports are full of the health benefits that come from drinking red wine and green tea that are loaded with powerful antioxidants in the form of flavonoids and phenols that benefit cardiovascular health and can apparently provide some preemptive aging support for senior health in terms of preempting some cancers. If you like drinking green tea and drinking red wine for the good taste and their health benefits, then you should also consider another drink that contains more phenols and flavonoids per serving than both red wine and green tea. The third member of the healthy triumvirate is none other than cocoa, because it contains chocolate which is rich in antioxidants, but without the the saturated fats.
This is very good news for seniors who are trying to foster their senior health by taking preemptive aging steps to assist in preventing the onset of cancer and to support their cardiovascular health. They can add the consumption of cocoa to their diet which will complement the health benefits they gain by drinking green tea and red wine. All three are good tasting foods that can be purchased in supermarkets and are easy to prepare for consumption.
