by trevor@addfuelfire.com | Mar 22, 2017 | Healthy Aging
Since childhood most of us have been encouraged to drink our milk. You probably already know that the calcium and vitamin D it contains are good for keeping bones healthy. But because vitamin D doesn’t occur naturally in very many foods, it is easier to develop a deficiency. This is especially true for those who live in northern climates, like Michigan, where people spend less time outdoors during winter months.
Health Problems Linked to Low Vitamin D
Over the past decade, scientists have discovered a variety of ways that a vitamin D deficiency can negatively impact our health as we age.
Here are a few of the problems associated with a vitamin D deficiency:
- Earlier Stages: The earliest problems caused by a vitamin D deficiency include muscle pain, gait disturbances, fatigue and overall muscular weakness.
- Advanced Deficiency: A more serious deficiency in vitamin D can lead to deep bone pain and fractures. Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to greater risk of coronary and vascular diseases, as well as prostate, breast and colon cancer.
What can you and the senior you love do to keep vitamin D levels where they need to be?
Here are a few suggestions:
Overcoming a Vitamin D Deficiency
- Food Choices: Consume foods rich in vitamin D. Healthy options to consider are fresh or canned salmon, milk, tuna, and mushrooms. Other foods often enriched or fortified with vitamin D include soy products, breakfast cereals, orange juice, eggs, and some dairy.
- Sunlight: Limited sun exposure might also help. While it is important to exercise caution and limit exposure to small amounts without sunscreen, sunlight often improves vitamin D levels. Talk with your physician to see if 20 minutes of sun exposure a few times a week might be beneficial.
- Supplements: While most doctors and nutritionists like to see essential vitamins and nutrients coming from healthy food choices, most also recognize that vitamin D can be tough to maintain strictly through diet. Ask your doctor for a recommended daily dosage.
Finally, one resource you might find helpful is a booked called, The Vitamin D Solution. It was written by Dr. Michael Holick, a leading vitamin D expert.
The Wellness Model at Heritage Senior Communities
Residents who call a Heritage Senior community home benefit from our Wellness Model approach to living. Our Assisted Living Centers use this blend of social and health services to maximize the overall “wellness” of each resident. Through it we address issues ranging from a healthy diet to spiritual needs.
Photo Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net
by trevor@addfuelfire.com | Feb 2, 2017 | Healthy Aging
You can’t turn on the television or pick up a magazine without hearing how a well-balanced diet is the key to good health and a better quality of life. But what might surprise you is how many people in this country suffer from malnutrition. And our seniors are among them.
Older adults are at high risk for malnutrition for many reasons. If you are a caregiver for a senior loved one, it’s important that you learn more about nutrition and how to recognize when an older adult isn’t getting the vital nutrients they need.
The Effects of Malnutrition
A poor diet can lead to a host of health complications for seniors, including a weaker immune system, slower healing capabilities, and muscle fatigue. The Alliance to Advance Patient Nutrition reports that 1 in 3 patients admitted to the hospital suffer from malnutrition.
Individuals who don’t have access to good nutrition are three times more likely to develop an infection after surgery than their peers who eat a healthy diet. This puts them at a high risk for being readmitted to the hospital.
Recognize the signs of malnutrition
The most basic cases of malnutrition involve either too little food or a diet that is devoid of nutrients and full of empty calories. However, the Mayo Clinic reminds us that food isn’t the only culprit when it comes to malnutrition. A combination of physical, social, and psychological issues can lead to poor eating habits for seniors:
Older adults who have health problems may eat an improper diet. For example, individuals living with dementia can forget to eat or have trouble preparing proper meals for themselves. A senior with a health issue like diabetes or heart disease may be placed on restricted diets by their physician. While this is necessary, they might not understand what foods they can safely eat so they end up not eating much as a result.
In our society, food is often enjoyed in the company of friends and family. Single seniors might find that eating alone is not very enjoyable. Or they might lose interest in cooking for themselves, and eat convenience foods which are typically high in sodium and low in nutrition.
There are many causes of depression in older adults. Some of the more common ones include grief, loneliness, and poor health. These factors are known to diminish a person’s appetite.
How to Help a Senior Loved One Prevent Malnutrition
If you know a senior loved one is at risk for malnutrition, here’s how you can help:
- Sign up for a meal program. Meals on Wheels is a program that ensures older adults are receiving proper nutrition each day. Call your local agency on aging to learn more.
- Register for food benefits. Seniors who need help paying the bills may be eligible to sign up for government food benefit programs. The AARP Benefits QuickLINK makes it easy for individuals to see for what benefits they are eligible.
- Consider a move to senior living. If a senior loved one is struggling to maintain a healthy diet, another option is to consider a move to a senior living community. Three well-balanced meals and nutritious snacks are typically included with monthly rent.
A nutrient-rich diet is one of the basic building blocks for good health. Ensure that your senior loved one has proper access to healthy food so that they can enjoy their best quality of life.
by trevor@addfuelfire.com | Dec 23, 2016 | Healthy Aging, Uncategorized
If a Michigan senior loved one’s physician has told them their blood pressure is creeping up, you are probably looking for natural ways to help them manage it. Taking proactive steps now might mean they are able to avoid taking medication for high blood pressure down the road.
Because lifestyle plays such an important role in controlling blood pressure, it is possible to avoid or reduce the need for medication by making some changes.
9 Ways to Control High Blood Pressure without Medication
- Weight Management: First on the list is getting to and maintaining a healthy weight. We all know it can be tough, especially for older adults who might not be as active. But what seniors and their family caregivers should know is that a weight loss of just 10 pounds can reduce your blood pressure.
- Commit to a Healthy Diet: The DASH eating plan is gaining in popularity with physicians trying to help patients manage their blood pressure naturally. DASH is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It is a method of eating that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol. DASH puts the emphasis on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy products. Research shows the DASH plan can lower your blood pressure by up to 14 mm Hg.
- Limit Alcohol Intake: People aren’t always aware the role alcohol consumption can play in driving up blood pressure. Drinking alcohol can increase blood pressure while also reducing the effectiveness of blood pressure medications. Limit your alcohol consumption to no more than one drink for women and men over the age of 65, and two drinks for men younger than 65.
- Avoid Caffeine: Drinking caffeinated beverages may cause an increase in blood pressure. But it’s not the case for everyone. To see if caffeine might be raising your senior loved one’s blood pressure, take their blood pressure before they consume something with caffeine in it. Wait 30 minutes and take it again. If their blood pressure increased by 5-10 points, they may be sensitive to caffeine. Limiting their intake may help control their blood pressure.
- Tobacco and Secondhand Smoke: We all know by now that smoking contributes to lung cancer and heart disease. What many people don’t realize is that smoking can raise your blood pressure by as much as 10 mm Hg for a full hour after you smoke. So smoking all day long might mean your blood pressure stays high throughout the day. Even breathing in secondhand smoke can contribute to high blood pressure.
- Exercise: Getting 30-60 minutes of physical exercise most days of the week can help to reduce your blood pressure. And the good news is your senior loved one will see results within a few weeks. Talk with your aging family member’s physician for recommendations and advice on beginning a new exercise program.
- Restrict Sodium: One sneaky contributor to high blood pressure can be foods with hidden sodium. Reading food labels to determine serving sizes and sodium will help. As will avoiding fast foods and processed foods. Your loved one’s physician can tell you how much salt and sodium they should be eating each day.
- Reduce Stress: Most of us know stress isn’t good for us. It can contribute to high blood pressure and cardiac disease. Learning how to better manage stress can help reduce blood pressure. Walking, swimming, yoga and meditation are all good stress busters.
Finally, one tool you might find helpful in exploring ways to manage an older loved one’s risk is the High Blood Pressure Risk Calculator. It takes many factors in to account ranging from gender to lifestyle to determine a person’s risk. Then it calculates how lifestyle changes can positively impact blood pressure.
by trevor@addfuelfire.com | Dec 20, 2016 | Healthy Aging, Uncategorized
Many younger adults think arthritis is a chronic but not very serious condition older adults live with. The truth is it can be a debilitating disease for people of all ages. This degenerative disease is caused by abnormal wearing down of the cartilage that cushions joints in the body. The pain it inflicts on damaged joints can be quite severe.
While there are prescription medications that can help, the side effects of these drugs aren’t clear. It may make seniors reluctant to take them, especially on a longer term basis.
Newer research that is garnering more attention for its effectiveness at treating the symptoms of arthritis is the ancient Chinese exercise known as Tai chi. Because a Michigan winter can be tough for people with arthritis, we thought the older adults who read our blog would be interested in learning more.
What is Tai Chi?
Many people have heard of Tai chi or noticed people practicing it in a local park, but aren’t quite sure what it is. This ancient Chinese practice is a graceful form of exercise and stretching. It uses a series of movements performed in a slow, focused manner. Deep breathing is an important element of Tai chi.
Each movement flows seamlessly in to the next one without pause. This keeps the body in constant motion. People new to this form of exercise are surprised at how much strength and stamina they can build from faithfully practicing it.
Tai Chi as a Treatment for Arthritis Pain and Symptoms
Because Tai chi is low impact, it puts little stress on muscles and joints. This is why it is considered to safe for people of all ages and fitness levels, including those who live with osteoarthritis.
Researchers at Tufts Medical Center in Boston looked at the role Tai Chi can play in treating the pain and symptoms of arthritis. Their study was made up of 40 adults age 55 and older who reported knee problems due to osteoarthritis. Participants were divided into two groups:
- One group practiced Yang-style tai chi
- The control group received wellness education and completed stretching exercises.
After 12 weeks, the group that practiced Tai chi reported a significant improvement in knee pain and increased function when compared to the control group.
How to Begin Practicing Tai Chi
As is true of any new form of exercise, the first step is to speak with your physician to gain their insight and approval. Once they’ve given you the green light to get started, there are a variety of options.
- Call the Michigan senior center nearest you or your local fitness center. Many offer classes on a regular basis.
- The Arthritis Foundation has a list of Tai chi DVDs that you can order. They range from spine stretches to shoulder and neck exercises.
- Search a platform like You Tube or Vimeo for free videos you can watch and learn. This might be a good way for a beginner to get started without spending any money.
Wellness programs like Tai chi are a part of daily life at Heritage Senior Communities in Michigan. We extend an open invitation for you to visit us and learn more about our commitment to keeping the older adults who call our communities “home,” healthy and thriving.
Photo Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net
by trevor@addfuelfire.com | Nov 6, 2016 | Healthy Aging, Uncategorized
Body mass index (BMI) has long been used to determine a person’s overall fitness. Physicians and health professionals compare a person’s weight to their height to calculate a body fat score. But this method has more than a few critics. The most obvious criticism is that that BMI fails to differentiate between muscle and fat.
This means a very fit person with considerable muscle mass might end up with a high BMI score or that a thin person with little muscle mass might be determined to be fit when they aren’t.
Because newer research revealed just how important muscle mass is to longer life, experts are re-thinking BMI.
A UCLA study published in the American Journal of Medicine found that people with higher amounts of muscle mass are at decreased risk for metabolic syndrome. This in turn lowers a person’s risk for cardiovascular disease.
Tips for Pumping Up Muscle Mass during Retirement Years
Age-related muscle loss is called Sarcopenia. The condition is common in older adults who might not be as active as they were in younger years. Doctors liken it to Osteoporosis of the muscles. It can begin as early as age 30.
The good news is there are steps you and your senior loved one can take to improve muscle mass.
- Healthy Exercise: Schedule an appointment with your primary care physician to talk about which senior-friendly forms of exercise they recommend. It might help to research your options before the appointment so you have an idea of some that interest you. The goal should be to create a program that combines range of motion, flexibility, cardio, and strength training. A few types to consider are Chair Yoga, water aerobics, Pilates, bike riding, walking and modified weight training.
- Focus on Nutrition: Many people are unaware of the role nutrition plays in building muscle mass. Diet is just as important as exercise when it comes to healthy muscles. The Harvard Medical School recommends older adults consume 7 grams of protein each day for every 20 pounds of body weight.
- Get Moving: Sitting too much can lead to a loss of muscle mass. And a sedentary lifestyle can’t be overcome by an increased amount of exercise. Researchers now call sitting the “new smoking” because it is so dangerous for your long-term health. Stand when you talk on the phone instead of sitting. Take frequent breaks to move around if you are at your computer all day. Remember that it is important not just to exercise each day, but to keep moving.
Online Fitness Programs for Seniors
Several organizations have online fitness programs for seniors that make it easier to incorporate exercise and good nutrition in to your everyday life:
- AARP Healthy Living: AARP has a wide range of resources designed to help older adults live healthier lives. You can find everything from reviews on fitness products to videos on weight training for seniors.
- Go4Life: The National Institute on Aging created this free senior fitness program. It combines online resources like guides and checklists with DVDs you can order at no cost.
Visit a Heritage Senior Community Near You
Wellness is an important part of what we do at the Heritage Senior Communities in Michigan. We invite you to schedule a tour at your convenience to learn how good nutrition, life enrichment and physical activity are a part of our residents’ everyday lives.
by trevor@addfuelfire.com | Oct 18, 2016 | Healthy Aging, Uncategorized
Family caregivers face new challenges every day. One many don’t often think about is flu prevention. For adult children who are caregivers for an aging parent, learning how to prevent being bitten by the bug is vital. Since younger, healthier adults may be able to fight off the virus easily, they may not even realize they have been exposed. This makes it easy for you to unknowingly pass the flu on to your senior loved one.
The Stats on Seniors and Flu
For older adults, influenza can be especially dangerous. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell us:
- Up to 85% of seasonal flu-related deaths are people 65 years and older
- As many as 70% of all flu-related hospitalizations are people in this same age group
These are startling statistics for seniors and their family caregivers. But there are steps you can take to try to keep your aging parent healthy this winter.
5 Steps Caregivers Can Take to Shoo the Flu
- Get Your Flu Shot: Even if you are young and healthy, experts advise those who are caring for older adults or frequently around other vulnerable populations to get the vaccine. Most health care professionals say early October is best time to be vaccinated. It takes about two weeks for protection from the shot to kick in, and flu season usually begins in late October or early November.
- Be Cautious in Public Places: Because the virus can live on things for as long as two hours, it’s important to exercise caution when you are out in public. This is especially true if your aging loved one is with you. Avoid large groups whenever possible. And try not to use public restrooms and drinking fountains if you can help it.
- Frequent Hand Washing: Most of us don’t realize how many times each day we touch our mouth or nose. If you’ve been exposed to the virus and have it on your hands when you touch your face, you increase the likelihood of contracting the flu and passing it on to your senior family member. Use good hand washing practices to wash your hands frequently.
- Rest and Eat Right: Keep your immune system strong by eating a healthy diet and getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. When your immune system is strong, you are better able to fight off the virus and avoid getting sick.
- Manage Stress: For busy family caregivers, stress is often a part of everyday life. But stress can have a negative effect on your health. It may leave you weary and tired. Both can lead to a weakened immune system. Exercise, aromatherapy and meditation are a few of the best ways to beat stress. If you just aren’t able to manage your caregiving anxiety, talk with your physician. They will likely have advice to help. Also consider taking advantage of respite care at a senior living community.
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