HAVING IBS CALLS FOR A GUT CHECK I know several people living with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The common denominator is that each has a very sensitive digestive tract. Seeking more information on IBS I found that there is no cure. However, folks who suffer from it can control and improve symptoms through diet and lifestyle changes. My online research led me to a comprehensive article from Cleveland Clinic titled simply Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Here are excerpts: If you have irritable bowel syndrome, you might have uncomfortable or painful abdominal symptoms. Constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating are common IBS...
HAD ENOUGH TURKEY? HOW ABOUT HAVING FISH FOR A CHANGE? After all the turkey you probably ate on Thanksgiving plus all the turkey leftovers these past couple days, you may be ready for a change. Adding more fish into our weekly diet has big benefits, especially for us older adults who want to reduce the risk of heart disease and other senior-associated maladies. I found the Harvard School of Public Health online article, Fish: Friend or Foe? that summarizes the major benefits and minor risks of eating fish. Here are excerpts: Fears of contaminants make many unnecessarily shy away from...
VITAMIN C—GOOD BOTH INSIDE & OUTSIDE OF YOUR BODY You need Vitamin C in your diet, whether through certain foods or through supplements. But you can also use topical Vitamin C to improve your skin health. Back in 1970 Linus Pauling, winner of 2 Nobel Prizes, came out with his book Vitamin C and the Common Cold, where he encouraged people to consume 3,000 mg of vitamin C daily. After that, Vitamin C supplement sales skyrocketed, and many folks began drinking orange juice by the half gallon at the first sign of a cold. However, in following years, scientists repeatedly found that...
SAY CHEESE! I love cheese, whether it’s gouda, cheddar, Swiss, camembert, feta, mozzarella or jack. It’s tasty with crackers, with fruit, along with a glass of wine or just in pizza or a toasted cheese sandwich. Yet you, like me, have probably heard conflicting information about the impact of cheese on your health. I went to one of my regular sources to learn more and found a Harvard University article that goes into great detail about this popular food but is simply titled Cheese. Here are excerpts: Cheese is an age-old staple, beloved for its richness, creaminess, flavor, and satiating...
HOW WE COULD EASILY REDUCE OUR SUGAR INTAKE Most of us realize that we consume lots of “extra” sugar daily in processed foods and beverages. And I think the majority of us seniors would love to—especially if it were painless—cut back on our intake. This week I came upon a very short online article about a policy that if implemented can prevent millions of life-threatening diseases with little effort on our individual parts. Here are excerpts from that article by Heidi Godman in the November 1, 2021 Harvard Health Letter titled Nationwide sugar reductions projected to save health and lives....
YOUR SENIOR MOMENTS COULD COME FROM THE DRUGS YOU TAKE I just came across a companion piece to last week’s post, Your Memory–Past & Future. It’s an October 1, 2021 online Harvard University article by Matthew Solan titled, Stuck in a brain fog? Look in your medicine cabinet. Here are excerpts: It’s an unfortunate reality of aging — those occasional periods of forgetfulness or “brain fog” where you can’t think clearly or have trouble multitasking and comprehending information. Older adults may shrug it off as “senior moments,” but don’t be too quick to blame Father Time for a faulty brain....
YOUR MEMORY—PAST & FUTURE As I grow older, I’m experiencing more and more memory “lapses.” Sometimes I can’t think of the right word or remember where I left my keys or forget why I opened the fridge. I’m not in dementia territory yet, but I do try to exercise regularly, eat (mostly) right and follow most of the other tips I gave in my July 21, 2018 post Wait…Wait…Don’t Tell Me!—Novel Ways to Improve Your Memory. Still, I also wanted to uncover what kinds of changes in our memories are normal as we gain years. I found a concise summary...
MEDICAL TOURISM PROS & CONS I recently visited my dentist for a routine cleaning and checkup. The costs of these were covered by the inexpensive dental plan I have along with my Blue Shield Medicare insurance. However, during the checkup I was told I needed to replace a crown and that I also should have what’s called a deep cleaning. My insurance would only cover a portion of the expenses and I would still have to pay $960 for the crown and $402 for the deep cleaning. I called around to other dentists in my plan and their charges were...
CAN MELATONIN GIVE YOU BETTER SLEEP? Some folks swear by melatonin supplements. They say it works as good or better than over-the-counter sleep aids like Unisom for getting a good night’s sleep. But I’m reading reports that it doesn’t help much for curing insomnia, although it might be helpful for other sleep disorders. Actually, your body already makes the melatonin hormone. Your pineal gland communicates with receptors in the retina area of your eye letting it know when it’s light or dark. When it senses dark, it releases the melatonin to prepare you for sleep. And when it senses light,...
STAYING THE COURSE If you’ve been reading my posts over the years, you know I’m a firm believer in engaging in regular exercise to help us stay fit and healthy. But I’ve been tested over these past 5 months since I fell on my head. That fall—and its resultant concussion—caused me to lose both my energy and enthusiasm. So, I’ve had to force myself to keep running and biking several times a week. Plus, to “encourage” me to stay active, I entered the Shoreline Half Marathon here in Ventura in July and the Malibu triathlon last Sunday. The outcome of...
