IMAGING TESTS—WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? Some weeks I have a topic I can’t wait to write about, such as Find a Vaccine—End the Pandemic back on June 6th. Other weeks, I have no idea what I’m going to discuss until something pops up. This is one of those weeks. I just received my July 2020 issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter and the cover article compared the different ways health professionals can view the inside of your body with imaging tests. I didn’t really understand the differences and sat right down and read the article. Now, I’d like to share...
INCREASE YOUR POTASSIUM—LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE Want to lower your blood pressure? Simple, just eat more potassium-rich foods. We all know we should include potassium in our diet. And we know we should eat less sodium. But did you know that the more potassium you add into your diet, the more sodium you process out of your body. Also, potassium helps ease tension in your blood vessel walls, which further helps lower blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends that the average adult should take in 4,700 mg. of potassium per day. Bananas are known as a good source as...
FIND A VACCINE—END THE PANDEMIC A vaccine to prevent Covid-19 is our best hope for ending the pandemic, which has killed 400,000 people worldwide—112,000 in the U.S. alone—and infected 7 million people around the globe—2 million in the U.S. Vaccines expose our bodies to an altered safe version of a disease-causing virus. This stimulates the body’s immune system to produce antibodies that will recognize and destroy the pathogen if it encounters it in the future. Vaccines in use today are either live or inactivated. Live vaccines use a weakened (attenuated) form of the virus that causes the disease and prompts...
IS SNORING AFFECTING YOUR SNOOZING? As I grow older, I seem to snore more. JoAnne nudges me at least a couple of times a week to turn over from sleeping on my back. Now, today, I came upon an online article that offers suggestions on how to stop ourselves from this noisy breathing during sleep. Here are excerpts from the Harvard Medical School Healthbeat article How to silence snoring: Snoring by itself is generally harmless, but it can be annoying, especially for your bed partner. Fortunately, you can take steps to alleviate the problem. Start by making lifestyle changes and...
HEPATITIS—A, B & C Since we’re all learning more about the corona virus these days, I thought I’d share a bit of information on a group of even more common viruses: hepatitis A, B & C. Hepatitis is an inflammatory liver disease. The most common forms of it in America are hepatitis A, B and C. Hepatitis A does not cause a long-term infection, but hepatitis B and C can develop into chronic infections and cause severe liver damage Hepatitis C should be of special interest to us seniors; Altogether more than 3.5 million people in the U.S. are estimated...
EDIBLE SEEDS: TINY BUT SUPER HEALTHY Flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds & chia seeds Seeds have become the latest culinary trend—from eating them right out of the bag to sprinkling them on your cereal, into sauces or salads, or including in breads. I’ve researched seeds in a few online sources and would like to share what I found with you. Seeds are the extra-nutritious embryonic plant material that will develop into vegetables (pumpkin), flowers (sunflowers) or crops (flax and hemp). Seeds are terrific sources of fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants, some protein and important vitamins and minerals. Here are...
WHY FUNCTIONAL FITNESS IS IMPORTANT FOR SENIORS Even though most of us are spending more time at home than ever before, it’s still important to keep physically active. Functional fitness exercises are not only a great way to keep your body moving while you’re confined, but will also improve your quality of life. Functional fitness exercises are simply those that are designed to develop your muscles to perform everyday activities such as vacuuming, yard work, carrying groceries or just sitting down and getting up from a chair. These exercises train your muscles to work together by simulating common movements you...
YOUR OWN VEGETABLE GARDEN A couple of weeks ago I posted Start Your Own Herb Garden. Yet, that’s only a start. How about growing your own vegetables in your own garden? You might already be a seasoned gardener, so you need read no further. But if you don’t yet have a garden, now is a perfect time: We still have months of growing season coming up between now and fall; You’ll actually produce something you can personally control (unlike much of the rest of our lives these days); You get to exercise outdoors (social distancing included). And best of all,...
YES, YOU CAN LOSE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF Every year millions of people go on diets and if they stick with them actually lose weight. However, the great majority of those millions of dieters will regain every pound they lost—and then some! Which shouldn’t be surprising, because a diet is something folks go on to go off. They will restrict themselves of this or that food to lose the weight but they aren’t going to eat that way forever. Obviously, if we want to lose pounds and then keep them off, we need to find a better way. I’m...
START YOUR OWN HERB GARDEN Since you’re making more meals at home these days, how about starting an herb garden? Herbs such as basil, rosemary, sage, thyme and cilantro add unique flavors to all kinds of food and drink. Herbs are easy to grow. They just need sunshine, good soil that drains well, a little compost and fertilizer, and some watering. I’ve had them in my vegetable garden for years. They don’t take up much room, just a couple of square feet per plant. Place them in their own section of the garden or do like me, wherever there’s a...
