Decreasing Inflammation the Natural Way

Inflammation is one of the main causes of disease for those over the age of 60. When we are young and healthy, inflammation plays an important role in the body’s immune system and occurs in response to foreign infection and/or an injury. It can be easily marked by swelling, redness, heat and pain. It is the body’s way of getting more nourishment to the site of injury/infection.

Many common diseases caused by chronic inflammation include heart disease type one-diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus. The good news is that there are many ways to reduce inflammation. I am going a variety of ways to reduce inflammation in the short term and long term to prevent many of these diseases/ailments.

One of the main sources of chronic inflammation are carbohydrates. When a human digests both protein and carbohydrates, AGE (advanced glycation end products) compounds are formed. Keeping sugar intake low and blood sugars stable can mitigate this process. Simply eat “less bread, white potatoes, crackers, chips and other snack foods, pastries, and sweetened drinks, less refined and processed foods, and by avoiding fast foods and products made with high fructose corn syrup. Instead, eat more whole grains, beans, sweet potatoes, winter squashes … Continue Reading

Increase Testosterone the Natural Way with These 10 Simple Steps

10 Simple Ways to Increase Testosterone the Natural Way

There are many natural ways to increase testosterone levels.

1.)  Diet – Make sure you are eating enough calories; lower calorie diets are associated with lower testosterone levels. Also make sure to vary what you eat; you need dietary cholesterol, animal protein, cruciferous vegetables and plenty of carbs. Avoid excess fat as well as over eating.

2.)  Sleep – A direct correlation between the duration an individual spends sleeping and their testosterone levels. Sleep not only helps restores brain function but also contributes to an increased production of growth hormone.

3.)  Weight Lifting – Long-term weight lifting/strength training has been shown to increase basal testosterone levels.

4.)  Fat Loss – Fat cells increase estrogen levels in the body. Higher estrogen levels limit the testosterone levels. For individuals that are overweight, simply shed a few pounds and you can reap the benefits of higher testosterone levels.

5.)  Attitude – Mind over matter. Depression as well as stress depletes the body’s testosterone levels. Consider simple meditation, take short naps, or try to spend an hour or so partaking in activities you find rewarding.

6.)  Lowering Sugar Intake – Watch your glycemic load and … Continue Reading

Aging and Testosterone

High testosterone helps men retain muscle mass as they age. A new study compared the testosterone levels of men who are over 65. It found over four years, the men with the highest testosterone levels loss less leg function and could stand up more easily from a chair. The loss of muscle mass and strength contributes to weakness and frailty, associated with increased falls, mobility issues and fractures. 

http://www.livescience.com/16755-high-testosterone-levels-men-muscle-mass.html

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Python and Heart Disease

Python Hearts Treat Human Cardiac Arrest

After a python consumes a meal, many of their internal organs, including the heart, double in size. What is interesting is that the heart stays undamaged and eventually returns to its normal size upon digestion of the meal. After the meal the python’s blood is so full of triglycerides, that the blood becomes milky white in color. However, the python is able to use these fats over time extremely efficiently, without any damage to the heart.

There are two main scenarios in which the human heart grows. The first is with athletes. The heart increases in size proportionally with its chambers, making its job much easier. The second is when people have high blood pressure; the heart swells and takes up space in the heart chamber, causing it to work harder to produce pump less and less blood. 

The researchers of this study look into ways to help the rest of the heart increase in size to mitigate the effects of a damaged heart.

http://www.livescience.com/16764-python-hearts-treat-human-cardiac-disease.html

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Health Benefits of Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds)

With Halloween around the corner (later tonight), ghosts and ghouls, candy and pumpkins, costumes and trick-or-treaters are on everybody’s mind tonight. One of these things is considered a super food. Now obviously we don’t eat ghosts and ghouls unless you are talking about the occasional ghost cookie. The super food is the pumpkin and more specifically its seeds. 

Pumpkin seeds have long consumed for hundreds if not thousands of years by the Native American Indians who used them both in their diet and for medicinal purposes.

Pumpkin seeds began increasing in world popularity when European explorers brought them back for cultivation. While pumpkin seeds are featured in recipes across the world, they are especially important in Mexican cuisine. 

Health Benefits:

• Bone Protection
• Lower bad cholesterol levels in blood
• Anti-inflammatory benefits
• A rich source of minerals, protein and monounsaturated fat
• Aid in digestion and help ward off parasites

Pumpkin Seed Salsa Recipe

3 Guero Chiles
1 medium White Onions
8 Cloves garlic
1 large tomato
¼ C Pumpkin Seeds
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Licorice Causes Heart Problems?

With Halloween nearing and our candy consumption increasing, there is one specific candy that you have to watch out for. Consuming black licorice over an extended period of time can lead to heart arrhythmias and other health problems. The compound that is to blame is called Glycyrrhizin. Glycyrrhizin induces potassium excretion in the kidneys. This can lead to an increased and out of sync heart rate. Additionally, side effects include salt and water retention. It also affects cortisol metabolism which means it has the potential to interfere with prescription drugs. The FDA warns that the young and the elderly should stay away, and everybody should exercise caution when consuming black licorice. 

http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/28/8509131-scary-treat-black-licorice-can-harm-heart-warns-the-fda

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Obesity Reduces Effectiveness of Vaccinations

People are very familiar with the fact that obesity leads to health risks and problems but a new study points out the correlation between obesity and vaccination effectiveness. Additionally, the study found that obese individuals who do contract the influenzas they are vaccinated against would risk getting the influenza at a much greater severity.

The way that flu vaccines work is by introducing antigens (viruses and bacteria) into the body. This is traditionally done in the form of a shot. When the body is able to identify the antigens, it then develops protein that circulates through the blood. These proteins are called antibodies. Since antibodies are disease specific, the flu shot generally contains one influenza type A subtype H3N2 virus strain, one influenza type A subtype H1N1 (seasonal) virus strain, and one influenza type B virus strain.

The study found out the antibody concentration in the blood drastically decreased over time in obese individuals (everything else remaining consistent) when compared to individuals that were not obese.

This is especially important in elderly individuals who already have a somewhat weakened immune system. There are ways to offset obesity and being an elderly individual. Ask your doctor about a high dose vaccine … Continue Reading

Dizziness, Vertigo, and Imbalance - Vestibular Exercises for Better Balance

Working on increasing the strength of the vestibular system is a great place to start. The vestibular system contributes to movement and sense of balance. There are several easy exercises that can help. 

Goals:
You first want to work on loosening up the muscles of the neck and shoulders so that you are not confined to moving in one piece and the motion of the body is more fluid. You want your eyes to move independently of your head. Practicing balancing in normal, everyday situations with attention to eyes and muscles. Moving your head in an intentional way to cause dizziness. Moving around in different light situations - both low and high/day and night. Increasing confidence and making spontaneous movement easier.

The below exercises are meant to be started slowly and gradually increased in duration. The person doing the exercises should start on the bed, then move to sitting and eventually standing.

A. SITTING POSITION – without armrests
1. Eye exercises – at first slowly, then quickly
a) Up and down.
b) Side to side.
c) Repeat a and b, focusing on finger at arm’s length.
2. Head exercises – head movements at … Continue Reading

Tips on How Not to Fall (Fall Prevention)

No matter the age or physical fitness of an individual, falls happen to everyone. When we are younger, these falls are less detrimental to our overall health. When we age, having a fall becomes very risky; physical condition, medications, and physical changes all contribute to the risk of falling. 

There are dozens of ways to prevent falls occuring and mitigate the damage when they do happen. The next several posts are going to discuss in depth how to prevent falls and how to avoid serious injury if one does fall.

There is no reason to live in fear of falling when there are so many tools, programs, and resources to help individuals avoid falling. 

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Welcome to Technorati!

We are now part of the Technorati blogging community! This nut is grateful for a taller soapbox. This blog with feature health, fitness, and nutritional information for senior living. Whether you're a senior citizen, caregiver, or just interested, we will bring you all the newest information from the press and all around the web. Glad to be here. Enjoy! Continue Reading

Getting Older Means Having a Weaker Immune System

The immune system is a complex network of organs, tissues, cells, etc… that protect us from outside attacks by infectious organisms and diseases.

As we move from adolescence into adulthood, our immune system gradually becomes strong. Our bodies create antibodies, which help us fight infectious diseases. Most people notice this when they stop getting sick as much; when we were children, colds and flus were much more common.

This increase in immunity does not last forever, after a certain point the immune system starts to regress and move in the other direction. This is why elderly are much more susceptible to getting sick (btw: supplements have been shown to not only not help with increasing immunity but to hurt the immune system and increase the risk of prostate cancer, etc..).

Here are some interesting stats that show us why this is the case:

The thymus, a specialized organ of the immune system, produces T Cell, which are a key component in cell-mediated immunity. The thymus is the largest during adolescence and as we age gets replaced by fatty tissue. By the time we are middle aged, the Thymus is at 15% of its original size and effectiveness.

Since T-Cells … Continue Reading

Stem Cells Able to Replace Damaged Liver Cells

Stem cells have been an important window into the future of medicine. One of the main problems with using stem cells to treat a problem area of disease is the issue with mutations caused by bad genes. In the recent article of Nature, scientists have shown proof of concept that they can not only to make the stem cells reproduce, but that they can also edit the bad gene material out of the stem cells. 

After they fixed the genetic issues with the stem cells, they were able to induce them into growing liver cells. The team of scientists then transplanted them into the mice with liver disorders. Within about 6 weeks, the stem cells took over and fixed the liver issue. The liver function was properly restored. 

Source: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature10424.html

Take a look at our Main Medical Alarm Unit.

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You Are What You Eat

You know the old saying you are what you eat; well this is considerably more true than you may have realized. There are these things called MicroRNAs or miRNAs which are molecules that exist in the bo involved with gene expression and transcription. miRNAs bind to something called messenger RNAs that are responsible for the transfer of information from the DNA to the ribosomes. When an miRNA binds to a messenger RNA it prevents the messsenger RNA from being translated and stops gene expression.

A team of researchers found that miRNAs found in human serum contained locally produced miRNAs and additionally contained foreign miRNAs. Where were these foregin miRNAs coming from? They found that they were coming from the food that the human consumed. This has huge implications.

Source: http://www.nature.com/cr/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/cr2011158a.html

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Vitamin-E Increases Cancer Risk

It is not often that there is a widespread medical alert, but when it comes to vitamin-E, it seems that the supplements cause more harm than good. With the current studies, Vitamin-E was shown to not only not be effective in reducing prostate cancer, but to actually increase your chance of getting the cancer. With the addition of selenium, the risk of getting prostate cancer compounded.

The conclusion of these studies is that supplements are often not the best way to augment an unhealthy or even healthy lifestyle. The best way to ensure that you are getting all of the vitamins and nutrients your body needs is to maintain a well balanced diet with a variety of plants, fruits, meats and vegetables. Bon apetit!

Source: "Extra Vitamin-E: No Benefit Maybe Harm" Jane Brody, NYT March 23, 2009

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Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables

Many people have resigned to the fact of having bad genes when dealing with the risk of heart disease. They assumed since heart disease was in their family, that they too would be at a higher risk for the disease. 

Recently a study was done on the gene 9p21. People with an altered gene 9p21 have a higher risk of having a heart attack. However, the increase risk of those who ate a diet high in raw fruits an vegetables was nearly eliminated.

This article is not only applicable for those who are at high risk but for everyone. This alludes to the fact that having a healthy diet it beneficial to a persons overall well being. Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables has already been proven to have a long term effect on increasing the energy of those maintaining the diet. With the added health benefits it is hard not to have a change in diet. 

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