Embrace getting older

Morning, what a great response I received after last week's edition regarding scented candles and their potential to harm our health, thanks to everyone who responded.

I am writing this on a beautiful Sunday morning, the patio doors are open, in the distance I can here the tannoys as the marathon begins down the Embankment.  Due to the road closures for it and the fact I am as stiff as a board after a fitness convention yesterday in Sheffield, I'm spending the day catching up on stuff.  No I'm not feeling my age, just being sensible after a pretty full on week of classes, I was stiffened up before I even hit the road to Sheffield hahaha, which segue ways nicely to todays topic of embracing getting older.  If you're like me, you're determined to keep going like you're still 18!  

The realisation that you are getting older can come in waves.

You watch movies and point to the actors, saying: “She’s dead. Oh, he’s dead, too.”

Your parents move to a retirement complex they call God’s waiting room.

You hear more snap, crackle and pop in your joints than in your breakfast cereal.

In society, youthfulness is glorified and getting older is cast as something to avoid, but as your age increases, your quality of life does not necessarily have to decrease.

What is ‘old’?

Most people wouldn’t say that a 38-year-old qualifies, but once you pass the median age of 37.8, you may statistically be considered “old"! OMG!!!

Studies show that people start feeling old in their 60s, and a survey found that nearly 3,000 respondents said 68 was the average age at which old age begins.

Daniel B Kaplan, an assistant professor of social work at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., said in an email that living to an advanced age was a relatively recent achievement.

“The average human life span gained more years during the 20th century than in all prior millennia combined,” he wrote, adding that the average life expectancy in the United States is 79.1.

Neurologist Dr Devi says your outlook on life can make all the difference, by being more positive will increase your chances of living longer.  

Dr. Devi said a patient who died at 101 had told her to try to have a friend “from every decade of life.” He had befriended an array of people, including Dr. Devi’s daughter, who was 12 at the time.

Having friends from multiple generations can help head off the loneliness that can come when others move, die, get sick or are no longer mobile.

“It speaks to an antisegregation of the aged, maintenance of community, as well as keeping in touch with modern advances to prevent being accused of being an old fogey,” she said.  

Many of the problems that adults face as they get older are unrelated to the normal part of ageing. The quality of your later life is partly under your control. Choices about lifestyles and behaviours can influence the effects of so-called secondary ageing.

Exercise and proper sleeping and eating habits will help your physical health, which will benefit your mental and cognitive health.  

We should prepare for the later stages of our lives as we would starting a family or helping a child gain independence.

Seek financial advice to help adapt to changes in income and plan for the costs of health care or for having to go into a home.  With recent changes by the government into how much money people are allowed to retain before receiving free care home places, this might be the time to look into it.  Discuss with your family and friends what you expect from old age and what type of lifestyle you desire.  

Embrace the positives

Older adults are generally happier and less stressed and worried than middle-aged and young adults, Mr. Kaplan wrote.

Although there can be declines in health and income, “the vast majority of older adults enjoy improvements in the emotional aspects of life” because they are more focused on positive information, he wrote.

The reality of ageing was not as bad as stereotypes would suggest.

While you might not be able to do all the things you once did when you were younger — he advises against playing tackle football with teenagers, for instance — there are ways you can compensate by finding other activities that are rewarding.

Find something to embrace in improving whether it’s golf, cycling, cookery. Mr. Ludwig suggested focusing on helping others, especially younger people.

Remember, too, that you are not the only one feeling sore or slowing down, he said.

“There are millions of people waking up with those aches and pains,” Mr. Ludwig said. “What is the alternative to ageing? It’s dying young.”

Reject ageist attitudes

Though it is true that as we age, we may gain some weight and lose some of our faculties, become forgetful at times, it is no reason to give in to stereotypes about older adults.

Myths about older people — that they are disconnected or grumpy (me haha) — are perpetuated in the news media and our culture. Advancements in technology have accelerated the stereotype that older people can’t keep up, Mr. Ludwig said.

Leslie K. Hasche, an associate professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, said she supported AARP’s “Disrupt Aging” initiative, which seeks to counter social and cultural myths about what it means to be old.

“Too often, the myths create barriers or limits, which get in the way of older adults staying connected or pursuing what is meaningful to them,” she wrote in an email.

Various milestones — birthdays, changes in careers and the deaths of siblings and peers — are reminders of the passage of time, but you should not lose focus on finding meaning and quality in life, Mr. Kaplan wrote.

“For many people, old age creeps up slowly and sometimes without fanfare or acknowledgment,” he wrote. “While most people enjoy relative continuity over the decades, being able to adapt to the changing context of our lives is the key to success throughout life.”

Definitely plenty there to digest

MB

HOW HEALTHY ARE YOUR CANDLES?

Good Morning one & all,

Hands up, who uses scented candles?  What do you use them for?  A nicely scented room?  For relaxation?  Have you even considered potentially damaging to health?  A candle?  Come on!!!! That's what I thought until hearing someone at the gym explain that she'd had to take her doctor to her gp with very laboured breathing, coughing and sore throat.  The child was given medication to help alleviate the problem.  The mother considered what could have set this condition off.  She noticed that her daughter only started to have problems when she was sat in the front room and when the Yankee candles were lit.  After a bit of research she discovered that she was in fact making her daughter's health poor by lighting them.  And why was this?  The production of formaldehyde!!!



New research has discovered that an ingredient called limonene that helps give the candles their scent is to blame.  Now limonene in its natural state is very safe, it is found in cleaning products and added to foods but when it comes into contact with the air alters and becomes formaldehyde.  Research showed that levels of limonene in candles was 100 times greater than had been previously thought.  add to this the fact that our homes are now more airtight, what with double glazing etc, there is a lesser chance of the gas escaping our homes.  The longterm effects of being exposed to high levels of formaldehyde is unknown.  What is known that it can be formaldehyde by itself can be a cause of cancer.

Aside from opening a window when the candles are lit (defeats the object I agree) is to introduce some plants into the home that reduce formaldehyde levels.  These include Ivy, Geranium, Lavender, & ferns.

til next week

ARE YOU A BRUISER?

I'm not sure if any of you have ever noticed but I am regularly covered in multiple bruises due in part to my general clumsiness and also having a very strong and equally clumsy playmate aka Xena the Staffy.  If you find you're discovering lots of bruises on your person and you're not clumsy or a dog owner, here are some reasons as to why this might be happening.  Firstly, and it's always the one we hate the most, yes AGE!!  We bruise more as we get older as we lose the protective fatty layer beneath the skin (so the fatter we are the more protected we are?) as well as thinning of the skin as the production of collagen reduces.  In short it takes less force to get a bruise than when we were younger.

The presence of a blood disorder can explain increases in bruises as your blood fails to clot.  If you experience frequent & severe bruising it's best you go and see your GP.

Although not bruising but can look like it, diabetes causes discolouration of areas of the skin that regularly touches another area of skin.  These fake bruises are a result of resistance to insulin.

If you're at the gym and you push yourself  to try and lift an over heavy weight and you end up with a bruise, well this is due to microscopic tears in the muscle fibres.  In addition, you could be really going for it and not remember actually bashing yourself (Done that loads of times too).

If you're taking aspirin or other anticoagulants as advised by your doctor these will lead you to be more prone to bruising as the bloods clotting capability is being impaired.  Taking oral contraceptives can also lead to increased bruising as the blood vessels are in a weakened state.

A family history of easily bruising will no doubt result in you too being more likely to bruise.  Also if you are naturally pale in a Wednesday Addams kind of way, then any bruise is going to be more noticeable.

And finally, although we all need to expose ourselves to the sun to bump up our Vitamin D levels, prolonged exposure to the sun over some years can result in the skin becoming less pliable and resilient and so again makes the skin more likely to bruise.

To help prevent bruising it's worth looking at your diet and ensuring it contains plenty of Vitamin C and flavonoids found in fruit and veg.  If you do find yourself with a plethora of bruises some simple measures can help them to heal speedily and include Arnica Oil applied topically, cold compresses, Aloe Vera, Calendula, a raw onion placed onto the bruise, or a hot or cold apple cider vinegar poultice onto the bruise too.

til next week

MB

Can you hear me Mother?

I guess we've all read that the quality of our diet can affect eye health, but until this week I'd never considered that it may also affect ear health.  Age related hearing loss is not totally due to something wrong mechanically with the ears but how the brain processes information that gets passed t the ears, a process that begins to degrade during our 40's & 50's.This type of hearing loss may be reversible and conditions such as tinnitus could be improved.

Nutrients that have been found to aid hearing include Vitamin A, magnesium, folic acid, and zinc.  These nutrients collectively support our hearing by protecting against oxidative stress in the cochlear, preventing damage by free radicals, improve blood flow to the ear.
For tinnitus, folic acid/B9 has proven to be beneficial more so if taken from fresh foods such as dark green leafy veg & lentils rather than from supplements.  

As well as eating right, there are other ways we can protect our hearing that are very simple to accommodate into our lives; 

Turn down the volume on audio devices

Wear ear plugs if visiting or working in noisy environments

Take regular breaks from listening to devices with earphones  or limit to an hour a day  

til next week

MB

My melons are wonderful

Where has the summer gone?  The other day I seemed to spend the time running to put the washing out or running out to bring the damn stuff back in again.  Had a wander down to the Riverside Festival on Saturday in blazing sunshine, I arrive then within minutes I was sodden when the skies literally dropped an ocean in a matter of minutes.  Yesterday I went up to The Arboretum for Pagan Pride festival dressed in t shirt and shorts, I had to come back early as I was freezing.

Whilst I was up there I was snacking on some watermelon when I friend said this to me "Eat melon alone or leave it alone because it'll make your stomach groan".  At first I thought she wanted me go away and eat it as I'd never ever heard that phrase before, but apparently if you eat something 30 or so minutes before and after eating melon it can affect you!?!?!? Anyone else heard of that?  So here I am back at home wondering what else don't I know about the humble melon. 

Watermelon has more lycopene than raw tomatoes, lycopene being a powerful antioxidant as well as giving foods their red/pink colour.  Watermelon juice may help reduce/relieve muscle soreness if taken before a work out but beware this also contains high levels of the sugar fructose.

The watermelon rind is edible.  Placed into a blender with some lime it becomes a refreshing treat.  The rind contains more nutrition in some respects than the flesh, particularly citrulline which is an amino acid beneficial for a healthy immune system.  I hate the pips in watermelon but they contain protein & zinc.

As a watermelon is 91% water it is a good way to stay cool & hydrated on hot days(if they ever return).  Watermelon derived supplements namely citrulline & arginine have been shown to reduce blood pressure, inflammation, promote sexual health as well as being called "Nature's Viagra".  I'm hot footing down to Sainsbury's fruit section.....

til next week

MB

MASSAGE & CHRONIC PAIN

Good Morning to you

How can you tell Spring is well & truly here in the Bond household?  The house starts to smell of fresh paint.  Yes folks, in a bid to mask the effects of clients coming through my doors and 2 dogs running everywhere, Spring signals the time I can finally cover up chipped paint, brushed walls and yellowing woodwork which is what I've started doing again.  If you are sensitive to paint odours, please let me know when you book so I can not paint that day and/or open all the windows and let some fresh air in.

MASSAGE & CHRONIC PAIN

Around the world millions of people live each day in pain from long term conditions such as arthritis, cancer and the UK is no different in this.  Such physical symptoms can also lead to depression, relationship problems and anxiety, all of these can drastically affect a person's quality of life.

Did you see the news last week, how the NHS is going to stop prescribing certain medicines in a bid to save cash?  Paracetamol, regularly given to reduce pain, is on this list as it is cheaper to buy these from supermarkets, although to be fair, not in the same quantities as prescribed versions.  One hopes that those with chronic pain are not simply going to be left tabletless but it makes me wonder why, for so long, we as NHS consumers have been obsessed with taking a pill for everything when better alternatives, such as massage, are available.  Maybe, as our over reliance on them has to change, the medical profession might finally start to catch up with what many of us have known for some time....massage works.

Research has shown that massage decreases inflammatory proteins in the body called cytokines which in turn reduces body pain.  The manipulation of soft tissue brings nutrients and oxygen to the area, removes toxins, which encourages healing within the tissues.

Massage also encourages the tissues to relax reducing painful spasms and contractions of muscle fibres.  Studies also now show that massages also causes the release of oxytocin, your body's very own painkiller as well as feel good hormones that lift your mood and gives a sense of wellbeing.

People with chronic pain can find some relief through massage.  More enlightened doctors are promoting massage as part of cancer treatment plans both to reduce pain but also the emotional effects of the disease and toxins created by the cancer treatment itself.  

Typical treatments for pain include medication and surgery. While both can have a role in treating pain, they may not always be the best choice. Surgery is invasive and does not always solve the problem.  

When it comes to pain medication, side effects are often a big problem. Common side effects from narcotic pain medications include constipation, fatigue, and nausea. Also, it’s common for a person taking pain killers to build up a tolerance to the drugs. An increased tolerance results in increasing the dose. Unfortunately, drug dependency and addiction can be a result of taking pain medications for an extended period.

Not only does massage therapy not cause the negative side effects that pain medication can, it often has positive effects. For example, massage promotes relaxation and better sleep, which both help someone deal with pain better. Relaxation is often a factor in recovery, but it is routinely overlooked.  When a person is relaxed, rested and content, it often improves their ability to move and exercise, which can help improve a person’s condition.

An overall improvement in well-being also helps someone deal with the consequences of chronic pain, such as depression and anxiety. As mood improves, it can motivate a person to participate in other types of therapies and treatment that may be beneficial.

Whether or not massage therapy alone can eliminate pain depends on several factors. But even when conventional approaches are used to treat pain, massage therapy can be an effective complementary treatment.

Til next week,
MB

KNOW YOUR ONIONS

Last week I gave you some info on how the humble lemon had so many uses both health wise and around the home.  This week you'd better start channelling your inner Rene from Allo Allo as I've found some interesting facts about onions 

The onion has been linked to reducing a number of cancers in the body, these include prostate, breast, liver, colon & larynx.  Onions contain several anti cancer compounds.  Research shows that the stronger the flavour of the onion the better it is at fighting cancer cells with particular types of onion being more effective against a certain cancer type.  For instance shallots, western yellow and pungent yellow onions are best for liver & colon cancers.

Quercetin is a potent anti cancer compound (especially against brain and lung cancer)as well as being a powerful anti-histamine and good at reducing blood pressure.  It can now be bought as a dietary supplement but getting it straight from nature ie scoffing on an onion, is better for you as you receive more of the benefits than you would from an extract, and unlike some vegetables that lose some of their nutrition through some forms of cooking, quercetin retains intact throughout the cooking process.

Other benefits of onions include fibre, Vitamin C, compounds in red onions fight cardiovascular & neurological diseases as well as reducing obesity and diabetes as they inhibit certain enzymes in the gut and support blood sugar levels in the body.

Til next week...
MB