Archive for December, 2008
Posted December 27th, 2008 By: Rod Newbound
Cranberry Bog
Cranberries Create
An Impenetrable Energy Shield
More Powerful Than
a Missile Defense System
Although it’s been known for several years that cranberries can prevent urinary tract infections, up until now, the exact mechanism has remained a mystery. But in a newly published study, scientists at Worcester Polytechnic Institute say they’ve discovered the secret.
They found that virulent bacteria, like the kind that create urinary tract infections, have hair-like projections called fimbriae that attach to the wall of the bladder. Their studies showed that even low concentrations of cranberry juice created a thermodynamic energy shield that keeps these nasty creatures from getting a foothold.
No Harm To Friendly Bacteria
Because the good bacteria don’t have these fimbriae, they aren’t affected. This is important, because our bodies have billions of good bacteria that provide protection from such gut wrenching disease organisms like Clostridium difficile.
Unpublished work also shows cranberry juice has potent effects on disease-causing bacteria, but that the effect is temporary. This suggests that in order to have continuous protection; you will need to consume some form of cranberry regularly – perhaps daily.
Cranberries, a Superfood
You Should Enjoy Year Round
- Cranberries are higher in antioxidants than strawberries, spinach, broccoli, red grapes, apples, raspberries, and cherries. With 8,983 total antioxidant capacity per cup, only cultivated blueberries outrank them.
- Besides being naturally high in Vitamin C, cranberries also contain calcium, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sulfer, vitamin A, vitamin B-1, Vitamin B-2, vitamin B-3, vitamin B-5, vitamin E, and zinc.
- Rich in a dozen phytochemicals (phytonutrients). Phytochemicals work in a number of different ways to prevent disease, even cancer.
- Proanthocyanidins present in cranberries are responsible for their anti-adhesion properties. In addition, these proanthocyanidins promote dental health since they inhibit the bacterial growth that causes plaque.
- A 2001 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry revealed this red berry (in its pure form) contained the highest quantity of disease-fighting phenols, a type of antioxidant that is thought to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, stroke and heart disease.
- Cranberries are also a good source of resveratrol, the component of red wine that makes it so good for you.
How to Get Your Cranberries
Without Terrorizing Your Body
With High Calorie Sugar
Sugar (sucrose) is not only highly addictive; it’s absorbed directly into the blood stream from your stomach, which upsets the natural chemical balance of your body. In addition, sucrose has zero nutrient value.
Pure fresh cranberries have only 45 calories per cup, but when sugar is added, the result tips the scale…
- 140 calories from 1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries. Note: Craisins (by Ocean Spray) is sweetened with sugar, but Eden Foods offers dried cranberries sweetened with apple juice. Same amount of calories, but better for you.
- 130 calories from 8 oz. of cranberry juice cocktail (sweetened with sugar)
- 5 calories from 8 oz. of Ocean Spray diet cranberry juice cocktail (sweetened with fruit juice and Sucralose). Note: Since research has shown Sucralose can cause the thymus gland to shrink, I wouldn’t recommend it. The thymus is important to your immune system.
- 258 calories from 1/3 cup of jellied cranberry sauce
After an exhaustive search, I finally found unsweetened dried cranberries by the pound at Purcell Mountain Farms and Sunrise Dried Fruit Company.
Action Plan
Add this “Thanksgiving fruit” to your weekly diet. Try them in salads, muffins, pancakes, breads, cheese spreads, on peanut butter sandwiches, etc. You can find unsweetened cranberry juice at some health food stores. Since it’s very sour, you can either sweeten it with honey (heat together in a sauce pan until the honey dissolves into the juice) or make cranberry vinaigrette to serve on your salads.
Photo credit: andwat
Posted in Food & Diet, Medical | 3 Comments »
Posted December 17th, 2008 By: Ahalya
Sustaining Bladder Control at Any Age
It’s so embarrassing those who suffer from it frequently become reclusive. Losing control of your bladder is not a disease, and it isn’t related to getting older.
Urinary tract infections, constipation, and certain medications and health disorders can affect a person’s ability to control their bladder. Incontinence can be treated with medications, surgery, or even artificial devices.
But a few exercises and practical tips go a long way in ensuring that this problem stays away.
If you are already suffering from urinary incontinence, note what you eat and drink, and at what time of the day. Also make a note of how often and at what time you are unable to control your bladder. Your doctor will be able to find out what kind of incontinence you have:
Types of Incontinence
- Stress incontinence: Leaking urine while undertaking physical activity, coughing, sneezing, or laughing, which puts sudden and unexpected pressure on the bladder. This problem affects younger women who have just been through childbirth and those who are experiencing the onset of menopause.
- Stress incontinence: Leaking urine while undertaking physical activity, coughing, sneezing, or laughing, which puts sudden and unexpected pressure on the bladder. This problem affects younger women who have just been through childbirth and those who are experiencing the onset of menopause.
- Urge incontinence: Most people can control the urge to urinate if a lavatory is not accessible. But sometimes, those who have diabetes, or have suffered from a stroke, or Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or multiple sclerosis may be unable to control the urge and therefore leak urine. Certain drugs such as, antidepressants, diuretics, tranquilizers and high blood pressure medicines can stress the bladder-wall muscle.
- Overflow incontinence: Men with an enlarged prostate may experience that a little urine leaks from a full bladder. Diabetics could also suffer from this type of incontinence.
- Functional incontinence: Most common in people with Arthritis and bone disorders, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease that curb one’s movements, thinking, or ability to communicate – making it difficult or impossible to reach the lavatory in time.
- Mixed incontinence: Most common in women. Usually stress and urge incontinence.
Anatomic or developmental incontinence: Caused by a physical or neurological abnormality or damage due to trauma or disease.
- Because of pregnancy & childbirth, menopause, and the structure of the female urinary tract, women experience incontinence twice as often as men.
8 Ways to Improve Bladder Control
- Kegel exercises: Arnold Kegel developed a series of exercises in the late 1940s that helped pregnant women overcome stress incontinence. But, they are used today by almost anyone to control the bladder and bowel movements. For at least 2 minutes – 3 times a day, follow these exercises:
- a) Relax your muscles and imagine that you are holding back a bowel movement by tightening the anal muscles.
b) When urinating, stop the flow, and restart it.
c) Sit or lie down with your knees slightly apart and tighten the pelvic muscles for at least 2 seconds, relax for 2 seconds and repeat this 10 times. Gradually, hold and relax the muscles for about 10 seconds each time.
- Watch your fluid intake: If your diary shows that you have been having lots of fluids (coffee, juices, soups, etc) you may need to cut it down, at least before bedtime or just before a long journey. However, take care that you do not cut away too much and dehydrate yourself.
- Look out for diuretics: Alcohol, caffeine and grape juice are well-known diuretics that increase the urge to urinate.
- Seize opportunities… To relieve yourself. Holding it in for too long in social gatherings or during meetings may lead to an infection or overstretch the bladder. Get into the habit of relieving yourself at regular intervals.
- After you urinate, wait for a few seconds and stand up and sit down again. Double voiding usually works for those who do not feel relieved even after urinating.
- Stop smoking. The nicotine irritates the bladder and the lungs. A sudden cough could lead to a loss of bladder control. Smoking also raises your blood pressure causing increased urine production.
- Cranberries juice or capsules significantly reduce urinary tract infections and also alleviate the symptoms of urinary tract illness. It also deodorizes urine and inhibits the adhesion of dangerous micro-organisms that stick to the urinary tract.
- Watch your weight: Fat deposits put a lot of pressure on the bladder and pelvic muscles. Studies have found that those who suffer from incontinence and then shed excess weight, are able to control their bladder better.
Photo credit: trialsanderrors
Posted in Lifestyle, Medical | No Comments »
Posted December 10th, 2008 By: Rod Newbound
George Burns & Bob Hope
Discovered: Fun Way to Live
7.5 Years Longer
A 23-year study of 660 people over the age of 50 conducted at Yale University concluded that it was actually possible to increase one’s lifespan by about 7.5 years by holding a positive perception of aging. And this advantage held true regardless of age, sex, economic status, loneliness, or even functional health!
The implication of this research and others like it is tremendous. Positive Psychology, a relatively new branch of psychology, studies the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. A recent study showed being happy also influences the happiness of your family and friends, and to a lesser degree their friends and family.
So, happiness can increase your lifespan and quality of life.
Why Happy People Live Longer
Researchers at University College London’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health have concluded some important biological processes are actually improved by happiness.
In their study they found that cortisol, a stress hormone that can lead to diabetes and hypertension and controls many of the body’s functions was 32% lower in the subjects who were happy. They also found happy people had lower stress levels and heart rates.
And, they discovered that health-related biological factors were independently related to happiness. In other words, people aren’t just happy because they are healthy… They are healthy because they are happy.
A happy person seeks out more challenges and ways to have fun. They tend to see new developments as stimulating rather than threatening. The ability to see the lighter side of things leads to a lower stress life.
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore concluded that laughter leads to healthier blood vessels. When you laugh, it’s a work out for your diaphragm, abs, heart and shoulders.
Laughing and having a good time increases the production of endorphins, the number of antibody-producing cells, and boosts the success of T-cells. A stronger immune system means you get ill less often. And because you are healthier, you enjoy life more. Another one of life’s pretty neat circles…
Action Plan
Have you ever seen a baby that’s just happy all the time? Turns out happiness is coded in our genes… Studies of identical twins who grew up in separate homes have proved this. Which means some people are just going to be happier naturally.
But don’t despair if you weren’t born happy. You can still make a conscious choice – and live longer.
We all know that emotions, negative and positive, affect our posture, heart rate, blood pressure, & adrenaline levels… In short, our health. In a similar way, our pursuit of happiness, our decision to cheerfully accept or make choices, leads to a lifestyle governed by the pleasure-seeking principle.
This means you can choose to:
- Go out camping with friends instead of spending a lonely weekend at home
- Help someone who is less fortunate than you (it will automatically elevate your mood)
- Take a fun mini-vacation with family every month
- Be around other happy people
- Count your blessings daily
Yes, happiness is a state of mind, but also manifests in the way your body functions. Many studies have shown that a happier person tends to deal with illnesses, unforeseen shocking events and even with permanent disability better than those who hold a largely negative perception of life and aging.
Turns out, laughter is the best medicine. Maybe this explains why George Burns and Bob Hope lived so long.
Photo credit: Sean Dockery
Posted in Lifestyle, Medical | No Comments »
Posted December 3rd, 2008 By: admin
Aging Veterans – Help Beyond the Parade
Guest Post by Valerie VanBooven RN BSN
Under the right conditions, about 33% of all seniors in this country could qualify for up to $1,843 a month in additional income from the Department of Veterans Affairs. This money can be used to pay just about anyone to provide elder care services at home. As an example, these funds can be used to pay children, other relatives, friends, home care companies, or domestic workers. Adequate documentation and evidence must be provided in order to receive money from VA for these services, particularly the services provided by family members or other non-professional providers. The National Care Planning Council furnishes detailed instructions and training to those practitioners who wish to help veteran households receive this valuable source of revenue to pay for home care.
Veteran’s Pension
May Pay for Long Term Care
This little-known source of money for paying long term care costs is known as Veterans Pension and is available to veterans who served on active duty during a period of war or to the single surviving spouses of these veterans. Pension is also known popularly as the “aid and attendance benefit.” Of approximately 35 million Americans age 65 and older in this country, about 11.5 million are veterans who served during a period of war or their surviving spouses. This represents about 33% of the senior population.
The Pension benefit has an income and an asset test. Veteran households with income or assets above the test levels will not qualify for the benefit. Fortunately, there are special provisions that allow — under certain circumstances — individuals who would normally fail the tests to still qualify. VA typically does not tell potential applicants about the special provisions. A practitioner who understands how to obtain the aid and attendance benefit can help potential applicants receive the benefit even when they have been told by VA that they do not qualify.
Pension income is often used to pay costs of long term care such as home care, assisted living or nursing home care. That’s because the nature of these expenditures allows potential applicants for the aid and attendance benefit to meet the special provisions of the income test.
Consultant Training Available
Over the past 3 1/2 months the National Care Planning Council has received over 750 requests from veterans families all over the country who are trying to find help with their loved ones’ long term care needs. Many of these veterans households would likely qualify for the aid and attendance benefit mentioned above. As a result of these inquiries, the council is looking to train veterans benefits consultants to help veterans obtain their benefits and to handle these requests.
This consultants package not only provides the training but it also provides a listing service, a unique website, a seminar marketing system and business strategies to help consultants reach out to more veterans who might qualify for this benefit.
This is a new program. The first trained consultant has been in place for a little over three weeks. In that short time, his personal listing service and personal website, provided by the National Care Planning Council, have already resulted in 15 requests for his services from veterans families seeking help with the aid and attendance benefit. Other consultants who have come online since this first one are experiencing similar results.
If you are interested in becoming a consultant or know someone who might be, you can call the National Care Planning Council at 800-989-8137 or check out our consultants training package: www.consultantspackage.com. To learn more about the National Care Planning Council, go to www.longtermcarelink.net.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN
LTC Expert Publications LLC
http://www.MySeniorService.com
Photo credit: chinaice
Posted in Medical | 1 Comment »
