You are here: Home › Senior Health

Archive | Senior Health

RSS feed for this section

Senior Health

Eating Right and Aging

As you age, food choices become important daily decisions that may affect the quality of the rest of your life. Seniors need fewer calories, and everything you eat should be based on weight gain and the nutrients that can maintain or boost your immune system and keep you healthy. Too much added weight and not enough vitamins and minerals can cause untold health problems.

Choose your foods to make sure you’re getting enough of the following vitamins and minerals:

· B-Vitamins – Seniors need to be sure they eat lots of foods with B-vitamins. Vitamin-B12 isn’t found in plants, but you can get it in your diet if you eat fortified breakfast cereals. Tuna, lean beef, chicken and eggs also provide vitamin-B12, but if you don’t eat enough of these foods, be sure to take a supplement.

Vitamin-B6 is also an important vitamin for seniors. B6 vitamins can be found in foods that provide protein such as pork, fish and chicken. Again, fortified cereals can be a great source of vitamin B-6. Bananas, spinach, wheat germ and bran are among other sources for vitamin B6.

· Vitamin-A – Cantaloupe, carrots, Brussels sprouts, peppers and most colorful plant products are rich in beta-carotene, which provides vitamin-A. Fish liver oil, eggs and fortified milk are also abundant in vitamin-A. If you don’t think you’re getting enough vitamin-A in your diet, talk to your doctor before taking a supplement as it can form toxic levels in your body.

· Folic Acid – A synthetic form of folate, folic acid can be found in foods such as fortified cereal, enriched breads and some grains. Foods containing folate are bananas, asparagus, turnip greens, spinach wheat germ and orange juice.

· Riboflavin – Milk, yogurt, eggs and whole grains are rich in riboflavin. Milk should be purchased in cardboard cartons rather than glass or plastic containers because it loses much of the vitamin from exposure to light. Other food sources high in riboflavin are asparagus, turkey, almonds and chicken thighs.

Some other vitamins that should be included in the foods seniors should be eating are vitamins C, D and E and choline. Eating a diet that’s balanced with these vitamins and minerals is best, but if it’s difficult for you to eat a balanced diet on a regular basis, talk to your doctor about supplements.

As you age, it’s important to fill up with foods that contain vitamins and minerals that will help us to maintain a healthy immune system and provide you with the best caloric intake rather than foods rich in sugar, fat and not much else. Eating right can help us age gracefully and live longer.

Are You at Risk for Colon Cancer?

There are a number of risk factors that figure in to your susceptibility to colon cancer, but the truth is that each of us, no matter what our background or current health status, is at risk – and most of the people who are diagnosed with colon cancer have no specific risk factors. That’s why it’s important that you know the warning signs and are aware of what the risk factors are so that you can discuss them with your health care provider.

One of the high risk categories for developing colon cancer is people over 50 years of age, and the risk increases with each decade after that. Also, women are at greater risk for colon cancer than men, although men are at higher risk to be diagnosed with rectal cancer. Here are some other risk categories for colon cancer:

· Medical history – Women who have experienced other cancers such as ovarian and breast are at greater risk to develop colon cancer. Those who have inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis are also at risk. If you’ve had colon and/or colorectal cancer once, it may come back again.

· Family – If you’re a parent, brother, sister or child of a person who has been diagnosed with colon cancer, you’re more likely to develop it.

· Polyps – These are non-cancerous lumps found on the wall of the colon, but even though they’re non-cancerous, they can lead to colon or rectal cancer. Adenomas, a type of polyp, increases the risk factor.

· Diabetes – Diabetics have an increased risk of developing colon cancer.

· Smoking and alcohol – Smoking is definitely a high risk factor for getting colon cancer. Alcohol should be drunk in moderation or not at all.

· Diet and exercise – High fat in your diet increases the risk of colon cancer as does obesity. Your diet should include high fiber — and exercise should be a part of your daily routine.

Don’t think you’ll definitely get colon cancer if you have one or even more of these risk factors, but do discuss them with your doctor and begin to change your lifestyle so that you minimize the risks. Some people who seem to be at extremely high risk for developing colon cancer won’t get it, and others who seem at almost no risk will be diagnosed with colon cancer — researchers can’t explain why.

Scheduling a screening for colon cancer should be an important part of your medical examinations if you’re over 50 years of age. Your health care provider can advise you how often a colonoscopy should be scheduled. At that time, polyps can be easily removed and you and your doctor can discuss the results and possible actions you can take to lower the risk of hearing a diagnosis of colon cancer.

Aging Gracefully – With Exercise

There are many reasons that senior citizens should exercise on a regular basis, but the main one is that it helps to increase your overall health and ward off life-threatening diseases – especially those associated with aging. Simply put – exercising helps us age more gracefully.

Almost everyone knows the sort of problems we face when aging – slower metabolism, bone loss and stiffness in joints, muscle loss, balance problems, less endurance and heart and lung problems. We all want a quick fix to aging, such as injections and facelifts or a pill we can take to halt or reduce the aging process. But, in reality, regular exercise is the only thing we can do for ourselves that will increase our overall health and well-being.

Exercise can help us maintain the ability to do things we love and to accomplish everyday tasks that we need to do rather than depending on someone else. Even if you’re a very out of shape senior citizen, there are simple exercises you can do that will make you feel better and enjoy your life.

Stretching is simple to do (you can even stretch while sitting) and can make remarkable strides in improving your joints and muscles. You can find online stretching exercises, choose from the many television shows that promote exercising or get a book from the library or bookstore. You’ll want to be sure to choose exercises that stretch your back, arms, calves, thighs, stomach and chest – but don’t overdo it. Stretch for 5 to 20 minutes per day or whatever you feel up to.

Any activity that increases your endurance is great for senior citizens. Those exercises might include gardening, biking, swimming or simply walking the dog. Try to increase your breathing and heart rate, but don’t exercise so strenuously that you lose your ability to talk. Take it easy and you’ll benefit more than you realize.

Strength exercises are very important to engage in as you age. The more you can strengthen your muscles, the better able you’ll be to increase your metabolism (maintain a normal weight) and keep your blood sugar at normal levels. Strength exercises can be in the form of machines at a gym or fitness center – or, you can even use items around the house, such as books and cans of food.

Exercises designed to strengthen your back should be an important part of your exercise program. Back pain can be excruciating and life-changing and is common in senior citizens. Ask your doctor for a list of exercises you can do to strengthen back muscles or research on your own to find some that are right for you.

One of the worst maladies that can affect senior citizens is balance problems. Aging can cause loss of balance, but so can certain medications. There are exercises to specifically build your leg muscles and increase your perception of balance so that you’re less likely to fall. Keep in mind that in the United States, hospitals admit over 400,000 people per year for broken hips – and most are senior citizens.

You are here: Home › Senior Health
BestSeniors.co.place is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon Services LLC. This content is provided 'as is' and is subject to change or removal at any time.