grow older better

Category: Aging

  • Obesity Is Linked To Changes In The Brain

    human_brain

    What are we doing to our brains?

    Our bodies?

     

    The hypothalamus is a small almond sized structure situated just above the brain stem and controls body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue, sleep, and circadian cycles. These are functions in the category of homeostasis – or balance.  Look what we are doing!

    Obesity appears to be strongly linked to structural changes in the brains of rats and humans, according to new research.
     
    During a study of high-fat diets in the brains of mice and rats bred to become obese, researchers found evidence of early and lasting injury to a specific part of the hypothalamus.

    Then using brain imaging, the researchers also found signs of similar damage in the same area of the brain in obese humans.
    No one has found a cause and effect – but interesting questions are being asked and further studies will be designed.

    If obesity changes what is basically the hunger thermostat – it might explain a lot about why people keep eating even when they know it may not be good for their health.

    And this study was done on rats and adults so another question would be what happens to young children who are gaining so much weight? If their brains are also changed in not-so-good-ways by the weight, what else might that affect developmentally?

    More questions that need answers!  But while we wait for more answers, please eat healthier foods and grow older better!!

     

    Thoughts? Comments?

  • How To Figure Out What You Can Do With Your Skills

    list_of_what_I_am_good_atIn writing about being self-employed – I posted this:

    Start right now and make a list of all the things you are good at.

    Just let your brain run free and if you get stuck, ask your friends and family what they see you as good and great at doing.

    And stay tuned for what to do with your list.

    Here are the next steps!

    Go back through your list and put a big * next to the ones that make you really smile :)

    Lightly strike through those that you may be good at but don't feel so happy about :(

    Put a ? next to the ones you feel so-so about right now

    Look to see if there are similarities among the ones with a *.

    Do they seem to fall into some sort of category or categories?

    [for now – don't try to label the categories – just do the groupings if they are there]

    Next step – put one of your groupings at the top of a new sheet of paper and have a private brainstorming session about what "someone" could do with these ideas

    [it's often helpful to think of that someone else and not you]

    If there are no natural grouping that you see – just take the first idea where you put a * and do as above – have your brainstorming session about that word.

    You are now on your way to creating your own entrepreneurial career!

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    Stay tuned for more

     

    Questions? Comments?

  • Drugs, Depression and Getting Old

    pillsSometimes I feel like a broken record…and when it's about drugs, that's sad.

    We are are a "take a pill for that" kind of culture.

    Look at all the ads on TV: "Ask you doctor if X is right for you."

    Pills will [allegedly] make us, the adults, more beautiful, thin, happy, able to have sex at any moment, rosy cheeked, less leaky and more physically active.

    And we have pills for our kids. And more sadly, our kids tend to go into the medicine cabinets and do take those adult pills.

    Recent surveys now show that the use of antidepressants has increased almost 400% since 1988. These are now among the most frequently used "pills" among  people ages 18-44.

    BUT – nearly 25% of women aged 40 to 59 are taking antidepressants!

    And many people take more than one kind!

    And worse yet – fewer than 1/2 of people taking multiple antidepressants saw a mental-health professional in the year prior to the survey!!

    So – what does this say?

    • That we really are more depressed?
    • That we are more affected by those ads on TV?
    • We really think older women are depressed?
    • That it's ok to take a mix of medications without appropriate medical oversight?

    These are very serious questions that need serious answers…

     

    Comments? Thoughts? Thank you.

  • Food Insecurity in the United States? Yes!

    food_insecurityFood insecurity is a nicer way of saying you are going hungry!

    Like Mother Hubbard our cupboards are bare!

    And as we grow older, more of us are falling into this category of insecurity.

    Age groups rarely looked at by any measure regarding food needs are now included – and it seems that almost 5 million of those between 50 and 59 [the younger "boomers"] are at risk of hunger. And that figure was from a few years ago.

    How many more will be hungry each year?

    It turns out that more than 9% of older Americans were at risk of hunger in 2009 –  a whopping 79 % increase since 2001.

    The economy is bad and it is impacting not only the potential of losing one's home, but of being hungry as well.

    Do we not care about our elders anymore?  Are we living longer only to lose our homes and go hungry?

    There are boomers and older who must make choices each month – rent or food? Food or medications?

    Yes there are programs that can help but they too are low on funds and supplies. If everyone is poor and in need of food – just who will supply the food banks?

    If congress thinks cutting food and service programs for the elderly and poor is a good way to save money – how will older people and poor people survive?

    I'm saddened by where we as a country have gone.

     

    Comments? Thoughts? Thank you.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Vitamins and Older Women: Some Thoughts

    There was recent news that taking multivitamins was bad for the health of "older" women.

    I read the research summary and nowhere did it tell me what vitamins were studied other than "popular" ones. The conclusions were that we are wasting our money and harming our health.

    Not surprising as 95% of all vitamin/mineral supplements are synthetic!! And those synthetic ones are made of rocks, petroleum and other "natural" ingredients.

    Yes legally they can be called "natural" but they aren't foods. So the next time you read the label and it says natural vitamins and minerals – think again!

    Better yet – take the vitamins you have at home and do a "bake test." 

    Put them in an oven at 350 degrees [F] for 10 minutes and see what happens.

    Here is one such "bake test" result:

    The ones turning black or with black spots? [well that's the tar coming out]

    The ones that lack black spots? [well they are made from food]

    Food bakes; tar ? I don't want to know!

    I can't say for sure but I wonder if the women who were in the study were eating tar!

    And I'd bet that eating tar is not good for your health!

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    Disclaimer: I eat and market products that are food-based and are mentioned in the above photo. And yes I make $ if you buy any from my associate site – and yes that is my link below [I bet you figured that out from my name ]

    http://mymannapages.com/lynndorman

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    Comments? Thoughts? Thank you.