grow older better

Category: human interest

  • 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.

  • October is MY Month

     

    October has often been a month of somewhat surreal ups and downs for me….

    When I lived back East I loved the trees turning all those gorgeous colors in October. 

    As kids we picked up the brilliant maple leaves from the streets and sidewalks, flattened them in fat dictionaries and then coated them in paraffin.

    [remember paraffin?]

    [remember fat dictionaries?]

    As an adult, I got married in October…and as an adult my son's father and I split up in October. 

    And I seemed to have moved many times during many Octobers.

    Maybe the shrink inside my head should figure out what the meaning of October is for me.  Here goes…

    What October is not:

    It's not my birthday nor my son's and it's not always filled with nostalgia producing holidays.

    What October is:

    It is the "real" beginning of Fall, the last quarter of the year, and the start of the Federal fiscal year and It's just one month out of 12.

    Eh – maybe I shouldn't try to figure it all out and I should just go with each October's flow or tide as it comes.

    Oh well – for whatever the reason – I just know that this October is going to be one of the best yet! A high tide October

    Do you have a  month in your life in which a series "things"  have happened?

    Any clues as to why it is that month for you?

     

    Comments? Thank you.

  • Nature’s Sky Show

    I woke up very early the other day and this was nature's gift for doing so! 

    The sky show was awesome: A spectacular sunrise complete with a plane taking off from PDX. [see video]

    Nature is amazing and so filled with gorgeous colors.

     

    The morning sky in Portland is like no other place I've lived! 

    Love it!

    [Well except when it's cloudy and rainy and yukky – but then I dont get up and take pictures;(]

     

    Comments? Thank you.

  • Watch TV; Shorten Your Life?

     I write about the benefits of exercise and have a blog about being healthy – and here is a study that may just be part of the formula as to why we have an obesity epidemic and don't get enough exercise.

    The amount of TV viewed in Australia in 2008 was associated with reduced life expectancy by 1.8 years for men and 1.5 years for women. The authors suggest that every hour of TV viewed after the age of 25 reduces the viewer's life expectancy.

    The following study concluded that:

    Viewing time may be associated with a loss of life that is comparable to other major chronic disease risk factors such as physical inactivity and obesity.

    Read more about TV and life expectancy.

     

    Comments? Thoughts? Thank you.

  • When Kids Move Back Home

    my son and I in Chicago

    For many reasons, largely economic, grown kids are moving back home.

    I’ve not experienced this for myself – but soon I will.

    My son and daughter-in-law have decided to leave Chicago and move to Portland. While this has never been his “home” they will be staying with me for a while.

    I moved to Portland well after my son had left home – and the home he left was not any of the ones he grew up in. So our story is already a bit different than kids returning to their original nests. But – although the nest is different, I am still his mommy and he is still my kid…and it is that relationship that will go through interesting variations.

    He has visited me as an adult, even staying for a few months one summer. But even that was different as that's when he met the woman who is now my daughter-in-law and he spent a lot of time at her place.  And i have been to Chicago and stayed with them.

    But now we will be spending more time together than we have done in 14 years! We will share meals, cooking, household chores and fun times.

    I’ve written about issues that arise at holidays when one goes to a parental house for say thanksgiving and one is again treated as a “child.” But over the years my son and I have racked up hours of phone conversations, or in person conversations, and we have been able to pretty well negotiate that shift from parent-child to two equally stubborn, talkative political minds.

    And now there will be another person in the mix, my son’s wife, adding to the intrigue. She’s stayed with me when she’s come to visit her friends and family but we have never had all of us together for a stretch of time.

    It’s great having a child who knows you write about his life….as he said when referring to You Can Totally Screw Up As A Mom And Still Raise Great Kids “it’s my life but you are part of it too”

    It won’t all happen til Fall and I’ll keep you posted about how we manage.