grow older better

Tag: nutrition

  • Seniors Needing Soup Kitchens: An American Disgrace

    [This was previously published on http://lynnsrants.com but it needs to be here as well.]

    Thanks to the wonderful previous administration the ongoing economic woes here in the USA, we, in a country of used-to-be plenty,  are now forcing our senior citizens into soup kitchens.

     

     

    The number of seniors living alone who seek help from food pantries in the U.S. increased 81 percent to 408,000 in 2008, compared to 225,000 in 2006, according to the U.S.D.A……

    The New York City Coalition Against Hunger released a report on the city's soup kitchens and food pantries that found that 68 percent of responding agencies were seeing an increase in senior citizens. Hunger Solutions Minnesota said this month that food-shelf visits from older people increased 26 percent in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2008.  Seniors and Soup Kitchens

    And some who were once volunteers at the soup kitchens are now clients at those same places.

    With no increase in Social Security in 2010 and with the mess of Wall Street still lingering, I expect the statistics will increase over the coming year.  Yes we all got a more than average increase in social security last year but that has already been eaten up by normal costs – the prices of lots of things went up a larger percentage than the social security amount.

    Shame on us! 

    If you have family eating at soup kitchens or in lines to get surplus food – please please help them.  Like all living creatures, seniors need good nutrition – and maybe they need good nutrients more than others.

    And if oyu know of a senior wanting or needing to supplement their income as well as their diet, I associate with a company that provides nutritious supplements and has a plan that can help increase one's income. 

    Help a senior today – spread the word about this…  learn more at being healthy.

  • Monosodium Glutamate. Is it bad for you?

    I can't tolerate MSG and avoid it when I can read a label. It makes me dizzy and nauseous. Sometimes after I eat some foods I feel the same way and after reading an email about MSG – I think I know better what is going on.  MSG or HVP [Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein / another name for MSG] is in a lot of food we eat at home or eat out – in both fast and slow food places and it is addictive!

    What does MSG do?  It makes food "taste better."  This from the http://www.msgfacts.com  website. 

    MSG has been touted as a health benefit  – especially for older people as it causes them to eat more; although I would never equate eating more with getting better nutrition.

    There have been studies showing that monosodium glutamate [MSG] is addictive and is related to obesity.  It is like nicotine in that it is a known additive that creates an addiction – but that no one wants to admit to.  It would mean taking on the food industry.  [The MSG fact website says it is not true that MSG is related to obesity.]

    www.truthinlabeling.org

    Then today when reading posts on Facebook I saw a post from http://facebook.com/jane.e.johnson  [thank you]  indicating that MSG is in flu vaccines and here is the site she mentioned  http://truthinlabeling.org.  This site offers a long list of research related to MSG and its effects.  

    Rather than argue whose research is correct – I shall continue to avoid all food with MSG or HVP especially when I know what it does to me and my body and I keep read material like this.

    Read the research and, as usual,  be the intelligent consumer I know you are.   Ask for the ingredient list and see if MSG or Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein is listed in any of the foods on your plate.

  • Aging and Weight Gain – is it a given?

    I've had a few discussions with friends lately about aging and weight gain. 
    I think it's a myth that you MUST gain weight as you age yet many I know believe that getting fatter is an inevitable part of aging.  Yes – our body changes but the changes need not lead to increased weight. Our metabolisms slow down so we aren't burning as many calories as we used to – but cutting back on calories helps solve that.
    And don't forget that muscle weighs more than fat so if you work out – you will lose inches but not necessarily a lot of weight.  Losing the weight may come at a slower pace than losing the inches; but being leaner [inch loss] is a good thing and a good goal to aim for. 
    Each body works differently one to another.  We have different genetics and different metabolisms – which is why I believe there can never be a "for everyone" diet.   Yet I see eating recommendations that are posted as works for everyone.  
    Take a look at the people around you – some are thin, some are more muscular, some are tall, some are short, some are men, some are women, etc.  Should they all be eating the same foods in the same proportions?  Nope!  Just as for most things – one size can't or doesn't work for all when it comes to human bodies and eating.  And it's why many yo-yo when trying any of these "diets."  The body loses water or muscle and the weight comes back because we need water and muscle!
    good foods
    I learned a while ago that I am a protein eater…my metabolism needs more protein per meal than my very active friend who needs more carbohydrates per meal.  If I ate as much in carbohydrates as she does – I'd balloon and not only gain weight but get lethargic.  If she ate as much protein as I do, she'd feel lethargic.  Is something wrong with either of us?  No – we just have very different metabolisms.  Different strokes for different folks and their metabolic profiles 
    There is a short questionnaire that assesses your metabolic profile.  If you would like more information about this or you have interest in taking the questionnaire – fill in the information box on the side and request a free 30-minute consultation.  That's about what it takes for this questionnaire [and I’m not selling you anything – just doling out information and advice.]

      

     

     

  • Still Learning

    I’m in Chicago at a meeting – where I have learned a lot more about nutrition and it’s effects on the process known as aging. There was a discussion of obesity and a new product which I am trying. It targets fat loss and I will post pre and post photos in a few weeks – but for now I can say that the people I talked to who were on the trials of this product lost fat and inches and looked great!

    I’m not overweight but I have those mid body inches I would like to get rid of. I’ll keep you all posted:-)

    As I am not on my own computer it’s hard to post. Am using my son’s lap top and I have to share it…so posting will be sporadic until I am back home….

    glyconutrients, healthy aging, growing older, aging, nutrition, exercise, eating properly,

  • My take on healthy 90-year-olds

    People in their 90’s were obviously born in the 1910’s and on. They survived the flu epidemic of 1917 and the various childhood diseases that killed many. My mom was such a 95-er who died in 2001.

    The food they ate, and the food I ate, was nutritious. They got exercise as they went about their daily lives. They walked to school, lived without central heat and AC…and drank clean water. They breathed cleaner air as kids – depending on where they lived – and did without radios and TVs for most of their lives.

    What has changed? Even when I was a kid, a lot of what I listed above was still true. Good food, cleaner air [and I lived in NYC] no TV til I was about 10 – and clean water. But then we hit the 1950’s post WWII boom and paved the country, built communities that necessitated driving and encouraged a TV for every house – then every room in every house :-).

    We’ve killed the soil as the major corporations took over “farming,” using chemicals to make food bigger with longer shelf lives – or truck lives now…Food is not ripened in the fields – it ripens in the truck or in your home – that’s not nutrition – it’s “filler.”

    I went shopping today and wanted some avocados – they were all like rocks. I won’t buy them like that. By the time they ripen in my home, they are usually yukky. And that was from the “better” stores……

    So how do we get healthy 90-year-olds in the future? We need to encourage healthy nutrition and life styles in women before they get pregnant and the same for children from the time they are born. To do that we need to turn around the unhealthy lifestyles we are now encouraging – lowering the obesity rate for children and adults – and going back to sustainable farming practices….plus taking food-based supplements – because most of our food, sadly, is lacking nutrition….

    We can do it…

    glyconutrients, healthy aging, growing older, aging, nutrition, exercise, eating properly,