It is my goal that Secrets to Health and Aging will be a source of support, guidance, and inspiration to men and women as they move through middle age and beyond.

Not that long ago, senior years were commonly regarded as a time of increasing decline for mind and body. Today, however, we expect to live longer and have positioned ourselves to benefit from recent medical discoveries regarding prolonging good health and making better lifestyle choices.

Many of us want to be productive during these years, whether our outlets are volunteering, continuing to work in a job or in our own business or profession. It may mean even starting a new business.

My objective is to help men and women prevent illness and retain the productive lifestyle they seek. It is my hope that this blog, with its practical and positive outlook, as well as the additional information I provide on specific topics, will inspire you to make the right choices while you enjoy your health.

Tagged with: health and aging • lifestyle choices • prevent illness • starting a new business • volunteering

Filed under: Retirement

In my last post I explained what AGEs is. In this post I will detail why too much AGE is no good because of what happens in your body. Read the rest of this entry

Tagged with: chronic disease • oxidation • Ruthan Brodsky

Filed under: Conditions and Diseases

AGEs or Advanced Glycation End products have been discussed in health newsletters and peer reviewed journals for over 10 years. A nutritionist understands what they are all about but most consumers are so turned off by the overwhelming name they seldom read beyond the headline. I am hoping this headline got your attention because it is important to understand AGEs, especially as you get older. Read the rest of this entry

Tagged with: AGEs • healthy aging • inflammation • Ruthan Brodsky

Filed under: Conditions and Diseases • Fitness and Nutrition

Not all causes of heel pain are plantar fasciitis although it is the major reason. Other possibilities of heel pain are explained below.  Read the rest of this entry

Tagged with: arthritis • heel pain • heel spur • neuroma • plantar fasciitis • Ruthan Brodsky

Filed under: Conditions and Diseases

Heel pain is one of those complaints commonly diagnosed by a podiatrist, a foot doctor. To no surprise, the most common diagnosis for heel pain is plantar fasciitis. Heel Spur Syndrome is another name that is used to identify the condition. 

Plantar means the bottom of the foot. The fascia is a long ligament that runs along the foot. Itis means inflammation (tonsillitis). The name plantar fasciitis means tearing and inflammation of that long ligament at the bottom of your foot. This is a result of small micro-tears in the fascia due to overstress. 

A heel spur can develop as a result of the pull and stress of the fascia on the bone. However, the spur is usually not the cause of pain. In fact, many people with bone spurs do not have any pain at all. The pain comes from abnormal motion in your feet, usually pronation. When the feet turn in and collapse, the fascia takes on an extra stress at the heel. It only takes a small change in your activity or a change in shoes to cause a small tear if you are prone to this condition.

 If you have low arches you are probably prone to heel spurs but you can also get them if you have high arches. The tearing that occurs at the fascia, near the heel, is microscopic. It is not a full rupture but it is enough to weaken the fascia. Once the fascia is weakened it tears more just from the constant weight of the body putting a large force load on your feet. When your foot is injured it is worse.

When you have plantar fasciitis you feel a sharp pain at the heel usually when you first get up, evens out, and then gets worse throughout the day. Some only feel the pain when they’re jogging or walking. The problem is often diagnosed by palpation or pressing on the inside of the heel or inside of the arch. These are the portions of the fascia that are under the greatest stress and have more inflammation. Xrays are used to rule out other conditions such as stress fractures or a tumor.

This description should give you fairly accurate picture of what happens when your heel pain is caused by inflammation and tears of your fascia and is called plantar fasciitis. If you have more questions, give your podiatrist a call.

To your success at healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

Tagged with: foot pronation • heel pain • heel spur • inflammation • plantar fasciitis • Ruthan Brodsky

Filed under: Conditions and Diseases

Everything you eat is going to influence the way your brain functions; I am convinced of that. It just makes sense if you think about it. Food gives your body the raw materials it needs to build, replace and repair everything and to operate efficiently. Read the rest of this entry

Tagged with: brain health • healthy aging • high blood pressure • Ruthan Brodsky

Filed under: Mind and Body

Eating foods that are good for your heart are also good for your brain. That makes perfect sense to me and seems like a logical sequence. Read the rest of this entry

Tagged with: blood pressure • DASH diet • nutrition for heart and brain

Filed under: Mind and Body • Nutrition and Weight

In my last post I wrote about what kind of food contamination you can expect when you buy your foods at the grocery store. In this post I’m going to write about what you should do and should not do to make  sure you don’t create contamination at home. Read the rest of this entry

Tagged with: cutting boards • food contamination at home • left overs • preparing foods • Ruthan Brodsky

Filed under: Conditions and Diseases

I just finished reading the lead article in this month’s Nutrition Action Healthletter. The sub title is Playing Russian roulette with your food. I happen to like this newsletter, published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, because it is objective, provides resources, both sides of an issue, and gives the reader possible solutions. I don’t have any connection with the newsletter or the Center, which I believe is non profit, but it is worth exploring.

The article was compelling enough for me to reconsider my habits of how I store foods at home and how I prepare meals. I want to share what I learned with you because it won’t do either of us any good to do everything we can to stay healthy as we get older and then succumb to an E.coli illness because the spinach wasn’t washed well or we didn’t refrigerate the food  within an acceptable time frame.

What to do.
Wash all your produce even though you may purchase a bog that says the contents have been washed three times.  Wash them again and know there is no absolute guarantee that it will end up bug free. You, however, can’t do better than that but the food industry can regulate itself better.

Sometimes you may purchase a frozen food package that’s been contaminated such as the 2007 Banquet Pot Pies manufactured by ConAgra. These were the kind that you toss in the microwave. Here it was the directions that were confusing. The directions read as if you just had to reheat the pot pie when actually you had to cook it thoroughly and more thoroughly than the instructions on the box.

What to Do.
Follow the cooking instructions but know that may not guarantee safety. Some foods that you think are already cooked may not be so use a thermometer to test if the temperature is where it should be which is probably 165 0F.

For example, with ground beef just expect the E.coli to be there is it’s important to thoroughly cook the product and avoid any contamination with another product.  Again, use a meat thermometer.

More in my next post about safer ways to handle foods.

I welcome your suggestions about how you  protect yourself from food contamination. We are very open to helpful hints. Just type them in the comment section.

To your healthy aging success.

Ruthan Brodsky
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest

Tagged with: Ecoli • food contamination • harmful bacateria

Filed under: Conditions and Diseases

Brain fitness games are not the only option for improving your mental functioning. Do you think that learning a new software program at age 74 or learning how to use a smart phone at age at age 68 might fit the category of pushing your brain to its limit? Read the rest of this entry

Filed under: Uncategorized