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
In my last post I wrote about a few cosmetic procedures that are taken care of in the hospital. In this post I’m writing about procedures that take place in your doctor’s office.
What is interesting is that the facelift is not as popular as it once was. Many people are focusing on what is called lunchtime lifts which focus on the mid-face and cheek or mini lifts which deal with the jaw line and neck. People don’t want to go through the pain and a long recovery of a facelift.
Both the lunchtime lifts and mini-lifts are performed in-office under local anesthetic or mild sedation, and take about an hour. Recovery is about one week and costs are $4,500 – $5000 for each.
Others are opting for fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm which help eliminate deep and fine lines. Then there are the Botox injections, a muscle relaxant that works on your crow’s feet and other creases such as the one between your eyes. Lots of people like these because they are not surgery and they are affordable. Fillers can run from $450 to $700 an injection and you usually need to repeat them over a period of time.
From my conversations with plastic surgeons, people need to be more realistic about recovery time and the fact that there might be pain. What ever you do it won’t be an overnight miracle. You may not need recovery time, for example, but you may feel uncomfortable for several weeks and there may be bruises.
My advice if you are thinking about any of these procedures is to make an appointment and then consult with the physician. Take someone along with you to ask the questions you forget. Make sure you and the doctor have the same idea and philosophy you do. And ask to talk with some of the doctor’s patients who had the procedure. After all, it’s your face! Make the most of it.
To your healthy aging success.
Ruthan brodsky
I’ve known for a long time that when I’m in a funk, down in the dumps or just in a lousy mood, a quick 20 minute walk/jog or even 10 minutes on the treadmill or running up and down the stairs 5 times will help get me through the temporary blues. (I do admit, however, the stair piece doesn’t work so well.) Now the experts are saying the mood boost associated with a moderate aerobic workout can last a long time ever after you take off your walking shoes.
I’m smiling to myself as I write this post because I’m thinking of all the time, money and energy spent on arriving at this conclusion and they could have just asked me!
But now it’s official, friends. But here’s something I didn’t know. I never really thought about it but I assumed that this boosted good feeling only lasted for a short time. Now we’re being told that rather than fading after an hour or so, the beneficial effects of physical activity on mood begin as soon as a person exercises and may last as long as 12 hours afterwards. “Post-exercise glow” were the words in the report presented May 2009 at the American College of Sports Medicine’s Annual Meeting. The research was carried out at the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Depression Clinical and Research Program.
Apparently, exercise helps to relieve stress by releasing endorphins and other good hormones that elevate our mood. What is of particular interest is that even in moderate amounts, exercise can be very helpful in preventing emotional problems. All of which is a very good thing because we face enough physical and mental challenges as we get older and can certainly do without the emotional glitches.
To your success at healthy aging.
Ruthan Brodsky
The evidence says it all. You are never too old to exercise.
In my last post I wrote about a recent study out of Israel that demonstrated you’re less likely to die if you exercise. Titled the Jerusalem Longitudinal Cohort Study, the researchers also followed 2000 people for 18 years who were studied from age 70 to age 88. What was learned from this age cohort was that seniors who started physical activity between ages 70 and 78 and even between 78 and 85 improved their odds of survival.
The test results also showed that seniors who exercised were more likely to maintain an independent lifestyle than those who didn’t exercise. The researchers also claim that because exercise helps to maintain cardiovascular health, it also improves immunity, and suppresses chronic inflammation.
The Israeli investigators concluded that the difference between physically active and sedentary participants actually increased the older the seniors. Walking appears to me the favorite of physical activities especially because of its low risk of injury.
Walking works even if you’re trying to lose weight. If your weight held fairly steady for some time, but when you hit 55 you started to gain weight, you can gradually increase your physical activity level or eat less and take in less calories. Or you can do both restricting calories and increasing exercise.
You may want to think of taking the stairs rather than the elevator or adding short periods of walking during the day. Once you make your mind up you probably can come up with a few ideas of your own to burn a few more calories.
If you do have some ideas for burning calories, let the rest of us know. We all could use help when it comes to losing weight especially if exercising is helping us to live longer.
To your successful aging.
Ruthan Brodsky
The headline for the front page of the Personal Journal section of the Wall Street Journal, no less, reads “How the Cookie Diet Crumbles”. This was Tuesday, just 3 days ago.
First you need to know I have nothing against cookies. The fact is I love cookies; I’d rather have a good cookie than a piece of pie or cake. My first thought, however, was how significant this article should be given this is the holiday season and everyone is making cookies. Read the rest of this entry
You can actually lose weight by eating more food and still consume fewer calories while still getting plenty of key nutrients. Sounds impossible but it is doable. The answer are low energy density foods. These foods, such as fruits, vegetables and high fiber grains, have greater volume so they tend to fill you up more. However, they contain fewer calories per ounce than sugary or fatty foods such as snacks or colas.
A second benefit of eating the low energy density foods is that you consume more fiber, and have higher than normal intake of important micronutrients including vitamins A, C and B6, folate, iron, calcium, and potassium.
Unfortunately our bodies are not like gas tanks. They don’t tell us to stop now, you’ve eaten 400 calories. Eating is often less determined by biology than my psychology. For instance, the size of the portions you eat and with whom you eat often determine how much you eat. Research shows, for example, that if you are served larger portions, you will likely finish them. Presentation also impacts how much you eat. Just visit any buffet and you will see much larger portions put on a plate than if you were served by a waiter.
Here are tips for reducing your diet’s energy density:
Hope these tips help. Do you have any you might give us? Send them thru the comments and we’ll share them with the rest of the readers.
To your success at healthy aging.
Ruthan Brodsky
Paul had a wild ride with a detox regimen. When he turned 49 he made the switch to a more healthy lifestyle. He started working out, drinking less beer, stretching, and watching everything he ate for preservatives and chemicals.
Paul was feeling good and figured he would feel better if he flushed his system so he started one of the more popular detox regimens, the Master Cleanse. For 10 days he ate no solid foods but drank 8 glasses of a cocktail of lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. In the morning he drank 2 full quarts of salted water and a laxative tea at night.
He felt terrible after 10 days but he did lose 10 pounds. He also was irritable and had headaches and people told him he didn’t look very good. He went off the diet and gained the 10 pounds back almost immediately. A few months later he went back on the detox diet but didn’t follow it so closely. As a result he only lost a few pounds but he didn’t have the adverse effects and is now a fan of detox regimens.
I’m convinced detox regimens can be dangerous and that they don’t add anything to your over all health. I do think they give people a sense of security, that they are protecting their health by detoxing, but it is simply not so. There is no scientific evidence that points to this conclusion.
True there are pesticides, artificial sweeteners, sugar, processed foods that surround us. And it’s also true that without a cleansing these poisons can accumulate in our bodies and cause headaches, fatigue and chronic illness. However, your wonderful body has several systems already in place that are continually taking care of you.
Your liver, your kidneys, and your gastrointestinal tract do a superb job of eliminating toxins from your body within hours of consumption or exposure. You don’t have to wait to go to the spa and get detoxed. And none of those diets even help what your body already does naturally.
My advice: save your money and envelope a more healthy lifestyle.
To your success at healthy aging.
Research projects are many regarding how not to succumb to the couch and shrivel up after retirement. Here are a few tips that will keep you going whether or not you are working and employed. Read the rest of this entry
I described the French research project in my previous post which reported people were happier not working after retirement. In this post, the flip side of the coin. Research that says people are happier and healthier when they are working and staying active after retirement.
In fact there is a 6-year study of 12,000 people which found that there were definite health benefits for people who keep working beyond the age of 58 and beyond retirement. This study was a joint project of the University of Maryland and California State University and published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
This study reported on what they called “bridge employment” which is part-time employment, self-employment or temporary employment after retirement. The major finding was that retirees who continued to work in a bridge job experienced fewer major diseases than those fully retired. They also found improved mental health but only when the person was working within their career field. Even considering the health of the participants before retirement, employment status caused a difference in health.
What does that mean for you? My suggestion is that if you are not retired just yet, you may want to seriously consider looking for full or part time employment when you do retire. It seems reasonable to assume that what is called bridge employment is certainly justified when it comes to your health.
Are you thinking about working full or part time after you retire? If your decision is your choice and not because you can’t afford to retire, tell us why you made that choice. I am betting it will help others make their decisions.
To your success and healthy aging.
Ruthan Brodsky
I have this dear friend who closed his business 11 months ago and is floundering about what to do now. His father retired over a period of years and stayed in a warm climate for a couple of months and then for 6 and 7 months. His father could afford to enjoy a leisurely life when he retired and he did. He also had a couple of major health issues that curtailed his activity so retirement was a perfect fit at the time. But that was then and this is now.
My friend has been thinking about starting a new business, something part time I suspect, and is even willing to work for someone else if the person and work are suitable. So far he has arrived at a fat zero and encouraging him to look in this or that direction seems to make matters worse. So I mention the idea search when I see him because that’s all it is now, but I quickly move away from that topic.
Today a new version of retirement is emerging from the trauma of the credit crunch and the simple fact that we are living longer. Some of us will be living 30 and 40 years after retirement.
The messages are mixed. A European study recently reported that the newly retired are much happier since they stopped working. The same group of researchers also reported that workers slept better after retirement than previously. The participants were 15,000 French workers, most of them men, who answered questions 7 years before they retired and 7 years after their retirement. Workers who felt worse before retirement reported greater improvements when they retired.
The other side of the coin in my next post.
If you are retired are you at a happier place or has the economy made that question too difficult to answer. Let us know what you think.
To your healthy and successful retirement
Ruthan brodsky
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