Upside Of Aging

Two More Outdated Nutritional Assumptions

In my last post I wrote about soy and olive oil not as good as we think they are.

Assumption Number Three: Vitamin C prevents Colds

Truth be known, and then this is not absolute, taking vitamin C supplements may shorten colds slightly but the results vary widely. Other than that, no matter what Linus Pauling wrote, extra vitamin C in the winter at high doses will not help colds stay away. Taking an extra 1,000 mg a day of vitamin C for a few days won't hurt you but it is not a magic potion for warding off colds.

Assumption Number Four: Antioxidants prevent cancer and heart disease.

When the reports of the first research studies were published it all sounded so promising. Damage caused by renegade oxygen could trigger cancer, injure arteries, hamper vision and accelerate aging. Antioxidants, such as beta-carotene and vitamins C and E could neutralize the damage before it took hold. So far the clinical trials haven't produced success.

Even so I am always reading about some new skin discovery to prevent aging that contains one or more of the anti-oxidants. Either they know more than I'm reading or they companies are betting they we all still believe this outdated assumption.

For instance, I was a firm believer that vitamin E was just about a guarantee against cardiovascular disease. Was it just a few years ago when the research said that just isn't so?

That's not to say that antioxidants are useless. The mistake, I'm told, is to assume that if antioxidants work, it is because they are antioxidants. Vitamin C, for example can be an antioxidant in one setting and pro-oxidant in another. If vitamin E and selenium protect the prostate it may not be because they're antioxidants but are working though a different pathway.

To say that a food is rich in antioxidants is not at all significant; it has no real impact.

No matter what your age, the world is full of surprises.

To your healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

Two Outdated Nutritional Assumptions

There is so much information that's now available that it becomes difficult to figure out what is good, what is bad, and what just isn't so. That's what I'm writing about in the next couple of posts: about nutritional information that just isn't so but the belief that they are 'I know for a fact' continues to stay with us. Most of the time they are promising theories that just didn't bear up because of the lack of evidence.

Number 1 assumption: Soy foods prevent breast cancer and hot flashes

My mother had breast cancer and I know how scary it can be from her perspective and now from mine because I'm a higher risk. It is easy for me to latch on to something that seems to make sense and will prevent me from getting breast cancer. So far, however, the evidence is very weak that the plant estrogens or phytoestrogens found in soy can prevent breast cancer.

As for hot flashes, most of the studies found that soy or plant estrogens from supplements like red clover, have very little impact on hot flashes and other menopause symptoms. The same is true for an impact on prostate cancer. The research on reducing PSA levels has had mixed results.

Number 2 assumption: Olive oil is the healthiest oil

The healthiest oil is probably fish oil but you can't use it on your salad. Olive oil is certainly one of the good oils but I think it is unclear whether it is the best.

Just about any oil that is high in unsaturated fats, whether it is polyunsaturated or monounsaturated is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease. In fact canola oil may be better than olive oil because it is lower in saturated fat. Canola oil, however, has more of a polyunsaturated fat called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) than olive. ALA is an omega-3 fat that may help lower the risk of heart disease.

However, ALA may also raise, albeit slightly, the risk of prostate cancer but the research isn't complete. Actually, red meat and dairy fat are also sources of ALA and more consistently related to higher prostate cancer risk.

My advice, switch off between canola and olive oil.

I welcome your comments about these nutritional assumptions. Were you a believer that they were facts? Do you know any nutritional assumptions that you think are outdated? I'd like to share them with our readers. I have a few more and I'll write about them in my next post.

To your healthy aging success.

Ruthan Brodsky

Put Potassium in Your Diet

You spend 20 to 40 percent of the total energy that is required to keep you alive just continually pumping potassium into your cells and sodium out of your cells. Without potassium, your brain would not be getting messages from your nerves because nerve impulses would not travel and muscles would not start contracting.

What you need to know

Potassium is an element and an electrolyte that is essential for the growth and maintenance of your body .It is a mineral that helps keep the kidney to function normally. Potassium is crucial to heart function and plays a major role in skeletal and smooth muscle contraction, making it important for normal digestive and muscular function, also. One of its primary roles is keeping a normal water balance between your cells and body fluids.

It may be the seventh most plentiful mineral on earth, but potassium is scarce in American diet. More potassium in our diets could help protect us against high blood pressure, strokes, kidney stones and bone loss.

Having too much potassium in the blood is called hyperkalemia.

Having too little is known as hypokalemia.

Keeping the right potassium balance in your body depends on the amount of sodium and magnesium in your blood. Too much sodium, very common in our diets because we use so much salt, may increase your need for potassium. Diarrhea, excessive sweating, poor eating habits as well as diuretics for blood pressure and heart disease can all cause potassium deficiency.

Fruits and vegetables are your best sources, especially of potassium citrate, which may prevent kidney stones and bone loss. Good food sources for this include bananas, orange juice, avocados, cantaloupes, tomatoes, potatoes, lima beans, flounder, salmon, cod, chicken, and spinach. Make sure they are on your grocery list and in your refrigerator bins.

To your success at healthy aging.

Ruthan brodsky

Strength Training for Newbies

Those who know recommend that you do strength training at least twice a week to make gains in muscle and bones. The estimated time to train is 30 to 45 minutes because you need to do one or two sets of six to 10 exercises. It is also suggested that the intensity be high and the weight should be such that you can lift 10 to 12 times in good form. If you cannot lift it correctly then rest before you do another set.

There is no set rule about which weight to start off with even for women. It may be a 5 pound weight for a bicep curl for a 50 year old woman and then she would be up to 8 pounds in a few weeks. The theory is if you cannot progress to heavier weights you are not building muscle. Working out with a 3-pound weight week after week will not make you stronger.

You also need to work on different exercises because you have different muscles. A bicep curl is good but you also want to do an overhead press which gets at the triceps in the back of your arms and the deltoids in your shoulders. Most people can purchase a few weights and do these programs at home. The concern about doing strength training at home is that many people do not push themselves so they can increase their strength and muscle mass.

There are many sites on line that have instructional videos for the exercises with no charge. By the same token, most communities have a senior center which offers many fitness programs and use of the facilities at very affordable rates. They usually offer a swimming program, aerobic room and weight training.

Combining aerobic exercise and strength training is important as we get older because of the loss of muscle. Sometimes it is an effort to get to the gym or work out at home, but the results are worth the effort.

Do you have any tricks that motivate you to workout and go to the gym? I know I could use a good motivator now and then. Please share your stony with u.

To your success at positive aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

More Strength, Better Lifestyle, Fewer Falls

Right now I cannot think of anything negative to write about strength training. Even if you already have diabetes, one work out will improve your blood sugar control and maybe even lower your blood pressure.

Just as important, especially for women, strength training improves balance significantly. When muscle mass is lost, bone density also decreases and it becomes obviously rather quickly that living independently as you age is at risk because lack of balance usually indicates taking falls. How's this for a statistic: the typical woman who lives into her 80s will need anywhere from five to ten years of assistance because she is too frail. The same is true for men who live into their nineties.

The sad note to this is that some elderly stop doing their activities because they are afraid of falling. As a result, their ability to perform their daily activities and to take care of themselves comes spiraling down. At the same time, gaining muscle strength can reduce arthritis pain and keep the elderly more active. For instance, those with moderate to severe arthritis have weak muscles. Therefore, if you have arthritis in your knee joint it is likely that the hamstring is weaker than your quadriceps making the muscles out of balance. When the hamstring gets strengthened through exercise, the knee works better because the muscles can help absorb more of the shock when walking. The result is less pain.

The fact is strength training is important for everyone. By their 40s, as women approach menopause, they start to lose some of their bone and muscle. Men start to lose, also. The beauty is that strength training can actually increase muscle mass so that if you are exercising you are going to be like a younger person who has not been exercising that much. Strength training is one way to push back the clock.

If you are someone who does strength training and enjoys doing it, tell us your secret. It is a struggle for so many we welcome your expert advice.

To your success at positive aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

Muscle and Strength Training Matter for Healthy Aging

It is not unusual for many folks in their mid years to complain that they're eating less and weighing more. For many it is also more difficult to find the time to exercise because of one chronic pain or other that is draining energy.

The good news if you have an hour a week, 2 hours would be better, you actually can reverse some of those and other problems that creep up as you get older.

Strength-building exercises build more than strength. They boost your bone density, your metabolic rate, balance and self confidence. What's even better than trimming some of your flab, strength training can curb depression, reduce sleep problems, high blood sugar, arthritic pain and the risk of heart disease. Besides that it does not cost very much to do.

There are not many solutions this good in life so pay attention!

First you need to know that we start losing about a quarter pound of muscle every year by the time we are in our late 30s. By the time we are 80, we have lost about a third of our muscle mass. Sarcopenia is the name given for loss of muscle mass. The debate about whether it is natural due to the aging process or caused by poor nutrition and inactivity remains active.

We need muscle to keep us strong and mobile. Muscle tugs on bone to help bone stay young. It also burns more calories than fat burns so our metabolic rate should increase which makes it easier to keep our weight on target.

Muscle is also where most of our blood sugar or glucose goes. When we eat food, glucose goes into the bloodstream and most of it gets deposited in the muscle as stored glycogen. When we don't activate our muscles because we're not moving around, the muscle cells become resistant to the insulin that the pancreas secretes. In other words, insulin can't do its job. What makes matters worse is if our muscle cells are resistant to insulin we are at higher risk of heart disease. To cap it all off, if resistant leads to more glucose moving around in the bloodstream, we probably have diabetes.

I hope you followed my map. Where are you on this journey? What are you doing for strength training?

To your success at positive aging,

Ruthan Brodsky

Dance and Get Fit

Let's face it. Walking and jogging on the treadmill can be boring. If you try and break up the monotony by watching TV or reading you are probably slowing down and not getting the real benefit of cardio effort.

Dancing, on the other hand, can be fun. First, you have to dance to music and most of us have some sense of rhythm and rhythmic music makes us move and smile. Think about those times you were at a wedding, just sitting and listening to the band, but your feet were tapping and your head was bobbing to the rhythm. In fact, everyone at your table was keeping in time to the music with some kind of movement.

Not only can dancing provide a healthy aerobic workout, it can also create an opportunity for social interaction. There are aerobic dance classes at most centers. You can take a line dancing class, meet new people and get some exercise. If you can convince your friend, the two of you can take ballroom dancing lessons, meet other couples and get some exercise. Or you can buy a DVD, grab your spouse off the couch and start dancing in your own home.

The aerobic nature of dancing provides conditioning for your heart and lungs and increases your body's efficient use of oxygen. Any movement is better than none but the key to dance as an aerobic activity is to keep moving long enough and fast enough to increase your heart rate and make you perspire.

Tip One: If you are coming to a class for the first time, show up early and let the instructor know you're a beginner. That way the teacher can take some extra time with you or at least make sure you're in a spot where you can see what's taking place.

Tip Two: Start off with a simple class with a name like Beginning Ballroom or Basic Square Dance. When you start to get bored of basic, then you can try for something more advanced like belly dancing or swing.

Have you taken any dancing lessons? Are you dancing long enough to count it as aerobic exercise? Share your story with us and type it in comments.

To your success in life,

Ruthan Brodsky

Get Your Beta Carotene with Carrots

I keep a small bag of baby carrots in the house as a snack that I can nibble on, usually in the afternoon. I'll even take the carrot bag in the car because carrots don't make crumbs.

I am on a personal campaign to eating real food, not food products. Even if a low fat every bar is available, I'll pick up the carrots instead.

And there's more to carrots than you might think. Thanks to refinements in growing techniques, carrots have twice as much beta carotene as they did in 1950 which makes them an excellent source of this antioxidant, which your body uses to make Vitamin A. Cooked carrots may be even better for you in some way because they help your body absorb the beta carotene by breaking down their cell walls.

Beta carotene is a fat-soluble compound. That means your body needs a little fat along with it in order to absorb it. Solution: drizzle your cooked carrots with a few teaspoons of olive oil. If you're munching on raw carrots, dip them in hummus or eat them with a few slices of avocado also a source of mono-unsaturated fat.

You can purchase beta carotene supplements but you need to be very cautious of how much you are actually getting. Taking high doses, for example, was shown to increase the incidence of lung cancer in smokers. My advice – eat the real thing.

To your success whatever your age.

Ruthan Brodsky

Exercise Can Give You A Better Brain

If you could, would you do aerobic exercise on a regular basis if you knew you would have a better chance of remembering where you put your cell phone, of remembering your friends' names, of doing a better job of bidding at a bridge game, or winning an argument with your kids…finally? I'm betting you said YES.

The conclusion from a couple of recent research projects shows that aerobic exercise, the kind that increases the heart rate and respiration, is important to brain health. We know that regular aerobic activities are associated with a healthier cardiovascular system which means more oxygen and nutrients to the brain so that it can function at its best.

What you may not have known is that aerobic exercise also reduces the numbers of cell-damaging free radicals, again protecting the brain from environmental toxins and producing more proteins that protect the brain. All this from the Massachusetts General Hospital Depression Clinic Study.

Rush University Medical Center in Chicago just reported that the stronger men and women between the ages of 54 and 100 maintained the best brain function. In other words, the greater the muscle strength a person has the more likely she will maintain proper cognitive function over time. An earlier study showed that those who participated least in social activities also had the most cognitive degeneration.

The bottom line for you: Physical Activity, Mental or Cognitive Activity, and Social Participation all contribute to your healthy brain function. If that's the case then creating some type of multidisciplinary approach including all three activities can help us stay alert and strong mentally. Even knowing there's no absolutes, rather than taking a medication for memory, this approach is certainly worth including in our self help health plan.

What are your thoughts about this approach? Do you have other ideas?

To your success at healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

Integrating Health Risks for Your Own Health

A health risk factor can be your age, sex, lifestyle, personal health history or family health history.

If you have certain risk factors, such as your dad and his brothers and sisters all had diabetes, you probably would be considered at high risk for diabetes. That doesn't mean, however, you are going to develop diabetes. And  not being at high risk doesn't mean you won't develop diabetes. The risk factors are there so you and your health care team can determine how often and when you should receive preventive care services for diabetes, for example.

When you understand your own risk factors you become an active partner in managing your wellness. Keep in mind that risk factors don't take place in isolation. For instance, if you stop eating apples because of the pesticides and replace apples with French fries, you are not going to be improving your health risks. Or why would you even worry about missing your daily supplement of vitamin B-12 if you're smoking twenty cigarettes a day?

Also keep in mind that when scientists report their findings, they speak of certain results as statistically significant. That's an arbitrarily agreed upon result that says the probability of the results happening by pure chance is less than one in 20. The problem is some studies with statistically significant results eventually turn out to be wrong.

What's more, some of the results are less relevant than we first think. For instance, if your risk factor A increases your risk of disease X by 100 percent but if the baseline risk is only 1 in 1000, the risk factor would be 2 in 1000. On the other hand, another study says your risk for B increases your risk of disease Y by 25 percent. However the baseline risk for disease Y is 400 in 1000 so by raising it 25 percent it becomes 500 out of 1000 or half.

So what does all this mean? You need to take an active part in your preventive health, you need to rely on the expertise of others, and you need to use common sense and then make your decision.

Do you think about your risk factors? the ones you inherited? the ones you bring to the table with your lifestyle? Do you have any plans to assess your health risks? Talk to your doctor about your risks?

Let us know how you deal with your health risks. Maybe your actions will help someone else.

To your Success at healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky