Upside Of Aging

Tips for Foot Care on Vacation

Traveling can provide you with a needed change in routine but it also requires that you pay attention to the changes that take place with your feet. If you sit a lot, at your job, at bridge, in front of TV, your feet are not going to be used to the ups and downs of traveling and the extra walking. That means packing the right footwear.

Keep in mind there probably is no one shoe that will work for everything you do on your vacation. If you're going to a warm climate you will need one kind of shoe and another for an Alaskan cruise or skiing in Colorado. Whatever the case, you will need a good vacation shoe.

Traveling to tropical climates, you will probably want an open-toe vacation sandal to keep your feet dry in a humid climate. A good vacation sandal has support with a proper arch and heel support and is anchored to the foot with either an ankle strap or a sling back strap so that your orthotic stays with the shoe. If you want a more traditional walking shoe in warm climates be sure to wear socks that wick moisture to reduce the risk of blisters. You can get a blister when there is excess moisture at your foot's friction points.

When you are in cold climates you need to balance your need for support, warmth and weight because it is exhausting to hike with big, heavy warm boots. And many of those don't have the flexibility you will need in the footed which means more problems especially if you have problems with plantar faciitis. My advice is to purchase a couple pairs of wool socks for your cold weather vacation because they provide insulation and they naturally absorb moisture.

Before I forget, you may want to check out this link where you can sign up for a free report about finding the right shoe when you have foot problems. If you decide to purchase the digital book, I do receive a commission.

Some vacations require that you bring along more than one shoe especially if you plan to dine out, see a play or attend a special event. Hiking mountains requires different shoes than visiting an art gallery.

When traveling I usually wear the pair of shoes that take up the most room in the suitcase. Sandals take up a lot less space in luggage than walking shoes. Besides, if you're flying, you'll want to wear closed toe shoes in the airport.

Two tips:

1. Review your travel itinerary and the activities planned to make sure you pack the right kinds of shoes; and

2. Take at least one pair of supportive, comfortable shoes, two are better, and plenty of appropriate socks so they can be changed often. Try not to take new shoes you've never worn.

To your successful healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

Foot Care On Vacation

The stories of how much their feet hurt while hiking in Oregon sometimes surpassed their stories of the flora and fauna and scenery they were supposed to enjoy. These are my friends and they never thought about having any foot problems in the scenic coastal region of Oregon or Washington so they weren't prepared when a foot problem occurred.

Make a note here. Even if you're going on a cruise you are still going for short land trips and walking the towns or the ruins or the cultural events. Even if you're going on a driving tour you need to prepare for your feet because you, too, will stop, take a short hike around a lake, window shop up and down the artsy streets or visit the 400 year old cathedrals.

You may think about a new outfit for your trip and ways to enjoy the outdoors but you need to put your foot care as a priority or nothing will be fun. This means cute shoes are probably out and supportive footwear is in.

Many people walk more when they're on vacation than they do at home. Wearing flip flops that have no heel on them can lead to heel pain known as plantar fasciitis. This is one of the most common conditions that podiatrists treat because something like 40 percent of Americans will suffer from plantar faciitis sometime in their lives.

Flip flops present another problem that most of us don't consider. When you do wear flip flops or sandals be sure to put sun block on the tops of your feet. Your feet are hidden from the sun most of the year but once they are soaked in sunshine they can get sun burned quickly. This is also true if you run around the beech in bare feet. Once you have sunburn it will be painful to put any kind of a shoe on your feet.

Two tips for your feet before your vacation:

1. Visit your podiatrist if you are experiencing any pain, problems or discomfort with your feet or ankles. Foot pain is not normal.

2. Get your feet ready for your vacation. Being a regular walking program with the shoes you plan to hike in or walk in and be sure to include some hills in your walk. Do this about 4 weeks before your departure.

Do you have any tips for preparing for your feet for a vacation? Type them in the comment box and share them with our readers. More on taking care of your feet on vacation in the next post.

To you success at healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

Metabolic Syndrome - What You Can Do

Metabolic Syndrome – What You Can Do

In my last post I wrote about the 4 factors in metabolic syndrome In this post I'm going to let you know how you can prevent the syndrome, and you can, because it's all about lifestyle.

The dominant underlying risk factors for this syndrome are abdominal obesity and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is its own metabolic disorder when the body can't use insulin efficiently. Other conditions associated with the syndrome are physical inactivity, your age (the older you get the more susceptible your are), hormonal imbalance and genetic disposition (or what you inherited from your parents).

Just think about this. Let's say you are genetically predisposed to insulin resistance, and so are your brothers and sisters. Now let's say you are 40 pounds overweight and not engaged in much physical activity. Your chances of having a stroke are a lot better than the heavy guy next store who also sits around a lot but his parents were very healthy. Or let's say you are age 64 and your next door neighbor is 34. Who do you think is going to be more predisposed to metabolic syndrome? Hint - it's not your neighbor.

One of the problems is there are no well-accepted criteria for diagnosing metabolic syndrome other than identifying at least three of the components. Treatment then can proceed for each component.

On the other hand, there is treatment for prevention. However, and you have heard this a thousand times, you can reduce your risk by living a healthy lifestyle.

• Reduce your weight (BMI less than 25 kg, or your weight in relation to your height);
• Increase your physical activity, with a goal of at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity for at least 5 days a week;
• Improve your eating habits.

More in my next post about a simple way to motivate you to do more exercise that works and only has a small cost.

In the meantime, any reader here who was diagnosed with metabolic syndrome and then tell us what happened next.

To your healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

Metabolic Syndrome - What Is It?

've often thought of metabolic syndrome as one of those labels the medical profession uses either to frighten you because it sounds ominous, to use it as an excuse to recommend more medication, or to recommend more office visits. Shame on me for being so negative at times but when you look at the term, the 's' and the 's' aren’t even capitalized. Metabolic syndrome can't be a real thing.

Word of warning: some resources shorten the term to MetS. If you google that label you're going to get links to the New York Mets so save yourself the time and google the whoe phrase.

I read in a recent issue of the newsletter Focus on Healthy Aging that it affects more than 50 million Americans and that half of the rest of us have some of the risk factors that can lead to it. That is a lot of people and I now realize that younger and younger people may fall under this label.

First of all, metabolic syndrome is NOT a disease. It is several risk factors that if enough of them take place at the same time, three out of five to be exact, you are at a high risk of having a heart attack or stroke. It's called metabolic syndrome because these 5 risk factors overwhelm the chemical reactions that take place in our body. When they become overwhelmed the chemical reactions make mistakes so that your heart functions go haywire and the result is a heart attack or a stroke.

The five sections of metabolic syndrome are:

• Abdominal obesity;
• High levels of triglycerides (blood fats);
• Low levels of HDL, the good cholesterol;
• High blood pressure;
• High fasting blood sugar.

More about what you can do to lower your risk in my next post.

Be sure to post any questions you have so I can answer them for you in the post.

To your healthy aging success.

Ruthan Brodsky

Exercise to Stay Fit and Functional

Some of you may only think of exercising when you want to lose weight. Exercise can help you lose weight but it is necessary to routinely exercise, not every once in a while, if you want to maintain your ability to do daily activities such as getting in or out of a SUV, walking your dog, or carrying groceries to your kitchen.  This is important to keep in mind if you ar eover 50.

It is true that if you diet and you exercise you will probably lose more than if you dieted only.  The better news is that you will also be more fit and if you want to increase your overall strength and lean muscle mass, than you also need to do weight training.

Ideally your exercise routine will include about 8 or 9 exercises that target the major muscle groups including the hips, glutes and legs, chest, shoulders, arms, shoulders, and core. You want to exercise the front and back of the body and your limbs at least twice a week to the point where you are challenging your muscles. Keep in mind that muscle is not formed while you are exercising. Exercise stimulates the muscle and muscle tissue grows during your recovery, the day or two between strength training.

The good news is that building lean muscle you also increase your metabolic rate a bit and this will help keep you trim. The bad new is that it does not take very long for you to lose the muscle you gained. It is a matter of days so keep up the strength workouts.

 

Give yourself a break from playing poker or bridge on the computer. Take a hike. Do some wieght lifting exercises even if it means working with a couple cans of soup.

 

How do you fit in your exercise on a daily or weekly basis? Type your answer in the comment box and share any ides you have with our readers and myself.

 

To you success at healthy aging.

 

Ruthan

4 More Ways To Get Healthy and Stay Healthy

In my last post I wrote about the first 3 steps to take including taking on a regular exercise program but making it social with family and friends.

Step number 4 is knowing your numbers. Find out what your ideal body weight is, what your target number should be for the bad cholesterol, LDL, and set your sites to achieve those numbers. Include the guideline numbers for your blood pressure and blood sugar levels. You are the captain of your ship and you are responsible for these numbers. You can work with your physician to help you but there is no magic pill.

Step number 5 is to expand your social networks. This may include volunteering for your favorite education, religious or political project. It may include talking to your friends on the phone rather than texting or e-mailing. Sitting at home by the TV or computer screen is fun but it can be isolating. Set aside the time to be with people you enjoy.

Step number 6 is to monitor your medications and the supplements you take. Write down everything you take and give it to your physician or pharmacist. Make sure none of your supplements are interfering with your meds. If you have several doctors, make sure one of them knows everything.

Step number 7 is to reduce stress. You would not think there would be stress in your life now that you are retired and your children are doing well. We humans are a remarkable species with this uncanny ability to manufacture stress. I become very stressed, for example, when there is a major snow storm. I tell myself I should not be stressed because I have no control over this storm. I still fret. Activities like yoga and meditation will help you through those stressful times.

These 7 steps will get you off to a great start to being healthy and staying healthy. Of course, all it takes is one lose sneeze in a crowded airplane, but at least you have given yourself a fighting chance to enable your immune system to kick in and save your day.

To your successful aging.

Ruthan

How To Stay Healthy and Active for the Next 12 Months

You do not need a special day like New Years to set your goals for living better. Besides, chances are fairly good that by now, if you did set a health goal for the new year, it has been broken more than once. This is Rule No 1: Set Your Health Goals When You Are Most Motivated To Achieve Them.

Take Charge of Your Health Care

No matter what takes place in politics and the politics of public health reform there are actions you can take to insure that you receive quality health care.

Keep in mind that quality health care can help you stay healthy and recover faster when you become sick. My mother always thought that getting good care meant seeing the doctor right away, being treated like a queen by the office staff, and having the doctor spend a lot of time with her.

Granted, those things are important but clinical quality care is more important to me. It's like taking my car into service. The service rep can be charming and friendly and have coffee and cookies available, but I want a good mechanic. I want my car's problem fixed or I want to prevent a problem from happening.

• One of the most important things you can do to receive quality health care is to search for and find health information and use that information to take an active role in making decisions about your care.
• Work with your doctor and other members on your health team to make decisions on your health care. That could mean working with your dentist, podiatrist or personal trainer.
• Ask questions: what does the scientific evidence has to say about your condition?
• Do your homework and go online or to the library and find out more. Make sure the information comes from a reliable source.

In my next post I'll list a bunch of questions to ask your doctor.

Above all, keep in mind, that YOU are the first step in quality health care. Don't wait until someone is doing it for you.

To your successful 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

Interpreting Data To Figure Out Your Health Risk

It is evident that we need to understand our health risks and still be aware that the health information we receive keeps changing. When we take responsibility, although you and I have no special expertise, to make intelligent decisions about our health based on the information and misinformation we receive, we need to look beyond the obvious.

For instance, there are hundreds of studies that show the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease. That is hardly news. What does become news is when there's a study that fails to make the connection. That's the study that makes the headlines. Even so common sense tells us it would be silly to change our lives based on just one news article and one study.

It's true that we shouldn't throw out what we learn, but we do need to figure out what it means. If you're like me, you aren't interested in taking a course in medical research. Still, there are some general principles that we can apply when trying to form intelligent opinions.

For instance, a good study has an objective, a particular finding they want to research. The information should be more than uncontrolled anecdotal rehashes. In fact, one important safeguard against bad science is peer review, in which scientists scrutinize each other's work in advance. You can be very skeptical of studies that have no peer review. On the other hand, just because a research article was peer reviewed doesn't mean some of the data can be wrong, or falsified.

A less formal way of figuring out the worth of a research report is to consider the opinions of the experts who are quoted in the press. It helps us, as consumers, to see the kinds of commentary a study evokes from the experts. They also may not guarantee that something is accurate but at least we get some consolation. Your personal physician is also a good source if you want help to interpret the data. What you should know is that if the information stands up as accurate for several years, then the government and different associations establish guidelines and start offering free information on the topic.

Still more on knowing your risk factors on my next post.

To your healthy aging success.

Ruthan Brodsky