Sweet Potatoes For Healthy Aging

Sweet potatoes, with their rich orange color, are a wonderful source of fiber and vitamins.  Loaded with beta-carotene, which aids night vision, they are helpful as an anti-inflammatory food, and they seem to protect the immune system.

A Harvard University study shows that large amounts of beta-carotene may prevent some cancers, especially lung and breast cancer.

Grandma Nature

I associate sweet potatoes with Africa. When I attended a conference in Kenya in the 1990’s, one evening our hosts built a bonfire and threw sweet potatoes into the fire. While the potatoes cooked a local raconteur wove us into his storytelling with threads of tales from our various cultures. At the end of the evening we reveled in the savors of the sweet potatoes.

Bonnie Fatio

Marie Skripec, Member of Committee and Volunteer of the YWCA Germany

A Thanksgiving Message

My name is Marie Skripec and I come from Germany. I would like to share some thoughts with you that I wrote down on Monday of the World YWCA conference in Bangkok 2015.

Amongst others I was inspired by Bonnie Fatio and the exercise she did with us where people stood up and said what they were imagining, what they were dreaming of.

So this is what I imagine:

 I Imagine

I imagine a world

where there are no more armed conflicts,

no more wars

no more people that have to flee from their countries,

that have to leave their homes and their beloved behind

I imagine people,

 women and men

to stand up

and say that we don’t want people to be killed,

we don’t want to support governments and people

that develop cruel strategies

and initiate conflicts and wars

in beautiful countries.

We don’t want any more people and governments

that are responsible for the death of so many people

only

because they seek for more resources, influence and power

claiming to operate in the name of democracy.

I imagine a near future

where we don’t spend our money on weapons, soldiers and armies

but on the protection of our environment, our nature and the people around us,

on education and the future of our present and following generations,

on mutual exchange and learning from each other

all around the globe.

I imagine my country

to take more responsibility,

a sustainable Germany

ecologically, economically, socially and culturally.

 I imagine people

that consume less

and instead open their eyes

to see all the beautiful things around them

and conserve them:

trees, flowers, birds, butterflies

women, men, girls and boys

neighbours, friends, sisters and brothers.

We often say

that we should see the world

through the eyes of a child

 Well, I imagine

that we seriously ask children for their opinions

and consider it in our decisions we make

locally, regionally, nationally and globally.

I imagine

children in our governments.

Parliaments consisting of

male and female leaders of all ages.

Deciding on our present and future,

learning from and relating to good and bad

practices and experiences in the past.

A flexible parliament

ready to learn permanently,

listening to its people and all its variety.

I imagine

many raindrops

changing the direction of many rivers

heading towards a just and fair world

I imagine

 a world in peace

where we all live as one.

Thank you Marie Skripec for these meaningful words. May we share these thoughts with you as we recognize our blessings on this Thanksgiving 2015.

Happy Thanksgiving from AgeEsteem,

Bonnie Fatio

Eggplant For Healthy Aging

Aubergine (eggplant) is a vegetable with many benefits.  High in fiber but low in calories and fat, it contains an antioxidant which is beneficial for the brain. Vitamins B 1 and B6 as well as potassium, manganese, magnesium and copper are components as well.

Eggplant is an anti-cancer, anti-cholesterol vegetable due to substances which fight free radicals in the body.  However, when eaten in great amounts, it can increase joint pains in the body when arthritis is present, or influence gall bladder problems and activate stones due to the high level of oxalates.

On the whole eggplant is a very nutritious and valuable health-promoting food.

An easy way to prepare eggplant and to give them a taste of Provence is to cook slices on the barbeque. Simply slice the eggplant lengthwise into slices. Place them on the barbeque for about five minutes, turning them over once. Put them on a platter and dribble a bit of olive oil over them. It is a tasty way to enjoy healthy eggplant for healthy ageing.

Grandma Nature

Heat Wave Precautions

 In Europe we are having an extreme heat wave with temperatures consistently in the 90’s and 100’s. This is very unusual in our climate. Air conditioning does not exist in homes, so special precautions must be taken. This is especially important for older people.

Here are some guidelines that we received from the city where we live, Geneva, Switzerland.

1. Drink water regularly without waiting to feel thirsty. You should need to urinate as frequently as on a normal day.
2. Dampen your body several times a day, but avoid taking ice cold showers.
3. Wear loose clothing and cover your head if you are outside.
4. Avoid going out during the hottest hours of the day and spend several hours a day in a cool place such as a movie theater, library, grocery store, museum…
5. Avoid physical effort during the heat of the day, especially between 11am and 3pm.
6. Keep your home cool by closing shutters and windows during the day and opening them during the evening and night.
7. Drink fruit juice and bouillon to compensate for loss of body salt through perspiration.
8. Be aware of the symptoms of heat stroke: high temperature, rapid pulse, headache, cramps, dry mouth, confusion, vertigo, feeling nauseous.

Find out if your town has a “hot line” (no pun intended) during these periods of extreme heat. In our city there is a number to phone if you are living alone and wish to have someone contact you each day to make sure you are all right. Feel free to ask for help.

Bonnie Fatio

Futile Worries

 They are the things which cause us needless fret

Even when the worse to come has not happened yet!

 What if there’s rain?

What if I’m sick!

What if there is no train?

Whose portrait should pick?

What if I seem to be

Too old for the task?

Will I still be esteemed

Or someone else be asked?

When at last “they” did occur

There was not any pain,

“It’s” easily won over “hers”

My worries were in vain!

Futile can be quickly changed into more positive thought:

To become fertile and arranged with much will, and NOT of naught.

Written by Alexandra Taylor for Age Esteem®

Still Alice – Living With Alzheimer’s Disease

 The movie, Still Alice, starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart is not an easy film to watch. It deals with one of our greatest fears as we age – realizing that we have Alzheimer’s disease. And yet it is a must-see film for several reasons.

First it is superbly acted. You are drawn into the lives of each of the characters concerned.

Secondly, it creates awareness around this disease that still carries a social stigma. Alice tells her husband, “I am sorry that I don’t have cancer. When you have cancer people support you with pink ribbons and run races to raise funds.” With Alzheimer’s, people avoid you.

Thirdly, in it Alice reminds us that to “Live in the moment is all I can do. Live in the moment.” Whether our minds are healthy or disease ridden, yesterday, even a second ago, is part of the past that can never be changed. Tomorrow will always remain in the future. This moment is all that we can be certain of, so let’s make the most of it.

Bonnie Fatio

Magnesium For Healthy Aging

Magnesium is such a necessary mineral for the body.  Lack of it is associated with muscular cramps, but it is also important for the body for strong bones, teeth, muscles and tissues.  The problem is that it is difficult to keep in the body-especially because of perspiration, but also because of lack of proper food, dieting, medication, stress, nervous tension, etc.

When there is not enough magnesium in the body, fatigue, cramps, and nervousness manifest themselves.  Best sources are in certain foods with the highest being in cacao, almonds, cashews and soybeans.

Some mineral waters are high in magnesium. For example the mineral water Eptinger in Switzerland is very high in magnesium. I believe it is the one with the highest quantity. Do remember though, it is important not to drink the same mineral water all of the time. You want to alternate them.

Grandma Nature

The Enchanting Marigold

Crush a marigold flower and smell it.   You will find it so enchanting. The smell is wonderful.

This happy little flower is very helpful in treating skin conditions such as sores and rough skin.  A compress of marigold flowers also calms irritated and itchy eyes.

 Grandma Nature

Healthy Tidbits On Oils For Aging Well

Buy cooking oil in small quantities and in dark bottles in order to conserve their nutritional value.

Choose oils, which have been cold-pressed.  They have, in addition to essential fatty acids, other important substances.

Olive oil, because of its elevated ratio of omega 6-omega 3 (11-1) benefits the cholesterol level and lowers arterial pressure.  For cooking with high heat regular olive oil can be used.  Cold-pressed olive oil is not recommended.

Walnut oil lowers bad cholesterol and benefits the good cholesterol.  Do not use for cooking.

Grandma Nature

It would be interesting to know the origin of the expression, “He’s driving me nuts”.  Nuts do not make you crazy!  On the contrary, they are very, very good for you.

There are many kinds of nuts-cashew, almond, walnut, Brazil nut, hazelnut, etc. and each has its own beneficial property for the body.  This is of special interest as we age.

Of all nuts, cashews have the highest rate of magnesium, which is very efficient in controlling cramps, especially leg cramps.

Pistachio nuts are used in baking and in mediterranean dishes.  They are very rich in vitamin B which is so valuable for the nervous system.

Walnuts are known to be very healthy for the heart, with their antioxidant properties.

Almonds play an important role in containing and even decreasing bad cholesterol levels while enhancing the good cholesterol.

Almonds and Brazil nuts are the only nuts that are alkaline in the acidic-alkaline chart.  Most of the food we eat is acidic, and it is this acidity in the body which promotes cancer and rheumatism among other ailments.

Judging from what is known about them, it is better to pick up a bag of nuts at the grocery store than potato chips or other starchy foods.  The choice of nuts is there, and they are all healthy.

Grandma Nature