Olive oil has been a life support in many countries for centuries. The golden nectar is known to be a miracle for the heart and for lowering cholesterol levels.  It can enhance your inner and outer beauty of age esteem.

In Greece, where olive oil and the Mediterranean diet (fish, wine, vegetables and olive oil) co-exist, people have one of the longest, if not the longest, life span on earth.  (It is also said that this is due to close family ties.)

Vincent Van Gogh painted olive groves in his beloved St. Remy in Provence in the south of France where he was hospitalized.  These are some of his most beautiful paintings, possibly captured from his hospital window.  They fulfilled him in a spiritual way.  In some orchards the olive trees are hundreds of years old. Looking at these lovely paintings brings a sense of peace to the viewer.

• Cold-pressed, virgin olive oil which should be used in salad sauces, on pasta and on bread among other foods.
• When cooking with olive oil, especially on high heat, the non-virgin, non-pressed oil should be used.

To accompany drinks eat olives instead of potato chips. Your body will thank you!  Olive oil is also used in beauty soaps which makes the skin smooth and is a natural ingredient as well.

Grandma Nature

On June 20th, people in countries around the world celebrate world refugee day.  It is an opportunity to build awareness and to encourage interest in helping refugees on all continents.  We recognize the strength, courage and contributions of refugees.

“But for the grace of God, there go I.”  Often the only difference between a refugee and ourself is where we were born.  It has nothing to do with education, age and capability.  We were simply blessed to be born in a part of the world where we are safe.

In Geneva, Switzerland where the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is located the famous “Jet d’Eau” water fountain will be blue on June 20.  This is in recognition of the contributions made to our world by refugees such as Albert Einstein, Madeleine Albright, Marc Chagall, Dalai Lama, and Peter Carl Fabergé and for the hope of today’s refugees as the UNHCR continues its important work.

• Become aware of what refugee status means.
• Research the UNHCR to better understand the work that it is doing.
• Contribute funds to your local organization working with refugees or through the site of the UNHCR
• Volunteer time working with refugees in your community to teach the local language and to help them adapt and integrate.
• Count your blessings.

Water is vital to feeling good about ourselves at every age.  And a good level of hydration is essential to our overall health.  Water

• Is basic to our level of energy.
• Keeps your skin hydrated and resilient.
• Lubricates your digestive system and flushes out toxins.
• Speeds metabolism so you burn calories more rapidly.
• Promotes growth of collagen, increase elastin and increase flow of oxygen to upper skin layer.

It’s very important, especially as one ages, to drink a lot of water.  This isn’t surprising when you realize that over half of our body is water.  Replenish your body with eight glasses a day, drunk at regular intervals.

It is the fashion to drink mineral water but we should be careful not to drink the same mineral water all of the time. One might be high in calcium which can cause kidney stones; another with high sodium can give high blood pressure, etc. So if you are drinking mineral water, alternate the brands.  Even better, drink fresh water from the tap if you can.

Grandma Nature

A friend of mine was pretending with her grandchild that they were at the grocery store.  My friend was the check out clerk and her grandchild was purchasing articles of food.  As the child brought them to her, my friend pretended to hit the keys on the cash register.  “What are you doing?” asked the child.  When my friend tried to explain, her grandchild said, “But Grandma, you do it like this”! and proceeded to scan each item with her hand.

Recently our 3 year old granddaughter received a little grocery store for her birthday, complete with an old fashioned cash register and scale to weigh fruit.  It also came with a credit card!  Modern?  Yes.  But how can a brand like Hello Kitty be so age inappropriate?  Whether a child is 3 or 8, how are they going to learn the importance of having the funds to pay for purchases if they learn that a plastic card is the same as money?

With the credit card debts at $775 billion in the US, and the equivalency of US$ 87.5 billion in the UK, $73.9 billion in Canada, and $40.4 in Australia (USA Today, Dec. 09) we would do better to have games that teach financial literacy to children.  We need to raise them to understand that money still represents compensation for an effort made or service rendered.

Do you offer age appropriate games?

• Look at the recommended age on the toy.  Companies have researched these ages.
• Play with your grandchild so she understands the game or toy, and you can see how she develops.
• Ask to see what is in the box so you can remove anything that is not age appropriate like the credit card in the grocery store package.
• Most bookstores have specialists in the children’s section.  Seek their advice.
• It is always age appropriate to make a photo book of the child, with or without text.

Remember.  It is never too early for age-esteem.  Age appropriate toys help foster age-esteem.

As grandparents we try hard not to spoil our grandchildren with “things”.  Instead, we offer them endless unconditional love, educational experiences, happy memories filled with fun and adventure.   As much as we laugh together and play together, we remain their grandparents.  This is important for their age esteem as much as it is for ours.

Recent studies at Yale University, USA and the National Institute on Aging in the USA show that the attitude that children have towards aging influences how they feel about age when they become older.  This means that our attitude towards our own age is an important factor for our little ones later in their lives as well as today.

In order to offer unconditional love to our grandchildren, we must love ourselves unconditionally.  This indicates that we love ourselves at the age we are and celebrate ourselves as well as our grandchildren.   Children feel this sincerity and what we get in return are

• lopsided hugs and sticky kisses,
• pet names that only a child could chose,
• questions and statements that melt our hearts,
• a chance to rediscover life through new eyes, and
• the privilege of knowing we are important in very unique and important ways to our grandchildren.

Age esteem is the perfect gift for every occasion.

Suzanne Hough, 70, Oklahoma, USA

It means that you like the age you are in.  If you’re 40 you like being 40.  If you’re 66, you like being 66.  You don’t go moping around feeling depressed because you’re older than somebody else.

Susanne’s tips: You have to do something that you enjoy.  You have to have an avocation, some hobby that will give you pleasure and maybe eventually be meaningful to someone else.  Stay healthy so you can feel happy.  If you’re healthy you can do just about anything that you want.  And that’s the key.  You have to take care of yourself first before you try to take care of anybody else in the world.

What wonderful news!  Chocolate is good for you.  It can even help you age healthier.

Yes, it’s true.   Chocolate is full of antioxidants which help in preventing cardiovascular diseases.  However, it is dark chocolate that has the most antioxidants. – The darker the chocolate, the healthier it is.

Chocolate is also known to be an anti-depressant because it emits  chemicals in the brain which make you feel good and happy. If you are feeling down, have a piece of chocolate.  As in everything, it should be eaten in moderation because some consensus is that it is addictive!

Dark chocolate has a bitter taste. Now  chocolate can be found with nuts, of course, but also with raspberries, liquors and even chili and pepper.  The choice is yours.

Chocolate Mousse
For 2 people:
2 ounces dark chocolate
2 large eggs, separated
A few drops of rum (optional)

Put chocolate in a small basin with 1 spoon water. Melt.  Beat egg whites separately until they form stiff peaks.  Add egg yolks to chocolate mixture and rum and mix while heating on low flame. Let cool.  Fold in egg whites.
Chill for 3 hours.
NOTE:  Nowadays it is extremely important to be careful about eating raw eggs. Buy the very freshest eggs and refrigerate immediately.

Grandma Nature

In French there is a term of endearment, « mon petit choux », which literally translated means « my little cabbage ».  Does this come from the fact that cabbage has such a positive effect on our health?

Cabbage may be boiled, stuffed, made into coleslaw or sauerkraut.  It is a powerhouse of vitamins for the cold months, which is the season when cabbage is eaten most often.

• Cabbage is full of vitamin C and folic acid, which maintains the arteries.
• It is an anti-ulcer drug and has antibiotic properties in killing bacteria in the intestines.
• Cabbage juice is very efficient in treating ulcers and today with modern juice makers easy to prepare.
• It is known that cabbage has a substance which lowers the estrogen level which in turn prevents breast cancer in women.

There are various types of cabbage and the cabbage family includes broccoli and cauliflower among others.   If you are at an outdoor market notice the fluffy leaves and various shades of green and purple on some types of cabbages. They are a feast for the eye as are cabbage patches.  Walk by one on a cold autumn day and inhale the earthy scent. It will envigorate you. Cabbages are even sold in flower shops to use as decorative arrangements.

Rainbow Coleslaw
1 red apple cut in pieces
6 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup canned sugarless pineapple-cut in pieces
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 walnuts-in pieces
Mix all together and refrigerate until serving
Contains vitamin A, C, calcium and iron
Enjoy!!!ther healthy vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower.  When you are at an outd

Grandma Nature

Hardy Korver, 54, Netherlands

When I hear the term Age Esteem I think of you, Bonnie Fatio! (laughter)  What made me think about it even before my wife put your book AgeEsteem in front of me was the economic crisis.  I thought, “We’re throwing away a lot of experienced good people because of age.”  You see that the other generations that are now a bit more elderly didn’t screw up as much as mine.  It’s a good mix.  We should use the mix.  Mix high and low in both ages and experience.  Use them both.  We need both.  We need those people yet we’ve let them go way too soon and we haven’t really given them the respect and responsibility that they should still have.

I’m becoming a dinosaur myself.  In fact Age Esteem is written about me.  It effects my life too.  I am a dinosaur in my firm.  There are only three guys older than I am and I’m only 54, and feel like 45.  As juniors we ran to the older guys, but there aren’t any older guys left. Your wings are clipped when you’re older.  I don’t think I can do as much.  Or I can, but I’m not supposed to.  That is the problem where Age Esteem comes in.  You may live alone, but surely you are surrounded by others saying, “You can’t do that anymore.”

Hardy’s tips: Know the relativity of everything. Don’t dig yourself in too much to what you are doing at present because there is much more around you.

Get balance in your life.  Work is very important.  You get a lot out of it but grave yards are full of those people who couldn’t be missed.  I keep that in mind. Work hard and play hard.  At least if you play hard you enjoy other things.   I still have people around me who take four weeks holiday and the rest of the year they’re 100 km and hour, always.  I can’t believe that that’s good.  No one ever died from working hard.  They die because they don’t take a rest.  Relax some of the time.

It is more than just reloading the battery. I think that’s a poor description of just survival.  It’s getting inspiration, not only charging the battery but getting new ideas.  You don’t have the same energy as when you started out, so you have to grow.  It’s inspiration and that can only happen if you look around you in a different way.   I have gotten the nicest inspirations from very unexpected things that I see.  Like in Africa or my home, too.

Are you practicing safe sex?  Are you using preventive measures to avoid HIV/Aids or other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)?

In the United States it is estimated that almost 20% of all people with HIV/Aids are 50 years of age or older.  Some reasons for this may include:

• Older people tend to be less informed about HIV/Aids than younger people.
• In fact, older generations tend to speak less about sex in general than younger generations.
• Most medical professionals do not usually ask older people about their sex lives or their usage of drugs.
• Although they are increasing, there still are very few programs to educate older people on how to prevent HIV/Aids and how to recognize the symptoms.
• There are more women than men in retirement settings and men have sexual relationships with multiple women. – And few are tested for HIV/Aids.

It is normal to remain sexually active.  It is also essential to keep sexual relations safe.  Find out how you can prevent HIV/Aids and STDs.  –  And practice safe sex!

For more clear basic information: HIV/Aids 101