Keep A Healthy And Active Mind

A nagging worry as we age is, “Will I be able to keep my mind in tact, or will I lose my memory?”

It is true that dementia becomes more prevalent as we age. However, there are many ways we can act to keep our minds and bodies healthy and active. The poster in the photo above arrived in my mail from the Alzheimer Association of Switzerland. Their mailings are useful with suggestions that are easy to implement immediately.

Here are the 7 Golden Rules for a Healthy and Active Life from their poster.

1. Build movement into your day
   1. never sit for long periods of time
   2. exercise for mobility and endurance
2. Eat healthfully
   1. include sufficient fiber
   2. eat lots of fruits and vegetables
   3. reduce your fat intake
3. Get sufficient sleep
4. Exercise your mind
5. Relax
6. Spend time with family and friends; meet new people
7. Be aware of your general well-being: weight, sight, hearing…

And remember that laughter is the best medicine!

People with age-esteem keep their minds and bodies healthy and active, and they laugh often!

Bonnie Fatio

Check Expiration Dates For Healthy Aging

Check the expiration dates on packages like pancakes and cake mixes that have yeast which over time develop spores.

Apparently, the mold that forms in old mixes can be toxic! Throw away ALL OUTDATED pancake mixes, brownie mixes, Bisquick, cake and cookie mixes, etc., you have in your home. If consumed when outdated, it could be fatal.

Grandma Nature

It Could Be Worse!

When I fell and broke my knee

I asked “WHAT will become of me?”

I thought “Oh Woe”, but suddenly

I stopped my being sullenly

And pity-ingly … when solemnly

I turned for help in rhym-ed verse

And knew that it could be MUCH WORSE!

Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®

A Healthy Liver For Healthy Aging

It has been said that the liver is a “life-saver and a waste basket”.  It is the organ that stocks all the toxins that are eaten or consumed – alcohol, cigarettes, pesticides, coffee, excess fat and even stress, anger and sadness.

When the liver is overstocked, there is weight gain, feeling of fatigue, increase in cholesterol and even drab looking skin.

To aid the liver in eliminating the toxins, there is nothing easier.  Eat and drink a lot of vitamins and minerals found in fruit juices and raw vegetables.

Grandma Nature

Leg Health To Enhance Age Esteem

 It is easier to feel good about yourself at the age you are and to glow with age esteem when you are healthy. – And healthy legs are important to your overall health.

You can do much to prevent varicose veins and keep your legs healthy.

• Sleep with legs raised.
• Move.  Climb stairs, walk to the grocery store.
• Change position regularly.
• Avoid saunas and hot baths, peeling wax, and exposure to the sun.
• Replace high heel shoes with low heels or flat shoes.

Age-esteemers know it is important to care for their legs.

Grandma Nature

Raw Tomatoes For Healthy Aging

Raw tomatoes are rich in vitamin C and in lycopene, which because of its antioxidants protect the body from cancer and cardio vascular disease.

Eaten regularly and over a long period of time, tomatoes reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. This includes tomato-based foods such as ketchup.

Tomatoes also contain fiber and vitamins E and B, and minerals such as potassium, which help to lower blood pressure. Low in calories, the tomato is a good a source of weight control.

Next time you are at the grocery store pick up some tomatoes for healthy aging.

Grandma Nature

Geraniums For Healthy Aging 

Geraniums are soon to be planted in many of the window boxes of mountain chalets in the Swiss Alps. They are beautiful and full of color. Did you know that they are also beneficial for healthy aging?

Geraniums known also as pelargoniums, produce oil, which is a natural antiseptic to be used for cuts and bruises. Geranium oil also improves circulation and can reduce blood pressure.

In former times geraniums were used for treating sore throats and sinus conditions.

When you age with age esteem you know that it is beneficial to pamper yourself. When adding the geranium flower and petals to a bath, the scent of the steam enhances a feeling of well-being and reduces stress.

Grandma Nature

Eliminating Toxins For Healthy Aging

One of the main health problems today is having too many toxins in the body from the foods we eat and all the pesticides used in their cultivation.  But Mother Nature has her cure. – There are many fruits and vegetables, which if eaten regularly, can eliminate these toxins and help keep you healthy as you age.

Vegetables:

• The artichoke, a diuretic that also stimulates bile, enables the evacuation of toxins.
• Parsley is a diuretic in stimulating the kidneys.
• Asparagus, a diuretic that eliminates toxins from the body and has fibers, which aid in good functioning of the intestines.
• Leeks and onions, which are rich in fiber, purify the intestines.
• Watercress increases the enzymes to disintoxicate and boosts the regeneration of red blood cells.
• Cabbage in all its forms and colors is a wonderful detox vegetable because it stimulates the liver.

Fruits:

• Kiwi eliminates toxins accumulated from alcohol.
• Melon is highly diuretic and cleanses the intestines.
• Rhubarb favors the circulation of water and cleanses the tissues.
• The apple because of its particular fiber, pectin, favors the elimination of toxic metals in the body.
• Strawberries are good for draining the liver.
• Lemon cleanses the digestive system and stimulates the kidneys to eliminate toxins.

Next time you are shopping, choose these fruits and vegetables so that Mother Nature can help you eliminate toxins from your body for healthy aging.

Grandma Nature

Mushrooms For The Immune System

Mushrooms are found year-round in food shops. The wild ones have their season, but the button mushroom is always available.

Certain mushrooms are used for specific recipes. Whichever of the edible mushrooms you use, know that they are each healthy and full of important nutrients. Latest studies have found that mushrooms play a role in improving heart health, strengthening bones and aiding the immune system.

Since mushrooms contain many minerals they are a factor in enhancing the immune system, thus fighting off the flu, colds or other germs.

Spices too aid in fighting off seasonal illnesses such as the flu, so add curries to your menus. They also fight off bacteria.

Grandma Nature

Brains Of Older People

Brains of older people are slow because they know so much. People do not decline mentally with age.  It just takes them longer to recall facts because they have more information stored in their brains, scientists believe

Much like a computer struggles as the hard drive becomes fuller, humans can also take longer to access information.

Researchers say this slowing down is not the same as cognitive decline.  The human brain works more slowly in old age, said a doctor, but only because older people have stored more information over time. The brains of older people do not get weak.  On the contrary, they simply know more, but just may not be able to access the information.

Also, older people often go to another room to get something and when they are there, they stand and wonder what they came for.  It is NOT a memory problem.  It is nature’s way of making them do more exercise.*

Grandma Nature

*Editor’s note: *I believe that Grandma Nature is showing some humor!