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

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.

Lavender for Age Esteem

Do you remember the song, “Lavender blue dilly, dilly, lavender green…”?

The lavender plant usually blooms in June-July with the vibrant purple flowers covering fields.  Carpets of lavender blooms highlight areas of Provence in southern France, England and in many other places adding dashes of color to gardens and backyards.

This lovely plant also has a sweet fragrance and calming effect on the nervous system.  Lavender has many uses in treating medical conditions as well as in making cosmetic products and even in food!

Aromatic oils are extracted from the various parts of the plants to use in aromatherapy.  –  A way of healing which utilizes the scent and medicinal properties of the plant. Forms of aromatherapy have existed since the very beginning of civilization.

Lavender essential oil is the most versatile of all the essential oils and is very beneficial for high blood pressure, stress, bronchitis and muscular pains.  These conditions can be treated by soaking in a warm bath of lavender oil or lavender bubble bath, or with a massage using the essential oil.

Lavender is also used in perfume and in beauty products. Even in this way the perfume can be beneficial for medical conditions as well as giving off  a beautiful scent.

Finally, the lavender flower may enhance a delicious crême brulée or even a cake.
So enjoy this aromatic plant and look and feel wonderful at the same time.  It can help to enhance your age-esteem.

Grandma Nature

Many of the films for May/June are from around the world: France, Spain, Argentina, Switzerland, Norway, Mexico, United States.  I no longer dare call them foreign films since AgeEsteem readers come from most areas of the globe so many films will be foreign to most.

Films are a wonderful escape into another world and other lives far removed from our own, or perhaps not so different.   They are good for our age-esteem.

• We continue to learn through movies.  They stimulate our minds.
• Going to a theater is a social event, as is watching a DVD with friends.  We share the film and our impressions and reactions.
• Films often make us laugh or cry.  Laughter is a great preventive medicine..  Crying is also a good release that rids us of toxins.
• Films help keep us abreast of what is ‘in’.
• Watching films can be an intergenerational activity.  It offers us the occasion to ask questions and to learn from others, including small children and teens.

Research also shows that to watch a film in another language, whether or not we read subtitles, helps to connect our mental neurons in new ways.

Maureen Bell, 53, Canada

When I hear Age Esteem I think of being happy with who you are whatever.  Just being happy with who you are so that when you are 14 you don’t wish you were 21 and when you’re 50 not wishing you were 40. It’s living your life as it is, enjoying what you’re doing and not being conscious of how old you are.

Maureen’s Tips: I can’t say that I’m doing anything to prepare for my own age esteem other than living.  I never think, “Well I’m too old.”  I go and do it.  I ran the 10K because I realized I hadn’t run the 10K for awhile and it would be a fun thing to do.  I enjoyed the race and it got me onto a whole new level so that I started doing other things too.  I don’t really think about how old I am.  When it sort of comes to mind when I have a birthday and I add it up in my head I think, “Oh, gee, I’m older.”  It doesn’t bother me.

Maureen Bell is a financial specialist and treasure of the World YWCA.

Tina Rogers, Switzerland

I just think that at every and any age you have to esteem the age you are experiencing at the moment.  So whether you’re 15, 20, 40 or 60 there is something to learn and gain from life.  It is an esteem of life.  You’re alive, you’re vibrant.  It’s your life, so just enjoy it.

Tina’s tips: Always take an interest in life at every age.  Keep learning, keep excited, try to keep negative thoughts out of your life.  Enjoy. – Enjoy. – Enjoy!  Life is short.  Make the most of it.

Tina Rogers is a lifestyle coach and trainer.

David Muenker, 57, USA

Age Esteem is feeling good about yourself.  Being happy in your now with esteem at any age.  One of the things you would initially think of is age being older.  But I think it is regardless of the age you are.  Whether you are a teenager or 20 years old you still need to feel good about what you are doing, what you are contributing to the world, how you’re showing up.  Maybe it’s more critical for a lot of people of our age who have been sort of following a path that wasn’t what they wanted.  They weren’t following their dreams, just following what their education and expectations had led them to.  And now they are at a point of reexamining themselves and wanting to know how to place themselves in their reality, their now.

David’s tips: Smile at yourself.  It’s not as serious as you think.  Have fun.  That’s why we’re here.   Give as many hugs and kisses as you can.

David Muenker is an independent professional photographer.

Healthy Hair

The condition of our hair contributes to our personal image and age-esteem.  As we get older, our hair often begins to thin and we may even lose much of it.  (Good news for women. Typically, although women may lose hair, they rarely become bald like men do.)

What can you do to help your hair thrive?

• Brush your hair frequently to help the circulation go to the head. It will strengthened your hair, make it shiny and help prevent hair loss.
• Be sure to get enough iron in your diet.  Iron is very important in keeping hair healthy and to avoid hair loss. Iron is found in spinach, liver, shellfish, red meat and soybeans.

Note: Studies have shown that older people with a high iron content have the same type of brain activity as younger adults.

Grandma Nature

World Penguin Day coincides with the annual northward migration of penguins which happens on or around April 25th.  It is believed that they migrate north to have more daylight since they cannot see well and the light is essential for finding food.

Penguins do not fly. Rather, they walk or waddle and slide.  They are amusing to watch as they parade around in their black and white tuxedos.  This is a great exercise for your age esteem since the they are bound to provoke your laughter. and laughter is healthy for both mind and body.  You will probably need to got to the zoo to watch them.  Unless, of course, you  live in Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, the Falkland Islands, or the Galapagos Islands where they are found.

Sharing the sunset

There are numerous places in the world from the U.S. to South Africa and Australia where my husband and I have joined the local tradition of watching the sun go down at the end of the day.   It is like donuts and champagne or balloons and dancing on New Year’s eve or a picnic on the first day of summer.  As soon as we repeat the event, it becomes tradition.  We expect it and look forward to repeating it yet again.

Traditions are  healthy for our age-esteem.

• They give us occasion to celebrate.
• We look forward and plan for these events, whether as organizer or participant.
• Traditions are social events that bring us together with others.
• Traditions are often inter-generational, offering an opportunity for all ages to have fun together.
• They create memories and images to savor and to share.
• They do not need to cost anything, like sharing the sunset.