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

The childhood tongue twister, “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” has a philosophy to it.  If you picked a peck of peppers and ate them, you would be very healthy indeed!  For peppers have a powerhouse of nutrients for the AgeEsteemer’s body.  There are green, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers and smaller chili peppers.  The lovely little vegetables are tempting to the eye in their shiny coats.  They may be eaten raw or cooked, stuffed and baked, boiled, broiled, fried and mixed with other vegetables such as eggplant, zuchinni, and tomatoes as well as adding a hot spice to  food.

Bell peppers are loaded with vitamin C, fighting off cancer, eye diseases and even conditions such as Alzheimer’s.  Chili peppers, which are very hot, are good for unblocking clogged up lungs and bronchial tubes.  The compound that makes them hot acts as natural aspirin. In addition, when added to food they speed up the metabolism, thus enabling the burning of calories. One interesting study shows that they do not destroy the lining of the stomach nor do they cause ulcers.   Venture out now and pick a peck of peppers!

Grandma Nature