And even better if at stage 5 of ripeness ... Photo by Charlotte Harrison on Unsplash Who would have thought that bananas promote our gut health, helping grow beneficial bacteria that ultimately strengthens our bones and delays neural degeneration in our brain?
It all starts with inulin, which is in bananas and which begins digestion only when it reaches our gut. Protects your brain and reduces your wrinkles Photo by BUDDHI Kumar SHRESTHA on Unsplash We know about the immune-support properties of vitamin D, currently the subject of many studies examining its ability to help our immune system resist Covid19.
We know about the antioxidant effects of vitamin C, and vitamin E, both of which limit the impact of free radicals and reduce chronic inflammation. (Antioxidants neutralise free radicals which are molecules that cause cellular damage when their levels become too high. Damage caused by free radicals is associated with numerous chronic conditions, including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.) Asparagus ranks as an excellent source of both vitamin E and vitamin C. It is also a good source of a vitamin which you have probably never heard of before - vitamin P. In fact, vitamin C and vitamin E work synergistically to enhance the antioxidant effects of vitamin P. Here's how the top vegetables stack up Photo by Anna Kaminova on Unsplash Vegetables are essential for well-balanced diets for their high load of vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre, and phytochemicals.
Right now, with the pandemic still active, salad vegetables play a more vital role than ever in our diet because of their capacity to improve our immune defences. They're also convenient since we can eat them as raw, so they present little challenge in preparing for our everyday meals. For example, a cold dish of various raw vegetables, seasoned with oil, vinegar or other dressings, can be quickly prepared. Just how vital are salad vegetables in our diet to overcome viral infections? Six lingering after-effects that will devastate your old age Photo by Paul Pastourmatzis on Unsplash While research into the longer-term effects of COVID-19 is in its infancy, we know that they include fatigue, brain fog, palpitations, mood swings, kidney damage, blood clots, cognitive decline, and increased chronic inflammation. While these symptoms can severely affect older adults, they are recorded in all age groups, even the 18 to 35s.
And they may last forever. The horror stories from COVID-19 survivors of their lingering impairment and suffering are only just coming to light. In July, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report which found nearly a third hadn't returned to their usual state of health two to three weeks after testing positive for COVID-19. "In contrast, over 90 per cent of outpatients with influenza recover within approximately two weeks of having a positive test result," the report's authors note. Of this we can be sure - the long-term effects of COVID-19 on our health are pervasive and can be devastating. They are nothing like the rare damage caused by influenza. Get the balance right, and live longer betterThe benefits of omega-3 fats from fatty fish and likely from plant sources like flaxseeds and walnuts are well known. After all, the media frequently talk about the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil, and sales of fish oil supplements are more than $1 billion per year in the United States.
Omega-3 is a polyunsaturated fatty acid, and our only source is from food. Omega-6 is omega-3's cousin, also derived from the food we eat. The only difference between omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids is in the structure of their molecules. Both are essential. Our body cannot produce them, so we need to obtain them from our diet. It is not a matter of one of them being "better" than the other. We need both, and generally, we all need to eat more of them, as long as we don't get the ratio out of balance. An imbalance in our omega-3 to omega-6 ratio is associated with adverse health outcomes, potentially negating the overall benefits. For example, a high dietary intake of omega-6 induces a proinflammatory response (raising the level of chronic inflammation) whereas omega-3 has anti-inflammatory properties. Reducing inflammation eases pain gets you mobile again Photo by Tristan Gevaux on Unsplash About three weeks ago, my shoulder suddenly locked up while I was brushing my hair. I was tremendously painful, so I researched all the ways that I might get it moving again. One way that was new to me was Red Light Therapy.
It seems to have helped a lot. It might help you if you have inflamed or injured muscles, tendons or joints - here's what I found out. I never thought that it would happen to me Photo by Akim Young on Unsplash Suddenly your shoulder clicks and you are in a land of pain whenever you move out of a minimal range of motion with your arm. I know. It happened to me. I was doing nothing more than brushing my hair.
As President Trump would say, it's a horrible thing. Movements which were previously unconscious and innocuous suddenly produce shrieking bone pain which can start in your lower arm and run up to your shoulder. (Ah! I just had a twitch then!) Shoulder pain or tightness is common, affecting 18 to 26 per cent of adults. And frozen shoulder - the most severe impingement - is estimated to affect 2%–5% of the general population, and can be significantly painful and disabling. To be honest, I did not see myself as a likely candidate for shoulder impingement. COVID flicks a self-destruct switch - here's your best chance to stop it Photo by Jens Johnsson on Unsplash For every 1,000 people infected with the coronavirus who are under the age of 50, almost none will die. For people in their fifties and early sixties, about five will die. Studies reveal that age is by far the strongest predictor of a COVID-19-infected person's risk of dying.
To know that fact is to have information but to lack knowledge - you cannot alter your chronological age. I suspect age is the strongest predictor of anyone dying, i.e. to know that is not actionable. In this post, I will explain to you the reasons that your mortality risk is higher from COVID-19 when you are older, and what you can do about it. There are concrete actions that you can take once you appreciate the underlying reasons. I'll bet that this has not been explained to you before. Improving your sleep improves your life, try these Photo by Jeffrey F Lin on Unsplash In order to continually perform at their best, elite soccer players use strategies to improve their sleep hygiene. We can apply some of these strategies to our own recovery from exercise, and generally to improve the quality of our sleep.
Our sleep quality generally declines as we age. We don’t have the late-night matches, the travelling, nor the intensity of the training of pro players. However chronic insomnia affects 57% of the elderly in the United States, with impairment of quality of life, function, and health. In fact, some medical researchers call insomnia "a neglected epidemic". It is one of the most common complaints in patients with mental health problems. Furthermore, a recent (2018) study found that older people who took more than 30 minutes to fully fall asleep had lower bone mineral density than those who fell asleep faster. Improving our sleep quality not only makes our life more healthy and more enjoyable but very likely will mean that we live longer.  Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash Brown fat prolongs our stress responseIt's well known that chronic stress is associated with a shorter and less healthy life. Until now, short-term stress was considered less harmful to health.
Scientists have discovered just how toxic short-term stress can be. It spikes diabetes. |
ChoicesSince I was diagnosed at 50 with Type 2 diabetes I've been learning how to do bone-building fitness training which lowers my age. You can too. It's your choice. Walter Categories
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