Healthy Aging Club welcomes workshop presentations
by Kosher Caregivers
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"We love people, we love what we do, and we love being of service to seniors and their families."

 

 

That's how Bill Salmansohn explains why he and his wife Annie Benayoun volunteer to conduct workshops in cooperation with our Healthy Aging Club. Their workshops are called "The Human Aspects of Healthy Aging."

About five years ago, Bill and Annie started a business called Kosher Caregivers. Its purpose is to help seniors in numerous ways, including workshops to consider the many aspects of aging and to help enrich people's lives while managing the day-to-day details.

"I saw that seniors are not being taken care of as well as they deserve for a lot of cultural reasons. One being that their children are too busy or live too far and by us as a collective society, where we have definitely lost our sacred vow to our elders, as well as the gifts and wisdom they have to offer," says Annie. "It's a privilege to be of service to our clients," adds Bill. "Our mission is to honor and revere all our clients and caregivers. This is truly a labor of love for us," Annie says.

Putting their business slightly aside, they volunteered to conduct a series of ten free weekly workshops for interested seniors. "The Human Aspects of Healthy Aging" workshops are being held at the Classic Residence by Hyatt in Boca Raton.

Bill's objective is to draw out participant's feelings as they respond to questions about their lives. "We don't really have anything to tell you," he says, "and we know you have a lot to tell us that we look forward to hearing." During the sessions, participants might explain what they are grateful for and what they're enthusiastic or excited about. They might comment on someone they love and how they express their love.

The ten workshops are organized under broad topics and include such issues as creating a support team to help you, communicating with doctors, planning vacations, recognizing what's not working in your life and how to pull it together, allowing others into your life, initiating communication with others who may need and appreciate it, and working through difficult moments, food, exercise, and fun.

The workshops are held Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. and are scheduled for an hour and fifteen minutes. The fourth in the series was held on October 22.

Society President Rob Gordon initiated the Healthy Aging Club years ago with the mission to teach skills in healthy aging. It's a simple mission statement, but one that covers many aspects of our lives. The club recruits specialists in various health-related disciplines to share their expertise.

There's greater value in these events than just the technical content presented. The workshops create an environment for companionship, mutual understanding and camaraderie. Over he years, Healthy Aging Club meetings have produced many friendships, some romances, and at least one marriage.

Rob is busy organizing future presentations that will be open to the public. They'll probably be scheduled in early 2010.

Going Bananas!

A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression 'going bananas' is from the effects of bananas on the brain, read on:

 

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator! !! This is interesting. After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again. 

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet. 

 

 

 

Depression:According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

 

PMS:Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

 

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

 

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

 

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

 

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

 

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychologyin Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

 

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

 

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

 

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

 

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

 

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

 

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, 'A banana a day keeps the doctor away!' PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit!

 

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