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It's the beginning of a whole new year, a good time to start habits that can improve our health and well being. This issue talks about several things we can all do to improve our health. I am not one to make resolutions for the new year, but I do feel the need to make some healthy changes; how about you?
Along with the new year, our web site has changed considerably. Many of our brochures and informational flyers are available to download. Take a look!
We will be at the following fairs: Sierra Vista Senior Expo, February 20, at the Ethel Berger Center. Green Valley Health Fair, March 10, at the Western Recreation Center. Sierra VistAbility Day, March 27, at the Ethel Berger Center. There will be drawings and prizes, as well as information, so stop by!
Sandra Chancellor, General Manager, Sierra Vista
Scott Manzi, General Manager, Green Valley
3965 E. Foothills Dr., Ste F, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635| T: 877.841.8248
101 S. La Canada Dr, Ste. 36-1, Green Valley, AZ 85614| T: 888.399.1092
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| Why An Efficient, Nutrient-Rich Diet Is Essential To Senior Health |
A nutritious diet is especially important for seniors' health. That is because a variety of factors puts older adults at greater risk of malnutrition, according to the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These factors include chronic disease, physical disability, isolation, limited income and medications that limit nutrient absorption.
Seniors require about 25 percent fewer calories than younger adults, so it is important that the calories they take in are rich in essential vitamins and minerals. For seniors, the key is efficient eating, dining on foods that maximize nutritional value, and not calories.
Good Eating Has Its Advantages
Healthful eating makes a big difference in the well-being of seniors, says the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (www.nia.nih.gov). The benefits can include:
- Greater energy and improved feeling of wellness, as nutritious food provides the needed calories and nutrients to get through the day
- Greater longevity
- Strengthened immune system and protection against illness
- Reduced incidence of mood swings and depression
- Increased mental focus
- Reduced risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol
- Lessened risk of diabetes
- Decreased risk of some forms of cancer
- Improved cardiovascular health
- Greater control of weight by concentrating on nutrient-rich foods that are more filling than "empty calorie" foods that lack essential vitamins and minerals
- Younger, healthier looking skin
- Improved digestion and regularity, through consumption of whole-grain foods, fruits and vegetables and water
The effects of poor nutrition build up over time, and can lead to fatigue and a weakened immune system. This can leave seniors vulnerable to pneumonia and other serious infections, and increase the risk of death.
Learn more about the best food choices, special nutritional needs of seniors, and the importance of staying hydrated.
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| Skin-Deep Advice For Better Senior Health |
Skin, our body's largest organ, clearly shows the effects of aging.
How much our skin and wrinkles betray our age depends a lot on our genes as well as our lifestyle, such as smoking, diet, physical activity and how well we protect our skin from the sun. Even in our later years, lifestyle can help us improve our skin health, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Although good lifestyle practices cannot reverse the aging process, they can slow and ease the effects, even if we may not have been as careful as we should have been in our younger years.
The following is a summary of common skin conditions that come with age and how to alleviate their effects:
Dry Skin
A number of factors contribute to dry, flaky skin:
- Not drinking enough liquids
- Lack of protection from the sun
- Dry air
- Smoking
- Stress
- Loss of sweat and oil glands that occurs naturally with aging
- Health problems, such as diabetes, kidney and liver disease
Dry skin can be managed by taking fewer baths and using warm water and milder soap or a soap substitute, recommends the AAD. Hot water and overuse of soap dries out skin. Moisturizers applied immediately after a bath, while the skin is still damp, seal in moisture. Avoid adding oils to bath water as they can make a tub dangerously slippery.
Learn more about tissue breakdown, varicose ulcers, and bedsores.
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| Shedding Light On Seasonal Depression: What Seniors Can Do To Relieve The Symptoms |
As days grow shorter, and daylight becomes scarce in late fall and winter, 4 to 6 percent of Americans experience a form of depression called winter-onset Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Another 10 to 20 percent have milder cases. Many mistakenly write off SAD as the winter blues or cabin fever, but as a recognized type of clinical depression, SAD requires professional diagnosis and attention, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) advises.
Although SAD is more common among younger adults (75 percent of SAD patients are women, most in their 20s, 30s and 40s), it also affects seniors.
And seniors diagnosed with other forms of depression may have symptoms aggravated by the isolating effect of forbidding winter weather. Treatment for SAD and other forms of depression is especially critical for older adults, who are at greater risk of suicide than the rest of the U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control. While American seniors make up 12 percent of the population they account for 16 percent of all suicides-and white men over 85 are at six times greater risk of suicide than other population segments.
Despite this, only 10 percent of seniors suffering from depression receive therapy, the National Institute of Mental Health reports.
Those with SAD exhibit many of the common signs of depression-sadness, anxiety, irritability, social withdrawal, loss of interest in normal activities, and inability to concentrate. Other symptoms of winter-onset SAD, which usually begin in October or November and subside in March or April, include:
- Craving for carbohydrates, overeating and weight gain
- Fatigue and loss of energy
- Oversleeping
- Increased sensitivity to social rejection
Symptoms vary from one person to another as does the degree of depression-for most individuals, mild to moderate, and for a few, severe to the point of suicidal thoughts.
Read More >
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