Health Issues That Aren't Just For The Elderly

(Contributed Post) 

We are often prone to thinking that it is only the elderly who have to be concerned about certain health conditions. While it's true that many health issues develop as we grow older, it is a mistake to think that just because we are young, we are invincible. In fact, making better health decisions in our youth will help to preserve good health into old age. Let’s have a look at a few of the health issues that we all need to be aware of at any age.

Hearing Loss

Although you are more likely to experience hearing loss if you are elderly, it is nonetheless something that can happen to anyone at any age. If you are not careful with your hearing, you might find yourself needing to wear a hearing aid prematurely at a young age. Take care and limit exposure to loud noise and make it a priority to be aware of the many signs of hearing loss.

Poor Eyesight

We all need to take care of our eyesight, no matter what age you might be. If you don't, you may reach your later years and have poor eyesight. It's important to pay attention to any changes that you notice and visit an optometrist consistently every two years at the very least. If you do so, you are more likely to maintain good eyesight for the future.

Heart Health

Your heart is important at every stage in your life. While you are more likely to have cardiac events in your older years, if you don’t take heart health seriously, cardiovascular disease can strike at a young age. Make sure to watch your cholesterol, get plenty of cardiovascular exercise, and quality sleep. If you take these steps early, it will help to lay a healthy foundation for your heart now and in the future.

Mental Health

Poor mental health is more common than most people think. A large swathe of the population will experience some sort of mental health issue at some point in their lives—whether it is depression, anxiety or something else entirely. You are never too young or old to start protecting your mental health. Focus on the positive and maintain your overall health. Try to reduce stress as much as possible too. Exercise is an excellent habit to adopt as it increases endorphins that help to keep your mood bright. Moreover, keeping the body healthy will help to keep the mind healthy and vice versa.

As you can see, there are several health concerns that you need to be aware of at any age, so it's important to make sure that you are aware of each area.

Wellness Trends To Try This Year

(Contributed Post)

There are new health and wellness trends emerging all the time, from milk alternatives to online classes. New ways to manage your mental and physical health are always popular, whether as part of a trend or on the advice of medical professionals. What trends are worth trying this year?

Flexitarian Diets

A flexitarian is someone who eats a mix of vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian diets. While not a new trend, it is become more popular, partly due to the rise of veganism and more people taking the environmental impact of the meat, dairy, and fishing industries more seriously. 

A flexitarian eats a mostly plant-based diet but will sometimes incorporate meat, fish, or dairy products. It allows people to make their own rules based on their own health and is a way to lower your carbon footprint without dropping anything from your diet. 

Eating flexitarian is simpler to do now as more big-name food brands expand their plant-based ranges.

Sustainability

Sustainability has become more and more popular, with people looking at how greener living can help them to both improve their health and live a more eco-friendly life at the same time. For example, many people have chosen to swap to homemade or more natural cleaning products in their home, to reduce their own exposure to chemicals and the chemicals that get released into the environment. 

A lot of sustainable choices in your home can improve the air quality, which is great for those who suffer from allergies. Encourage your place of work to improve the air quality there too, so you aren’t breathing in nasties in the office. Breathing stale air from the off A/C can lead to headaches, or in extreme cases, old offices can expose you to asbestos. If this has happened to you and you’ve become ill, look for reliable mesothelioma attorneys.

Mental Health

One of the most popular trends for this year that is only getting more popular is solution-focused hypnotherapy. 

Hypnotherapy focuses on what the client wants to achieve rather than on what the problem is that made them seek help in the first place. A combination of hypnotherapy and psychotherapy is a popular way for people to take on their problems and move on in a helpful way. 

Online Fitness Classes

Last year saw a many people head online to get in their workout. With continued lockdown measures, it seems likely that fitness instructors and personal trainers will stay online for most of 2021 and beyond. 

Heading onto YouTube for a pre-recorded workout is a good way to get your exercise every day at a time that works for you, and has been for a while. For 2021, it’s likely that we will see a big increase in live group fitness options. Peloton is going nowhere.

Remember that trends always come and go, and while it can be fun to try a new trend, you don’t have to ditch your tried and tested methods that work for you. 

Simple Steps to Breaking Unhealthy Habits Once and For All

 

(Contributed Post) 

Some habits are truly helpful. Exercising regularly, going to bed at a reasonable hour, and eating a healthy diet are examples of good habits that will have a positive impact on your life. However, there are some habits that are exceptionally negative and effect your health and wellbeing.

It's crucial to break these unhealthy habits as soon as possible. You will be amazed at how your life is transformed once you do. Read on to find out how to quit the habits that are bad for you. And while changing unhealthy habits can be challenging, it will ultimately add to your quality of life.

Ask for Help

The first thing to remember when you want to quit an unhealthy habit is that most of the time, you won’t be able to do it alone. For example, a habit that is actually an addiction, something like alcohol or illegal (or even prescription) drugs, will certainly need expert help. This is why checking into rehab for addiction is the best option for you. You’ll be in the hands of experts who can offer the right kind of medical and professional assistance to rid you of your addiction. 

Other habits may not need expert help, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still benefit from finding support. That might be a friend or family member, or it could be strangers on an internet forum. Who the help comes from is less important than asking for it. Trying to quit a habit by yourself is simply making things harder than they need to be.  

Timing

It’s easy to say that a habit or addiction needs to be eliminated right away, but the timing is important. If you try to rush the process or quit before you’re completely ready, you are at much greater risk of falling back into your habits and addiction even when you thought you had left it all behind.

The key is understanding when you are personally ready. Your friends and loved ones might try to help you, and that’s admirable – it shows you are loved – but you have to be prepared to accept that help. Once you are ready, you can take the next step but never rush into anything, or it could so easily all be undone again. 

Positive Rewards

One way to help yourself when it comes to breaking bad habits is to give yourself positive rewards. Note the word ‘positive’. It’s easy for people to give themselves negative rewards without realizing they have done so, which can be detrimental to the overall effort. 

An example of a negative reward would be takeout or a chocolate bar when you’re trying to quit unhealthy food and eat better by reducing the amount of sugar you eat. A week of eating well is great, but rewarding yourself with the very thing you’ve been trying to avoid is a terrible idea. 

Make sure your rewards are positive so that you can work towards your goals much more easily without concern. 

Are Cranberries The Ultimate Superfoood?

(Contributed Post)

Most people are familiar with cranberries as a side to their Thanksgiving dinner, but did you know that they are an incredible superfood? If you only enjoy them once a year, you should consider adding more of them to your diet because they have so many amazing health benefits. Here are a few of their amazing health benefits: 

They’re Packed With Nutrition 

Cranberries are packed full of nutrition, so they’re a great food to add to your diet. They have lots of vitamins and they are packed full of antioxidants. It’s so important to include more antioxidant-rich foods in your diet because they reverse the damage caused by oxidation and remove free radicals from the body. When you increase the levels of antioxidants in your diet, you drastically reduce the chances of developing serious health problems like cancer or heart disease later in life. 

UTI Prevention

Most women will suffer from a UTI (urinary tract infection) at some point. Your doctor will offer you antibiotics, but cranberries are a natural way to heal the infection. There are many excellent UTI pain relief products that use cranberry. Consuming cranberry on a regular basis will help prevent UTIs in the future. 

Reduce The Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease

We’ve already seen how the antioxidants in cranberries can help prevent cardiovascular disease. But that is only one of the ways that they are able to improve heart health. Studies show that regularly eating cranberries can increase levels of good cholesterol and reduce your BMI. People that suffer from blood pressure issues can also benefit from eating cranberries. 

Slow Cancer Progression

Tests on cancer cells using cranberries showed very promising results. The studies found that compounds in cranberries can slow the growth of cancer cells and, in some cases, trigger their death. Cranberries are also known to reduce inflammation in the body, which is a contributor to cancer. Eating cranberries on a regular basis may reduce your chances of developing cancer and might slow the progression of the disease in those who have already been diagnosed. 

Improve Oral Health

Managing your oral health is important. Beyond brushing and flossing, your diet also plays a significant role in oral health. As luck would have it, cranberries are one of the best things you can eat if you want to protect your oral health. Studies show that compounds in cranberries can stop bacteria from binding to the teeth, which prevents decay and cavities. 

There are many foods today that are regarded as superfoods, but few have the same incredible benefits of cranberries. 

How Depression and Anxiety Can Impact Your Health

(Contributed Post)

It's easy to believe that mental health problems are solely confined to your mind. When you suffer from depression or anxiety, you experience a range of thoughts and feelings. This can impact your physical health in a variety of ways. Below are several bodily systems that can be affected by the state of your mind.

Digestive System

Your digestive system is very strongly linked to your mental health. For example, when experiencing anxiety, your stomach flutters. Depression can cause digestive upset as well. Oftentimes, those suffering from anxiety and/or depression experience digestive issues like constipation. 

The reason for this is that when you are tense, your digestive system doesn't work properly. You may find yourself in a vicious cycle of taking laxatives for constipation every day. If your diet isn't the issue, there's a high chance your constipation could be linked to stress and other mental health problems. 

Cardiovascular Health

If there's one organ in your body that you don't want to disrupt, it's the heart. Unfortunately, there's a strong link between your mental health and heart health. In short, when your mental health is struggling, so will your heart. Your resting heart rate will increase so that your heart has to work harder to keep blood pumping. This can put you at risk of cardiovascular disease, which may lead to a heart attack. Moreover. those with depression or anxiety will often have extremely high blood pressure readings, further increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. 

Respiratory System

That's right, your mental health can also impact your respiratory system. When you're anxious, you you begin to breath rapidly, which leads to hyperventilating. This can trigger lightheadedness and the possibility of fainting.

Furthermore, people with mental health issues often find it hard to breathe properly. When we are unable to release tension, breathe becomes shallow and tight. It's important to learn methods for easing mental tension and relaxing the body, like deep breathing and stretching.

As you can see, mental health is important on a variety of levels. If you want to enjoy physical health, you need to tend to your inner mental state.

Simple Ways To Boost the Well-Being of an Elderly Relative

(Contributed Post)

The population in the United States of America is rapidly getting older and experts predict the number of US citizens over the age of 65 will have doubled by 2040. As the population ages, there will be an ever-increasing need for care and support. Many of us will have a period in our lives where we care for our elderly relatives. The wellbeing of the elderly can be affected by disability, loneliness, and deteriorating health. Here are some simple ways that you can help boost the well-being of an elderly friend. 

Listen To Them 

An expert group formed by the UN reported that elderly people often feel disempowered because they are not listened to. Taking time to speak to your relative will help you understand their needs and it will make them feel valued and loved. Often when we visit the elderly our thoughts can turn to practical concerns such as fetching groceries and changing bed covers. However, taking some time during any visit to stop and chat will allow your relationship to strengthen and it will help you to get a better sense of any worries or concerns they may have. 

Take Them Outside 

Time in nature reduces the likelihood of an elderly person developing mental health disorders which can lead to more serious conditions developing. Time in nature can provide a huge boost to their overall well-being. The elderly can often become confined as the outside environment may be difficult to navigate unsupported. Taking time to sit out in a garden or to take a gentle stroll through a park may allow them to enjoy nature at a leisurely pace. Simple activities such as potting plants may also give them motivation and a sense of purpose. 

Provide Care

If an elderly relative needs regular assistance, you should discuss their care options with them. Some forms of care are more expensive than others and you should consider what the financial implications of any option might be. For instance, if you are on the poverty line in MO then the Medicaid-funded CDS program may be of benefit. The scheme allows the care recipient to choose who cares for them (this can be a relative or friend) and is paid for the support they deliver. 

Accessibility

As your relative ages then they may need to adapt their surroundings to suit their needs. Accessibility is often thought of regarding mobility but access to services, social activities and entertainment are just as vital. For instance, your friend may enjoy going to a weekly club like a swimming class. If they can no longer drive or take public transport this club will become inaccessible. Offering a lift to and from the class opens up this opportunity for them. Adjusting the television settings is another example of a simple change that can help the elderly access things they enjoy. 

Finally, remember that your elderly relative is an adult and therefore has a right to autonomy wherever possible. Try to include them in any decisions that may affect their life and consider their emotions when addressing any issues. 

Aging Parents: 5 Common Age-Related Health Issues and Their Solutions

(Contributed Post)

As we age, the telltale signs begin to appear: snowy hair, extending crinkles, noticeable laugh lines, and the need for reading glasses. Advanced years also can lead to health issues that may not be as obvious as wrinkles and grey hair. Factors like the environment, genetics, and life choices affect how we age. Here are some areas to consider and suggestions for how to minimize their impact as the years roll by.

Common Health Issues in Seniors

The development of technology has assisted people in extending their lifespan. And as an effect, age-related illnesses have turned out to be more noticeable in the elderly. It is then essential to comprehend the most prevalent health problems affecting the old and identify how to solve them.

Arthritis

As stated by the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), nearly fifty percent of all grownups have arthritis. Arthritis is among the common grounds for disability. It can result in a great deal of agony which can impact the value of life. Osteoarthritis is prevalent among the elderly.

Besides, osteoarthritis causes bone weakness which can cause falls amongst older people. Falls can be inevitable, and arthritis has no medicine. Patients are given medications like pain relievers and corticosteroids to alleviate the symptoms and delay arthritis advancement. Additionally, nursing homes must put in place measures to reduce falls in older adults. Get the assistance of reliable nursing home abuse attorneys if you see some unexplainable bruises and injuries.

Diabetes

Seniors are likely to develop diabetes. As stated by the American Diabetes Association, over 25% of the adults in the U.S. have prediabetes. Type-2 diabetes is becoming a concern, and a substantial number of people are medically diagnosed with it every time. This health problem needs a lot of personal care, which might be problematic for the elderly. To avoid diabetes, older people should exercise regularly, maintain a healthy weight and eat healthily.

Cognitive Decline

Forgetfulness can be expected in old age, but developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is not. Cognitive health concentrates on the ability of an individual to learn, think and recall. The most widespread mental health problem facing the elderly today is dementia. It is, then, vital to identify the early symptoms of these cognitive issues because early detection and intervention could be the solution to slow the development.

Hypertension

Otherwise known as high blood pressure, hypertension is a common issue among the elderly. High blood pressure can sometimes go unnoticed, and the one time it becomes visible is when it rises to a treacherously high level. Symptoms of hypertension include severe headaches, irregular heartbeats, anxiety, and chest pains.

People with hypertension are at a greater danger of developing issues like strokes, heart attacks, vascular dementia, and heart failure. Older people must have their blood pressure checked at least once every year.

Respiratory diseases

Conditions such as (COPD) Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, tuberculosis, and asthma can worsen with old age. However, there are medications available that can help you to breathe with ease.

Conclusion

To achieve healthy aging, you need to make intelligent decisions, start a healthy diet plan, and exercise. You can avoid many age-related illnesses if you take the necessary supplements, maintain good hygiene, manage stress, and get plenty of rest.