Seniors and Diabetes - What You Need To Know

Diabetes impairs the health and well-being of 16 million people in the United States, and senior citizens run a particular risk. Due to already existent challenges to their health and lifestyle, it is more difficult to diagnose seniors with diabetes. Often other illnesses can mask diabetic symptoms. Seniors with diabetes run a greater risk of complications like heart disease, stroke, loss of limbs from poor circulation, kidney disease and even blindness. Diabetes is a disease by which the body cannot make or use its own insulin, a substance in the body which transforms sugar into usable energy. There are two types of Diabetes; Type 1 and Type 2. Those who suffer from Type 1 are in most cases children or young adults. Type 2 accounts for 90%-95% of all diabetes sufferers, and is most often found in people over the age of 45. The chances of getting Type 2 diabetes escalates as you age. Some 18% of people over the age of 65 are sufferers. Those at risk usually have a history of Type 2 in their families, are overweight, get little to no exercise, or have problems with their cholesterol. African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanic groups are at greater risk. Common symptoms and warning signs include: • Frequent urination • Extreme thirst • Extreme hunger • Excessive Weight Loss • Exhaustion • Irritability • Blurred Vision • Difficulty seeing • Frequent infections • Cuts or Bruises that will not heal or heal slowly • Tingling or Numbness in the hands or feet • Recurring skin, gum, or bladder infections So what are your options if you’re diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes? For the most part, it’s a self-managed disease. The most important way to regulate your own diabetes is through diet and exercise. Losing weight if you are overweight, staying active and consistently keeping your blood sugar levels under control through self-monitoring will keep your diabetes symptoms and overall health in check. You’ll need access to supplies like meters, test strips, and insulin. These supplies are often covered through your health insurance policy. It’s unfortunately difficult for a person with diabetes to obtain and keep health and life insurance, but not impossible. Insurance options for seniors with Type 2 include Medicare Plan D, state programs like EPIC (Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage) and State Health Insurance Counseling and Assistance Programs (SHIP). Research your options online or talk to a healthcare agent. Physical activity is a must, even for seniors without diabetes. Check with your local YMCA for physical fitness classes geared towards seniors, or if you’re homebound, chair exercises or just simple tasks like gardening and cleaning can be helpful. Check with your physician before beginning any physical regimen. Home Comfort Senior Care - Michigan homecomfortcare.com Stay Healthy, Happy and Home. The Home Comfort Option There are many things to consider when choosing a care option for a parent of loved one. You must take into account what assistance there require and more importantly what will make them happy. For most senior, the ability to live at home truly enriches their quality of life. At Home Comfort Senior Care, we take great pride in offering a solution to make this possible. The Home Comfort Lifestyle Home care is more than just receiving the care your loved ones requires. At Home Comfort. It’s about delivering a level of care that safeguards all the things they cherish. Our non-medical home care services provide the extra assistance your loved one needs to maintain an independent, active lifestyle. Form house cleaning and grocery shopping to personal care and 24 hours assistance, we provide the affordable comforts they deserve. Tailored around the individual our services are designed to help your loved one stay in the home they love.

Belly Fat Blasting Oatmeal Recipes That Are Fast And Delicious

One of my favorite fat-burning foods that will help women burn more fat, especially excess belly fat is oatmeal. That is why I wanted to share some of my quick and tasty recipes for those of you who don t have a lot of time but want to slim down and tone up. If you incorporate oatmeal every day in your fat-burning menu you will start to notice your belly shrinking rather than eating a bagel, toast, or sugary cereal. Oatmeal also is a great source of fiber which we need in order for our bodies to run like clockwork. The following recipes can be prepared by stove top or microwave use 1/2 cup of water when cooking. Peanut butter Oatmeal 1/2 cup oatmeal (use quick or slow cooking oats without sugar) 1 tbl. of all natural peanut butter microwave or cook on stove top stir in peanut butter Pumpkin Oatmeal 1/2 cup oatmeal (use quick or slow cooking oats without sugar) dash of cinnamon dash of nutmeg 2 tablespoons of unsweetened pumpkin 1tbl of powdered non-fat milk Egg Oatmeal 1/2 cup oatmeal (use quick or slow cooking oats without sugar) dash of cinnamon 1 packet of splenda mix in 4 egg white while cooking oats Maple Nut Oatmeal 1/2 cup oatmeal (use quick or slow cooking oats without sugar) Stir in syrup after cooking and top off with almonds 1 Tablespoon of no-sugar syrup 8 almonds High Protein Oatmeal 1/2 cup oatmeal (use quick or slow cooking oats without sugar) 1-2 scoops of protein powder of your choice after cooking stir in protein powder Faux Cookie Dough Oatmeal (Yes that s right) 1/2 cup oatmeal (use quick or slow cooking oats without sugar) Prepare this overnight or put in the freezer after cooking for about 30 min. 1 packet of splenda This is a required taste but it tastes similar to cookie dough without the sugar and fat! Heather Picken, specializes in helping women get rid of stubborn belly fat and inches around their hips, thighs, and glutes with her breakthrough 6-Week Fat-Burning System ( mybodyisfitnow.com ) for women 30 all over the world .

How to Run Faster

When I trained seriously for marathon running, I thought that the runner who ran the most miles would be the best. I didn t become a great runner, but I did become an expert on injuries. My patients seldom come to me with a running injury that I haven t had. Many top runners run more than 100 miles a week because their bodies have the genetic ability to withstand such abuse, but the vast majority of runners will never be able to run 100 miles a week without being injured frequently. Furthermore, running a lot of miles slowly will slow you in races. The ability to run fast in races depends more on how fast you run in practice than on how many miles you run each week. At the University of Copenhagen, Danish scientists studied experienced runners who had been running 60 miles a week at a fast pace. One group was told to cut their mileage in half to only 30 miles a week, but to run a series of around 50 to 100 yard dashes as fast as they could. The other group continued running 60 miles a week at a fast pace. Runners who ran fewer miles at a faster pace had a 7 percent improvement in their body s maximal ability to take in and use oxygen. Runners who did not increase their speed in practice did not improve, even though they ran twice as many miles. Jogging slowly reduces your chance of injury, but it won t help you to run fast. You can race only as fast as you run in practice. However, every time you run fast, your muscles are damaged and feel sore on the next day, and it takes at least 48 hours for your muscles to heal enough to allow you to run comfortably again at a very-fast pace. After every workout in which you run very fast, take the next day off or run at a much slower pace. Most top athletes plan their workouts so they run very fast only two days a week. Try to run fast once or twice a week, never on consecutive days, and don t run fast when your legs feel heavy or hurt. Weight training should be part of your program also. Working against resistance or lifting weights makes you faster and improves coordination in all sports that requiring strength and speed. Training is specific, so bicycle racers train for strength by climbing hills in very high gears; runners train for strength by running rapidly up hills; rowers and swimmers use pulleys with weights on their ends that mimic the way they use their arms when they swim or row. Muscles are made of two different types of fibers: the red, slow-twitch fibers, used for endurance; and the white, fast-twitch fibers, used for strength and speed. When you strengthen a muscle, you train the white fibers that also make you faster, so strength training helps you move faster. Strength training also improve coordinations because stronger muscles use fewer fibers for the same task and therefore are easier to control. Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at DrMirkin.com Free weekly newsletter on fitness, health, and nutrition

Low Calorie Food and Drink Dishes You Can Make at Home

Is it time that you set yourself on a diet? Not just any diet but a whole new lifestyle change? If so, then perhaps you want to forget the Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers type pre-packaged foods and set yourself on a course for perpetual low calorie living? Is that what you want to do now? One thing that you need to know is that if you are worried about calories you need to switch to eating whole wheat breads, low fat milks and power down the fruits and vegetables. In fact you can eat unlimited vegetables and not get fat. May I suggest that you have for a snack a vegetable dip plate with perhaps; Carrots Broccoli Beats Cherry Tomatoes Celery And for the dip do not use salad dressing, but rather use Virgin Olive Oil, a couple of tablespoons and sprinkle on top some spices like basil and garlic and Italian Seasoning instead. It is quite tasty and actually better than a Thousand Islands or Blue Cheese dressing. It is better for you and tastes better too. When considering a snack, blend up a fruit drink smoothie at home. Blenders are really inexpensive and you can get a killer blender for under $20.00 at Wal-Mart. There really is no excuse for you not to try these simple techniques and recipes to stay healthy, thin, happy and fit eating the low-calorie way. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you. Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; WorldThinkTank.net/ . Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

Many CEOs Struggle With ADD Symptoms

Many CEOs and other business people with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD or ADHD) often struggle with difficulties around: Focus Organization Follow-through Distractibility Need for high stimulation Low tolerance of frustration Impulsivity Tendency toward addictive behavior Mood swings This list is not totally inclusive. There are many other symptoms that could be added to the list and ADD cannot be officially diagnosed by one specific assessment. Not all individuals with the above symptoms have ADD and not all people with ADD have all of the above symptoms. Should you struggle with the above symptoms, you may want to talk to a psychologist or psychiatrist for an assessment as to whether you have ADD or ADHD (the latter referring to ADD with a hyperactive component). Sometimes the most important thing is not the diagnosis but rather getting support for understanding your patterns and increasing your focus. Other thoughts regarding ADD: ADD does not affect intelligence. In fact, individuals with ADD are often of higher intelligence than the norm. Research findings: Brain scans show less metabolic activity in front of brain. Indications of decreased levels of dopamine in pre-frontal cortex. Individuals with ADD use high stimulation such as excitement, novelty and fear to activate this area of the brain. ADD is thought to come from our history as hunters (results-oriented, tireless when hot on the trail, ability to turn-on-a-dime , may throw themselves into something, visual/concrete thinkers). When forced to focus, ability to concentrate can get worse. Treatment considerations: Medication - Some benefit from medication. (Discuss with physician.) Exercise â€" Extremely important. Experts recommend exercise 3-4x/week (some recommend 2x/day). Coaching â€" for education on ADD, ways to create more focus, to create anchor your focus. Nutrition â€" Experts advise elimination of simple sugars and advise diet of high protein and low carbohydrate to raise dopamine levels. Psychotherapy â€" for addressing low self-esteem and healing. Books on ADD: Driven to Distraction â€" by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., and John J. Ratey, M.D. Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults â€" by Lynn Weiss, Ph.D. Women with Attention Deficit Disorder â€" by Sari Solden, M.S., M.F.C.C. Websites on ADD: add.org ADHDExpertsOnCall.com chadd.org Trish Pratt works with CEOs and other professionals to help them step up their clarity, focus and become unstoppable. Visit MomentumCoaching.com for more information on how YOU can become unstoppable!

Choosing a Canada Weight Loss Spa

A Canada weight loss spa can either inspire or discourage you to lose weight so you have to choose one wisely. In choosing a Canada weight loss spa, you need to consider a few things. Location Determine where a Canada weight loss spa is located. Is it conveniently near your home, office or both? Make sure it is near you so you won t experience any hassle getting there. A 15 to 20-minute travel time or less is ideal but consider looking for another one if you need to spare around 45 minutes to an hour just getting there. The price Another important factor to consider in choosing a Canada weight loss spa is the price that you have to pay to avail of their services. A weight loss spa that charges high fees does not necessarily mean that it is better. Apparently, there are a lot of Canadian weight loss spas that have very affordable fees but their facilities and services are more useful for you compared to more expensive ones. Signing contracts Read everything prior to signing up for a weight loss spa. Make sure that you are paying for the right services that can truly benefit you. If the contract is stating that you can only use a limited number of equipment even though you are paying for a full membership, chances are, you are being fooled. Remember that if it is not worth spending your hard earned cash to something you can never use, then do not do it. Never settle Keep in mind that you must never settle for services that you believe you can never benefit from. Also, never settle for a spa that has limited services to offer for you. There are a lot of weight loss spas that can give you better and more services that can prove to be of more value for your money. Ask questions If you know someone who is already a member of a weight loss spa, ask that person for quotes on services and the prices. Otherwise, you can call up a weight loss spa or visit the one nearest to you. That way, you can have an idea on what you can expect from each weight loss spas you are thinking of joining in. Phillip England is a weight loss expert and Author of the popular report The Ultimate Weight Loss Secret . To receive your free information on the secret that doctors, and health companies either don t know, or don t want you to know, please see theultimateweightlosssecret.com/secret

Gymnema Sylvestre To Lose Weight - It Kills Your Sweet Taste!

Gymnema Sylvestre To Lose Weight - It Kills Your Sweet Taste! Gymnema sylvestre, a vine-like plant, has been used for centuries in India and Pakistan, and is now becoming better known popular in other countries. Scores of studies* have been carried out on Gymnema sylvestre which highlight its ability to help the body to maintain blood sugar balance. One of its common names is ‘Gurmar’ which translates as ‘sugar-destroyer’. (*For example, see: Srivastava Y, et al. Isr J Med Sci. Jun1985;21(6):540-42.) Gymnema Kills The Sweet Taste In An Amazing Way!! When dropped on the tongue, Gymnema Fluid Extract blocks the receptors for the sweet taste for several hours - sweetness can hardly be tasted. The taste of fatty food changes too. The effect is strong and instantaneous. The are similar cell receptors in the intestines which normally allow sugar to be absorbed into the blood stream. People who use Gymnema include those who are trying to lose weight as well as those keen to keep their blood sugar levels in balance. The key factors in balancing body weight are usually diet and exercise: Gymnema can be an extra help. Some people take a few drops of Gymnema on the tongue just before a meal, which reduces the desire for sweet and fatty foods. Dropping this on the tongue also makes it nearly impossible to taste sweetness for up to 3 hours or even more. Amounts To Be Used To dropped onto the tongue to diminish the taste of sweet/fatty foods: 4-6 drops of Gymnema drops (fluid extract) dropped directly onto the tongue when desired, for example before a meal. For general, whole-body benefits: 1-2 Gymnema capsules, or 12-30 Gymnema drops (fluid extract) in a little water, 3 times a day. Cautions Be aware that Gymnema sylvestre might add to the effect of herbs which help balance blood sugar, including aloe vera, devil s claw, eleutherocccus senticosus (siberian ginseng), fenugreek, ginger (in high amounts), jambul, panax ginseng, psyllium husks, stevia and turmeric. Be cautious if using Gymnema sylvestre alongside drugs which reduce blood sugar, including insulin; talk to your doctor before doing so. Toxicity There are no published reports of human toxicity with Gymnema sylvestre. Pregnancy And Breastfeeding Little information is available on how Gymnema might affect a child in the womb or an infant. We advise caution in using Gymnema sylvestre in these circumstances. Max Hill has been a practitioner for 20 years, using herbs, acupuncture and naturopathy. He writes extensively about natural healing. For example, see his site detailing vital information about Gymnema and the Metabolic Syndrome . He is also an active contributor to the popular site Alternative HeatlhZine , where you can subscribe to 6 free health reports and see many interesting articles about alternative health.

Creating Your Own Powerful Marathon Training Schedule

Imagine â€" running the marathon of your dreams. You can do it! That’s my message to you today. If you have the desire to run a marathon, then you will accomplish your goal. The first step towards completing the long run is to create a marathon training schedule. This is the key to increasing your stamina and distance over time with a minimum of injury. Also, remember to clear running in general and especially marathon training with your doctor before you begin. Now, let’s get started. The first thing that you must do is take an honest look at your current running level. How long have you been running? How far do you typically run in a week? Realize that you should be running 4-5 days a week consistently before training in earnest. You should be trying to run 4-5 miles each day so that you prepare yourself for the more intense weekly training increases that will begin once you start your Training for Marathon Plan. Once you’ve established running 4-5 days each week, then you can begin building your long runs and your mileage counts. You must gradually increase both of these to avoid injury and burnout. 10% increase each week is a doable and good target. As you create your schedule, you will want to include days of rest each week and to vary weeks. Your body needs time to recharge after long workouts so be kind to yourself in down times. Remember, too, that if you begin feeling pain or fatigue you should take short breaks from your training schedule. Sample Marathon Training Schedule: Day 1 â€" Longest day of the week for training. If you are in a week where you’re building mileage (remember to vary this every other week), then you will want to make this approximately 1/3 of your total mileage. Day 2 - Rest Day 3- Shorter training session â€" should match the training on day 5. This should be a fairly easy day. Day 4 â€" Make this training session a couple of miles longer than days 3 and 5. Day 5 â€" Shorter training session â€" should match the training on day 3. Again this should be an easy day. Day 6 â€" Rest to prepare for the next two days. Day 7 â€" Shortest training session for the week in terms of mileage. The majority of your mileage should be completed on the other four days of running. You can consistently keep this at 4-5 miles if you wish. You should try to work up to the speed you want to run during the marathon. Training for a marathon is not a simple procedure and it cannot be done in a short amount of time without serious injury. If you are starting from scratch without any running experience at all you might be looking at 1 to 1-1/2 years of training before the ‘big day . However, with that said, there is nothing like running in and finishing a marathon. When that big day comes, you will find that all your hard work will truly have been worth it. Best of luck in your marathon endeavors! Melissa Kelly loves all forms of exercise, especially long distance running. You can read more of her advice about marathons at her website, trainingformarathon.com You can also use the following link to read more about Training for Marathon information.

Do Low Fat, Low Carb, or Low Calorie Diets Work?

Do Low Fat, Low Carb, or Low Calorie Diets Work? Do (Fill in the blank) diets work? Strange title. But I believe that you could insert any popular or fad diet into the above statement and be able to truthfully answer the question. For the short term yes, for the long-term maybe, but probably not. Think about it. Do Low Fat diets work? If they really did, we would be a nation of puny 98 pound weaklings. Everything is low fat, problem is when they remove the fat, something that most of us really like, they replace it with high carbs. Low fat coffee cake, come on. Beside that our body needs fat to operate, maybe not the fat we give it, but we do need fat. Do Low Calorie diets work? Our genetic makeup won t let our bodies starve. When we were hunters and gathers and had some lean times, when food was scarce, our bodies started to slow the metabolism down to preserve us. As you start to reduce your caloric intake you body compensates for it and starts to go into a survival mode. Oh sure you will lose weight initially but that will stop and you will be upset most of the time because you are hungry. Do Low Carb diets work? I will admit that it was easy for me to follow the Atkins Diet. But it was not easy for my wife to follow it. Still it was a pain in the --- not eating some of the fruits I really enjoy. I truly do believe that a modified form of this diet is the best one for most people. Not as harsh as Atkins but maybe more in the line of South Beach. You kick-start your system with the low carb diet and then transition into a sensible eating plan. Do the Purchase our food diets work? If you get on some of the plans, it will cost you $300 to $600 a month for the privilege of eating their food. I am not sure about you, but that is some serious change to eat. Oh, I m sorry, with most of these plans you still need to purchase some food to supplement their food. Give me a break! I have found some of the frozen dinners do a good job of portion control, along with following the Weight Watchers guidelines. They are reasonably priced and very convenient. I am doing this right now. Although some of these brands do leave something to be desired in the taste category, but that is something you will need to find out for yourself if you choose this plan. So the question remains Do (Fill in the blank) diets work? For the short term yes, for the long-term maybe, but probably not. But think about this. We did mention that we were genetically made to burn fuel efficiently. What would happen if we changed what we eat and when we eat it and kept our body burning fuel in that highly efficient manner. Instead of a low calorie diet, we gave it the food it needed and then changed what we gave it for a few days so it started burning our stored body fat. Then before the metabolism starts to slow down, we give it the food it needs again. We we just keep changing our food pattern and food intake to keep our furnace burning hot. But that is for another article, another day. Ross Gallo writes on health care information topics. If your passion is health care and you want more amazing anti-aging, health and weight loss information, you can read more of his work at healthcareinformationonline.com/blog/

Being Overweight In The USA

According to the CDC, 66,3% of Americans are overweight or obese. In a country of roughly 250 million people, we’re talking about 165 million human beings that exceed their normal weight. Americans extra weight costs the nation as much as $93 billion in annual medical bills, and the government pays about half of that amount, a federally funded study shows. That’s a shocking number, and contrary to the misconception of some, being overweight is not that you are well fed; oh no, it’s that what you’re feeding your body can’t be assimilated -or burned with exercise- and so it’s stored, turning it in to useless health-threatening FAT! I’m sure you’ve seen films like ‘Superzise Me’ where a man almost destroys his liver on a McD’s exclusive diet. Well, Americans are doing the same but in a longer period of time. It’s dangerous enough to be overweight, but to be obese is stepping on the accelerator to end your life. Why is this happening to the world’s strongest superpower? Well, many factors have played a roll in this. Among them, the economy and the economic system (i.e. savage capitalism). Why do I blame this you say? Think about it. America has a large middle class, with a decent income; people live with budgets and watch their spending. They save for their nice new car, or any new nifty product that “you just gotta have”, like the iPhone for instance. You got your mortgage, etc. you get the picture. All this is the backbone, the motor that makes America tick, because of Middle America spending, big corporations make their millions, and not only selling their products, that’s just the obvious part. How do they really get the big chunk of what you consume? By cutting expenses, and developing new ways to make their production cheaper and “better” or should I say, more appealing. That’s where good old Ronald McDonald steps in. Where do you think they get all the raw materials to stock every McD’s in America and keep the same taste regardless of where you eat it? It’s chemicals, food substitutes and processed food that goes to your stomach to “nurture” you and your kids. Ok, enough of being political, I don’t follow either party completely in their politics. So what can we do? In recent years all this talk of health has sprung up numerous companies that offer organic, natural food; you’ve probably already seen it in your supermarket, usually it’s where all these tree-hugging hippie types go to pick out their products. Well, it turns out that all along we’ve made fun of them, they’re right. You SHOULD eat organically grown food, natural foods, etc. But eating right is only half the answer. Yup, you guessed it, you’ve got to exercise. You’re probably thinking about joining a gym or buying equipment to help you. And what you really got to do â€"and please understand my candidness- is get off your ass. Take a half hour walk around the block every day. It’s the aerobic exercise that helps your heart, and circulation, joints etc. By combining both healthy eating and exercise you’ll feel happier, because you release endorphins that make you feel better, yup, a natural high! That’s a nice starting point, and from there on, depending on your tastes, you can do sports, martial arts, who knows, the bottom line is to move your body and feed it right. ____________________________________________________________________________ Alex Liotta has spent 10 years researching and learning about nutrition, supplementation and physical fitness, now he’s a freelance journalist and wants to share his thoughts and tips, you can learn more about OVERWEIGHT. Please visit martialarts3000.com for great information on the topics of Wellness and physical fitness. ___________________________________________________________________________