Holistic Wellness for Life North of 50

Archive for the ‘health and wellness’ Category

WebMD had several articles on probiotics and their uses for holistic health and wellness. Here is that article:

Probiotics are microorganisms such as bacteria or yeast that are believed to improve health. They are available in supplements and foods. The idea of taking live bacteria or yeast may seem strange at first. After all, we take antibiotics and use antibacterial substances to fight bacteria. But  our bodies naturally teem with such organisms.

The digestive system is home to more than 500 different bacterial species. They help keep intestinal linings healthy and assist in breaking down food. Beneficial organisms are also believed to help regulate healthy immune response.

How Do Probiotics Work?

Researchers believe that some digestive disorders result when the balance of friendly bacteria in the intestines becomes disturbed.  This can happen after an infection or after taking antibiotics. Intestinal problems can also arise when the lining of the intestines is damaged. Introducing new beneficial organisms in the form of probiotics may help.

“Probiotics can improve intestinal function and maintain the integrity of the lining of the intestines,” says Stefano Guandalini, MD, professor of pediatrics and gastroenterology at the University of Chicago Medical Center. These friendly bugs may also help fight off diarrhea-causing organisms.

Probiotics and the Immune System

There’s also evidence that probiotics assist in maintaining a strong immune system. “In societies with very good hygiene, we’ve seen a sharp increase in autoimmune and allergic diseases,” Guandalini tells WebMD. “That may be because the immune system isn’t being properly challenged by pathogenic organisms. Introducing friendly bacteria in the form of probiotics is believed to challenge the immune system in healthy ways.” Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: health and wellness, holistic wellness, nutrition

I received an e-mail from Melissa Murphy today asking for some help with her campaign. Seems like a good program and website. Here are her comments and I will post the website and one of their video’s below.

The older we get, the harder it can be to stay active and fit. However, here is one more reason to keep moving – light exercise can help reduce the risk and pains associated with osteoarthritis, which affects 27 million Americans.

Age is a risk factor for this disease, but osteoarthritis is NOT inevitable. There are small changes that you can make to your lifestyle today that can reduce your risk for developing osteoarthritis tomorrow! I’m writing to you on behalf of the Arthritis Foundation and the Ad Council to let you know about their new campaign,Fight Arthritis Pain, and ask you to help us educate about this important and positive message.

Here is a brief summary:

- It’s easy (and fun!) to incorporate more movement into your life – watch the entertaining campaign PSAs here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8bV5eV-wFQ

- Throughout the month of May (National Arthritis Month), there will be over 100 Arthritis Walks held nationwide to help raise awareness and funds to help improve the lives of those that live with arthritis. For more info visit:
www.fightarthritispain.org

- The campaign website (www.fightarthritispain.org) provides fantastic resources, including a tool for assessing your osteoarthritis risk, community support forums a local events calendar, and a movement tracker widget that can be shared on social networking sites and will help keep you on track as you try to move daily.

Website  www.fightarthritispain.org

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Technorati Tags: holistic wellness, men over 50, pain management, women over 50

Technorati Tags: health and wellness, holistic wellness

Lately, vitamin D is showing up in the news more often. It used to be the ho-hum vitamin that you got from drinking your milk and playing out in the sunshine. Apparently, this vitamin is much more important to our health and has many previously unknown attributes that can enhance your holistic wellness. Vitamin D is naturally produced by the human body when exposed to direct sunlight. Many factors including season, skin coloration, cloud cover, smog, and sunscreen affect UV ray exposure and vitamin D synthesis in the skin, and it is important for individuals with limited sun exposure to include good sources of vitamin D in their diet.

As civilization and the industrialization enabled humans to work indoors and wear more clothes when outdoors, these cultural changes reduced natural production of vitamin D and caused deficiency diseases. In many countries, foods such as milk, yogurt, margarine, oil spreads, breakfast cereal, pastries, and bread are fortified with vitamin D₂ and/or vitamin D₃, to minimize the risk of vitamin D deficiency. In the United States and Canada, for example, fortified milk typically provides 100 IU per glass, or a quarter of the estimated adequate intake for adults over age 50. Fatty fish, such as salmon, herring, catfish and sardines are natural sources of vitamin D. Other natural sources include: fish liver oils, such as cod liver oil, whole eggs, cooked beef liver, and UV-irradiated mushrooms. In the United States (U.S.), the 100% Daily Value used for product labels is 400 IU/day.

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: health and wellness, holistic wellness, men over 50, nutrition, women over 50

It’s that time of year again. Trying to figure out what to give that special someone(s) in your life. It’s not always easy to come up with ideas. Fortunately, there are also many sites and companies out there who advertise their products in the form of ideas in the hopes that you will buy their products or buy products through them. In keeping with that same theme, I found a few health related items that could make good gifts. They could also make good gifts to yourself to maybe help improve or keep your health during the holidays. Here are some of the ideas.

Sometimes it’s nice to know how much your exercising when you’re not formally exercising. Walking here and there or doing chores also counts as exercise, so it would be helpful to put a value to those activities. This item could be handy. Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer. Click up the miles and find out what you are actually doing.

Another idea for that woman in your life who is trying to improve or maintain her heath, this seems to be a good DVD – Women’s Health: Total Workout in Ten!.

Another DVD with a more eastern style of staying healthy is T’ai Chi for Health: Yang Short Form 37 Form. Tai Chi has been getting good reviews by scientists and medical personnel as safe low impact way to exercise without stressing our various joints. Also of value is The Alchemy of Qi Gong Volume I: The Essential Health Practices. Qiqong is a similar format to Tai Chi but a little more energetic. It is also spoken of highly in eastern medicine. Either method would be a good, low impact way to exercise, improve your health and your overall well being.

Sometimes you just have to have one of those foods that just makes you feel good inside, maybe something from your childhood. Well, here’s a book to help you do that and still stay healthy. Hungry Girl Chew the Right Thing: Supreme Makeovers for 50 Foods You Crave

If your trying to lose weight, the holidays generally in not the time to do that. Most people just give up. If you are determined to lose weight, sometimes it helps to have inspiration and a little guidance, try Believe It, Be It: How Being the Biggest Loser Won Me Back My Life. Maybe it will give the lift you need.

Speaking of inspirational, if you a fan of or ever seen Britain’s Got Talent, then you’ll definitely want to get this album I Dreamed A Dream by Susan Boyle. It’s also available as an MP3 format.

Well, this was just a few ideas. If you think you would like to purchase these items just click on the link. Whether you do or not, have a Happy Holiday and a great New Year.

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Technorati Tags: books, holistic wellness, men over 50, movies, women over 50