Tips for Seniors on Improving Heart Health

If you’re a senior, the health of your heart has probably crossed your mind from time to time. You try not to worry, but you know it’s also important to face this very real threat. The risk of heart problems increases rapidly between the ages of 45 and 55.

 

Fortunately, it isn’t too late. Changing your lifestyle now can have a huge effect on your future heart health, and it can also give you an increase in energy, improved well-being and a greater sense of purpose to carry you forward through your golden years.

 

Add Some Color to Your Diet

Aim for at least five servings a day of your favorite fruits and vegetables, and if you can, try to mix it up a bit. Fruits and vegetables are filled with antioxidants and soluble fiber that can help lower your cholesterol and guard against heart problems. One way to ensure that you are getting enough is to check your cart at the grocery store. If you see a rainbow of colors, you’re on the right track. If you see a lot of brown and white, then you’re probably buying too many processed foods.

 

Start Getting Active

It’s never too late to start getting in shape, even if you’ve never exercised in the past. Committing to a few simple activities each week, such as walking, hiking, dance, yoga or riding a bicycle, can go a long way in helping your heart. Aside from strengthening your cardiovascular system, getting regular exercise can also increase your energy levels, lower blood pressure, improve your flexibility, decrease depression and generally make you feel younger, stronger and happier than ever before. If you’ve already been diagnosed with a heart condition, don’t begin an exercise routine without first talking to your doctor.

 

Watch Your Fats

It’s important to watch your consumption of fats, especially if you’ve already been diagnosed with heart disease or high cholesterol. Avoid butter, lard and too much red meat, instead opting for healthier choices like olive oil, flaxseed and fish. If fish isn’t your cup of tea, consider taking fish oil supplements for the beneficial fats.

 

Don’t Be Afraid to Improve Your Environment

If you’ve been having trouble living on your own, it may be time to consider an assisted living facility. These facilities have come a long way in the past few decades. Many have an abundance of great things to offer seniors, including a sense of community, new friendships, recreation, healthy food and opportunities for physical activity. Many seniors struggle with properly caring for their bodies on their own but find it easier when taking part in an active community. If you’ve been having a hard time getting into a better lifestyle, making the move to an assisted living facility might be a good idea for you.

 

Growing older can be scary, but it’s nowhere near as negative as it used to be. People are living longer and healthier lives than ever, and as long as you make the effort to stay active and watch your diet, your golden years will be some of the best you’ve ever experienced.

 

Concerned with the issues of health and human rights, author Molly Pearce shares this post in the hopes in can offer seniors some fresh information on staying healthy. Making the choice to go to assisted living can actually improve heart health by reducing stress and increasing access to health care. Molly found valuble research for this post at http://www.dogwoodforest.com/marietta-assisted-living.html, the website of several assisted living facilities in Georgia.

 

Photo credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/oakleyoriginals/8634139503/

 

Categories: golden years, health, heart, heart health, Heart Problems, living, living facility, nbsp, offer seniors, seniors, Tips

Helping our Parents

Whether you get along beautifully or not, your relationship with your parents is likely of high significance in your life. In their own way, they have been there for you, no matter what has happened in your life. Your parents have always provided you with the encouragement and love you needed to make your way through life, and you know they always will.

As you watch your parents climb the ladder of their golden years, you know you would do anything for them if it meant it was in their best interest. Yet, when you suggested an assisted living arrangement for them, you have been met with aggression. You know in you heart that it is the right thing to do because you cannot always be there for them, and you need to know that they are okay. You thought that they would understand this and would agree, but it turns out they have apprehensions.

You must understand that transitioning into an assisted living situation is not always easy for our parents. Many believe that it is a loss of their independence. Others believe it is an indication that they have become frail. Still others see it as a “death sentence” and that they are being sent there to die. Knowing and understanding that your parents probably feel one of these ways will allow you to approach the subject from a different point of view.

If you really believe that your parents are better off in a situation that will offer them the consistent care they need, try the following approach to help you and them get aligned with the assisted living option.

• Search For Assisted Living Communities First

Research the communities in the area and decide which have the most options your parents will appreciate. Each community may have different levels of activities and different levels of medical assistance. Keep in mind that the community surrounding the facility itself may be a factor for your parents.  For example, assisted living Dunwoody Georgia may offer the scenery and familiarity that may be of more comfort than a facility in the middle of metro Atlanta. Try to match your parents’ interests to the community, and bring packets of information with you to show them why you believe they would enjoy moving to this community.

• Talk To Residents

If you really want to know what the community is like, stop and talk to the residents. Most of these people will be happy to talk to you about it. You will learn more from the residents than in any other manner. Ask these residents if your parents could make contact with them to have any questions answered.

• Explain Your Feelings

Share with your parents that you will feel more comfortable knowing that there is always help available to them if the need should arise. Let them know how their well-being and happiness is very important to you and that you are afraid when they are alone. Show them how much research you have conducted to make sure that they would be happy. Ask them to at least go and visit one or two of the communities with you before they say no. Many parents, once they actually see the community, find that it is exactly where they want to live.

Transitioning to a new home can be difficult for anyone at any age. There is always an adjustment period, and there is always a longing for what we once had. This can even be scarier for the elderly who have dedicated many decades of their lives to one home or area and are then asked to give it up and move somewhere else because of their age.

Show your parents the love, compassion and patience that they have given you throughout your life, especially when you had important decisions to make. In the end they will see that you are right and that they will be much happier in this type of environment, and that it will also make you happy.

Akilah Richards is a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) who helps families address and act upon the decisions that benefit the family in personal and professional ways.  As she watches her mother care for her own mother, age 91, she recognizes the importance of making the decision to do what is best for the medical and emotional needs of her aging mother. If your elderly loved ones can benefit from assisted living Dunwoody Georgia, consider contacting the staff at Dogwood Forest to schedule a tour.

Categories: community, dunwoody georgia, elderly, Helping, helping our parents, life, living, living dunwoody, Parents, residents

The Cost of Surviving: Life Insurance

With an increase in cancer survival rates, the prospect of living a full life is a promising one. With medical science serving as the balm to the life-threatening illness that claims the lives of thousands, the chances of dying from it now are becoming significantly less. The survival rates are only climbing upwards.

Cancer is one of many illnesses that presents individuals with the value of life. Teetering between hope and loss, families and their diagnosed loved ones go through a rickety road where the uncertainty is ever-present in the scope of recovery.

As such, finances are probably the last thing on everyone’s mind however, financial protection ensures that no matter what happens, a debt is not left hanging over the heads of the ill. Life insurance is one such example of financial cover, where surviving cancer does not have to tow a resulting debt.

According to the Telegraph, Tom Baigrie, chief executive of LifeSearch, an online financial protection adviser, said: “While many people are living longer they are doing so having previously survived a serious illness. However, the financial impacts of living in poor health after an illness can often be very difficult if there wasn’t any critical illness insurance in place.

“Living longer with cancer is a lot better than the alternative, but not so much so if you can’t maintain your standard of living. So having an element of critical illness cover, which pays out on life threatening cancers is simple common sense.”

What tends to make individuals flinch is the concept, naturally, of cost. It is understandable to flinch away from the prospect that you have to shell out thousands to protect everyone’s interests – but it doesn’t have to be a “money or your kneecaps” scheme. It isn’t limited to cancer, but to all life-threatening ailments, such as heart attacks.

A life-cover is a protective film that serves to lessen the stress that you are already presented with. Nobody deserves to have an extra weight in their life when it is already under threat by another. By maintaining a safety net over the threat of debt, you can keep you and your loved ones secure by paying just under £30 a month.

The Cost of Surviving: Life Insurance

Categories: cancer, critical illness, financial, financial protection, heart health, life, life insurance, life threatening, living, living longer, money, survival rates

The Cost of Surviving: Life Insurance

With an increase in cancer survival rates, the prospect of living a full life is a promising one. With medical science serving as the balm to the life-threatening illness that claims the lives of thousands, the chances of dying from it now are becoming significantly less. The survival rates are only climbing upwards.

Cancer is one of many illnesses that presents individuals with the value of life. Teetering between hope and loss, families and their diagnosed loved ones go through a rickety road where the uncertainty is ever-present in the scope of recovery.

As such, finances are probably the last thing on everyone’s mind however, financial protection ensures that no matter what happens, a debt is not left hanging over the heads of the ill. Life insurance is one such example of financial cover, where surviving cancer does not have to tow a resulting debt.

According to the Telegraph, Tom Baigrie, chief executive of LifeSearch, an online financial protection adviser, said: “While many people are living longer they are doing so having previously survived a serious illness. However, the financial impacts of living in poor health after an illness can often be very difficult if there wasn’t any critical illness insurance in place.

“Living longer with cancer is a lot better than the alternative, but not so much so if you can’t maintain your standard of living. So having an element of critical illness cover, which pays out on life threatening cancers is simple common sense.”

What tends to make individuals flinch is the concept, naturally, of cost. It is understandable to flinch away from the prospect that you have to shell out thousands to protect everyone’s interests – but it doesn’t have to be a “money or your kneecaps” scheme. It isn’t limited to cancer, but to all life-threatening ailments, such as heart attacks.

A life-cover is a protective film that serves to lessen the stress that you are already presented with. Nobody deserves to have an extra weight in their life when it is already under threat by another. By maintaining a safety net over the threat of debt, you can keep you and your loved ones secure by paying just under £30 a month.

The Cost of Surviving: Life Insurance

Categories: cancer, critical illness, financial, financial protection, heart health, life, life insurance, life threatening, living, living longer, money, survival rates