Just
nuts
The following information is not at all
helpful to those who are allergic to nuts, but good news for everyone else. Large scale population studies show that eating
lots of nuts substantially lowers risk of heart disease and increases longevity. In one
study of over 86,000 nurses in the US, those who ate more than 5 oz of nuts a week cut
risk of heart disease by about one third compared to women who ate them occasionally or
not at all.
Nut eaters appear to maintain
healthier cholesterol levels and have a higher fibre and magnesium intake. But remember that nuts are extremely
calorific with their high-fat content (though it is 'healthy' fat), so don't go mad with
the peanuts unless you cut down on calories elsewhere.
Have a slice of menopause cake
Yes, really, they do exist. Linda Kearns baked one rich in
phytoestrogens, the natural answer to HRT. It
contains stuff like soya milk and flour, oatmeal, linseed, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame
seeds. She found it reduced her hot
flushes, tried it on her friends and took it to specialist bakers who now produce it via
mail order.
To find out more go to: www.bake-it.com.
Or contact Wellfoods Ltd, Unit 6
Mapplewell Business Park, Barnsley S75 6 BS, telephone: 01226 381712. The menopause cake comes in four flavours and can
be frozen.
Need your eyes tested?
Everyone over sixty can have free eye
tests. But you don't have to reach retirement
to get a free test for glaucoma if you have a close relative with the condition. Risk for glaucoma increases over the age of forty,
in anyone with diabetes and in adults of any age who are of African Caribbean origin.
The Royal National Institute for
the Blind says people at risk should ask the optometrist to test in three ways: inner and outer eye test; field of vision test;
and eye pressure test in order to screen effectively for glaucoma.
Got a spare hearing aid?
It may only happen in my family, but I
get the feeling many elderly people mess up their hearing aids or discard old models for
new ones. If you or your elderly
relatives have the odd, unused hearing aid in the house, don't throw it away.
Send it instead to the charity Help
the Aged. They are collecting unwanted
hearing aids for recycling in India, a country where an estimated 30 million older people
are suffering from hearing loss. Address
to send to is: Hearing Aid Appeal, Freepost,
Lon3616, London EC1B 1PS.
Cut sugar craving
A new natural sweetener is available as
an alternative to sugar or artificial sweeteners. The
product, called Slimsweet is different to ordinary sugar in a number of important ways.
First, it has zero calories if
taken in normal servings. Second, it is a
low glycemic food, meaning that it contains none of the potentially addictive or damaging
qualities of ordinary sugar. Common sugar is
associated with raised insulin levels, fat storage, dental decay.
Some of these problems are caused by high levels of glycemia, a chemical
conversion from sugar which provides a swift burst of energy after consumption, followed
by low energy and even, in some people, depression.
Slimsweet is available via mail
order from Rio Health Direct, 2 Centenary Estate, Brighton BN2 4AW, telephone 01273
570987.
Look Good, Feel
Great with Diana Moran
Diana Moran demonstrates how to keep fit using a series of simple routines
More
Exercise Beats Arthritis (Video and booklet)
|
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Healing powers
Call it powers of persuasion, hypnosis,
tender loving care or something more mysterious, but a scientist has found evidence that
healing and prayer can have a positive effect on patients and their recovery.
Dr John Astin, University of Maryland
School of Medicine, analysed 23 studies involving healing with therapeutic touch, prayers
or other therapies, and found that 57% of the studies showed a positive benefit to
patients.
Most positive results came from therapeutic touch, a word for techniques that
may not include touch at all, except in the sense of reaching out to the patient and
listening empathetically.
One example that you can't explain by
persuasion is absent healing, whereby people don't know they are being prayed for. A sample of 1000 heart patients were
enrolled in a trial without their knowledge or that of their doctors.
Half of them were prayed for, the other half were not, and the strange thing
is that the prayed-for did significantly better over a year, experiencing 10% fewer
complications.
The Bristol Cancer Help Centre
offers healing therapies, including absent healing.
Telephone for details on 0117 980 9500.
The National Federation of Spiritual Healers can be contacted on 01932 783164, or
visit their website on www.nfsh.org.uk.
Why don't you exercise? Excuse no. 11
'My parents never
exercised and they seemed OK in old age'
There
may be something in this, though no one really knows whether good genes make you age
better. You don't know that you will
age as your parents did. And how can you be
sure that they didn't hide some of their infirmities,or their secret exercise sessions,
from you?
If in any doubt about any of
the information covered in healthwise articles and it's relevance for you, consult your
GP.
Previous articles in the healthwise series
Edition 10
Screen Test 1
- Breast cancer screening
Screen Test 2
- Colon cancer screening
Slip of the tongue - Tips for swallowing tablets
Postscript on cold cures - check your medicine cupboard
Drinking to your health - It`s a good time of year to remind you......
Eating less means more - The evidence keeps coming in on this unseasonal finding...
Skin deep findings - As many as 70% of the UK`s older population are suffering from
skin diseases..
The blushing cure - Read this article If blushing and sweating are a big issue in your
life.
plus the next in the series of excuses for not exercising excuse
number 10
Index to
all previous Healthwise editions
Living
Well : Taking Care of Your Health in the Middle and Later Years
 The Relate
Guide to Loving in Later Life
This constructive guide to sex, loving and relationships for the 50-80s age group suggests
that life - and loving sex - begin at 50+.
 10
steps to energy
Tapping into high levels of energy through what you eat, think, feel, how you move and
relate to your life
 Part of a series designed to demystify healthcare, this
pocket-sized guide looks at hormone replacement therapy. Each section includes questions
and answers. The main points are signposted by John Cleese.
For books on Health visit the Amazon
Family and Health Section.
Don't forget if you buy books or videos from Amazon by linking from laterlife, you
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