Anything but bran?
It can be a wind-making, crampy experience, eating
bran for breakfast. Bran may be good for constipation but for some people the discomfort
factor is too big a price to pay. They’re the ones whose systems rebel against wheat.
They may even be allergic to it.
The trouble for most people of fifty-plus is that the digestive system needs a boost.
It just gets less efficient with age. Fortunately, there are alternatives to wheat-based
bran products.
Rice bran is more gentle. Likewise soluble fibre such as psyllium husks. Linseeds and oat
bran provide dietary fibre. You also get various types of fibre in different foods, and
they all have different benefits.
So remember when you eat fruits, vegetables, beans and lentils that you are helping to
maintain good digestive health. And you get protection against heart disease and diabetes
too.
Where good bones come from
Good bones come from good genes according to a new
study from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals in London. Up to 69% of bone structure
is inherited. But that doesn’t mean you just sit back and take whatever nature has
handed out to you. Eat a calcium-rich diet – yoghourt, milk (skimmed is as good as
full cream), cheese. Do exercises that put stress on joints (walking, rowing, yoga).
Don’t smoke.
And reward yourself with a glass of wine. Recent research from the Osteoporosis
Research in Aberdeen resulted in the wonderful finding that modest alcohol intake reduced
bone loss in the hip in over 900 women who were studied over a period of 5-7 years. But
note that word ‘modest’. It means 7 units a week, which really is one glass of
wine a day.
Exercise - what's stopping you?
Excuse No. 1
‘My doctor said I had to be careful’
When did you doctor say it and how careful does that mean? Some conditions like severe
osteoporosis or osteoarthritis do need careful supervision when it comes to exercise and
don’t take kindly to pressure on joints for instance. Of course it makes sense to
check with your doctor before exercising if you have any physical problem. But the caution
might have been linked to a temporary condition, and you may have become stronger now.
Don’t hide behind out-of-date excuses. Find out what you can do, and do it.
Watch this space for further excuses
Look
Good, Feel Great with Diana Moran
Diana Moran demonstrates how to keep fit using a series of simple routines
Thorson's Complete
Guide to Vitamins and Minerals
is an absolute essential for anyone with an interest in diet and nutrition
No
More Sleepless Nights
A step-by-step manual to eliminating poor sleep
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Help wanted for
sleepless nights
As we get older, we tend to sleep less in
the night, often waking in time to appreciate the dawn chorus. Hence the need for an
after-lunch nap. The problem tends to get worse with lighter mornings in the summer. The
Herbal Information Centre is recruiting volunteers to investigate the effectiveness of
valerian, a traditional remedy for sleeplessness which really does have no side effects.
You have to live in the UK to take part. All you do is fill in a couple of
questionnaires, one at the start, the other at the end of the two-month trial. And you get
two months’ free samples of valerian as part of the deal. Write to the Valerian Sleep
Survey (laterlife.com), The Herbal Information Centre, PO Box 5896, Brackley NN13 7ZJ.
We’ll let you know the results as soon as we can.
Work less, live longer?
Swiss scientists a couple of years’ back
found that queen ants live longer than worker ants and came to the conclusion that their
pampered lifestyle was the reason why.This could be bad news for workaholics, but being a
queen ant has its limitations so let’s hope the finding doesn’t apply to humans.
Another survey on an enclosed community, this time 180 elderly nuns, suggests that
people who were full of ideas and imagination in their youth tend to live longer and are
less likely to develop senile dementia when they age.
Scientists at the University of Lexington, Kentucky, discovered this when they analysed
biographical essays written when the nuns took their vows around sixty years ago. Those
with the highest scores for ideas lived longest and were less likely to develop
Alzheimer’s disease than nuns with lower scores.
Nuns have a comparatively stress-free life – no worries about money or status, no
divorce, no childcare (but no luxuries or pampered lifestyle like queen ants either).
However, scientists point out that they make a good subject for study because they share
an environment often for many years.
The study provides convincing evidence for keeping the mind exercised. Laterlife
healthwise page will be showing you how to maintain those brain cells in future
weeks…
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
Keep on Running
…Or at least walking briskly three times a week for about half an hour. You’ll
not only add years to your life, but
............
Other healthwise articles:
The Vit C spin
Oiling the Joints
Get that Cholesterol down
A Bloke's
Diagnose
it Yourself
Guide to Health
Men do have a tendency to put off admitting that there may be something wrong, even to
themselves let alone to a partner and illnesses can go unchecked with disastrous results.
More Exercise
Beats Arthritis (Video And Booklet)
For books on Health visit the Amazon
Family and Health Section. If you follow this link and then search on Arthritis you
will find a wealth of books related to Arthritis.
Don't forget if you buy books or videos from Amazon by linking from laterlife, you
generate money for Charity.
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