Here in America, it is not uncommon to live far away from our loved ones. Unfortunately, the distance away from each other can end up creating a bit of a problem when it comes time to help out a loved one or relative, especially with care planning.
The challenges with distance and care services
The challenge of long-distance care involves more than just making sure a relative gets to the hospital or local clinic for needed appointments. It also likely includes:
Managing health demands
Becoming familiar with all of a relative’s medical contacts and history
Managing details for assisted living
Managing financial reporting and tax-related paperwork
Keeping insurance companies informed
Obtaining medical supplies
Regularly helping the relative informed of the above items
No surprise, the tasks can quickly develop into a full-time job, and that’s where the challenge sits the most — how to manage all these moving pieces from far away.
Carefully selecting providers
The necessity of contracting for help tends to be a given in many cases. While many resources may be available, those arranging for distance care must carefully evaluate who they select as a care provider. Elder abuse typically happens through loss of personal assets and finance by those providing care. The opportunity to take advantage of someone happens all too often when there’s free access to a home and someone’s personal information.
The importance of accountability
Rarely used, the second step recommended by many care providers involves an accountability system on the caretaker chosen. Unfortunately, this approach represents extra costs that many refuse to agree to when planning care. One resource who retains the ability to cut through red tape chatter and implement care quality control protections very quickly tends to be an attorney.
Stay involved
Third, those arranging care should remember to stay involved. Quality care involves the human factor of connection, love, friendship and communication. Families who remain in touch, visit, and who keep an eye on things provide the best care and protection for a loved one. Long distance care arrangements may be challenging, but the goal frequently outweighs the work in the end.
At Vista Springs, we take great pride in delivering the best possible care to those who live further away from their loved ones. We strive to make our communities a second family to those who can’t be with theirs on a regular basis. Please contact us today to find out how we can provide the highest level of care to your loved one.
Ah, yogurt. A simple staple food, around for hundreds of years, has somehow gotten complicated.
You can now peruse the yogurt section for hours, reading labels as you try to choose the best option. Do you go Greek? Regular? Drinkable? Full-fat or fat-free? Flavored or plain? Grass-fed? Non-dairy?
Do I even need yogurt?
It’s enough to frustrate you into skipping that section altogether.
It’s true—there are more options than ever before. But options are a good thing as long as you know what to look for.
The bottom line: Yogurt can be a great food to incorporate daily.
It’s an excellent source of probiotics, those beneficial bacteria for gut health, and it packs plenty of protein, calcium, potassium, magnesium and vitamins B6 and B12.
Yogurt is made from milk and then fermented with live bacteria cultures that feed on the lactose, the sugar in milk. For those with lactose intolerance, this makes it easier to digest.
Greek yogurt is made when traditional yogurt is strained longer to remove the whey. It’s thicker than traditional yogurt, with higher protein, fewer carbs and less calcium.
Kefir yogurt is a drinkable yogurt made with kefir grains for the bacteria culture. It’s often 99 percent lactose-free and it’s the best source of probiotics.
Personal preferences on flavor and nutrition goals should steer your choice.
Here’s a guide on what to look for when working through the yogurt aisle:
Simple is better
When possible, go for plain. The ideal yogurt does not have any added
ingredients beyond the milk and bacteria cultures. Anything flavored is
bound to have added sugars or artificial flavors and sweeteners.
Keep in mind, yogurt naturally contains sugar, which means anything over 8 to 12 grams of sugar would come from added sugars. For many flavored brands, you might as well be having a bowl of ice cream with the amount of sugar added.
Doctor it up
For most, plain yogurt will not do the trick. Start with the plain and add your own ingredients.
Top favorites include fresh or frozen fruits, nuts and seeds, granola and honey. Yogurt is also great in smoothies, used in place of sour cream or mayo, or used to make salad dressing or veggie dips.
Lactose intolerance
If you have lactose intolerance, you should be able to tolerate most yogurts. However, those with more severe lactose intolerance may want to look for yogurts that are labeled lactose-free.
Several brands have a lactose-free variety. This means you do not have to cut it out completely.
Grass-fed or organic
My rule of thumb: “You eat what you eat eats.” In other words, the
nutritional quality of any animal product can be affected by what the
animals has been fed.
Grass-fed products will ensure the animal ate a natural diet, which could improve the nutritional quality of the milk. Organic will also ensure there are no added antibiotics or hormones. It’s also better for the environment.
If you’re OK with spending a little extra, go for grass-fed and organic items.
Low-fat or full-fat
While it is true that whole milk is high in saturated fat—and saturated fat increases cholesterol—findings suggest that full-fat yogurt does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Whole milk yogurt can be enjoyed in moderation by some, while others may prefer low-fat for reducing calories.
Dairy-free variety
For those who choose to follow a vegan diet or have dairy allergies or intolerances, dairy-free yogurt is a nice option. These items still provide beneficial probiotic bacteria and are an easy snack.
The drawback is that the yogurts made from nut milk generally do not have protein and most non-dairy yogurts are loaded with sugar. If you choose to go this route, opt for unsweetened.
As paddleboarding becomes more popular, safety experts are reminding families about the inherent risks of water sports. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Summertime in Michigan means beach time, but trips to the beach aren’t always fun in the sun.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 3,500 people die each year from drownings unrelated to boating. An additional 332 people die each year from drownings in boating-related incidents.
Among those who drown, about 1 in 5 are children younger than age 14.
“When people are swimming in a lake, they need to remember to not go in past their level of comfort,” Dr. Middlebrook said. “If you can’t touch the bottom, then you’re out too far.”
You should also take waves into consideration.
“If you’re just barely touching the bottom, a wave can come and sweep you off your feet,” she said.
Water hazards
Stand anyplace in Michigan and you’re never more than 85 miles from at least one of the Great Lakes. On any afternoon, there’s a sure route to fun and recreation.
But U.S. Coast Guard crews are quick to remind beachgoers about the need to respect the water.
“Even though they may be a good swimmer, there are obstacles on Lake Michigan such as waves, rip currents and rocks under the surface of the water,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam Castonia of Coast Guard Station Ludington.
And it’s not just swimmers who need to be cautious.
With the recent popularity of stand-up paddleboarding, the Coast Guard is seeing more people who need to be rescued after falling off their boards.
“When operated outside of a designated swimming area, paddleboards are considered a vessel under Coast Guard regulations,” Castonia said. “When outside of those areas, paddlers over the age of 12 must have a life jacket onboard. They aren’t required to wear it, although the Coast Guard recommends everyone on a boat or paddleboard to always wear a life jacket.”
Paddlers age 12 and under are required to wear a lifejacket when paddling outside of swimming areas, Castonia added.
Sunny days
The water isn’t the only thing that creates hazards. Exposure to the sun can also be dangerous.
“While at the beach, people should wear sunscreen that is SPF 30 or higher,” Dr. Middlebrook said. “Wearing sunglasses, a hat, having a coverup and a beach umbrella will protect people against the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.”
People should also avoid staying at the beach in direct sunlight for too long, especially during the peak UV hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Staying hydrated will also help ensure your trip to the beach is safe.
“Drink lots of water before going to the beach and while at the beach,” Dr. Middlebrook said. “You should avoid sugary drinks at the beach because the more sugar you drink, the more dehydrated you can get.”
Healthier snacks such as crackers, pretzels, fruits and vegetables should also be part of your beach basket on a hot summer day.
“The heat is on (oh yeah) … The heat is on, Burnin’ burnin’ burnin’ … It’s on the street, Woo, hoo … The heat is on”
Glen Frey, lyrics from the song “The Heat is On“
(U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Sheila deVera)
Be smart, beat the heat
The heat is on, but Kent County has some common advice: spend as much time as possible in a temperature-controlled cool environment; stay in the shade with a good breeze or air flow to decrease felt temperatures; remain well hydrated by drinking water — as opposed to alcohol drinks that can be counter-productive and dehydrate the body; and, finally, know the signs of heat exhaustion and watch out for each other. For the complete story, visit here.
Here Comes the Sun
The 25th annual summer season of D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops continues in July and while it may be late to make plans for Here Comes the Sun: A Tribute to the Beatles at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 19, you can be early for Dancing in the Street: Music of Motown and More at 7:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday, July 25-26. For a complete preview story, visit here.
Hot, sleepless, nights
If you were up all night due to the heat, you might ache all over the next morning and your lack of sound slumber might be to blame. Cant do nothing about the heat, but knowledge is power. For the story, visit here.
Fun fact:
67 degrees
In general, the suggested bedroom temperature should be between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal sleep. Source
Think vaping is a safe alternative to tobacco cigarettes? Not likely. New research suggests e-cigarette vapor contains heavy metals. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
If you think that “vaping” is a safe alternative to smoking, research suggests you might be inadvertently inhaling unsafe levels of toxic metals.
Scientists say the tiny metal coils that heat the liquid nitrogen in e-cigarettes may contaminate the resulting vapor with lead, chromium, manganese and nickel. The finding raises the possibility that e-cigarettes are not harmless to users.
“We analyzed 15 metals in e-liquid from the refill dispenser—before the liquid meets the heating element—in the vapor, and in the remaining e-liquid in the tank after vaping,” explained study author Pablo Olmedo. He’s an assistant scientist with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health’s department of environmental health and engineering, in Baltimore.
“We found that the metal concentrations were generally higher in the tank and aerosol compared to the refill dispenser,” said Olmedo. That suggests that the heating coil is the smoking gun, he added.
But study co-author Ana Maria Rule pointed out that their team also found “the presence of some metals in some of the liquids even before they are in contact with the coil.”
That could mean that “in addition to the metal coil, other factors could play a role in e-cigarette metal exposure, such as the voltage used to heat the coil,” said Rule, also an assistant scientist at Hopkins.
Unlike traditional smoking, vaping works by heating liquids that contain nicotine. The liquid passes through a heating coil, producing a vapor that proponents claim is free of much of the carcinogens associated with burning tobacco leaves.
Given that a recent U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse survey found that one in six high schoolers has vaped in the past month, the finding could have broad public health implications, the researchers said.
In the Hopkins study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, investigators recruited 56 vapers in the Baltimore area to see whether the heating process introduces toxins into what is inhaled.
The researchers used the vapers’ own e-cigarette devices when examining the chemical content of e-liquid, vapor and residue.
Tested chemicals included: aluminum, antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, titanium, tungsten, uranium and zinc. Prior research has linked prolonged inhalation of such metals to lung, liver, heart and brain damage.
Chronic exposure may also depress immune system function and raise the risk for certain types of cancer, the researchers said.
The team found that e-liquid exposed to heating coils produced a vapor containing significant amounts of chromium, lead, manganese, nickel and zinc.
Highly toxic arsenic was also found in both the e-liquid and the heated vapor among a subset of 10 vapers, though how that metal got into the unheated e-liquid remains unclear.
The team also noted that toxic metal levels seemed to be higher among vapers who changed their heating coils more often, suggesting that new coils may produce more toxins than older ones.
Regardless, Rule said, vapers should know that “as far as we know, all current electronic cigarettes use a metallic coil to generate the vapor, so not vaping is the only way to avoid or mitigate this (toxic) exposure.”
As for whether vaping is safer than smoking or worse, Rule said the team “did not set out to compare e-cigarettes to cigarettes.”
But Stanton Glantz, a professor of medicine with the University of California, San Francisco’s Center for Tobacco Control, Research and Education, said it’s important to understand that e-cigs “have an entirely different toxicological profile” than cigarettes.
“So the risk profile is going to be different,” Glantz said. “The assumption has been that at least e-cigarettes aren’t worse. But this suggests they have something in them that isn’t even in standard cigarettes that’s worth being worried about.”
That worry was echoed by Patricia Folan, director of the Center for Tobacco Control at Northwell Health in Great Neck, New York.
“Considering the list of metals, toxic materials and lung-damaging materials found in e-cigarettes, these products are not a healthy product for teen consumption,” she said.
“I guess the question is, do we really want to promote and advertise these products and take a chance on damaging the health of our youth, without knowing their health effects and without regulation?” Folan asked.
We all want to go on vacation during the summer months, and there’s no reason why the whole family can’t go on the trip. While traveling with a senior during the holidays or during the summer is more complicated than going on a vacation alone, it’s going to be worth it when you can share the memories you’ve made for years to come.
Make sure your loved one is on board
Ensuring that your family member is prepared for the trip ahead is an essential step to a smooth vacation. Being upfront about what to expect will help everyone be ready for the good and bad of traveling. Don’t frighten them with the experience, but be honest.
It’s also important to make sure they actually want to go. Some seniors are content to stay at home and avoid traveling, so don’t let your excitement and wishes overrule their own. You don’t want to force anyone on a vacation that they don’t want!
Find the right mode of transportation
It’s important to take into account how you will be traveling, as each mode of transportation has positives and negatives that will affect seniors differently.
Traveling by plane
Airports can be loud and confusing, and some seniors who are wheelchair-bound or struggle with mobility might find air travel especially difficult. You never want the difficulties of travel to overtake the joys of a vacation. However, if you need to get someplace far away or out of the country, it may be the best option to avoid a long trip.
Traveling by car
A road trip somewhere closer to home can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that can be found in a crowded airport, but a car ride comes with its own complications. A long car trip can be very tiring on elderly family members, and the constant jostling can be painful. But for shorter distances or for seniors who want to avoid the crowds at an airport, it can be a good idea.
Traveling by boat
Cruises are a very popular mode of travel and vacation that your loved one might be interested in. While fun for all ages, cruises are especially great for seniors because the trip isn’t as stressful as traveling by plane or car might be, and they have a room to relax in if they get overwhelmed. However, if your loved one gets motion sickness or seasickness, it might not be the best option.
Propose some activities for all ages
Odds are you aren’t only taking mom or dad on your vacation with you. Your spouse, siblings, or kids may be joining you. Because you might have a range of ages, it’s important to plan activities that not only one age group will enjoy. The grown family may love a trip to the museum or a historical site, but your kids may be bored. On the other hand, while your kids might love a water park, it may not work for your senior loved one.
Think of activities that will keep everyone’s interest, or if you do have specific things in mind that might not be all-age friendly, don’t spend an entire day at those locations. Finding fun for all ages isn’t easy, but it is worthwhile.
Keep senior safety in mind
Just as you would remember sunscreen and bug spray for your kids, it’s important to remember the things that your senior loved one needs as well, such as:
Medications—get a schedule of when they need to take medicines, and keep them close by even while in a plane or car.
Allergies—if you are planning on staying outdoors, find out their allergies and have a plan for when they act up. Don’t forget about food allergies as well!
Healthy foods—Bring along energy-boosting foods that can help seniors regain some stamina.
Sun protection—Make sure you bring along plenty of water for everyone to drink, and that your loved one is getting plenty. Watch for signs of heat exhaustion or stroke, as elderly people are susceptible to the heat.
Plan well in advance
If it’s just you and your family on a vacation, it can be fun to have a loose schedule without many activities planned to see where the day takes you. When you are traveling with an older family member, it’s usually a better idea to have a plan. Make sure there are plenty of breaks planned in between activities to give your senior loved one time to adjust to traveling and regain some energy after a lot of activity.
Be patient, it’s difficult for elderly people to travel and disrupt their daily routine. Try and keep some things the same, like eating at the same time as usual and waking up at the time your loved one is used to getting up.
There are lots of things to enjoy during the summer, and there’s no reason why your elderly family members have to stay home and miss out on family vacations. As long are you are clear, take their opinions and wishes in mind, and plan ahead, you are sure to have a family vacation that will lift everyone’s spirits.
If you were up all night and you ache all over the next morning, your lack of sound slumber might be to blame.
New research found that sleep loss delivered a double whammy to the brain that all but guaranteed greater levels of body pain.
“Activity in the somatosensory cortex, previously associated with the location and intensity of pain, was enhanced following sleep loss,” explained study author Adam Krause.
And “in two regions called the striatum and the insula, sleep deprivation decreased the activity associated with pain (relief),” he added. These regions control the release of dopamine, often called the “feel-good” hormone.
Krause is a Ph.D. candidate with the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley.
During the study, 25 healthy, young participants got the normal eight hours of sleep one night. A week or so later, the same group underwent a night of no sleep whatsoever.
After each session, all the volunteers underwent “thermal pain sensitivity” tests, followed by MRI scans to monitor brain activity while their legs were exposed to uncomfortable levels of heat.
After a full night of sleep, most participants reported feeling heat discomfort at about 111 degrees Fahrenheit.
But after a night of no sleep, that pain threshold dropped to 107 degrees F.
Brain scans pinpointed the neurological basis for the uptick in pain sensitivity following sleep loss.
The research team then surveyed 60 adults (average age 38) over a 48-hour survey period. All had reported experiencing pain during the survey period, and all were asked to keep sleep diaries and report mood and anxiety levels, as well as rank pain intensity when experienced.
“We found that reductions from one night to the next in the quality of the sleep, rather than just the quantity—total hours asleep—predicted worse pain the following day,” Krause noted.
“The optimistic takeaway here is that better sleep can help manage and lower pain. (It’s) a natural analgesic that we can all pick up in repeat prescription each night, if we choose,” he said.
“It is our hope that this research especially encourages health care systems to bring sleep closer to the center of treatment. If we can improve sleep conditions in the setting in which patients are most often in pain—the hospital ward—perhaps we can reduce the dosage of narcotic drugs and clear hospital beds sooner,” Krause suggested.
The findings were published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Monika Haack is an associate professor of neurology with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Human Sleep & Inflammatory Systems Laboratory in Boston. She expressed little surprise at the findings.
“There is very strong evidence to date—and the current study supports this again—that short or disturbed sleep, either in clinical (settings) or in the general population, increases our experience of next-day pain,” Haack said.
“And a number of studies, including the current study, have shown that sleep is a stronger predictor of pain than pain is a predictor of how we sleep,” she added.
“I think the most important and novel finding of the study is that the authors found a biological basis, neuronal brain structures, that correspond to the pain sensitivity increase observed after sleep loss. Only if we understand the biology and mechanisms underlying this relationship will we be able to develop target- or mechanism-specific strategies to prevent pain-processing changes associated with short or disturbed sleep,” Haack concluded.
Study shows a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetable fats such as olive oil and nuts had little effect on body weight or waist circumference compared to people on a low-fat diet. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
An eating plan that includes healthy fats such as olive oil and nuts isn’t likely to cause weight gain, a new study finds.
That’s good news for people who’d prefer to try the Mediterranean diet—which includes healthy fats—over a diet that’s low in fat. And the study authors suggest that current health guidelines may be creating an unnecessary fear of these healthful fats.
“More than 40 years of nutritional policy has advocated for a low-fat diet, but we’re seeing little impact on rising levels of obesity,” said study lead author Dr. Ramon Estruch, of the University of Barcelona in Spain.
“Our study shows that a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetable fats such as olive oil and nuts had little effect on body weight or waist circumference compared to people on a low-fat diet. The Mediterranean diet has well-known health benefits and includes healthy fats, such as vegetable oils, fish and nuts,” Estruch explained in a journal news release.
However, he also pointed out that not all fats are created equal. “Our findings certainly do not imply that unrestricted diets with high levels of unhealthy fats such as butter, processed meat, sweetened beverages, desserts or fast-foods are beneficial,” Estruch added.
The study included more than 7,400 women and men in Spain, aged 55 to 80. The study participants ate one of three eating plans: an unrestricted-calorie Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil; an unrestricted-calorie Mediterranean diet rich in nuts; or a low-fat diet meant to avoid all dietary fat.
All the participants had type 2 diabetes or high heart risk. More than 90 percent were overweight or obese, the study authors noted.
After five years, total fat intake fell from 40 percent to 37 percent in the low-fat diet group, and rose in both Mediterranean diet groups, from about 40 percent to 42 percent. The percentage of proteins and carbohydrates decreased in both Mediterranean diet groups, the findings showed.
People in all three groups lost some weight: an average of almost 2 pounds (0.88 kilograms) per person in the olive oil group, 1.3 pounds (0.60 kg) in the low-fat diet group, and 0.9 pounds (0.40 kg) in the nut group, the researchers said.
Waist circumference did increase slightly in all three groups, though less so in those on the healthy fat diets. The low-fat group had an increase of about a half-inch (1.2 centimeters) per person. The olive oil group saw an increase of about one-third of an inch (0.85 cm), and the nut group only saw an increase in waist circumference of 0.14 inches (0.37 cm), the study authors reported.
The report was published June 6 in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
“The fat content of foods and diets is simply not a useful metric to judge long-term harms or benefits,” Dariush Mozaffarian, professor in the School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University in Boston, wrote in an accompanying commentary.
“Energy density and total caloric contents can be similarly misleading. Rather, modern scientific evidence supports an emphasis on eating more calories from fruits, nuts, vegetables, beans, fish, yogurt, phenolic-rich vegetable oils, and minimally processed whole grains; and fewer calories from highly processed foods rich in starch, sugar, salt, or trans-fat,” Mozaffarian explained.
“Dietary guidelines should be revised to lay to rest the outdated, arbitrary limits on total fat consumption. Calorie-obsessed caveats and warnings about healthier, higher-fat choices such as nuts, phenolic-rich vegetable oils, yogurt, and even perhaps cheese, should also be dropped,” Mozaffarian wrote.
With the dead of summer comes hot, humid days — and the need to get plenty of water in you. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Sheila deVera)
WKTV Staff ken@wktv.org
In anticipation of several days of possible temperatures in the 90 degree plus range and high humidity, of Kent County on Tuesday released a statement from the county’s emergency manager including some advise.
Some predictions have daytime temperatures near and surpassing 90 degrees on Wednesday, July 17, with predicted highs of 95 degrees Thursday through Saturday.
“We collectively waited much of the year in anticipation of warm weather, but this week may be a little too warm for comfort,” Lt. Lou Hunt, Kent County Emergency Manager, said in supplied material. “It will also be very humid, which will increase the discomfort. It is important to be aware of the dangers heat can present to residents, and pets, so we can stay safe and remain as comfortable as possible.”
In the county’s statement, residents are encouraged to follow several simple tips:
Spend as much time as possible in a temperature-controlled cool environment.
Stay in the shade with a good breeze/air flow to decrease felt temperatures.
Remain well hydrated by drinking water (more than usual) which can help the body’s natural process for adapting to higher temperatures, as opposed to alcohol drinks that can be counter-productive and dehydrate the body.
Knowing the signs of heat exhaustion (which can include weakness, cold and clammy skin, darker than normal urine, significant sweating, cramps, dizziness, headache and nausea, among others) is a strong indicator it is time to get to a cooler environment, drink some cold water, and rest, according to county health officials.
Heat stroke, on the other hand, is a medical emergency with signs such as confusion, disorientation, the absence of sweating, high body temperature, rapid pulse/heart rate, and others.
Cooling centers will be open throughout this event for residents to go and rest from the heat. Most cooling centers will be open during the day while the temperatures are hottest (nighttime temperatures this week will be much more tolerable, in the mid 70’s). For locations and hours of cooling centers, please call 211 and a United Way representative will assist you in locating the closest cooling center.
“Remember, this week is a good time to slow things down a little, stay out of the sun, and make sure the people around you (and yourself) are coping during this heat event,” Lt. Hunt said. “Also, please remember your family pets! Pets that live outside will require shade and lots of cool water, but residents are encouraged to bring their pets inside for cooler temperatures.”
Pasta made from zucchini noodles—zoodles, as they’re called—has about a quarter of the calories you’d find in regular noodles. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Want to get more veggies into your diet but feeling bored with the same old side dishes?
Making noodles from vegetables is the answer. They’re a great substitute for high-calorie, low-fiber traditional pasta and work just as well as a base for your favorite sauces.
While it’s possible to use a sturdy vegetable peeler to turn carrots or zucchini into noodle-length strips, a tool called a mandoline will cut your prep time in half. Just be aware that the mandoline blade has very sharp edges. You’ll want to hold the pusher accessory as you run the length of your vegetables across the blade. In addition, wear a thick kitchen glove to protect your fingers.
Zucchini is perfect for the mandoline because it slices easily. You can make the following sauce ahead of time. It yields enough for another meal.
Zucchini Noodles With Marinara Sauce
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Red chili flakes to taste 2 28-ounce cans San Marzano tomatoes 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1/4 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup white wine or broth, any variety 1 basil sprig 2 large zucchini 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive, safflower or grapeseed oil 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Place a large stockpot over medium heat. Brown the garlic in two tablespoons of oil for two to three minutes. Add chili flakes, the tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, salt and black pepper and stir. Next, add the wine or broth and the basil. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, 30 to 40 minutes until the sauce thickens. Set aside.
Wash the zucchini. Cut off the stems and discard. Insert the fine tooth blade into a mandoline and tighten the screw to hold it in place. Press the pusher into the center of the first zucchini and hold the pusher as you run the vegetable over the surface of the mandoline to form the noodles. Repeat with the other zucchini.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the tablespoon of the oil of your choice. Add the zucchini noodles and cook two to three minutes, stirring often until they soften. Top with marinara sauce and toss well. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve immediately.
The motto of the Kent County Sheriffs Office’s just-started Pink Patch breast cancer awareness effort has a simple, stated goal: “Supporting the fighters, admiring the survivors, honoring the taken and never giving up hope.”
The program offers pink Sheriffs Office patches for a $10 donation with the proceeds going to Gilda’s Club and the Kent County Sheriff’s Office Benevolent Fund.
“We have sold 150 patches in the last 2 weeks which has raised $1,500,” Sgt. Joel Roon, Kent County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, said last week to WKTV. “The reception from the community has been amazing. Our clerks have heard many inspiring stories of people who were motivated to buy a patch because of a personal story.”
And thanks to the program being registered with the national Pink Patch Project, the local effort is event getting out-of-the-county requests.
“We have even received a few out-of-state requests which we’ve obviously accommodated,” Sgt. Roon said. “Local interest with officers from other agencies has also been evident and very exciting.”
The goal of the Sheriff’s Office program is to “raise awareness about the importance of screening and early detection.”
According to a flyer distributed by the Sheriffs Office about the program, here are a few sobering yet hopeful facts: One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime … Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, but there are 3.5 million breast cancer survivors in the country.”
Patches are available for purchase at the Kent County Sheriff’s Office at 701 Ball Ave. NE, and two substations: the North Sector office at 790 17 Mile Road NW and the South Sector office at 8557 Kalamazoo Ave. SE.
For questions about the patches, contact deputies Mandy Bernal-Hill at 616-632-6228, Joy Matthews at 616-632-6224 or Jordan Peters at 810-223-1732.
An Asian tick newly introduced into the United States has the potential to infest a wide swath of the country, researchers say.
It could carry with it numerous diseases that threaten humans.
The Asian longhorned tick “could spread all the way from the Gulf Coast to southern Canada,” said study author Ilia Rochlin, an entomologist with the Rutgers University Center for Vector Biology in New Brunswick, N.J.
This highly adaptable pest originated in regions of China that share a similar climate to much of the United States, Rochlin said.
Huge swaths of land along the Eastern seaboard, the Midwest and the South would provide highly suitable habitat for the bloodsucking parasite, Rochlin’s computer models predict.
The tick has already been found in nine states—eight on the East Coast, and Arkansas.
“The first real detection occurred in New Jersey in 2017,” Rochlin said.
This tick is not yet known to have infected any humans in North America, but it is linked to severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, an emerging tick-borne virus in China, South Korea and Japan.
Thrombocytopenia syndrome is fatal for 10 percent to 30 percent of people infected, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Thrombocytopenia syndrome is very similar to the tick-borne Heartland virus, which already is transmitted in the United States, Rochlin added. It’s possible the Asian longhorned tick could serve as a vector for Heartland virus as well.
The populations of this tick can grow rapidly once it finds a suitable habitat, said Thomas Mather, director of the University of Rhode Island’s Center for Vector-Borne Disease.
Mather recounted a recent trip to a park in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs in New York City, during which he dragged a length of tick-grabbing cloth called a “flag” along the parking lot to see how badly infested that area had become.
“Within seconds our flag was covered in larvae,” Mather said. “We were surprised at how abundant they were.”
For this new report, Rochlin studied climate data from places where the Asian longhorned tick is already established, including East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
He then used climate data from North America to estimate likely suitable habitats for the tick. They include:
Coastal areas from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada to Virginia and North Carolina on the East Coast.
A large inland stretch of land from northern Louisiana up to Wisconsin and into southern Ontario and Quebec.
A westward extension that includes Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri.
Coastal areas from southern British Columbia to northern California on the West Coast.
Warmer temperatures to the south, cold winters to the north and dry terrain in the west make the rest of the United States less suitable, Rochlin said.
The Asian longhorned tick reproduces asexually, allowing its populations to grow rapidly and rendering moot any insect control efforts that would target its mating cycle, Rochlin said.
Mather said the ticks employ an “ambush” strategy to help find fresh sources of blood. Its larval ticks, thirsty for blood, hang out in tight clumps on the tips of tall grasses.
“They’re all clumped there, ready to get onto something,” Mather said.
“Not just one or two get onto something—they all get onto something,” he continued. “If there were 75 or 80 larvae on the tip of a blade of grass and our flag went over the blade of grass, there would be 65 of them on my flag.”
Severe infestations can threaten livestock, weakening them by depleting their blood supply.
Mather is concerned that pets will make the Asian longhorned tick’s spread more likely.
One of the ticks was found recently on a dog in Colorado that had traveled there from a New Jersey “hot zone,” Mather said.
“What if it had gone to Seattle instead, which has a more permissive climate according to this model?” Mather said. “The number of emotional support animals flying on domestic airline carriers in the United States has more than doubled in the last year or two. Not just people are moving around, but pets are, and most of the reports of longhorned ticks so far have come from pets.
“The group sitting on the front line are pet owners and veterinarians,” Mather continued. “They need to be aware of the potential of them picking up and moving these ticks throughout the country.”
Rochlin’s study was published in the Journal of Medical Entomology.
It’s a vicious cycle: Start a diet. Crave all the foods you cannot have. Fail. Feel guilty. Gain more weight. Start another diet…
According to Kristi Veltkamp, a dietitian at Spectrum Health, there’s good reason why diets don’t work.
“I cannot tell you how many people have said to me, ‘If I would just have been happy where I was before I started dieting,’” Veltkamp said. “Many people gain more weight with diets. There’s a constant desire there to lose the weight, but diets keep setting you up for failure.”
Thankfully, Veltkamp is here to help.
Here are her top 5 tips for how to lose weight … no dieting necessary:
1. Become more aware of when you are truly hungry and when you are full
“Most people don’t really listen to their bodies when they’re eating,” Veltkamp said.
There might be food in front of you, so you eat it all. Or you’re stressed or hurting, so you emotionally eat to distract yourself and cover the pain. Or you’re at a party where everyone’s eating, so you do, too.
She urges people to create a scale for their hunger, where 0 is starving and 10 is stuffed. You should eat at a 3—not too hungry and not too full. Also, remember that hunger is a physical feeling. Try to focus on when you are truly hungry and when you want to eat for other reasons.
To be more aware of when you’re full, she urges slowing down and focusing on eating. It takes most people 20 minutes to recognize when their stomach is full. Put your fork down between bites, sit down, reduce distractions (like television, driving or working) while eating. At home, put a small portion on your plate, and if you’re still hungry, go back for more. At a restaurant, put half of your serving in a box right away, split a meal with someone, or simply divide your food on your plate to give yourself a stopping point to check in and see how full you are.
2. Create a distraction box or list of things to do besides eating
It’s tough to combat the urge to emotionally eat.
“When you’re not hungry, and you want to eat, food is a distraction from what you’re really feeling,” she said.
So Veltkamp suggests creating other distractions besides food. Figure out your most vulnerable place for eating when you’re not hungry (for most people, it’s the room with your television). In that room, keep a box with things you can do, or that will create a distraction, when you want to emotionally eat: nail polish, bubble wrap, knitting, crocheting, adult coloring books, Sudoku, crossword puzzles or journal.
3. Be realistic
Have a realistic view of eating and willpower. If you want a cookie,
don’t deny yourself. Eat one, not 12. Or eat something special once a
week, not every day. Enjoy it, and don’t feel guilty about it. If you
fail and binge, forgive yourself and move on.
4. Plan ahead
Planning meals and surrounding yourself with healthy food sets you up
for success. Veltkamp said if you have planned and shopped for meals
and snacks, you’re less likely to run out and grab fast food or
unhealthy comfort foods.
Do weekly food prep on the weekends so healthy meals are easy to throw together during your busy times. She recommends Pinterest or Yummly to find recipes.
Surround yourself with healthy snacks that combine protein and carbs, such as crackers and cheese, peanut butter, yogurt, trail mix, granola bars, string cheese, hard boiled eggs, or her personal favorite—dark chocolate covered almonds.
Also, she urges people to plan for troublesome scenarios like restaurants and social situations. Look up restaurant menus before you go to plan what you will order. Think about what you will eat at a party before you go. Pick one dessert you want the most and eat that—not everything.
5. Respect yourself
Respect, not accept, where you are. Veltkamp sees many people who
keep bashing themselves and punishing themselves for failed diets. A
healthy mindset can help lead the way to a healthy body.
“If you can start to respect yourself, you can give yourself more freedom to get on with the non-dieting approach,” she said. “Guilt and shame just leads to more over-eating.”
Can’t sleep at night? Perhaps genetics is to blame.
In a new study, dozens of gene regions linked to insomnia have been pinpointed—and researchers also report a link between insomnia and heart disease.
American and British investigators analyzed data from more than 450,000 people in the United Kingdom—29 percent of whom reported frequent sleeplessness—and identified 57 gene regions associated with insomnia.
Those links were independent of known insomnia risk factors such as lifestyle, caffeine consumption, depression or stress.
“Our findings confirm a role for genetics in insomnia symptoms and expand upon the four previously found (genetic regions) for this condition,” said study lead author Jacqueline Lane. She’s a researcher at the Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
“All of these identified regions help us understand why some people get insomnia, which pathways and systems are affected and point to possible new therapeutic targets,” Lane added in a hospital news release.
Researchers also found evidence that increased insomnia symptoms nearly doubled the risk of coronary artery disease. They were also linked to depression and a reduced sense of well-being.
“Insomnia has a really significant impact on millions of people worldwide. We’ve long known there’s a link between insomnia and chronic disease. Now our findings suggest that depression and heart disease are actually a result of persistent insomnia,” said co-lead author Samuel Jones. He’s a research fellow at the University of Exeter in England.
Lane said these results open possibilities for future medications.
“All of these identified regions are possible new therapeutic targets for insomnia,” she said. “And 16 of these regions contain known drug targets.”
This in turn could have an effect on heart disease, as “the new causal relationships indicate the potential usefulness of insomnia therapeutics as possible treatments for coronary artery disease and depression,” Lane said.
The study was published online recently in Nature Genetics.
Insomnia affects 10 percent to 20 percent of people worldwide, and studies have suggested that about a third of the risk of insomnia is inherited.
Previous research has suggested that insomnia increases the risk of anxiety disorders, alcoholism, major depression and heart disease, but little has been known about the mechanisms involved in that increased risk.
ByKatie Vinkovich, COA, Grand Rapids Lions Club Vision Clinic
Did you know that digital devices can negatively affect your vision? On average, Americans spend seven or more hours a day looking at their screens. Digital devices give off a high-energy blue light that can contribute to many eye-related problems. This overexposure to blue light can lead to sleep problems, blurred vision, eye strain, and headaches, among other things.
The average millennial spends nine hours per day on devices such as smartphones, tablets, computer monitors and flat-screen TVs which also emit blue light. Healthy eyes allow you to use technology comfortably for longer periods of time. Lack of comprehensive exams means that you may have unknown eye problems that can hold you back from using technology to its fullest.
Below are ways to limit blue light exposure and prevent future problems:
Turn off devices at least one hour prior to going to bed.
Maintain a comfortable distance away from devices, use the zoom feature to see small print instead of bringing devices closer to your face.
Turn down your screen brightness to reduce glare.
Schedule an eye exam.
Ask your eye care provider or optician about blue light filtering lens options for glasses.
City of Kentwood are Terry Schweitzer, Community Development Director, and Lisa Golder, Economic Development Planner, on set at WKTV Journal In Focus.
By K.D. Norris ken@wktv.org
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal In Focus is “Plan Kentwood”, the City of Kentwood’s ongoing update of its Master Plan — including possible development areas all across the city — as well as Kent County’s Veterans Services office, which is often the first and best place for county veterans and their families to turn for information and assistance.
First In Focus is the City of Kentwood’s update of its Master Plan. Through a series of community engagement efforts called “Plan Kentwood”, the city is gaining public input to help shape a long-range vision for growth, land use, development and open space conservation in the city. On the list of discussion topics are development near and along the extension of Breton Avenue south of 52nd Street, as well as the Division Avenue and 28th and 29th streets business districts. With us from the City of Kentwood are Terry Schweitzer, Community Development Director, and Lisa Golder, Economic Development Planner.
Then In Focus is Kent County Veterans Services, which operates under Kent County administration. Veterans Services either directly or indirectly assists veterans with a wide range of issues including disability claims, service records, and easing connection with needed social services and other government agencies. With us is Martha Burkett, the recently hired director of Veterans Services, who also brings a unique history, set of skills, and vision for her office. For the In Focus video, visit here.
WKTV Journal In Focus airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (see our Weekly On-air Schedule for dates and times). All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
Ginger is an excellent source of vitamin C, potassium and magnesium, but its most salient property is gingerol, an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Zesty ginger is more than just a great way to dress up your favorite recipes. It contains a potent immunity booster—its active compound gingerol is an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory compound.
Ginger is also a source of vitamin C and the minerals potassium and magnesium.
Ginger root is inexpensive and easy to find in the produce aisle of your local grocery store. Look for a piece that’s firm and smooth. It may have many nubs, but they shouldn’t be shriveled.
The skin should be a light brown and fairly smooth. Ginger keeps well for up to a few weeks in the produce bin of your fridge. Keep it wrapped in a paper towel and change the towel whenever it gets damp.
Many people peel ginger with a spoon, scraping off the skin with an edge. But a veggie peeler works too and may be faster.
When a recipe calls for minced ginger, after peeling, make horizontal slices and then cut each slice into matchsticks and cut the match sticks into tiny pieces.
For grated ginger, you could use a mini food processor or, even better, a microplane—just run one trimmed end of a piece of ginger across the metal mesh and let the ginger and its juice fall into a bowl.
Ginger is perfect for jazzing up salad dressings and marinades and for making an herbal tea.
For a simple main course, try it in this tasty vegetarian stir fry:
Ginger Stir Fry
2 tablespoons sesame oil 2 cups sliced mushrooms 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced 1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced 2 tablespoons minced ginger 2 cups cooked brown rice 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame oil, then the vegetables and the ginger. Cook three to four minutes, stirring often, until the veggies soften. Add the rice and the soy sauce and toss well. Serve immediately.
Local State Sen. Peter MacGregor (R-28th District) offered his views on the status of Michigan’s current budget problems and West Michigan’s pending mental health services changes as part of a wide-ranging inter-governmental leaders meeting Monday, July 8, at the Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce’s Government Matters Committee’s monthly forum at Wyoming City Hall.
Other topics of conversation were Kent County’s budgeting process and the status of recycling in Kentwood and throughout the county.
The state budgeting process “is slower than in previous years and slower than I’d like to see,” Sen. MacGregor said, explaining that currently there are three budgets that are yet to be reconciled: budgets offered the State Senate, the House of Representatives, and by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — whose budget he described as “spending money we don’t have.”
Sen. MacGregor also gave a state-level view of the continuing funding uncertainties — some say “funding crisis” — surrounding the state’s mental health services. Citing continued deficits, the state is moving to dissolve West Michigan’s current mental health funding system.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, on June 28, announced that it will not renew Lakeshore Regional Entity’s state contract to manage Medicaid benefits for mental health services after it expires Oct. 1. Sen. MacGregor said MDHHS will establish another regional publicly managed care plan, another so-called PIHP (pre-paid inpatient health plan). The LRE manages Medicaid funding distribution to mental health authorities in Kent County as well as Allegan, Ottawa, Muskegon, Oceana, Mason and Lake counties.
The Government Matters meeting brings together representatives from the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood, Kent County commissioners, local Michigan state senators and representatives, as well as often representatives of Michigan’s U.S. senators and U.S. congressman who represent the Wyoming and Kentwood area.
The next meeting will be Aug. 12 at Wyoming City Hall, 1155 28th St. SW, from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
The intergovernmental discussion hosted by the chamber focuses on issues that effect residents and businesses in the two cities.
For more information about the chamber and Government Matters visit southkent.org .
The meetings are on the second Monday of each month, starting at 8 a.m. WKTV Journal will produce a highlight story after the meeting. But WKTV also offers replays of the latest meeting on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., as well as on select Saturdays, on Comcast Cable Government Channel 26. For a highlight schedule of WKTV cable programs visit wktvjournal.org .
Regular brushing and flossing can save your teeth into old age.
Could it also save your brain?
The bacteria involved in gum disease might play a key role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, new research suggests.
DNA from the bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis is more often found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, said lead researcher Jan Potempa, a professor at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry in Kentucky.
P. gingivalis is one of the causes of periodontitis, the most serious type of gum disease.
“The DNA can be found in the Alzheimer’s brain, but less frequently at a lower level in the brain of people who died at the same age from causes other than Alzheimer’s,” Potempa said.
Alzheimer’s-affected brains also contain higher levels of a toxin secreted by P. gingivalis called gingipain, he said.
Potempa and his colleagues think the bacteria and its toxins might be connected with Alzheimer’s disease, a suspicion supported by their research involving laboratory mice.
Researchers infected the mouths of mice with P. gingivalis and found that the bacteria did spread into the brain. The infection appeared to increase production of amyloid beta, a protein linked to Alzheimer’s, and also caused inflammation in the brain.
The researchers also found that a drug targeting gingipain blocked movement of the bacteria into the brains of the mice.
The experimental drug, known as COR388, reduced the amount of P. gingivalis in mouse brains, with an accompanying decrease in amyloid beta production and brain inflammation, researchers reported.
A phase 1 clinical trial is underway to see if COR388 can prevent Alzheimer’s, researchers said. The company Cortexyme Inc., based in San Francisco, developed the drug and is supporting the research.
There are several routes by which P. gingivalis could get into the brain, Potempa said. It could be carried through the bloodstream, by cell-to-cell infection, or through the nervous system.
“There a lot of nerves going into our mouth which have direct connection to the brain,” he added. “If the bacteria gets into these nerves, it can translocate directly into the brain.”
If this theory of Alzheimer’s disease proves true, then it could be that the amyloid plaques that are thought to disrupt brain function might actually be the brain defending itself against infection, Potempa said.
“Beta amyloid has an antibacterial function,” he said. “It’s not just there to form the plaques. It can kill the bacteria. These beta amyloid plaques may be essential for defending the brain against bacteria.”
About 46% of adults 30 and older have gum disease, with about 9% having very severe disease, Potempa said.
You can avoid gum disease by brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing regularly to remove plaque between teeth and visiting the dentist for regular checkups and cleanings, according to the U.S. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.
This study is part of a growing field of research looking into whether viral or bacterial infections might be associated with Alzheimer’s, said Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer’s Association.
Another well-respected research team is investigating possible links between herpes virus and Alzheimer’s, he said.
“It’s actually receiving a lot of attention over the past couple of years. If you’d have asked me three years ago, I would have said it’s a fairly fringe idea,” Fargo said.
But a direct cause-and-effect relationship has yet to be established between any infectious agent and Alzheimer’s, Fargo said.
He said it’s possible that bacteria like P. gingivalis are found at higher levels in Alzheimer’s brains because those brains are weakened and less able to defend against infection.
“As the brain gets sick with Alzheimer’s disease or with something else, it becomes less able to fight off these things,” Fargo said.
Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Research Center, agreed that the link between bacterial infection and Alzheimer’s is still “quite speculative.”
“I certainly wouldn’t worry a group of readers that this is the cause of Alzheimer’s, or if you’ve got gum disease you’re more likely to develop dementia later in life,” he said.
Petersen said the mouse evidence is interesting, but still a step removed from Alzheimer’s in humans. Research on animals does not always produce the same results in humans.
“That would argue this is plausible but again, it’s genetically engineered mice and it’s kind of far from human reality at this point,” he said.
Potempa presented his research recently at the 2019 annual meeting of the American Association of Anatomists, in Orlando, Fla. Research presented at meetings is typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The winter winds have come and gone. Spring has brought new life to the world and summer is finally here. That means a whole new array of safer activities for aging adults is beckoning.
From playing board games in the park to catching a sporting event, the sky is the limit for fun, activities for assisted living community members.
Don’t be stuck indoors during the summer months. Take the opportunity to get out and enjoy the warmer weather; it is good for the soul, mind, and body. The following seven activities will have you wishing that it was summertime all year round.
1. Head to a sporting event
Summer is the perfect time to watch a sporting event. It could be
something as exciting as attending a grandchild’s first soccer game or
watching your favorite professional sporting team in action.
2. Go fishing
Fishing is a low-impact and safe activity for aging adults. The hours will melt away as you spend time with friends and family fishing off the dock at your favorite lake or pond.
3. Play a board game at the park
Did you know that many cities and state parks have designated areas for board games? Some parks even have chest boards built directly into their park tables. Round up a group of your friends and head to the park for a day spent outside playing your favorite board games.
4. Become a local tourist
Are you tired of being indoors? Do you like seeing new sights? If so, take a boat or bus tour of your city. You’ll be amazed to discover your city through a new pair of eyes. The best part about this fun summer time activity is that you can enjoy it with your fellow assisted living community members, family, friends, or on your own.
5. Volunteer at the library
The library is the perfect excursion for an aging adult. It provides the unique opportunity to read to the next generation of little scholars. Volunteering at a local library will also give you the opportunity to spend your day both inside and out, as you enjoy reading your favorite childhood stories to an eager audience.
6. Enjoy some pool time
Feeling adventurous for the day? Don your favorite swimming trunks and head to the pool. Spending time at the pool can be both relaxing and therapeutic. Whether you decide only to sit on the edge with your feet hanging in the water or choose to participate in low-impact water aerobics, your day at the pool will certainly leave you with a smile on your face.
7. Have a picnic
Pack a picnic for an afternoon spent enjoying the company of your friends and family. Picnics are a timeless summer tradition. Aging adults will feel young again when they feel the grass between their toes and ward off any ants from the chocolate dessert. This fun summer activity is the perfect way to spend an afternoon enjoying the company of your loved ones.
Are you ready to make 2019 your best summer yet? Keep these seven fun activities in mind, call your family and friends, and prepare to enjoy the summer months like never before.
Kids can start becoming couch potatoes as early as age 7, a new study reveals.
A review of 27 studies published between 2004 and 2018 in different countries found high rates of decreasing physical activity among children and teens.
While many teens quit playing sports, overall activity starts to decline during early school years among kids who were once active, said study author Irinja Lounassalo. She’s a doctoral student in sport and health sciences at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland.
So, “being physically active in childhood and adolescence may be of high importance since it can postpone the time of becoming inactive later on,” Lounassalo said.
While the percentage of inactive people increases with age, certain groups actually increase their activity levels in adulthood and old age.
“In the future, special attention should be paid to these individuals who increase their physical activity, because it is important to understand how potential lifelong inactivity could be turned into activity,” Lounassalo said.
Among children and teens, parental support for an active lifestyle helped increase activity. For teens, less time in front of the television was associated with regular activity.
For adults, quitting smoking brought increased activity. And among older adults, regular activity was associated with a lack of chronic illnesses, a lower death rate and good physical functioning.
“Since physical activity behavior stabilizes with age and inactivity is more persistent behavior than activity, interventions should be targeted at children early in life before their habits become stable,” Lounassalo said.
Parents can help by supporting physical activity in the schools and extracurricular sports clubs for kids, she said.
“Building publicly available sport facilities and safe bicycling and walkways might help in increasing opportunities for being active regardless of age, nationality, gender or educational level,” Lounassalo said.
The study was recently published in the journal BMC Public Health.
Hormone replacement therapy can be a good option for many women as they struggle through menopause.
It’s used not only as an aid to reduce hot flashes, but also as a medicine to replace hormones and help women improve their overall health.
Hormones are safe for many women, but not all, so it’s important to separate the facts from the myths to make sure you’re well informed.
You probably already know that menopause is a time when most women experience a variety of body changes and symptoms. In fact, 80 percent of women will experience at least one symptom and 45 percent will have significant distress from symptoms.
These are pretty significant numbers.
It’s also important to know that, during menopause, body changes in women can cause more than just sleep issues and mood swings.
The risk of heart disease in women surpasses the risk in men within five years of menopause, and the risk of diabetes and obesity in women climbs rapidly. In addition, many women gain 10 pounds or more of belly fat during this transition.
The facts are scary, but the more you know about the changes happening to your body, the more you can do to stay healthy during menopause.
Risks and rewards
Menopause symptoms and body changes are a result of estrogen loss.
Estrogen affects many cells in the body, including your brain, bones, liver, skin, vagina and uterus. Research over the years has given health care professionals valuable insight into who should and should not take estrogen.
A large study performed by the Women’s Health Initiative included 110,000 women who were randomly selected to take estrogen or to not take estrogen. The results taught doctors about the safety and effects of estrogen in women, and it also showed us that not all women have the same risks.
The timing of estrogen treatment is a key factor in a woman’s risks.
If a woman starts taking estrogen early in menopause, her risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity decreases.
However, if a woman is already at high risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes or obesity, and she then begins taking estrogen later in menopause, her risk for all of these issues becomes higher.
You can see why it’s important to talk to your physician about taking hormones before you make any decisions.
Estrogen in the system—versus estrogen in the vagina—is very different is terms of effects and risks.
Vaginal estrogen barely, if at all, goes into the blood. It stays in the vagina and greatly improves the vaginal and bladder symptoms of menopause. These symptoms include dryness, difficulty in achieving orgasm, pain with sex, bladder urgency and some forms of incontinence.
So, who cannot take systemic estrogen? A woman who:
Is more than 10 years from her last menstrual period.
Already has heart disease.
Has previously had a stroke.
Has migraines with significant visual issues.
Had a prior blood clot in the deep veins of her legs or lungs.
Had breast cancer.
Most of the estrogen I prescribe is bio-identical, which means it is identical to the estrogen made by the ovary.
The estrogen I prescribe is FDA-approved, which means there are safety checks and consistencies not found in compounded hormones. When I prescribe hormone medication, I do not receive any financial gain from any of the manufacturers.
Estrogen prescription medicine can be given in the form of a patch, spray, or pill. (More good news: Many estrogen medicines are covered by insurance.)
My goal in prescribing estrogen medicine is my patient’s safety first, and then reducing her symptoms and improving her quality of life.
Another important hormone study, the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study trial, found that women who took patch estrogen had a lower risk of gaining belly fat and sugar cravings, and they saw significant improvement in symptoms and quality of life.
Cindy’s story
One of my patients, who I’ll call Cindy, is a good example of someone
who experienced menopause symptoms but didn’t know what to do about
them.
In the beginning, Cindy felt she’d been on auto pilot for years.
She felt blessed to have the life she had always wanted—she graduated college, landed a good job at a bank, fell in love, got married, had two children. She loved her busy life and felt lucky to rarely get sick or need a doctor’s visit.
At her yearly exams, she was always told to watch her weight and her cholesterol. She would think, “Watch them do what?” and then she’d rush out of the office to pick up the kids and start dinner.
It was all very uneventful, and Cindy liked it that way.
Life continued in this same pattern for many years—until Cindy’s periods started becoming very irregular.
She also noticed she was more tired than normal, and she began to experience night sweats. She was having crazy mood changes. Even worse, she noticed her spring clothes didn’t fit when she went to put them on after a long winter. She craved sweets (not normal for her) and she couldn’t remember things.
She began to wonder what was happening. She didn’t think these changes were normal.
Cindy and her family had enough, so she called her doctor.
Her symptoms prompted a referral to Spectrum Health Medical Group’s Menopause Clinic, where we talked about why these things were happening and what could be done to make her feel better.
Cindy’s history was good overall: no smoking, no migraines, no diabetes, and no blood clots in her legs or lungs. Her cholesterol was slightly high, but she didn’t have any signs of heart disease and she always had regular mammograms.
The first step to relieve her symptoms: Add some healthy habits back into her life. She needed regular sleep, adequate water intake, vitamins, less sugar, more exercise, meditation and gratitude.
She was also a perfect candidate for estrogen prescription therapy, so we talked about her options. She chose estrogen in the form of a patch prescription bio-identical estrogen, which she would need to change twice a week.
Cindy had never had a hysterectomy and still had her uterus; therefore, to be safe, she had to take progesterone along with the estrogen.
I prescribed Prometrium, which is bio-identical progesterone dissolved in peanut oil in a capsule that she would take every night.
Within two weeks, Cindy was experiencing fewer night sweats and hot flashes. After one month with hormone replacement therapy, she was sleeping better, she felt like exercising, she was motivated to make better food choices and she had lost weight.
Most importantly, she felt like herself again—and her family noticed.
HPV—one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases—has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the country.
In several studies, it’s also linked to the nation’s leading cause of death—cardiovascular disease.
There are more than 150 strains of HPV, including the ones responsible for cancers of the cervix, penis, anus and the back of the throat.
In a study published earlier this year in Circulation Research, researchers found that Korean women infected with these “high-risk” strains of HPV were 22 percent more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke than women not infected with the virus.
The risk was calculated after adjusting for other common cardiovascular risk factors, including smoking, physical activity and body mass index.
A 2011 study also connected HPV with heart attacks and strokes in women.
“But at this stage, we’re not completely clear on what the link is,” said Dr. Christine Jellis, a cardiologist at The Cleveland Clinic.
Jellis said HPV may encourage chronic inflammation in the body, which can contribute to atherosclerosis, or the hardening of fatty plaque along the lining of arteries.
“But there may be some other social factors that make people both more prone to developing coronary artery disease—atherosclerosis—and also HPV,” she said. “At the moment, we don’t have that information but this … definitely warrants further evaluation.”
The link between HPV and cardiovascular risk is not restricted to women.
A 2017 study of mostly men tied HPV to an increased risk of stroke in people who received radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.
Dr. Tomas Neilan, the lead author of that study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, said the results show HPV infection has consequences beyond the cervical lesions and cervical cancer typically associated with the virus.
“Specifically, and importantly, this also has implications for men beyond transmission” of the virus, said Neilan, director of the cardio-oncology program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
HPV is such a common virus that an estimated 80 percent of the population will be infected at some point in their life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 14 million Americans, including teens, become infected with HPV each year. Most infections go away on their own, but those that don’t can lead to certain types of cancer.
That’s where prevention can help, Neilan said.
HPV vaccines, which have been available for females since 2006 and for males since 2009, have proven effective in decreasing HPV incidence and preventing precancerous growths or infections.
The CDC recommends all girls and boys get two doses of the vaccine before they turn 13. Children who start the vaccine series on or after their 15th birthday need a third dose for complete protection.
Jellis hopes to see more research about the HPV connection to cardiovascular disease, as well as other types of studies that look beyond the factors already known to contribute to heart attacks and strokes.
“We certainly see patients who don’t have any of the traditional cardiovascular risks, but they still have atherosclerotic disease,” she said. “So, whether they have additional genetic factors or additional lifestyle factors, for those patients, maybe these other things like a presence of HPV will end up being the reason why they are at higher risk.”
Electronic cigarette products play host to bacterial toxins and fungi that have unknown effects on the growing number of people who use these items. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
You might need to worry about inhaling more than just nicotine when you vape: New research warns that many electronic cigarettes appear to be contaminated with fungi and bacteria.
The finding stems from a close look at the contents of 75 popular vaping products.
About half of the e-cigarettes examined were of the single-use cartridge variety, while the other half were refillable products. Both contained liquid laced with nicotine, along with other chemicals. Once a user takes a puff, a battery-powered heating device vaporizes the liquid, turning it into inhalable vapor.
But nicotine was not all that was found in the vapor of many products.
Study author Dr. David Christiani said 23% of the electronic cigarette products they examined contained bacterial toxins, while 81% tested positive for a substance called glucan, which is found on the cellular structures of most fungi.
“The contamination took place in electronic cigarette liquid and in the cartridges,” Christiani said, although the cartridge e-cigarettes contained more than three times more glucan than the refillable liquid e-cigarettes.
Christiani, director of the environmental and occupational medicine and epidemiology program at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, characterized the findings as “surprising.” But when asked if the identified contaminants actually pose a danger to vapors, he suggested the jury is still out on that question.
Potentially, “they are toxic,” Christiani said.
That means that, over time, exposure to high amounts of such contaminants can prompt the onset of progressive lung illnesses such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis and asthma.
But as a practical matter, Christiani noted that the contaminant levels his team found in e-cigarettes was actually “considerably lower” than levels “that have been shown to cause lung disease” in workplace environments where manufacturing chemicals abound.
What’s more, such contaminants are also found in standard cigarettes, where levels “are (also) generally higher than what we measured here,” he added.
The bottom line: “At this time, we do not have scientific evidence that the levels we see in these electronic cigarette products raise health concerns,” Christiani concluded.
Still, he cautioned that “we do not know what the risk is with long-term usage, with increasing cumulative dose and with the interaction between these contaminants and other potentially toxic agents we and others have found in electronic cigarette products, such as flavorants or industrial solvents.”
Christiani’s team noted that the popularity of e-cigarettes has exploded in just a few years, particularly among young users. For example, the authors pointed out that while just 220,000 high school students vaped in 2011, last year that figure hit more than 3 million.
And though many experts take the position that vaping is probably a safer option than smoking standard cigarettes, as its use has grown, so has public health scrutiny.
As to what might cause contamination, the study team said it could happen at any point during the production process. But they also pointed a finger at the cotton fiber wicks found in e-cigarette cartridges, given that such fibers are known to host both bacteria and fungi.
Regardless of whether such contaminants ultimately pose a significant risk, “vaping is potentially harmful to your health, and (it’s best) not to do it,” Christiani said. “More study is needed to determine whether vaping can be made safer by removal of all contaminants and adulterants.”
The study was published online recently in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Victoria Stevens is scientific director of epidemiology research with the American Cancer Society. She agreed that “a more complete understanding of what’s in e-cig products and what their users are exposed to would help define some of the potential risk of vaping.”
Stevens pointed out, for example, that the bacterial and fungal property that the study team found in e-cigarettes “are common contaminants and are found in things like household dust.”
So she suggested that until more research clarifies exactly how much exposure vapers face—in terms of both what is found in vaping devices and what users actually inhale—”it is unclear whether this contamination is a cause for concern.”
Even a crumb of gluten can have a serious impact on those who have sensitivities or celiac. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
By Jessica Corwin, Spectrum Health Beat
Just one-sixteenth of a saltine cracker is enough to cause damage in someone with celiac disease—mere crumbs.
This means that any of us hoping to serve meals free from gluten must pay attention to much more than our ingredients alone. We must consider the entire kitchen as we begin any gluten-free cooking adventure, everything from food storage to kitchen appliances.
Read on for six simple and effective tips to help you dish up 100 percent gluten-free meals with peace of mind.
1. Wash Up
Registered dietitian McKenzie Hall, co-founder of Nourish RDs, suggests beginning any gluten-free food preparation with hand washing. As even a crumb of gluten-containing food is enough to cause a negative reaction, the need to wash your hands every time you come across a gluten-containing ingredient or surface cannot be stressed enough.
2. Separate your storage
Food storage is not something that typically comes to mind when considering gluten-free safety, yet it is an essential component. Designate a specific cupboard, drawer and perhaps even the top pantry shelf as gluten-free zones to be sure no gluten containing crumbs are introduced. As a separate freezer may not be an option, prevent contamination by sealing ingredients securely within a zip-top freezer bag.
3. Manage your mise en place
Before you begin cooking, gather all your ingredients and identify whether or not hidden sources of gluten may be present. Sneaky sources include bouillon, artificial bacon bits, malt vinegar, wonton wrappers, dressings, sauces, seasonings, yogurt, and even colors or flavorings if they have been produced outside of North America. If you are uncertain, call the manufacturer to determine whether or not gluten is a concern.
4. Stock up on spatulas
If you are able to, purchase a separate set of utensils solely for the use of gluten-free food preparation. Please do as this will greatly reduce the risk of cross-contamination. Incorporating clean and separate utensils, cutting boards, pots into your kitchen, while avoiding the use of porous equipment such as wooden or plastic cutting boards are key to kitchen safety. Kim Koeller, founder of Gluten Free Passport, recommends designating a separate toaster and fryer for gluten-free cooking, as well as separate pots and strainers for gluten-free pasta.
5. Consider your condiments
Hall advises any gluten-free cook to buy separate condiments for gluten-free cooking to prevent cross-contamination of gluten. Consider doing so for condiments such as peanut butter, jam, jelly, cream cheese, mayonnaise, hummus and butter. Label each item with a ‘gluten free’ sticker or a red rubber band to let friends and family know not to dip a gluten-covered utensil inside, because once a gluten-drenched knife enters the peanut butter jar, it is no longer gluten-free.
6. Clean up the crumbs
While you most likely clean and sanitize your kitchen counters on a daily basis, when was the last time you cleaned your cupboards, pantry, or drawers? If gluten-containing foods, bread in particular, are being served in your kitchen, then crumbs should be a concern. Each time you reach into your silverware drawer, which is often, you are presenting the opportunity for crumbs to fall in and pollute knives, forks, spoons and other utensils with gluten.
Don’t eat fat. Use less salt. Stay away from sugar. No processed foods. On and on these ‘Do not eat’ signs flash before our eyes.
But how about we stop looking at what to take out of our diets and more at what to put into our diets?
Herbs are one of the most power-packed foods out there and they often fall under the radar when it comes to giving your body a boost.
Want to use less salt, have more flavor in your dishes, and provide a dose of antioxidants to your meal? Add herbs.
Herbs are one of the highest ranked foods for antioxidants and they pack a punch of flavor to boot.
Antioxidants help fight free radicals that damage cells and cause cancers and heart disease. The ORAC scale measures the antioxidant levels of foods and, right at the top of the list, you will find various herbs. Among the best are oregano, rosemary, thyme, parsley and basil.
Get started with these 7 top tips:
Buy or cut fresh herbs a few days before or the day you are going to use them.
Store them in an open bag in the refrigerator crisper drawer.
Wash and pat dry your fresh herbs just before using them.
Use three times as much fresh herb if a recipe calls for dried
herbs. For example, if a recipe includes 1 teaspoon of dried parsley,
use 3 teaspoons of fresh parsley.
Use 1/3 the amount of dried herbs if the recipe calls for fresh. For
example, if the recipe includes 3 tablespoons of fresh dill, use 1
tablespoon of dried dill.
Add fresh, freshly ground, or leafy dried herbs (basil, parsley, oregano, dill) at the end of cooking.
Add hardy dried herbs (thyme, bay leaves, anise, caraway, fennel) near the beginning of cooking.
End-of-life care options like hospice and palliative care are often associated with nursing homes or specialty houses and hospitals. Contrary to this common thought, many assisted living communities partner with these care services as the high population of seniors continue to grow older and need a continuum of care.
These types of care are difficult to talk about because they are administered to loved ones who are struggling with serious illness or are near the end of life. However, assisted living communities are focused on providing the best care for residents, including at the end of life and will often have these care solutions available. Looking into the difference between palliative care and hospice care in assisted living communities can help you know what to do when making difficult decisions for family members.
Palliative Care
What is palliative care?
Palliative care is the general term for any type of care that focuses on relieving pain and managing symptoms of serious illness, including mental and emotional pain and symptoms. Palliative care is used for people who suffer from illnesses like:
Heart and cardiac diseases
Cancer
Dementia
Parkinson’s Disease
Kidney, liver, or lung diseases
Strokes
Palliative care teams work across multiple disciplines to provide emotional, mental, and medical support for patients. The biggest difference between general palliative care and the more specific hospice care is that palliative care doesn’t necessarily mean the patient is no longer receiving treatment for their condition. Palliative care works alongside medical treatment plans to relieve symptoms while still receiving treatment.
When does your loved one need it?
If your loved one is suffering from serious diseases or symptoms that cause them daily pain, but doesn’t necessarily have a prognosis of when they will reach end-of-life, then palliative care might be a good option to consider.
To put it plainly, if your loved one is still seeking treatment and hoping to find a cure or way of managing their illness for a longer term than six months, then palliative care can help them manage their symptoms during that process.
Palliative Care in Assisted Living Communities
There aren’t palliative care facilities like hospice hospitals and homes, so if you decide on utilizing palliative care for a family member then the palliative care team will come to your loved one’s current home. Many assisted living communities are partnered with palliative care organizations to help make the entire situation easier on you and your loved one.
Assisted living communities will sometimes have a part-time or full-time palliative care team on staff to provide care services to residents as needed, without having to work with or schedule with a separate organization.
Hospice Care
What is hospice care?
The most common definition for hospice care is a care service that works to manage pain and serious health issues in patients who have been given a diagnosis of six or less months to live. Hospice care is a subset of palliative care, so it will focus on helping the individual rather than treating the disease, but is specifically for end-of-life rather than general symptom management.
Focusing on pain reduction, managing existing symptoms, and providing the highest quality of life possible for patients, hospice care is a common option for people who are nearing the end of life. Hospice care is only used once a six-month diagnosis has been reached and aggressive treatment options have stopped.
When does your loved one need it?
Deciding when hospice care is needed is an incredibly hard decision for family members because it involves admitting that your loved one is near the end of life and that there isn’t going to be a continued plan for treatment of their illness going forward.
The important thing for family members to keep in mind is to focus on providing the highest quality of life possible for loved ones. Hospice care teams are dedicated to ensuring that your loved one is getting the most out of end-of-life care.
Hospice care is different from palliative care, which can be administered alongside other treatment options as a pain and emotional management solution while still seeking treatment. Hospice care is only administered after stopping treatment methods and only once an approximately six-month until end-of-life prognosis is given.
It is important to note that hospice care does not have to be a permanent or final care solution. At any point during hospice care you can choose to remove your loved one from the hospice care plan and have them begin treatment again or try a different kind of care.
Hospice Care in Assisted Living Communities
Hospice care also differs from palliative care because hospice often has its own treatment centers called hospice houses or hospitals. These specialized treatment centers are the most common way that hospice care is administered, with patients coming to stay in these centers for end-of-life care, but it isn’t the only way hospice care is given.
If the family decides it is best for their loved one to stay at home and not move to a different location for end-of-life treatment, then hospice workers can come and help with treatment in other places than a dedicated hospice care center. With a rising population of aging seniors that need hospice care, many assisted living communities have strong partnerships with local hospice organizations to provide the best of care for residents in their community.
Hospice and palliative care aren’t pleasant topics to think about, but it often becomes necessary to discuss these options as our loved ones age. Remembering to keep the quality of life of our family members first and knowing the differences between the two types of care can help make end-of-life decisions easier for everyone.
Diabetes is a far too common disease, and unfortunately, it is on the rise.
The statistics are sobering: Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death among Americans. Sadly, 1 in 11 (29 million) Americans suffer from diabetes, and 1 in 3 (86 million) have pre-diabetes.
The good news is that some forms of diabetes can be prevented, and the best way to prevent this disease is to become educated about what it is and how you can avoid it.
First, let’s be clear about the definitions.
Type 1 diabetes is typically diagnosed in kids or young adults. In Type 1 diabetes, the body (specifically the pancreas) does not make insulin and, therefore, cannot process sugar. The sugar then stays in the blood and can’t get in the cells to be used as energy. Symptoms of this type of disease include weight loss, fatigue, thirst, frequent urination and extreme hunger, even after eating. Type 1 diabetes does not tend to run in families, and diagnosis is done with a simple blood sugar test.
Type 2 diabetes does tend to be hereditary, by both genetic risk factor for insulin resistance and health habits (physical activity and diet). Type 2 diabetes is preventable and is caused by high blood sugar from insulin resistance. Symptoms of this disease include those listed for Type 1 diabetes, plus blurred vision and headaches.
What exactly does insulin resistance mean? Here’s how it works: Insulin is the key to getting blood sugar into the cells—brain cells, liver cells and muscle cells. If someone has insulin resistance, it takes more insulin to get the door of the cell to open. Therefore, while waiting for the pancreas to make more insulin, the blood sugar rises and not only gets pushed into fat, but also causes the many complications of diabetes. As the belly fat increases, it leads to more insulin resistance.
Here’s a simpler way to think about it: When someone with pre-diabetes says they are “craving carbs,” or they are a “carbaholic,” I like to say that they aren’t actually craving carbs; instead, their fat is craving sugar. Unfortunately, when they eat the sugar, it goes straight to their fat, instead of going to their muscles, brain or liver. When people with pre-diabetes eat sugar, they are starving themselves and feeding their fat. To stop the craving, they must stop the sugar for 10 days and tell the fat to “shut up.”
Not all carbs are bad
Now let’s focus on carbs.
Carbohydrates are necessary fuel for our bodies—especially our muscles and our brain. Our liver needs to store a little bit of carbs as glycogen for when we need a boost, like after walking at a good pace for 40 minutes. However, there is a difference between healthy and unhealthy carbs.
Complex (healthy) carbs raise the blood sugar slowly and allow the pancreas to make insulin slowly and push the sugar into the right cells—not into the fat on your body. We need complex carbs at breakfast, morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack, and then not so much for the rest of the day. Healthy carbs include whole grain whole wheat bread, brown rice, sweet potatoes, quinoa, oatmeal (cooked—not the sugary packets), beans, peas and green vegetables.
Simple (unhealthy) carbs raise your blood sugar quickly, overwhelm the insulin in your body and get pushed into your fat. Think of simple carbs as a treat—white rice, white tortillas, baked goods, candy, many cereals, and anything made with mostly white flour.
Unfortunately, too many people think they are doing the right thing by staying away from all carbs. That is the wrong tactic.
When my patients (all women, of course) tell me they don’t eat any carbs, I let them know that’s the wrong approach to good health. The goal is to achieve an even blood sugar with minimal insulin spikes. High insulin can make us hungry for sugar and then pushes the sugar into fat. A healthy diet only contains one small treat per day—a piece of chocolate, a serving of alcohol, or a white flour tortilla.
Think of these types of carbs like a budget—you can have some carbs, but you can’t have them all at once.
Blood sugars and Type 2 diabetes can cause many complications—kidney disease, hypertension, stroke, skin problems, neuropathy, foot problems, infections resulting in loss of toes, eye issues (glaucoma and blindness), and impotence in women and men.
High blood sugars damage and clog small blood vessels, and if organs, including the eye, heart, kidney and sex organs, do not get blood, the various organs can’t work properly and problems occur.
Risk factors to know
It’s important to know the risk factors associated with this disease. Family history of diabetes, being overweight (especially with belly fat), and inactivity are all serious risk factors. In addition, women have two other factors that can work against them: having diabetes during pregnancy and menopause.
Menopause increases the risk by causing insulin resistance, and menopause can also make things worse by causing poor sleep from night sweats. The cycle continues because poor sleep makes it more difficult to have the energy to exercise and make good food choices. Menopause can definitely wreak havoc for women and diabetes.
I see many menopausal women in my office each year, and so many of them tell me about their struggle with weight. I remember one patient in particular I’ll call Sue.
Sue came to see me for heavy bleeding around the time her menopause had started. We did an ultrasound, which showed a thick uterine lining, so I scheduled a dilation and curettage.
During her exam, I also asked her what was the No. 1 struggle in her life. She started crying and told me her weight was her biggest struggle. Over the years, she had managed to keep her weight at a “tolerable” level, but in the past six months (around the time she started menopause), her weight continued to climb and she was giving up.
I couldn’t let Sue leave my office without trying to see what she could change to help with her weight struggle. We went through her diet, and she mentioned that she was avoiding carbs most of the day. She would eat some protein throughout the day and try to starve herself by eating little else.
By the time she began preparing dinner, she was extremely hungry and tired. As a result, she would eat the same meal she had just made for her family—some type of meat and a potato or pasta.
Even though Sue limited her portions throughout most of the day, she was actually causing herself to put on more weight. Her body was so hungry that whatever food was being consumed was being pushed into belly fat. Sue was surprised to learn she was making it worse, but I helped her develop a simple and easy plan to incorporate complex carbs into her diet.
By the time I saw her for her dilation and curettage several weeks later, she was feeling better, had more energy, and had lost six pounds for the first time in years.
It’s important for all of us to know as much as we can about diabetes in order to avoid falling victim to this disease.
Knowing the risk factors plus ways to avoid diabetes (exercise and diet) are imperative.
For the past two years, Jorge Gonzalez, 46, had done all kinds of things to improve his health.
He lost 60 pounds. He trained to run a 5K race. He focused on his health in matters big and small.
So imagine his bafflement when, one day at work, he suddenly began to feel particularly unwell. Even his colleague noticed it.
Gonzalez himself had to admit—the pounding in his chest couldn’t be ignored.
His new fitness watch noticed a problem, too. Gonzalez had bought the smart watch to help him monitor his vital signs. On that day, it showed alarming blood pressure numbers: 241/118.
“I didn’t think I was having a heart attack,” Gonzalez said. “But I did feel, well, out of tune.”
A short walk
Gonzalez is a director at Start Garden, a Grand Rapids, Michigan, company that helps entrepreneurs start new businesses. He always enjoyed helping others in his community, but when it came to helping himself he’d been reluctant to pick up the phone and call his doctor.
When he finally did—not in small part because a colleague nudged him into action—he learned he’d have to wait two months for the next available appointment.
But his blood pressure showed no signs of dropping. And two months was a long time.
Then, his colleague reminded him of something.
“Hey, Jorge,” his coworker had said. “Do you remember that presentation we had here a while ago by someone from Spectrum Health? It was about that new medical clinic down the street, STR!VE.”
Gonzalez remembered. The presentation showcased a new type of medical office aimed at developing a whole-body, preventive approach to long-term wellness.
For Gonzalez, it would require just a short walk down the street, onto Ottawa Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids.
He decided to take a short stroll.
Whisked to surgery
The STR!VE office has an inviting and comfortable ambiance, unlike many medical clinics. People can visit for same-day or next-day appointments.
Photo by Katy Batdorff
Gonzalez arrived and met with family nurse practitioner Melissa Wilson, MSN, BS, FNP-C, who checked his vital signs. On gauging his blood pressure, Wilson grew alarmed.
“I waited a moment, thinking it might be a false read, then took his blood pressure again,” Wilson said. “It was not going down. I put in a call to the emergency department at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital.”
Gonzalez saw the nurse practitioner’s concern and realized he may be in trouble.
“I told her she couldn’t play poker,” he said. “She didn’t have a poker face. I could tell by looking at her that this wasn’t good.”
Gonzalez was rushed to Butterworth Hospital. Doctors and nurses at the emergency department waited for his arrival.
“They immediately did an EKG,” Gonzalez said. “A young guy read the report. I could see his face turn red.”
Things happened very quickly after that, Gonzalez said. It’s something of a blur in his memory, but he recalls a physician calling out to his staff: “All hands on board!”
Then someone shaved his chest in preparation for surgery. A second EKG confirmed Gonzalez had suffered a heart attack. His artery had become 100 percent blocked.
Doctors placed a stent in his artery to restore blood flow to his heart.
Walking man
Three months later, Gonzalez feels like a new man. He is grateful for the quick actions of STR!VE medical staff and the medical team that met him at the emergency department at Butterworth Hospital.
“I wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for STR!VE,” he said.
Gonzalez now repeats that walk down the street from his office to STR!VE on a weekly basis. He can take care of his follow-up appointments and meet with a dietitian to monitor his diet.
“Two years ago, I weighed 240 pounds,” he said. “Today, I weigh 182. I lost the weight because there was a day I tried to put on my shoes and couldn’t.
“I learned, though, that it’s not just about calorie reduction,” he said. “It’s what you eat. My cardiologist told me the blockage in my artery was probably because of years of a bad diet, and he recommended the Mediterranean diet. Now I eat whole foods, less processed, and a lot more fruits and vegetables.”
Wilson believes Gonzalez has recovered so quickly because he changed his sedentary habits and his diet.
STR!VE continues to help him work not just on nutrition, but his health maintenance overall.
Photo by Katy Batdorff
“Many people come here for our weight management program, but we are also a full-service, primary care medical office,” Wilson said. “Some of the people who come here keep their primary care physician but come to STR!VE to treat illnesses, when they need to see a doctor same day or next day. Others use us as their primary care.”
Wilson smiles when she sees Gonzalez visit. She encourages him to keep up his appointments.
“I tell him it’s all about the follow-up,” she said. “He tells me I sound like his wife.”
Most middle-aged women are on the lookout for these typical symptoms of menopause.
But hair loss? That one can take some women by surprise—and cause big worries.
“It’s a big deal because our hair affects so much of our self-image and how we think of ourselves,” said Natasha Peoples, NP-C, NCMP, a nurse practitioner specially trained and nationally certified in caring for patients with menopause concerns.
Peoples works with the Spectrum Health Medical Group Midlife, Menopause & Sexual Health practice. She sees women experiencing various menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, sleeping issues, vaginal dryness, irregular bleeding and more.
“Just like all menopause symptoms, it varies from person to person,” Peoples said. “Women come to us and they’re all going through the same process, but they all experience it completely differently.”
Any degree of hair thinning causes concern among women, but it’s often hard to quantify how much hair you’re losing to know if it’s been a significant change, she said.
Also, unlike with hair loss after pregnancy—a common occurrence—women experiencing it during menopause might wonder if it’s ever going to stop.
“(Post-pregnancy hair loss) always balances out,” Peoples said. “And with women experiencing menopause it’s more concerning because there’s not that expectation that it’s going to reverse.”
While doctors don’t always know why hair loss is happening during menopause, Peoples said that as women experience menopause and normal menstrual cycles stop, they lose the estrogen and progesterone that the body would cycle normally.
With the loss of female hormones, testosterone and male hormones can become more active in the body. And that can affect hair follicles, among other things.
She urges women to talk to their medical providers about all their symptoms of menopause, including hair loss.
The first step would be to rule out other possible causes of the hair loss. Possibilities include thyroid imbalance, anemia, vitamin deficiency, new medication side effects or stressful physical events, such as surgery or illness.
“Whatever they can do to manage stress can be helpful,” Peoples said. “Hair follicles have a four-month life cycle and any change you make to reverse hair loss, you’re not going to see for four to six months down the road. It’s a slow process, which can be frustrating.”
If hormones are to blame, hormone replacement medications or those that block testosterone receptors might be helpful, she said.
Patients also might need to see a dermatologist, she said.
While some menopause symptoms, including hair loss, might be unavoidable for some women, there are things that might help minimize symptoms.
Peoples encourages women to limit caffeine, drink plenty of water, get regular exercise, maintain a healthy weight, keep good sleep habits and quit smoking.
The most important thing: Women need to realize they’re not alone. Help is available.
“It’s nice to be able to help women who start to have these struggles and feel like there’s nowhere to turn,” Peoples said.
It’s allergy season. Say hello to congestion, itchy eyes, running nose and headaches. For adults, these symptoms are annoying. For many, they may be severe resulting in the need for prescription medication. For aging adults though, they can be serious.
While itchy, watery eyes may not seem like a serious problem, in the elderly, the symptoms that come with seasonal allergies can cause serious complications.
If you’re a caregiver to an aging loved one, you shouldn’t overlook allergies as a potentially serious ondition. As the pollen flies, here are some things to consider when it comes to allergies and the elderly.
Don’t ignore them
When allergy season rolls around, those who suffer from seasonal allergies start to moan and complain, roll their eyes and stock up on tissue. Many need prescription medication to find relief, but others can simply ignore them. For aging adults, ignoring the signs and symptoms of seasonal allergies can be dangerous.
While a stuffed up nose is inconvenient for the average adults, for seniors suffering from chronic issues such as a heart condition or respiratory problems, any disruptions in breathing can cause larger problems. So while a simple over the counter remedy may suffice for a middle-aged sufferer, for many aging adults, allergies should be treated aggressively.
They are often overlooked
Because older adults often have a myriad of conditions ranging from moderate to severe, allergies are typically not a concern and doctors may often overlook them as they work to diagnose more serious problems. As a caregiver to your loved one, make sure to tell their doctor if you’ve noticed symptoms of allergies. Even if they are mild enough to avoid treatment, it’s important for their doctor to be aware of any symptoms that might complicate current conditions.
Typical medications may not work
While many people reach for an antihistamine when their allergies act up, for an aging adult, this may not be the right choice. This medication can raise blood pressure, interact with other medications and cause severe side effects like a change in mood, urinary retention, dizziness and more. In the elderly, these side effects can have serious consequences. To avoid these issues, doctors may treat their allergies with a nasal steroid or topical medication.
Tips to avoid them
While there is no cure for allergies once they set in, there are things we can do to avoid the allergens that cause the sneezing and congestion we love so much. Since allergy symptoms can be so dangerous for older adults, avoiding them altogether is the best route, if possible. To avoid exposure to allergens, try:
Keep doors and windows closed
Use an air purifier
Try foods that fight inflammation like apples, walnuts, ginger, leafy greens and Vitamin C.
Also, if you or your loved one is considering making the move to an assisted living facility and they suffer from allergies, make sure to ask about hypoallergenic assisted living. Hypoallergenic rooms, like the ones offered at Vista Springs Macedonia, remove 99% of harmful pollutants that cause dangerous allergies.
Random gestures of kindness and thoughtfulness are the surest, simplest ways to bring happiness back into your own life. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
A sure-fire antidote to the blues is to focus on others, a new study suggests.
“Walking around and offering kindness to others in the world reduces anxiety and increases happiness and feelings of social connection,” said study author Douglas Gentile, a professor of psychology at Iowa State University.
“It’s a simple strategy that doesn’t take a lot of time that you can incorporate into your daily activities,” he said in a university news release.
For the study, Gentile and colleagues had students walk around a building for 12 minutes and use one of three approaches.
Loving-kindness: This is where you look at others and think, “I wish for this person to be happy.”
Interconnectedness: In this approach, you look at others and consider how they are connected to one another.
Downward social comparison: This is considering how you may be better off than each of the people you encounter.
The study also included a control group of students who were told to look at people and focus on what they see on the outside, such as clothing, makeup and accessories.
Before and after going for their walk, all students were assessed for levels of anxiety, happiness, stress, empathy and connectedness.
Compared to the control group, those who practiced loving-kindness or wished others well felt happier, more connected, caring and empathic, as well as less anxious. The interconnectedness group was more empathic and connected.
Students who compared themselves to others felt less empathic, caring and connected than those who extended good wishes to others.
There was no benefit with downward social comparison, according to the study published online recently in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
“At its core, downward social comparison is a competitive strategy,” said study co-author Dawn Sweet, an Iowa State senior lecturer in psychology. “That’s not to say it can’t have some benefit, but competitive mindsets have been linked to stress, anxiety and depression.”
“Most water-related trauma is preventable,” she said. “If I can help families take steps to avoid the devastating results of water accidents, I’m going to do it.”
Practice home water safety
While it’s not just a summertime thing, we have to start by saying that for families with kids younger than 4, water risks start at home, with the bathtub.
“Of course a parent isn’t thinking it’s risky to run to the kitchen from the bath for just a minute,” Dr. Michiels said. “But even one minute can be too long. My No. 1 rule is that there must be 100 percent supervision of every child from 0 to 4, every time there is water that goes beyond a Dixie cup.”
The greatest risk for kids under 4 is accidental water entry. If a child can get to water of any kind, there is significant risk. Swimming pools and spas must be securely covered and kept off limits with fencing and secure gates around a pool. A small child can slip under many pool covers.
Check gate latches to make sure unsupervised children can’t access the area. And treat a shallow kiddie pool with the same deference.
“If a toddler slips in unsupervised, it might as well be an ocean,” she said.
Beach and open water safety
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 10 children die per day from water-related incidents in America. Families living near the Great Lakes and other inland lakes may be at even higher risk.
Enjoying the beach is fantastic family fun. Practicing a few safety precautions will make sure the day stays fun.
“Make it easy by keeping kids in personal flotation devices all the time,” Dr. Michiels advised. “They can still play in the sand while wearing a (life jacket). And it gives you time if something goes wrong.”
That said, Dr. Michiels stresses that a life jacket is not a substitute for supervision. A designated responsible adult should be assigned to specific children within the group.
“There are lots of examples of children who drowned when handfuls of adults were nearby, but no one was specifically assigned to watch the kids,” she said. “Designating certain children to certain adults adds protection from a child being overlooked.”
Creeks, rivers and boating
Creeks and rivers add a potentially dangerous element. The current
can sweep a child out of reach and out of sight quickly. Never allow
play on the banks without a watchful adult for every child.
Properly fitting life jackets, barricaded play areas and even the controversial toddler leads can prevent a tumble into the water.
As kids get older and become stronger swimmers, it’s easy to overlook ongoing risk. Additionally, teens may have opportunities to participate in boating and personal watercraft activities.
Dr. Michiels offered more smart talk for water safety and teens:
A personal flotation device must be worn, even if you are a good swimmer.
Complete a boating safety course.
Only allow the number of riders for which the personal watercraft or boat is designed to carry.
No horsing around, whether on piers, docks, boats, rafts or personal watercraft.
Discuss the dangers of alcohol and drugs with boating. Many boating fatalities involve drinking or drugs.
In case of emergency
Dr. Michiels said the best practice to assist a child (or any person) who is pulled from the water has changed in recent years.
“If you pull a child from the water and they cough, sputter but are awake, call 911 and stay with them,” she said. “The child may not be able to catch his or her breath, but we no longer advise trying to pump or extract inhaled water. If the child is limp and not breathing, call 911 and start CPR compressions immediately.”
Previously the medical community advised the rescuer to determine if the child was breathing and try to extract water. Today, rescuers are advised to start compressions immediately only if the victim is limp and unresponsive.
Don’t want to risk it? Splash Pad it!
To enjoy water when you don’t have enough supervision to ensure the safety of multiple tykes, check out splash and sprinkler parks near you.
These are often free, and offer crazy fun water play without drowning risk. That said, if the area is concrete, scrapes, stitches and even bone breaks are possible. Many splash parks feature rubberized surfaces.
Just use common sense and take a minute to assess when you arrive.
A possible warning sign that your asthma is out of control: You’re using a quick-relief inhaler more than twice a week. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Summertime can bring asthma sufferers a lot of misery, but lung experts say watching for warning signs of breathing trouble can guard against serious complications.
“As the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health, we think it’s crucial for people with asthma to know as much as they can about the disease,” said Dr. David Hill, volunteer medical spokesperson at the American Lung Association.
“This includes the fact that changing seasons have a major impact on asthma. Being prepared for the summer and understanding warning signs can help prevent serious complications,” he said in a lung association news release.
Summer can bring increased pollen in the air, hot temperatures and associated ozone and particle pollution—all of which can trigger asthma symptoms.
There is no cure for asthma, but it can be controlled and managed.
Key warning signs that asthma may not be in control include needing to use a quick-relief inhaler more than two times a week, waking at night with asthma symptoms more than two times a month and having to refill a quick-relief inhaler more than two times a year.
If you have any of these warning signs, you should see your health care provider to improve management of asthma symptoms, such as reducing exposure to asthma triggers, the lung association advised.
Asthma affects about one in 13 people in the United States, including more than 6 million children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It is the most common childhood disease but can start at any age. The rate of asthma nearly tripled between 1980 and 2010.
Research shows that rising temperatures due to climate change are leading to longer and more intense allergy seasons, according to the news release.
The lung association offers a free, online learning course about asthma triggers, how to identify and reduce them, action plans for flare-ups, how to respond to a breathing emergency, asthma medication education, and an asthma management plan outline.
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal In Focus are two local efforts to support the youth of Kent County with the most basic of needs: proper nourishment and successful early childhood development.
We will talk with a West Michigan group which provides more than 8,000 dinner meals a day to kids during the school year. We will talk about what they do and what plans they have to do more in the future. Then we talk with the local group tasked to administer the public funds approved by vote as last year through the Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage … and we are talking about more than $5 million dollars annually.
First In Focus is In Focus is West Michigan’s Kids’ Food Basket, a nonprofit organization best known for its Sack Supper Program, which provides a free, well-balanced nutritious evening meal distributed within classrooms at the end of each school day. The group serves schools in three counties with facilities in Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Holland. With us is Bridget Clark Whitney, founding CEO of Kids’ Food Basket, and we will talk with her about her organization, about the Feeding our Future campaign, and why it is so important to assist our young citizens in gaining proper nutrition.
Then In Focus is First Steps Kent, the local group approved by Kent County Commissioners to administer the Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage passed by county voters in November of last year. First Steps Kent is, according to its website, “an independent, influential and neutral entity that leads the community’s efforts to strengthen and coordinate early childhood services in Kent County.” With us is Annemarie Valdez, president and CEO of First Steps Kent.
WKTV Journal In Focus airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (see our Weekly On-air Schedule for dates and times). All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
