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.
The grant-funded Intergenerational Connections Project is providing a rich learning environment where traditional college students and adult learners are thriving together. (Courtesy Calvin College)
“At Calvin, we don’t just value academic knowledge—we value shared and collective wisdom from multiple communities,” said Kristen Alford, professor of social work and sociology.
Fostering inclusive intergenerational classrooms
The Council of Independent Colleges in partnership with the AARP Foundation awarded Kristen Alford, professor of social work and public health, and Julie Yonker, professor of psychology and public health, the Intergenerational Connections Project grant towards their intergenerational learning initiative. Both professors integrated some element of intergenerational learning into their classes, something they believe made the courses much richer. Yonker noted that the grant was instrumental in providing them adequate research and resources for the project.
“Older adults in our community tend to be marginalized,” explained Yonker. She felt this initiative would be an apt opportunity to serve a group of individuals who have not always been treated with the respect they deserve. “Older people have lived full and rich lives, and we can learn so much from them, but we don’t always take the time to,” she said.
Since the program was so successful during its first semester in fall 2018, Alford and Yonker repeated the intergenerational learning elements of their courses during the spring semester.
Cultivating rich environments for conversation
Alford invited nine older adults to join her class, Human Behavior in the Social Environment (SOWK 350), once per week for five weeks during the lifespan portion of the course. The older adults were co-learners and contributed to class and small group discussions.
“Our goal was to reach people in the community that were not already part of CALL or who maybe would not have access to Calvin traditionally,” said Alford.
The class learned about a variety of issues such as childhood trauma, harm reduction among teens, chronic disease, as well as grief and loss, in an intergenerational setting. The adults in the class were able to articulate much of the course content from their own life experience, explained Alford.
“It was really helpful to have a different perspective than maybe the traditional college students would hear. But then at the same time my college students were able to provide more input to our older adult learners on how teenagers and early adults function today,” she said. “Together we created these very vibrant conversations and gave deeper meaning to the course as a whole.”
Nurturing lifelong learners and listeners
Students in Yonker’s Health Psychology (PSYC 335) course were sent into the community alongside Tandem 365, a community partner serving older adults with limited resources. Pairs of students were matched with an older adult—often at high risk of being admitted back into the hospital—with whom they would visit weekly.
The students engaged with and discussed with their older adult friend a variety of health and wellness topics as well as served as a friendly visitor.
“I’ve heard from several students that their visits are one of the things they look forward to each week,” said Yonker. “Students have this wonderful opportunity to be agents of kindness, compassion, listening, smiles, and joy—essentially agents of renewal.”
Promoting dignity and worth no matter the age
Both Yonker and Alford noted that young adulthood and older adulthood can be two of the loneliest periods in a person’s life.
“You might think ‘why would emerging adults and college students be lonely,’ but you often feel the loneliest in a crowded room of people,” said Yonker. “One of the things I wanted to look at was if pairing older adults and students together had any effect on loneliness that older and emerging adults feel.”
Promoting the dignity and worth of a person and valuing the importance of human relationships are both values held by the sociology and social work department at Calvin.
“Each of those values come into play with this project,” said Alford. “We are trying to build intergenerational relationships and show the dignity and worth of people, no matter the age.”
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.
Gomulka is considered a living legend in the polka community, having developed a huge base of followers in the United States and Canada since he formed the Chicago Push in 1980. Nominated for 12 Grammy awards in the polka genre, he was inducted into the International Polka Music Hall of Fame & Museum in his hometown of Chicago in 2016.
“The Dozynki Polish Festival is the longest-running ethnic festival held in the city of Grand Rapids, and we wanted to celebrate our 40th year with a very special musical guest,” said society President Marilyn Lignell. “Lenny is bound to help draw what we expect will be the largest attendance ever for the festival.”
In past years, attendance has topped 15,000 people for the three days.
Incoming President Greg Rosloniec, who arranged for the band to play the event, said Gomulka has recorded on more than 100 albums and CDs and is the originator of the distinctive Chicago Push style that is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
“Lenny has been playing at state fairs, polka festivals and resorts for decades – everywhere from the Wurstfest in Texas to the Ocean Beach Park Polka Days in Connecticut — so it’s a real honor to bring him to Grand Rapids,” Rosloniec said.
Admission is free to the Dozynki Polish Festival that will be held at Rosa Parks Circle, 135 Monroe Center, from Aug. 23-25, and festival organizers stressed that there will be plenty of inexpensive parking in Parking Lot Areas 7, 8, and 9 for those who don’t mind a short walk. Lenny Golmuka & Chicago Push will be alternating on Friday and Saturday nights with two other well regarded polka bands, award-winning DynaBrass from Toledo, Ohio and Gerry Kaminski’s Polka Network in Grand Rapids.
Lignell said that the Dozynki Polish Festival has established a reputation for being a fun, family friendly event that showcases Polish culture, featuring a tent that explains the contributions of famous Polish/Americans, live music and a large dance area, a children’s tent, demonstration tent, and vendors offering Polish cuisine.
Fun activities during the festival include the paczki eating contest, crowning of the busia queen and a performance by the P.R.C.U.A. Malbork Dance Ensemble, a dance group for youth ages 3-18 that teaches traditional Polish folk dances with authentic garb.
The Dozynki Polish Festival is the major fundraiser for the Polish Heritage Society of Grand Rapids, a non-profit organization founded in 1963 to perpetuate and advance the Polish culture that has been so integral to metro Grand Rapids. Among a number of its activities, the society awards scholarships annually to students of Polish descent who attend Aquinas College, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids Community College, and Davenport University.
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.”
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.
A restless night may be the result of poor habits before bedtime. A helpful hint: Leave the cell phone out of the bedroom. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Sleep is everything. It needs to be a high priority for all of us to be happy and healthy.
It is truly the basis of good health, because it gives our brains a chance to rest and process the events of the day and then make brain chemicals for the next day.
Do you have trouble sleeping? If so, you’re probably dealing with a host of negative side effects.
Without sleep, we may experience bad moods and perform poorly at work, at school or at home with our families. A lack of sleep also puts us at risk for heart disease, diabetes and depression.
Researchers have spent years analyzing sleep patterns to learn why sleep is so important to our overall health and wellness. Their observational studies of people with and without good sleep patterns show a strong effect on chronic disease.
People who get less sleep have a higher risk of being overweight, developing diabetes, experiencing high blood pressure and having a heart attack. Overall, these people have a lower life expectancy than those who get a consistent eight hours of sleep each night.
Typically, those who consistently sleep less than six hours a night are plagued with the highest weight, while those who sleep eight hours or more have the lowest weight.
Is it really that simple? For the most part, yes.
Less sleep leads to a rise in cortisol—our stress hormone—and also causes a rise in insulin, which promotes belly fat storage. Decreased amounts of sleep also cause an increase in ghrelin—a brain hormone that stimulates appetite—and a decrease in leptin, which signals when we feel full.
Of course, it goes without saying that when we don’t have enough sleep, we don’t feel like exercising and we often gain weight due to inactivity.
Unfortunately, sleep (or a lack of it) can have a strong effect on our moods and coping skills. Lack of sleep puts people at a greater risk for depression, anxiety and mental stress. All of this makes it difficult for these people to remain optimistic and thrive in social situations.
The bottom line? To be happy, sleep is a prerequisite.
We know we should be getting our sleep, but what really happens when we are having trouble sleeping?
There are several different types of sleep problems that can cause us to sleep less than we should at night.
Sleep disorders
Chronic insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea and parasomnias are some of the more common sleep issues my patients experience.
Insomnia can be a result of too much overstimulation from watching TV or working on a computer late at night. Consumption of alcohol, sugary foods or caffeine before bed can also interfere with the ability to fall asleep easily.
Insomnia can be caused by taking certain medications such as antidepressants, oral steroids or allergy pills. Medical conditions that cause pain—arthritis, for example, or breathing problems such as asthma—can also be underlying causes of insomnia.
The good news is that insomnia can be improved.
The best treatment starts with awareness, which begins with a close examination of our habits and rituals around bedtime. Turning off the computer or TV several hours before going to bed can help you fall asleep more quickly. Sometimes, prescription medications or over-the-counter remedies can also be helpful.
Narcolepsy, associated with excessive daytime sleepiness, can be genetically linked. A diagnosis of narcolepsy can be determined with a sleep study.
Medications aimed at improving sleep quality and stimulating daytime wakefulness are typically prescribed to help with this condition.
Sleep apnea, typically linked to obesity and heart disease, is also diagnosed by completing a sleep study.
Treatments for sleep apnea range from changing sleep positions to using a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine to keep airways open.
Weight loss is also an effective treatment for sleep apnea.
Parasomnias occur when people are fearful of going to sleep because they are afraid of what might happen to them during sleep. Night terrors, sleepwalking or sleep eating without memory are common things they may fear.
Sleepless nights
Many women come to see me because they are having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep during the night.
A woman I’ll call Jane is one of those patients.
At age 49, she began experiencing irregular periods, night sweats and disturbed sleep around the time of her period. She led a very busy life with teenagers, a husband who traveled for work and parents who required more care.
Her sleep issue was causing problems in her life.
Jane would have difficulty falling asleep and, if she woke up during the night, she had trouble getting back to sleep because her mind would start racing and she couldn’t turn it off.
As a result, she was chronically tired and unmotivated to exercise. She began to gain weight. She felt irritable and crabby most days and she just didn’t know how to get off the roller coaster.
Jane had tried to fix her sleep problems by herself, but it wasn’t working.
She tried every tea and over-the-counter medicine she could find, including melatonin. She had recently resorted to drinking a glass of wine in the evening, but that just made her feel even less rested.
It was time for a new plan for Jane.
Simple changes
We started by discussing what she probably already knew: Lack of good sleep made her very unhealthy and caused her bad moods.
I then explained the correlation between hormones and brain chemicals.
We worked on deconstructing her nighttime routine. I asked her how she could structure her day so she wouldn’t have so many chores to complete at night, leaving her more time to prepare for the next day.
As Jane talked out loud to me, she realized she could make some simple changes—packing lunches and doing a load of laundry at night—that could help her be more efficient in the morning.
I then pressed Jane about making time for herself before bed.
I also made some suggestions.
I recommended that she write down her worries or duties on paper and then make a list for the next day (or several days), detailing how she would conquer these obligations.
Other suggestions I made: Avoid screen time 30 minutes before bed, refrain from alcohol in the evening, write in a gratitude journal before going to sleep.
And, finally, I suggested that Jane practice metered breathing every night before going to bed.
Metered breathing is a technique I discuss with many of my patients to help them fall asleep at night or get back to sleep if they wake in the middle of the night.
Here’s how it works:
Find a quiet place in your home and sit in a comfortable chair.
Begin staring at a spot somewhere in the room and focus on the sound of your breathing.
Continue breathing like this for five minutes, uninterrupted.
I felt confident Jane’s plan would be effective if she followed it.
After tracking her progress, we would consider menopause hormone therapy
to treat her night sweats if they continued to be an issue.
Jane took my recommendations seriously and changed her routine. She began to sleep again and she started exercising, lost some weight and improved her overall mood.
Are you confident you can compare premiums and deductibles to find the best health insurance plan for you and your family?
Can you use a nutrition label to calculate how many grams of sugar are in a bowl of your breakfast cereal?
Are you able to locate the medical services you need, when you need them?
If so, you may have high health literacy! When we talk about health literacy, we are referring to a person’s ability to access and understand health-related information and services. It’s something we all possess to varying degrees, and we often use our health literacy skills without knowing we’re using them.
Health literacy can vary widely between people depending on someone’s level of education, cultural background, economic status, skill with numbers, and mental health. No matter our level of health literacy, we build our skills over a lifetime and there is always room for improvement. Health literacy skills include the following:
Being able to correctly dose and administer medications
Knowing the body systems and how to describe pain
Finding and understanding information on a medical topic
Being able to manage a chronic health condition
Knowing your own and your family’s health history
Comparing treatment options to decide what’s best for you
Understanding your provider’s instructions
Filling out complex forms accurately
Knowing a patient’s general level of health literacy is important to successful treatment, as people with lower health literacy are likelier to be hospitalized, end up in the emergency room, and to take medications incorrectly. Where appropriate, healthcare providers should use plain language to ensure that they and their patients are on the same page. For patients with a different cultural background than their providers, extra attention is needed to ensure that communication is clear and understood.
Delivering quality healthcare requires examining how health literacy influences every aspect of the medical experience, both at the office and at home. It is our responsibility to make sure the services we provide and the information we share are accessible and understandable to all.
First comes the meet-and-greet with council members and city officials. And then, the grand affair — the meeting proper — at 7pm. This past Monday marked the Wyoming City Council’s first summer outdoor meeting. Read all about it here.
The council meets every first and third Monday of the month at 7pm. The July “on the road” meeting will be July 15 at St. John Vianney Church, 4101 Clyde Park Ave. SW, and the August meeting is Aug. 19 at Aurora Pond Senior Living & Retirement Community, 2380 Aurora Pond Dr. SW. Beats being cooped up indoors.
You’re only young once
Hello West Michigan, West Michigan’s regional talent attraction and retention organization, will host its 6thannual Intern Connect conference on Wednesday, June 19, in Grand Rapids. The organization hopes to impart “essential skills” such as interpreting dress codes, navigating networking events, creating positive workplace communication and how to #adult to the more than 350 summer interns participating in the conference. More info here.
‘I could be a contender’
Recently, students and teachers gathered in the Kelloggsville High School auditorium for a time-honored tradition: signing day. The tables on the stage had logoed caps and contracts just waiting for signatures from high school seniors, ready to commit to a team for the coming year. Go here for the story.
Fun fact:
142.18
The number of licks it takes to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop. You’re welcome.
BASE Hologram, the leading content developer, producer and distributor of concerts, theatricals and spectacles that combine holographic cinema and mixed reality with live entertainment, has announced North American tour dates for Roy Orbison & Buddy Holly: The Rock ’N’ Roll Dream Tour, a groundbreaking tour featuring the award-winning rock and roll legends, including a stop in Grand Rapids on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, at 7:30pm in SMG-managed DeVos Performance Hall.
Stemming from the success of BASE Hologram’s In Dreams: Roy Orbison in Concert tour that broke records across the globe in 2018, the company will bring Orbison and Holly together for an enthralling event that will see concurrent dates across North America, Europe, and UK. Eric Schaeffer (Million Dollar Quartet), who shepherded the In Dreams event, will return as the director.
Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, June 21 at 10am. Tickets will be available at the DeVos Place® and Van Andel Arena® box offices and online at Ticketmaster.com. See Ticketmaster.com for all current pricing and availability.
“When you look at the architects of the Rock and Roll era, the names that come to mind are Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly,” said Brian Becker, Chairman and CEO of BASE Hologram. “Both of these men weren’t just gifted musicians, but skillful innovators who helped influence others in game-changing ways.”
Accompanied by a live band and back-up singers, this cutting-edge, multi-media holographic performance and remastered audio will transport audiences back in time for an evening of Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly’s greatest hits on stage. “These men weren’t just one thing – they were artists in every sense of the word,” said BASE Hologram CEO of Production Marty Tudor.
“Like Roy, Buddy has a truly impressive songbook, and in many cases, audiences may not have realized he was the one behind so many hits. Part of the beauty of these productions is we get to share the legacy of these performers and remind people the full range of their talent.”
Even though many moisturizers now contain sunscreens, people may not put them on their faces as carefully as they do sunscreen lotions, new research suggests.
“Moisturizer is not as well applied as sunscreen,” said lead author Kevin Hamill, a lecturer in eye and vision science at the University of Liverpool in England.
“Therefore, if planning prolonged sun exposure, we advise sunscreen be used,” he added. “If using moisturizer, we advise one with SPF (sun protection factor): any SPF is better than none but it should not be considered the equal of sunscreen.”
For this study, researchers exposed 84 volunteers to ultraviolet radiation and photographed them using a UV-sensitive camera on two separate visits. The photos were taken before and after participants applied SPF30 sunscreen to their face on one visit or moisturizer on the other visit.
Coverage was worse for the moisturizer (nearly 17% missed) than the sunscreen (11% missed), the findings showed. This difference was mostly due to less coverage of the eyelid regions—21% missed with moisturizer and 14% missed with sunscreen.
Most participants were unaware they had worse coverage with moisturizer than with sunscreen, according to the study published online April 3 in the journal PLoS One.
The study authors noted that particular attention should be paid to the eyelid area when applying any SPF cream.
In addition, other methods of protecting eyelids, such as UV filter sunglasses, should be considered, they suggested in a journal news release.
The growing season is here—and that means it’ll be easier than ever to get your fill of fresh fruits and vegetables.
But only if you keep seasonal fare top of mind.
Spectrum Health dietitian Caren Dobreff has plenty of tips to help you and your family make the most of summer produce.
It could pay off in your waistline and your wallet.
During the off season, fresh fruits and vegetables are often harder to find and more expensive, given the steeper costs for transportation and logistics.
“Buying fresh fruits and vegetables in season and locally is much more cost effective,” Dobreff said.
Local food pantries and community and government organizations also run programs that make fresh items accessible to everyone, regardless of income.
Also, consider yourself fortunate if you live in a state that values the agriculture industry and local farmers markets.
“(You’re) able to capitalize on those nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables as we go into the growing season,” Dobreff said.
That’s good news all around, as the list of the health benefits from a diet rich in fruit and vegetables is long, Dobreff said. It includes lower risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, some cancers, diabetes and digestive problems.
An added benefit to eating fresh: slimming down.
“Weight management can be an outcome without it being the primary goal,” Dobreff said.
Under the current guidelines, the typical 2,000-calorie-a-day diet calls for about 2 1/2 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit. For children ages 13 and younger, the guideline varies by age—anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 cups of vegetables and the same for fruit.
Dobreff’s 5 tips to highlight the summer bounty:
1. Keep it in sight
Make bowls of fresh fruit visible in your kitchen and keep prepared, chopped vegetables easily accessible in the refrigerator.
“We eat with our eyes and we are cued or prompted with foods that are ready to eat and easily in reach and visible,” Dobreff said.
2. Tweak recipes
Substitute traditional, all-meat dishes with vegetables.
Make a meatloaf using lean beef or ground turkey and replace half the meat with diced, cooked vegetables such as onions, mushrooms, zucchini or bell pepper. Substitute half the pasta in macaroni and cheese with broccoli, or half the ground beef in spaghetti sauce with mushrooms.
3. Prioritize plant-based
How about meatless Mondays? Try a new plant-centered recipe each week, such as broccoli salad with balsamic vinegar, nuts, diced red onions, garbanzo beans and diced apples. Another option: veggie burger with lettuce, tomato and sliced red onion on a toasted whole grain bun.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers a simple tip: At every meal, fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables.
4. Involve the kids
Drum up excitement in your kids by getting creative with fruits and vegetables.
Visit local farms where you can pick your own strawberries, blueberries, cherries or other produce. Make trips to the local farmers market so your kids can talk to area growers about their foods.
Help your kids plant a garden or, even easier, put together some patio pots.
“Bell peppers, tomatoes, green beans and peas are great patio growers and are easy to maintain,” Dobreff said.
Find a local cooking class to take with your family. At home, have the little ones pick out a new recipe that features fruits and vegetables—and then involve them in meal preparation.
“If your kids struggle with eating whole fruits and vegetables, remember that kids’ palates are sensitive and it can take over nine or 10 times of trying a new food before it’s accepted,” Dobreff said. “Don’t give up. Let a little time pass and try again.”
5. Get closer to the land
Join a community supported agriculture organization—a CSA—or take advantage of local farmers markets.
By getting closer to the land, you learn more about what’s in season. You can then incorporate these findings into your meal planning.
In Michigan, for example, asparagus is an early arrival in May and June, followed by lettuce and greens, sugar peas, radishes, beans, peppers, tomatoes and more. Some vegetables, like Brussels sprouts, potatoes and squash, are available well into the fall.
Sage advice: Get outside and start enjoying the benefits of the growing season.
“Successful healthy eating patterns are sustainable, easy to incorporate into the long haul and have stood the test of time,” Dobreff said. “Equally important is that they are backed by research and evidence.”
When the weather warms up, and the sun comes out, it’s time to get outside, go on walks and get active. For those living in assisted living, this means seeking out summer activities for seniors either offered by your community or sought out on your own.
Don’t just wait for summer activities to come to you, venture out into the surrounding community by yourself or get a group together and make the most of the sunshine.
Walking trails
There’s nothing like an early morning walk before the rest of the world is awake, or an evening stroll to watch the sunset. When the weather is warm, and there’s a breeze, simply getting out to walk a trail can be the breath of fresh air we need to feel rejuvenated. Many communities have their own trails surrounding the facility that residents can take advantage but if not, check the local community. Whether it’s a park or a river trail, walking trails are an easy and healthy way to take advantage of the warm summer months.
Beach trips
From quaint shops to delicious dining and, of course, the beach, beach towns make ideal day trips when you just need to get away. Spend the day with family exploring or just lounging on the beach.
Festivals & music events
Summertime is festival time. From art fairs to music to antiques, there’s never a shortage of these festivals once the weather gets warm. Go as a group or venture off to explore your own interests. Many communities have their own, unique festivals and they may even be within walking distance of your facility. Warm weather makes everyone feels festive, so get out and enjoy the sounds and sights of summer.
Festive menus
When the weather changes, so do our food preferences. We no longer crave thick soups and other warm dishes, but instead yearn for juicy fruits or light salads, grilled chicken and ice cream. Check your community calendar for community dinners featuring the fresh recipes of the summer.
No matter what your interests, or where you’re living, these summer activities for seniors will keep your summer full of life!
Menopause can be tough enough to handle, but when hot flashes and weight gain are accompanied by dry, scratchy, irritated and red eyes, it’s time to take action.
This condition actually has a name associated with it—dry eye of menopause—and it is a common complaint of women over 50.
Many women talk about it, ask their physician about it, and don’t like it, but there are no clear answers as to why women suffer from this condition. And, unfortunately, we don’t really know what to do about it. Is dry eye really associated with menopause, or is it a product of aging? We aren’t completely sure.
A patient I’ll call Rhonda suffered from several symptoms during menopause, including dry and irritated eyes. The 54-year-old finally decided to call our office for help.
She had been period-free for about 15 months, and her menopause symptoms were not going away. She started with night sweats and irritability roughly six months before her last period, but soon after her final period (not knowing it was her last one), the hot flashes started with a vengeance.
And the symptoms just kept coming. Rhonda didn’t sleep well, her moods became erratic, and she gained weight without changing her diet or exercise plan. For many months, Rhonda thought she could just handle everything, but after blowing up at a lady who left her cart in the middle of the aisle in the grocery store one day, she knew something had to change.
Rhonda took her first step by seeing her family practice physician. Although helpful, Rhonda wasn’t sure about her doctor’s recommendation to start taking hormone supplements.
So, instead, her doctor started her on the medicine Lexapro for the hormone-related mood changes. Lexapro increases the brain chemicals lost with poor sleep and lower estrogen levels. The medicine quickly helped with her mood swings and also cut her hot flashes in half.
Unfortunately, the weight gain continued, and she started having really scratchy eyes. She went back to her doctor thinking she had something stuck in them. After a thorough examination of her eyes with a special lamp, the doctor concluded they were clearly red and irritated despite having no foreign particles in them. She told Rhonda she had seen many women with dry eyes when they started menopause and perhaps it was time to consider hormone medication.
Rhonda left the office determined to take the next step in getting relief for this annoying symptom. She made an appointment at the Spectrum Health Medical Group Midlife and Menopause Offices with Natasha Peoples, a nurse practitioner and certified menopause practitioner. Peoples walked her through our menopause symptom and lifestyle assessments, also known as SEEDS (Seven Essential Elements of Daily Success).
The assessment confirmed that Rhonda had many of the symptoms, even though some of them were better with the Lexapro. Rhonda’s No. 1 goal was to get help for her dry eye issue, and she hoped Natasha could give her some advice. Her job required her to sit at a computer screen for several hours each day, and her eye symptoms made it difficult to concentrate.
After listening to Rhonda’s concerns, Natasha explained how the body changes with menopause, focusing specifically on the dry eye problem. We know that dry eye of menopause in women is common, no matter what age they experience menopause—at 30, 45 or 55. And, for many women, the symptoms of dry, scratchy eyes get better with estrogen. Testosterone is thought to possibly play a role in tear formation as well, and, without good studies to help us, testosterone in low doses added to estrogen could also help.
There are also some other options that may help dry eyes if a woman either can’t (because of medical reasons) or simply won’t add hormones to her daily routine. Dry eye of menopause is thought to be from quicker evaporation of tears and lower-quality tears (tears that are watery and don’t have much oil to coat the eye surface). Conversations with patients tell us that over-the-counter medications such as artificial tears and lubrication ointment can be effective for some, as well as adding fish oil or flax seed supplements to their diet. Even the basic habit of drinking water and staying hydrated can also play a positive role in eliminating this symptom.
Peoples thought Rhonda would benefit from taking hormones, but she first needed to make sure Rhonda was a good candidate. Natasha asked many questions about Rhonda’s medical history and lifestyle habits, and determined she was very healthy, except for being overweight. They talked about getting back to the basics and incorporating the SEEDS into her daily routine. And, they also worked out a plan to start menopause hormone therapy, deciding on the patch and FDA-approved progesterone capsules called Prometrium-bioidentical.
Three months later, Rhonda returned to see Peoples for her checkup and happily reported she felt better. She added one more walk to her week, started doing a DVD with weights, added yoga once a week, and began a routine of daily stretching. In addition, she drank more water, got better sleep and took a multivitamin, Vitamin D and fish oil.
Two weeks after starting the hormones, her hot flashes disappeared, and although her dry eyes weren’t completely back to normal, they were only a minor nuisance and no longer bothered her at work. Even her friends and family members noticed she was acting and feeling better.
Women, including Rhonda, do not have to suffer during menopause. Sometimes even the most basic habits can make all the difference in helping us feel better. And, even though Rhonda’s health care providers aren’t completely sure which change helped her eyes improve the most, Rhonda enjoyed feeling better than she had in a long time.
With the mild weather of spring upon us, many people are venturing into the outdoors after enduring a long, cold Michigan winter. While there are few better experiences for the soul than a walk in the woods, there are some precautions one should take to minimize the risk posed by ticks.
Although most bug bites are harmless, some people are prone to sensitivity from the biting insect’s saliva, which is recognized by the body as a foreign substance, prompting an immune response. The more you scratch it, the more it will itch as irritation and inflammation increases. Many over-the-counter products, or plain old rubbing alcohol, can reduce this itching and inflammation.
However, when it comes to ticks, there are some potentially dangerous ailments that can be transmitted through bites. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ticks can be infected with a variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can be passed on to humans through a bite. The most common of these is Lyme disease, first diagnosed in Lyme, Connecticut in 1975.
Lyme disease has been notoriously hard to diagnose, although the increased incidence of the disease has resulted in more awareness for both the patient and medical practitioner. Typical symptoms of possible Lyme infection include initial swelling and/or itching at the site of the bite, which many times progresses into an expanding rash (possibly forming a bulls-eye appearance). As the infection progresses, flu-like symptoms can present themselves, including headache, chills, fatigue, fever, and nausea. If left untreated, Lyme’s disease can cause permanent, debilitating neurological and joint problems.
The best defense against tick-borne illnesses is prevention. First, be aware of tick habitat and their methods for finding a host. Contrary to popular belief, ticks do not drop or jump on people (or animals)—they hang onto vegetation, waiting for something to brush against them, then latch on. Brushy woods and tall grassy areas provide the best opportunities for ticks to accomplish this, so be especially vigilant when exploring these areas.
It is recommended to wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and socks to provide fewer areas of exposed skin for ticks to latch onto. Additionally, since ticks usually crawl upwards, tucking pant legs into socks will increase the likelihood of seeing ticks on your pants rather than on your skin.
The CDC recommends treating clothing, boots, and outdoor gear with products containing permethrin. Insect repellents containing DEET or other Environmental Protection Agency-approved ingredients can be quite effective at repelling ticks.
Finally, don’t forget about pets. After venturing outdoors, be sure to thoroughly check your pet’s coat for any ticks. And, talk to your veterinarian about the best way to protect your pet from ticks.
Any ticks found attached (on you or pets) should be carefully removed with a fine-tipped tweezers. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and gently pull straight out, being careful not to dislodge the head into the skin. Thoroughly wash the bite area, and monitor for signs of irritation or rash.
Work this summer is either underway or will be shortly at City of Kentwood’s Veterans Memorial Park, the Kentwood Activities Center and at Old Farm Park. But the city is also looking even farther into the future with recent the formation of the Kentwood Parks, Trails and Recreation Advisory Committee.
“We are growing the parks and rec opportunities for our residents,” said Ed Kape, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Committee, and now chairman of the new advisory committee, which held its first meeting June 3.
“We are expanding and exploring other opportunities of what we can do to enhance the quality of life of our residents here in Kentwood,” Kape said to WKTV. “And it is not necessarily by games and things like that, it is by services we offer. It is by programs we offer them in the parks and rec building.”
Kape talked with WKTV in May about this season’s work and the new committee when he sat down for a WKTV Journal In Focus interview.
“Kentwood’s park system is near and dear to my heart,” Kape said, later, in supplied material. “Now we need to plan for the next 50 years and determine how we can continue to provide quality parks amenities for our community.”
The 21-member advisory committee includes broad community representation and is comprised of parks and recreation commissioners, City Commission’s AD HOC Strategic Planning Committee members, planning commissioners, residents and business owners.
The advisory committee was established to review and prioritize improvements to Kentwood’s parks, trails and recreational programming “to align with the needs of the community,” according to supplied material.
“The City Commission has asked residents to perform a needed and exciting review process,” Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley said in supplied material. “This level of community input is paramount to ensure detailed visionary planning is performed today to preserve Kentwood’s excellent quality of life over the next 50 years.”
The City of Kentwood Parks and Recreation Department oversees the city’s 14 parks and 6.5 miles of trails.
Major work at parks underway
At the Kentwood Activities Center work is underway to make the facility entrance more accessible and protective for the city’s seniors and others. (WKTV)
Summer 2019 improvements include work at the Veterans Memorial Park, where the city received a grant to “grow community engagement” for the park’s neighborhood and the city as a whole.
At the Kentwood Activities Center, a facility much used by seniors and residents of all ages, work is underway to make the facility entrance more accessible and protective for the city’s seniors.
One of the largest projects is at the Old Farm Park, where an entirely new building is being constructed with the aim for providing more amenities for family and group activities.
For more detailed information on the Kentwood Parks, Trails and Recreation Advisory Committee, see the story here.
More information about Kentwood’s 14 parks and 6.5 miles of trails is available online at kentwood.us/parks.
Vitamin D is the healthy “sunshine” vitamin, but it can have a dark side, one Canadian man discovered.
A team of Toronto physicians reported on the case of a 54-year-old man who developed kidney damage after taking extremely high doses of vitamin D.
It’s a cautionary tale for consumers, medical experts say.
“Although vitamin D toxicity is rare owing to a large therapeutic range, its widespread availability in various over-the-counter formulations may pose a substantial risk to uninformed patients,” said study co-author Dr. Bourne Auguste. He’s a clinical fellow in home dialysis at Toronto General Hospital and the University of Toronto.
As reported recently in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the man was seen by doctors after he returned from a holiday in Southeast Asia, where he spent much of his time sunbathing. Vitamin D is naturally synthesized by the skin upon contact with sunlight.
Testing showed that the man had elevated blood levels of creatinine, a marker for kidney damage or malfunction. The patient was then referred to a kidney specialist and underwent further testing.
Doctors learned that the man had been prescribed high doses of vitamin D by a naturopath—even though he did not have vitamin D deficiency and no history of bone loss.
Over 30 months, the man had taken eight to 12 drops of vitamin D—a total of 8,000 to 12,000 International Units, or IUs—per day.
The typical recommended daily allowance of vitamin D is 400 to 1,000 IU, with a higher amount (800 to 2,000 IU) recommended for adults at high-risk of osteoporosis, and for older adults.
The patient far exceeded those dosages, however, and that led to extremely high levels of calcium in his blood. It’s those high blood calcium levels that triggered his kidney damage, Auguste’s team said.
“Patients and clinicians should be better informed about the risks regarding the unfettered use of vitamin D,” the study authors concluded.
Dr. Maria DeVita directs nephrology—kidney medicine—at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Reading over the case report, she said that “overuse of the vitamin, as is true of many supplements, may have dire adverse effects.”
DeVita said, “Vitamin D is necessary for the development and maintenance of strong bones, (but) the take-home message is too much of a good thing is not good.”
There’s no reason you can’t get outdoors and enjoy the summer sun as a senior, but it’s also important that you take some precautions against the heat. Your body struggles to regulate internal temperatures as you age, making seniors one of the groups most likely to be affected by the heat and fall victim to dangerous health conditions like heat stroke.
In order to combat the dangers of overheating, sunburns, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke, you need to be prepared. Here are 9 summer heat tips for seniors to stay safe while enjoying everything the Midwest summer season has to offer.
1. Stay Hydrated!
The simplest tip for maintaining a healthy internal body temperature and avoiding heat illnesses is also the one that is often the first forgotten. Staying hydrated is the best way to avoid heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and it doesn’t take much effort.
A helpful tip is to keep water easily accessible, so you don’t forget to drink it during the day. Keeping reusable water bottles in the fridge or by the door can remind you to grab one before you leave the house to have with you in the summer heat. Staying hydrated is important all year-round, so it’s a great habit to start!
2. Eat the Right Foods!
Heavy meals and hot foods can increase your internal body temperature and actually make you more likely to overheat. Instead, having light, fresh, and energizing foods that increase your energy levels can keep your internal body temperature at a healthy level during the summer. In addition, foods like fruits and vegetables have a high water content and can help you stay hydrated in addition to drinking water.
3. Dress Appropriately!
Don’t wear heavy layers during the summer—even if you are prone to getting cold. Your internal body temperature can quickly rise if you are dressed too warm. Instead, try clothing like:
Lightweight shirts and pants
Breathable fabrics
Light-colored clothing
Hats
4. Wear Sunscreen!
Avoid sunburn and painful blisters by protecting your skin. Sunscreen should be applied liberally and often during summer days when you are outdoors. Even if the day is overcast, the UV rays of the sun can still give you sunburn. Use an SPF of at least 30, remember to cover areas that are often forgotten like:
The top of your head
Ears
Knees
Exposed parts of your feet and ankles
Neck and chest
5. Check the Weather!
Don’t let a heat wave catch you by surprise! Keeping a close eye on the weather predictions and the heat index can help prepare for the day ahead. Be aware of humidity as well—especially in the Midwest. Humidity can make a temperate day feel much hotter, so be ready. The heat index includes humidity in its calculation, so it’s a great resource to have on hand.
6. Don’t Overexert Yourself!
Using too much energy can result in your body becoming dehydrated much quicker than usual, which can lead to heat stroke or collapse. Your energy levels also drop as you age, making this dehydration process happen faster. There are plenty of great ways to get outdoors that don’t require you to put too much energy into your activities.
7. Stay Indoors!
An easy way to avoid the heat is to just stay inside. On particularly hot days, plan to stay indoors—whether in your own home or at a place like a shopping center or movie theater. Indoor activities and alternative exercises can help you stay fit and active without having to brave the hot sun and risk your health.
8. Find Air-Conditioned Areas!
There’s never a better time to invest in an air conditioner than when you become a senior. Having a source of cold air can be a major help during heat waves, as it can help you lower your body temperature quickly. If you plan on going outside, having a plan in place to stop at air-conditioned stores or cafes throughout the day can be another way to avoid too much heat exposure.
9. Be on the Lookout for Warning Signs!
Knowing what the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke are can be the difference between avoiding sickness or becoming a victim.
The major signs of oncoming heat exhaustion include:
Excessive sweating
Dizziness
Weakness
Headache
Tiredness
Muscle cramps
Nausea
Fainting
If you feel any of these signs coming on, immediately cool yourself off with fans, air conditioning, a cold bath, and plenty of cool drinks and water. This will help bring your internal body temperature down and avoid the more serious heat illness, heat stroke. If you feel these signs progressing, get out of the sun immediately and call 911. Heat stroke can lead to seizures and/or a coma if not dealt with.
Avoid these serious symptoms of heat exhaustion and stroke by taking the heat and hot temperatures of summer seriously, especially as a senior. By following these tips and monitoring your internal body temperature, you can enjoy everything summer has to offer in healthy moderation.
Research suggests yoga may impart a multitude of health benefits, including reduced blood pressure and lower stress levels. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
For years, aerobic exercise has been touted for its numerous health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, better mood, increased energy and stronger bones and muscles.
But there’s another form of physical activity that’s grabbing headlines—yoga.
Some studies suggest the mind-body practice may be good for heart health, from reducing blood pressure and cholesterol to lowering stress and body mass index.
While yoga often is associated with images of limber practitioners, it is more than just stretching and handstands.
Originated in India, yoga includes physical poses (asana), breathwork (pranayama) and meditation. There are many yoga styles, including Hatha, Iyengar, restorative and hot yoga, each with a specific emphasis such as alignment or relaxation.
Recently, more Americans are stepping onto the mat.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14.3 percent of U.S. adults—or 35.2 million—practiced yoga in 2017, up from 9.5 percent in 2012.
Many take up the practice as a holistic approach to health and wellness and for its stress-busting effect.
“There’s a huge body of literature that says psychosocial stressors such as work and marital stress, as well as anxiety and depression, are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Puja Mehta, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
“With chronic stress, the sympathetic nervous system is in overdrive,” which can lead to inflammation and increased blood pressure, Mehta said.
Yoga may help put the brakes on the body’s stress response by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, or the “rest and digest” system, through deep breathing and relaxation, Mehta said.
Cultivating mindfulness also may encourage participants to engage in other habits that boost cardiovascular health by promoting self-awareness and self-care behaviors.
“(This) can have a profound effect on supporting the engagement of healthy behaviors of diet and physical activity,” said Dr. Gloria Yeh, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of mind-body research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Research also shows yoga may lower cardiovascular risk factors.
Yeh coauthored a 2014 review of clinical research published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology that found yoga had a significant impact on cardiometabolic risk factors compared to doing no exercise at all.
For example, yoga decreased total cholesterol by 18.48 mg/dl and triglycerides by 25.89 mg/dl more than the change seen in the control group. Blood pressure improved too. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased 5.21 mmHg and 4.98 mmHg, respectively.
The benefits also extend to people with heart disease.
Among people with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, in which symptoms come and go, doing 12 weeks of yoga combined with deep breathing resulted in a lower heart rate, lower blood pressure and higher mental health scores compared to those who didn’t do yoga, according to a 2016 study published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing.
Mehta said although these and other scientific studies show promising results, there are some limitations, such as a small number of participants.
In addition, because yoga encompasses a variety of elements, there isn’t a standard dose of yoga, which makes comparisons across studies difficult, she said.
Both Yeh and Mehta said more research is needed, including more randomized clinical trials and a better understanding of the exact mechanism behind yoga’s cardiovascular benefits.
“We need to better understand for whom yoga may be more beneficial and how,” Yeh said. “Because yoga is so heterogeneous with many different styles and emphases, we’d like to be able to match the right exercises with the right people at the right time. We need to understand how best to integrate yoga with other lifestyle measures.”
And the biggest research question remains, Mehta said: “Are you going to live longer and not have cardiovascular events like heart attack or stroke?”
For older adults and people new to yoga, Mehta recommends looking for gentle, restorative or chair-based classes.
People with heart disease or high blood pressure may need to modify some poses and avoid postures that place the head below the heart, she said. Experts also suggest pregnant women in particular steer clear of “hot yoga,” or yoga classes that take place in a heated room, because of the risk of overheating and dehydration.
The bottom line, Yeh said, is that yoga is exercise and “any exercise is better than no exercise, so the activity that someone will do—and enjoy doing—will be the one that provides the most benefit.”
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
Spring in the Midwest, with its growing greenery and flowers, is like a breath of fresh air after a long winter. Unfortunately for some, however, new growth means that the air is also full of pollen, setting off allergies in residents young and old. Whether you’ve suffered spring allergies your whole life, or if your symptoms have worsened as you got older, hafever can be serious for seniors. Here are 6 tips to manage your allergies when there’s pollen in the air.
1. Learn allergy symptoms
As we age, our immune systems tend to get weaker. For some people, this means that their allergy symptoms actually improve or disappear, as their bodies stop recognizing the pollen that enters their systems as a threat. For others, their allergy symptoms can remain unchanged or even worsen.
Learning what seasonal allergy symptoms look like is critical to managing them for yourself or for your loved ones. The main symptoms are:
Runny nose
Watery or itchy eyes
Sneezing
Coughing
Dark circles under the eyes
These symptoms may seem harmless enough, but they can cause extreme discomfort and complicate treatment of other conditions. Seniors living with dementia may be unable to communicate their discomfort, so you should always know the signs.
2. Avoid high pollen days
The amount of pollen in the air can vary from day to day, or even hour to hour, so plan your time outdoors to avoid especially high pollen counts. Many weather services report on the pollen count during the weather forecast in spring, and if it’s not broadcast, you can always find it online.
If you’re not near a television, computer, or smartphone, there are some basic guidelines for how high the pollen count will be: stay inside if the weather is warm and dry, or dry and windy. Pollen count is usually highest from 5am to 10am every day, then falls as the day goes on. The best time for people with spring allergies to be outside is after a heavy rainfall, when pollen is stuck to the ground by moisture. By staying indoors and minimizing your exposure to pollen, you can keep your symptoms manageable.
3. Wear the right clothes when you’re outside
Sometimes, staying inside is a tall order when the weather is beautiful, and getting fresh air, sun, and exercise is a good idea for people of all ages. When you do go outside, be sure you’re wearing clothing that can help you keep the pollen at bay. Sunglasses are a must to prevent pollen from getting in your eyes and irritating them. A hat, headscarf, or bandana keeps irritants out of your hair that can fall into your eyes and nose later, and long sleeves and pants allow for easy cleaning when you return indoors.
Even with proper attire, avoiding the outdoors during times when pollen levels are high is always going to be more effective than covering up, but if you can’t plan around it, be sure you’re protecting yourself when you go outside.
4. Keep your house pollen-free
It’s close to impossible to keep all allergens out of your home, especially if you’re always coming and going, but there are several strategies to keep your house as pollen-free as possible.
First, avoid opening windows, even though it may be tempting. If you get too warm, use fans or ideally, your air conditioner, as it can help remove pollen that may have gotten into your home. Second, wash your hands and shower often, especially when you come inside after being exposed to high pollen levels. Pollen on your skin and hair can easily fall off and circulate throughout your house. Third, after being outdoors, change your clothes immediately and put the clothes that have been exposed to pollen in the washing machine. This isolates all irritants, and the wash cycle will get rid of them so your clothes are ready for their next wear.
5. Eat immune-boosting foods
Foods that boost your immune system can help you manage your seasonal allergy symptoms, but none have been proven as a tried-and-true treatment for allergies. Try some of these foods in your springtime diet and see what works for you:
Apples:
Apples, as well as berries, garlic, onions, cabbage, and cauliflower contain quercetin, a bioflavonoid that can help prevent your body’s immune cells from releasing histamines, which causes allergy symptoms.
Strawberries:
The Vitamin C combined with the quercetin in strawberries make these sweet fruits a powerful immune booster that also suppress histamines.
Fatty Fish:
Omega-3 fatty acids are a great way to reduce inflammation, and therefore help keep allergic reactions from causing too much damage. Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, trout, and mackerel are delicious sources of omega-3, which is also great for heart health and memory.
Yogurt:
Probiotics, such as the live bacteria found in yogurt, kefir, and fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchi, are healthy for your digestive system and your immune system. Use caution, however, as dairy and the natural histamines in fermented foods could actually make your symptoms worse.
6. Talk to your doctor
As with all conditions, from
allergies to illnesses, you should always consult your primary care
doctor or another healthcare professional about the best approach to
handling your health. The treatment most commonly used to treat
allergies, antihistamines, are not recommended for seniors as they can
interfere with other medications or have more severe side effects than
in younger adults. A doctor will be able to determine the best way to
manage or treat your allergy symptoms.
Suffering from seasonal allergies can put a rain cloud over the nice spring weather, but by knowing how to manage your symptoms, you can still make the most of the season. And if getting outside does more harm than good during spring? Don’t worry, summer promises better weather and lower pollen counts.
Mistaken beliefs about sleep are common and pose a significant health threat, a new study warns.
Among these myths: some people only need five hours of sleep, snoring is harmless and a drink before bedtime helps you fall asleep.
“Sleep is a vital part of life that affects our productivity, mood and general health and well-being,” lead investigator Rebecca Robbins said. “Dispelling myths about sleep promotes healthier sleep habits which, in turn, promote overall better health.”
Robbins is a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of population health at NYU Langone Health in New York City.
For the study, the researchers reviewed more than 8,000 websites to identify the 20 most common beliefs about sleep.
One of the top myths was the claim of some people who insist they can get by on five hours of sleep a night. The study authors said this poses the most serious health risk due the effects of long-term lack of sleep.
Robbins and her colleagues suggested creating a consistent sleep schedule and getting at least seven hours of shut-eye a night.
And don’t assume your snoring is no big deal—that’s another myth, the study team said. While it can be harmless, snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly during the night. Left untreated, it can lead to heart problems and other illnesses.
The researchers also dispelled the notion that a drink before bed can help you sleep. Alcohol actually makes it harder to achieve deep sleep, which is crucial for proper daytime functioning, they explained in a news release from NYU Langone.
The study was published online recently in the journal Sleep Health.
Study senior investigator Girardin Jean-Louis, a professor in the departments of population health and psychiatry at NYU Langone, said the public needs to be better informed about the importance of sleep.
“For example, by discussing sleep habits with their patients, doctors can help prevent sleep myths from increasing risks for heart disease, obesity and diabetes,” he said in the news release.
Water is a critical component of our body’s structure and all its functions.
It makes up approximately 55 percent of the female body.
Key organs—muscles, heart, brain and lungs—are made up of more than 75 percent water.
So what happens when we get busy and don’t take the time to hydrate?
If we leave water out of our daily habits, the results can be subtle but significant. Hypo-hydration can take its toll in ways that affect our normal daily function.
A patient I’ll call Sally is a prime example of what can happen when we don’t hydrate enough.
When she came to see me in the Spectrum Health Midlife and Menopause Health Clinic, she wondered if she was going into menopause because she felt so terrible. She had attended one of my talks and remembered me mentioning the symptoms of menopause—fatigue, hot flashes and irritability.
She had been experiencing all these symptoms, as well as suffering headaches and feeling short-tempered with her husband and kids. Her periods were also irregular, but not entirely indicative of menopause.
After gathering Sally’s information, I had a very good idea what was going on with her.
Dried out
As Sally talked, I noticed her skin and hair were dry. She looked tired and quite thin.
To confirm my suspicions, I started by asking Sally if she practiced her SEEDS (Seven Essential Elements of Daily Success) every day, especially the first one—drinking plenty of water.
Sally said she drank only about one or two 8-ounce bottles of water most days, but she hoped her five cups of coffee and nightly glass of wine would make up the difference. Wrong!
Unfortunately, Sally wasn’t doing very well on the rest of her SEEDS either. She only slept about five hours a night. She didn’t eat balanced meals. She rarely exercised because she was too tired. She barely practiced any meditation or gratitude.
Instead, she found herself rushing to the next event or handling another emergency at work or at home.
When we finished discussing the SEEDS, I told Sally her symptoms were not the result of menopause or her hormones.
She asked why I focused on water and diet. I explained how body function depends on water, especially for cooling and energy. When the body is dehydrated, the muscles can get hotter more quickly, causing them to get tight like beef jerky.
Without adequate water, women can experience hot flashes, muscle spasms and fatigue.
Dehydration can also cause constipation, because the colon removes all the water from the bowel movement to keep enough for survival, causing the bowel movement to be dry and slow-moving.
Why was Sally’s skin so dry? Without adequate water, skin dries up like a sad houseplant. It can look old and tired before its time.
I asked her to think about the water-coffee balance. Her body requires about 80 ounces of water per day. Because coffee and alcohol are dehydrating, she needed to drink an additional glass of water for each cup of coffee or glass of alcohol she consumed, just to stay in balance.
Sally began to realize that her inadequate water intake, combined with her diet poor in complex carbs and protein, had been contributing to her poor energy, bad mood and lack of motivation to exercise or play with her kids.
Lots of libation
Sally’s story is similar to those of many women who come to see me.
She got out of the habit of self-care and thought she did a better job by focusing first on work and others. Wrong again!
Unfortunately, the result is just the opposite of what she strove for. Everyone, including herself, ended up worse off because she neglected herself.
All women, including Sally, must include themselves on their list of people to take care of.
We used the list of SEEDS to make a plan to get Sally back on the road to feeling healthy again.
She agreed to drink two glasses of water before she left the house in the morning (and before her first coffee), another one in the car, one in her office with her second cup of coffee and one more before lunch.
She also committed to drinking another glass of water at lunch, one in the afternoon, one in the car on the way home and a glass at dinner. She even agreed to sacrifice her nightly glass of wine and only drink one or two glasses on the weekend—at least until she felt better.
In addition, she said she would start eating at least two small meals of things like Ezekiel Bread with peanut butter, bananas (for potassium) and a salad with a protein for dinner.
These were all small changes, but at least it would be a start.
I suggested waiting until she felt a little better before beginning a strenuous exercise program. Instead, we talked about incorporating yoga and stretches into her daily routine and focusing on getting more sleep and taking walks with her family.
Sally was surprised when I told her it would take her body at least three days to really catch up on hydration, noting that her muscles, skin and hair would take some time to soak it all up.
She was relieved to hear she would not have to urinate so much after three or four days.
Back to basics
When Sally came in for her recheck four weeks later, I almost didn’t recognize her!
She actually laughed at herself for thinking she was in menopause and not realizing how she had let her health go. She came in hoping for a hormone patch or magic pill to make her feel better, but she was pleasantly surprised to discover she simply had to get back to the basics and recognize the power of hydration.
In the past four weeks, Sally drank plenty of water and felt so much better that:
She was no longer depending on coffee to give her energy. She still
drank coffee but did so just because she enjoyed the taste, instead of
using it as a vice.
Her muscle cramps were gone.
Her mood improved and everyone noticed. She didn’t even miss her nightly wine.
Her night sweats had improved to the point she only experienced them the night before her period started.
Her hairdresser commented how much better Sally’s hair felt and looked.
She began to think about how she could put daily exercise back in her schedule.
She began to have more fun with her kids than she had in a long time.
Things are definitely headed in the right direction for Sally and her family—and it all started with going back to the basics!
Moving to an assisted living facility doesn’t mean giving up on the important things in your life and it most certainly doesn’t mean losing your independence. An assisted living community is meant to enhance life and offer residents the chance to relax and enjoy life. But that doesn’t mean you need to give up the things you want to be doing.
Many communities, like Vista Springs, are flexible in how much assistance they offer their residents. With the option to use as much or as little as you need; use the following tips to help maintain your independence after making the move to assisted living.
Get involved in activities
Most facilities offer a wide range of activities both inside the facility and outside meant to engage the residents and bring the community to them. Even if you are leaving a familiar community, you can build a new one within the walls of your new home by simply participating in the activities offered by the facility. From dances and card clubs, to viewing parties and game nights, many facilities offer a full calendar to keep residents busy and engaged.
Get involved in activities outside the facility
Don’t cut yourself off from the community you love when you move to assisted living. Just because there are plenty of activities happening within the facility doesn’t mean you are limited to those. As long as it’s possible, engage in activities put on by the community surrounding the facility. Volunteer at local schools or food banks, join book clubs at local coffee shops or join a walking group. Leaving the facility on a regular basis can help you feel engaged with the community.
Maintain your daily routine
Before moving to your new community, what was your daily routine? Did you take a walk before breakfast and then have coffee while reading the paper? Maintain that routine within your new community. Whether you have a coffee maker in your room or walk down to a cafe or cafeteria, continue to do the things you did before the move.
Visit old stomping grounds
When you’re out in the community getting involved, make sure to stop by the places you enjoy visiting. If you’re in a new neighborhood, make plans to visit familiar places once a week or once a month. Organize transportation through your facility, ask a family member, or drive yourself if you’ve brought your car. Don’t cut off your old life simply because you’ve started a new one.
Exercise
Maintaining independence means maintaining your physical health. Avoiding injuries that mean confinement or assistance to get around will help guarantee that you can do the things you love to do. To avoid those injuries, be sure you are exercising on a regular basis. Many communities offer exercise programs to assist in this but if you feel you need more, build a routine on your own. Walk, do yoga, even get out to a gym, gather friends who want to do the same things, just get out and move.
Stay organized
Of course many facilities will maintain a schedule for residents to keep them on top of their everyday activities, but maintaining your own can add an extra level of independence. Keep a calendar, date book, and set up the meetings and activities that are important to you.
No matter where you choose to spend your retirement years, maintain the lifestyle you want to lead by choosing a community that fits with your life.
One in 3 women and 1 in 5 men older than 50 will experience an osteoporosis-related fracture.
Hip fractures often require surgery and may lead to loss of independence, and vertebral fractures lead to loss of height, pain, nerve compression, and sometimes deformity.
A bit about bones
Our bones are constantly remodeling, with steady building and breakdown, and we reach a peak bone mass in our late 20s.
After our peak, we lose a bit more each year than we build, and when the bones get to be too porous and weak, we are at risk for a fragility fracture, or a break that occurs with minimal trauma such as stepping wrong off a curb or a low-impact fall.
Osteoporosis is the condition when the bones are thin enough to increase risk of fracture to the point that treatment might be indicated, and our goal is to keep osteoporosis from happening.
Osteoporosis is a silent disease, and has no symptoms. The good news is osteoporosis can be prevented, and also predicted if you know the risks.
The basic concept is we want to support our bone-building cells by supplying adequate calcium in our diet. This includes four servings of dairy or leafy greens, adequate vitamin D to allow for calcium absorption (about 2000 IU per day for most adults), and enough weight-bearing activity to let the bones know they are needed. Research shows we need approximately 20 minutes of weight-bearing activity per day.
Midlife wellness
As a busy obstetrician and gynecologist, I should have been thinking about my patient’s bone health way more than I did, but it was not on my radar for those years of delivering babies.
As I started to care more for women approaching midlife and thinking about how I could support wellness, I started asking my patients about risk factors.
I soon met with an internal medicine physician who is passionate about bone health and supports our patients on how to avoid fracture and disability. He taught me about prevention, diagnosis and treatment options.
Also at that time, I had a patient who underwent a bone scan and, when I called her with the bad news that she had osteoporosis, she felt absolutely floored. How could she, a healthy 52-year-old, have osteoporosis?
We went through the risk factors, and she probably never took enough D like the rest of us, avoided dairy due to lactose intolerance, was active but perhaps not enough, and occasionally took oral steroids for asthma.
She decided to start hormone replacement therapy for her menopause symptoms, which is also indicated for prevention of osteoporosis as it supports the good bone she still had. She also became serious about vitamin D and calcium supplements, and exercised every day or at least did her 50 jumps.
A followup scan three years later showed stable bones. Further, her fitness regimen had improved her balance so she was less likely to fall. Thank goodness we found her osteoporosis before she had a fracture.
Supporting your skeleton
We support bone health by knowing what risk factors to avoid. If we have other health conditions that put our bones at risk, we should be aware of the issues and do what we can to make up for the risk.
Lifestyle risk factors for osteoporosis include more than two alcohol drinks per day, cigarette smoking, inactivity, low body weight, and inadequate calcium and vitamin D.
Genetic factors for osteoporosis include family history and conditions such as cystic fibrosis and other metabolic conditions. Hormone conditions— such as menopause, especially if premature, diabetes, Cushing disease and parathyroid dysfunction—are also factors.
Medical conditions such as anorexia and bulimia also put people at risk, as well as celiac disease, epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, gastric bypass surgery and lupus. Many cancers also put people at risk for accelerated bone loss such as multiple myeloma, treatments for breast cancer, and medication use to include oral steroids, antacids and anti-seizure medication.
The good news is, if we look, we can get information in time to act and help slow or prevent bone loss. The results from a scan, together with risk factors, help us make recommendations for potential treatment.
Simple table salt ought not trouble you at mealtime. The real concern is how much salt went into processing and preparing the meal itself. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
If you’re like most people, you won’t have any trouble identifying the usual suspects. (French fries, chips and pretzels—we’re looking at you.)
The leading sources of excess sodium in the average American diet are less obvious.
Packaged foods such as bread, desserts and even canned vegetables—vegetables, for Pete’s sake!—can be prepared with alarmingly high salt levels.
That should be a cause for universal concern.
While there’s been some debate about precise levels, current guidelines call for an intake of 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day.
| The American Heart Association goes even further, recommending all American adults try to limit themselves to 1,500 milligrams per day. This is also the level recommended for people with high blood pressure and heart disease.
African Americans are also advised to stick to the lower level.
The reality? The average American eats well over twice that amount, or about 3,400 milligrams a day, and sometimes more.
“Most people don’t realize that the problem isn’t using their salt shaker, but all the foods they eat with those hidden sources,” said Caren Dobreff, RD, projects dietitian at Spectrum Health.
Such as? “Toast and cereal,” Dobreff said. “Because sodium is widely used for flavor, as a leavening agent (think baking soda), as a preservative, it turns up in places you don’t expect.” Portion sizes can add to the confusion since few people limit themselves to a single slice of bread or a half cup of cereal.
The immediate impact of too much salt can be a bloated feeling due to water retention.
“Water retention can make your socks or shoes or waistband feel snug,” Dobreff said.
Over time, too much sodium may increase the risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart failure, as well as osteoporosis, stomach cancer, kidney disease and headaches.
The best defense: Tune up your sodium radar.
Restaurant foods contribute to about a quarter of the typical American’s dietary sodium. Meals prepared at home account for another 10 percent. Surprisingly, less than 5 percent of dietary salt is added at the table.
This means the worst offenders—about 65 percent, reports the American Heart Association—are foods we buy at the store.
Here’s how to protect yourself from sneaky salt attacks:
Read the label
Manufacturers of packaged foods must list nutritional information on the label. This includes listing sodium content.
The fine print will help you discover, for example, that 3 ounces of deli meat such as ham or turkey can contain up to 1,050 milligrams of sodium. A cup of chicken noodle soup packs 940 milligrams, a slice of American cheese has 460 milligrams and a piece of bread has 230 milligrams. That’s pretty salty.
Check chicken labels, too, especially if the package notes, “Contains broth.” Meat processors often plump the chicken by injecting it with sodium, improving moisture retention. This enhanced chicken can increase sodium content as much as 440 milligrams.
Most red meat cuts have 100 milligrams or less, but processed meat—think cold cuts, sausages and hot dogs—can have hundreds of milligrams of added salt.
Research your restaurant favorites
While it’s harder to learn what’s in your favorite restaurant foods,
most national chains have nutrition details on their websites.
A little digging before you get there will help you discover that a slice of pizza at your local shop may well have 760 milligrams of sodium, while a cheeseburger has a whopping 1,690 milligrams. At some fast food joints, just 3 ounces of breaded chicken strips contain 900 milligrams of sodium.
And don’t be fooled when restaurants label something low- or reduced-sodium. Reduced-sodium soy sauce, for example, can still have as much as 500 milligrams per serving.
Cook from scratch
Cooking from scratch offers the most control over how much salt winds
up on your plate. A tomato, for example, contains a mere 6 milligrams
of sodium. But half a cup of canned low-sodium diced tomatoes has
already more than tripled to 20 milligrams.
A helping of regular canned tomatoes is 10 times saltier, at 220 milligrams.
“Look for ways to create flavor explosions,” Dobreff said. She recommends high-impact seasoning like citrus, vinegar, herbs and spices, such as cumin and chili powder.
Don’t get duped
As appealing as some popular gourmet salts sound—pink Himalayan,
Hawaiian black lava, grey sea salt, kosher salt and even dusting
salt—they’re still just sodium chloride.
“Some people like to experiment with them for flavor and some are prepared more naturally,” Dobreff said. “But the sodium is roughly the same.”
Plan a counterattack
When you’ve got a major salt craving, play nutritional offense. Keep
whole fresh fruits and vegetables and unsalted roasted nuts and seeds on
hand. We tend to snack on what we can see and what our arms can reach.
“Buy a lower-sodium type of pretzels or chips, for example, and count out the amount of a single serving,” Dobreff said. “Then enjoy them. But be careful to balance them out with foods that day that are high in potassium, such as bananas, citrus fruits, papayas, avocados or potatoes.”
There are a lot of great benefits to being a senior, but you may be dismayed with lessening mobility. Retirement can also have you searching for hobbies to fill the time that don’t require an abundance of energy or time. While traditionally gardening is a task that requires a lot of both, container gardening is a way to enjoy nature that won’t take as much out of you.
What is Container Gardening?
Container gardening is, as the name implies, gardening that happens in containers rather than in the ground. A container can be anything that holds soil and plants, from traditional pots to repurposed basins and tubs. Almost any plant can be gardened in a container, even some types of small trees.
If you have little or no outdoor space, then container gardening has the extra bonus of not needing a lot of room. A few window planters or pots on a balcony can give you that garden you wanted without needing a lot of yard.
You can also container garden indoors, with smaller pots on windowsills or raised on tables in a mudroom or sunroom. Containers at different heights can add even more dimension and layers to your garden.
Why Seniors?
So why is container gardening a good idea for seniors? For starters, you don’t have to be a natural gardener or someone with lots of experience to begin. Container gardening is great for a new hobby, and it doesn’t cost much to get started.
In addition, the containers you choose to garden in can be raised so you don’t have to bend down and stand up like you do with traditional gardening. If you have additional handicaps or are in a wheelchair, you can find raised planters that come to a level that you are comfortable with.
Even if you are a fairly mobile senior, container gardening can be an exercise that helps you avoid spending long periods of time out in the heat. A slight raise up from ground level can also be a big help for your back, and container gardens are easier to move and manipulate than a garden in the ground.
Picking Containers
While containers can come in any size, from small, egg-sized pots for small succulents to huge planters for bushes, it’s easier to garden in something that has a bit of room for your plants to grow. Because it’s an enclosed space, roots will only grow as big as the container allows, so a larger pot gives your plants more room.
Examples of containers you can use include:
Hanging baskets
Plastic pots
Metal planters
Planters with added trellises
Wash tubs
Clustered pots
Wicker baskets
Bowls
Terra cotta pots
Hollow concrete squares
All of these types of containers can also be raised if they don’t already come with a stand to get them off the ground and closer to you.
Prepping Your Container
Once you have a container—or several—picked out, it’s time to start considering the logistics. Move your container to where you want it to be before you start to fill it with dirt, which will quickly add weight to your container.
Another detail to consider is the drainage of your container. All containers should have a draining system like holes in the bottom—unless it is a cachepot. A cachepot is a decorative pot that a smaller, plain pot with drainage rests inside of. A cachepot should not be used as a regular container because without drainage you plant’s roots can get waterlogged.
Containers also use a different kind of dirt than a regular garden. Ground gardening soil is too heavy for plants in containers, so a lighter soil mix like houseplant soil will provide better results. You also want to make sure that the water, once it drains through the soil, doesn’t flow or fall on anything that could be water damaged. A tray or flat plate to collect water can be a big help if your container doesn’t come with one.
Here are some final tips about container gardening for seniors:
Keep the soil in your container damp. Drying the dirt out makes it difficult to re-wet and stay moist.
Have quality pruning and gardening tools so you don’t strain yourself.
Regularly fertilize the containers to give plants extra nutrients.
Keep an eye on your allergies, and avoid plants that are going to make you sneeze.
Clear out dead leaves or flowers that might be detracting from the overall look of your garden.
Keep an eye on how much sun and shade your containers get—you may need to adjust what plants you pick to find something that can thrive in different light conditions.
Play around with plant arrangements to find something that you like.
You enjoy walking and even have an exercise buddy to keep you on track. But maybe your enthusiasm has started to wane.
The answer? Expand your workout circle and form a walking group in your community. By planning walks and encouraging one another, each member will have an impact on everyone else’s health.
First, see if there’s already a community-based organization that might join forces with you or offer ideas, information and resources. Maybe there’s a nonprofit that you’d like to support through a walk six or 12 months from now—check out its website to see if it offers planning pointers for fundraising events.
Next, decide how wide a net you want to cast to recruit members. You might keep the group to people you know or extend it to include friends of friends.
Hold a kick-off meeting and work out key details like the days and times the group will meet, how long you’ll walk each time and a list of routes that will keep things interesting. Set up a system for contacting one another by text or e-mail so you can send updates and reminders before each walk.
If you’d rather join a group than start one, check out Walkwithadoc.org.
Started in 2005 by David Sabgir, a cardiologist in Columbus, Ohio, it has chapters across the country. Walks are typically held on weekends for an hour and include a conversation with the local doctor who leads the chapter. It’s a great way to meet other people and get fit together.
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
An ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure: A severe sunburn in your youth can nearly double your chances of developing melanoma later in life. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Only half of Americans routinely protect themselves from the sun when outdoors, a recent American Academy of Dermatology survey found.
Those who don’t practice sun safety put themselves at increased risk for skin cancer, which is the most common cancer in the United States, despite being one of the most preventable cancers.
One in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer at some point in their life, the AAD estimates.
Just one serious sunburn in childhood or the teen years can nearly double a person’s risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, later in life.
“Exposure to the sun’s harmful UV rays is the most preventable risk factor for skin cancer, and there are many simple things you can do to protect yourself from the sun,” AAD President Dr. George Hruza said in an academy news release.
Seek shade when possible, especially between 10am and 2pm when the sun’s rays are strongest.
Wear protective clothing, such as a lightweight, long-sleeved shirt, pants, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
Apply a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher to all skin not covered by clothing. Reapply every two hours or after swimming or sweating.
“It’s also important to remember to protect parts of your body you think might not be getting any sun,” Hruza said.
“Areas like the tops of your hands, bottoms of your feet or the part in your hair may not immediately come to mind when it comes to sun protection, but they are still vulnerable to dangerous sun damage,” he explained.
Skin cancer is highly treatable when caught early, so it’s important to do regular skin self-exams and look out for ABCDEs—the warning signs of melanoma:
Asymmetry: One half of the spot is unlike the other half.
Border: The spot has an irregular, scalloped or poorly defined border.
Color: The spot has varying colors from one area to the next, such as shades of tan, brown or black, or areas of white, red or blue.
Diameter: Melanomas are usually greater than 6 millimeters (about the size of a pencil eraser) when diagnosed, but they can be smaller.
Evolving: The spot looks different from the rest or is changing in size, shape or color.
“If you find any new or suspicious spots on your skin, make an appointment to see a board-certified dermatologist,” Hruza said. “Spots that are changing, itching or bleeding could be a sign of skin cancer, and the earlier skin cancer is detected, the easier it is to treat.”
Gardening offers many therapeutic benefits to seniors; it acts as a stress reliever and lowers blood pressure. In assisted living where some seniors cannot access the outdoors as easily, indoor gardening offers you an opportunity to stay active. Indoor gardening also gives you a sense of purpose, especially when you work with herbs and vegetables to share with friends inside your community. You can share your growth with your loved ones who have an interest in indoor gardening or gift the plants to those in the hospital.
There are many different indoor plants you can bring into an assisted living facility, some great ones include:
Aloe
The succulent plant can grow up to three feet, making it ideal for livening up your décor. If you prefer smaller varieties, try the aloe vera. Aloe plants thrive in temperatures of approximately 70 degrees and require plenty of sunlight. Position your aloe plant next to a natural light source such as a window or on a balcony, and avoid watering it frequently as it thrives best in dry soil.
English Ivy
The English Ivy symbolizes timeless elegance, even as it matures and trails different furniture pieces for a picturesque effect. A new English Ivy begins with a stem cutting you can easily share with friends and family members who want to have one in their homes. Keep the soil moist, and your plant in cool temperatures of between 50 and 70 degrees for best results.
Rubber Tree
The rubber tree grows into a picture perfect 8-foot tree, with dark green shiny leaves, you can use as a statement piece in your interior design. If you prefer it smaller, prune the long stems and keep it as a shrub. The rubber tree thrives in bright to medium light at room temperature; let the soil dry out before re-watering it.
Snake Plant
The snake plant, featuring variegated leaves with yellow or white edges and a rare small white flower, is one of the easiest indoor plants to grow. It thrives at room temperature in different lighting conditions, with slightly dry air and requires very little water.
Areca Palms
If you are looking for a larger plant, choose the areca palm, which grows to a pretty 7-feet. However, if you love the plant and prefer it smaller, use a small pot to contain it. Position your areca plant away from direct light, preferably in a corner or a hallway away from the windows, and water it every other week to maintain a healthy plant.
The decision to take up gardening can drastically improve your health; there are psychological benefits to nurturing a living thing and watching it blossom. In addition to the plants above, you will come across different varieties and species specific to your geographical location. Look at indoor gardening as a fun activity you can enjoy alone or with friends even when you have limited mobility or the weather limits your ability to spend time doing outdoor gardening.
Dr. Matthew Axtman, Spectrum Health Medical Group Orthopedics, is the medical lead for the annual River Bank Run, the largest 25K in the country (Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat)
Springtime usually heralds the beginning of another full season of 5Ks and roadside runners.
Whether you’re training for your first race, want to be more active, or seek to cut minutes off your run times, here are 10 tips from doctors in the know:
1. Set a goal
Setting a goal, along with a timeline to accomplish that goal, is key, said Matt Axtman, DO, a sports medicine specialist with Spectrum Health Medical Group.
Your goal may be running for 30 minutes straight without any walking by May 15, running a 5K in 25 minutes by July 1, or completing a marathon in five hours by September.
A specific goal is the first step toward a runner making strides.
2. Select a program
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
After setting a goal, selecting a program and schedule is the next major step.
“The Internet is a wealth of information,” Dr. Axtman said.
On days when you’re not running, continue to do athletic activities, whether it’s lifting weights, hiking or other sports.
The most fit athletes are multi-sport athletes, Dr. Axtman said, citing Bo Jackson, a former professional football and baseball player, and Cal Ripken Jr., a baseball Hall-of-Famer known as “The Ironman” because he has the longest consecutive-games-played streak. Ripken was both a soccer and baseball player growing up.
“If you want to be an elite runner, it’s more than just running: It’s weight-lifting, it’s cross-training,” Dr. Axtman said. “We don’t like to see single-sport athletes, they tend to get overuse injuries and fatigue injuries.”
4. Listen to your body
“You’re going to have a normal soreness and
achiness (after you run),” Dr. Axtman said. “That muscle fatigue is
going to be there.”
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
But with rest and stretching, that should go away in no more than a few days, he said. If you have pain, apply ice to the affected area to reduce inflammation. If the pain lingers for more than a week, don’t push it.
And if rest doesn’t cure the pain, see a professional.
“Something that might not be a big deal initially, it could become a big deal and cause major problems if you don’t listen to your body and push it too hard,” Dr. Axtman said.
5. Proper shoes
Footwear is important, Dr. Axtman said. Having the wrong shoe can alter your gait, which can lead to more stress on the ankles, knees and lower back, and ultimately lead to injuries.
His advice? Get your foot and stride evaluated at a store that sells athletic footwear. They’ll help you select the proper shoe.“Also, pay attention to the mileage,” Dr. Axtman said. “Shoes typically last from 300-500 miles. After that, the soles start to wear out, the cushioning starts to wear out, which can alter your mechanics and lead to injury.”
6. Outdoors vs. Treadmill
All running is helpful, Dr. Axtman said.
When coming back from injury, treadmills are recommended because they have more cushioning and bounce, which leads to less impact on the body. But running on the road tends to be more difficult because there are hills and the surface material is less forgiving.
If you choose to run on a treadmill, change the incline to 2 percent, which will approximate the difficulties of running outdoors and keep you on track with your training schedule, he said.
7. Weight lifting
“You don’t need to do intense weight-lifting—you don’t need to be buff and Arnold Schwarzenegger-like,” Dr. Axtman said. “But you want to be strong, and that’ll help you run better times and run longer distances.”
Weight-lifting allows the body to perform at optimum levels.“It’s like driving in your car,” he said. “If alignment is off, your car is going to shake. And that’ll affect gas mileage (and) it’ll burn gasoline more quickly. If there’s one thing with your car, it affects all the other systems. Same with your body.
“When you’re running, you’re using core muscles to provide stability, along with your spine, and you use your shoulders and upper muscles to provide torque. It’s all important. It’ll all help you.”
8. Running partners
Unless you’re incredibly self-motivated, keeping to a training program can be difficult. Studies have shown, however, that running partners not only motivate you to show up to training sessions, but push you to run longer distances.
All running is helpful, Dr. Axtman said. When coming back from injury, treadmills are recommended because they have more cushioning and bounce, which leads to less impact on the body. (Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat)
“They make you accountable, so you’re more likely to show up and give 100 percent during your workout because you know that someone else is counting on you,” said Andrew Allden, who coaches women’s cross-country at the University of South Carolina, in an interview with Runner’s World.
And as another Runner’s World article once declared, “Partners make the best alarm clocks.”
9. Hydration
Knowing your “sweat rate” is important: Weigh yourself before and after a run, and calculate the difference and that’s your rate, Dr. Axtman said.
“And that’s typically how much water you can consume,” he said. “You don’t need to equal it, but get close.”
Water shouldn’t be chugged before running because that can cause sloshing, cramping and nausea while you run. It should be sipped in the hours before a run.
And for long-distance runners—say, more than two hours on the road, “we also recommend rehydrating with a sport drink or sport gel because you’re also losing sodium and minerals and want to replenish those,” Dr. Axtman said. “That’ll keep your body working optimally.”
10. Lifestyle changes
Training is wonderful, but significant barriers to serious improvement are diet and sleep habits.
“Altering your eating habits can take your weight down, which is going to put a lot less stress on joints,” says Dr. Axtman. Doctors recommend the Mediterranean diet, which is flexible and sustainable. The important thing is to eat whole foods instead of processed foods.
“If you buy it in a box, bag or can, it’s probably processed,” says Thomas Boyden, MD, a cardiologist with Spectrum Health Medical Group. “If you’re eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, beans and still a little bit of animal, the evidence is strong (your health will improve quickly).”
