When it seems that everyone around you is feeling under the weather, you can be your own best line of defense against getting sick. Help ward off sickness for yourself and your family with these self-care tips that help promote healthy habits and fight off illness.
Eat right. A diet that is rich in fruit and vegetables can give your body the immunity-boosting nutrients it needs to function properly. Avoid excess, empty calories and instead aim for meals that deliver a healthy balance of all food groups.
Wash, wash, wash. Kids and bacteria go hand-in-hand, literally. Kids’ hands are everywhere, including some surfaces that may be more susceptible to bacteria. Hand-washing is a simple way to encourage healthy habits all year round, and Softsoap Liquid Hand Soaps make it easy to gently wash away bacteria. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hand washing is an important step to help avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. You can find more hand-washing tips and information by visiting CDC.gov/handwashing.
Get up and move. Exercise is one of your strongest weapons against illness. A regular routine that gets your blood pumping is good for overall health and your immune system. It can help flush toxins and keep your body in top condition.
Just say no. When it comes to protecting yourself and your family, give yourself permission to draw hard lines about spending time with those who aren’t feeling well. Reschedule play dates or other events that might unnecessarily expose your family to germs.
Rest up. When your sleep schedule is off, so is your whole system, and that makes you more susceptible to illness. Everyone’s precise sleep requirements are different; you’ll know you’re getting enough if you feel rested when you wake up. If you’re not, and more overnight rest isn’t realistic, look for ways to sneak in some extra rest time during the day.
Enjoy the outdoors. Even when it’s cooler than you’d like, brief time outdoors can do plenty to lift your spirits and, in turn, your overall well-being. The fresh air and vitamin D from a bright, sunny day are free and easy ways to give your body a boost and help ward off illness.
Kickstart your healthy habits by visiting softsoap.com. — Family Features
ProActive Sports Rehab, with offices in Hamburg and West Seneca, offers one-on-one physical therapy and rehabilitation services. For more information, please call 674-9600 (West Seneca office) or 648-8700 (Hamburg office). You can also follow ProActive Sports Rehab on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProActiveSportsRehab for frequent updates.
For a growing number of American women, knowing their numbers may just save their life.
The Risk The problem is heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, it kills one woman about every 80 seconds.
The Awareness Paradox While a new national poll, conducted by Morning Consult for CVS Health, found that women are aware of the risks of heart disease, most don’t know their numbers for factors that could increase their own risk, such as cholesterol, blood sugar, Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference.
The survey also found that more than one in three women have heart-related conditions such as high cholesterol, hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, and history of stroke or a heart defect.
Despite the fact that over a third report having a heart condition themselves, and more than two in five have a family history of heart conditions, just 18 percent of women overall say heart health is the most pressing health issue in the U.S. today.
Doctors’ Advice “This data reinforces what we’ve known for some time — there is still a great need for more awareness and, particularly, action when it comes to prevention of heart disease in women,” said Suzanne Steinbaum, D.O., a preventive cardiologist from New York and a national Go Red For Women volunteer. “Some risk factors, like age, gender and family history, are, unfortunately, out of women’s control, but others — blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and BMI — can be treated or managed. Now is the time for women to take control of their health, and knowing their numbers is a great place to start.”
“These survey results offer significant insights into how women across the country perceive heart disease prevalence and the importance of proactive care,” added Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health, which commissioned the study. “Together with the American Heart Association, we encourage more women to talk with their health care provider or pharmacist about their risks for heart disease and how to take actions now that will minimize future risk.”
CVS Health is a national sponsor of Go Red For Women, the American Heart Association’s movement that advocates for more research and swifter action for women’s heart health. As part of its support, CVS Health funds cardiovascular research and provides heart-healthy screenings at MinuteClinic, the retail medical clinic of CVS Health.
Connecting Women to Heart Health Resources and Care Providers across the health care continuum can help individuals access the information, preventive screenings, and condition management support they need to improve heart health outcomes. Most women agree that pharmacists and nurse practitioners are both valuable yet underutilized resources for managing heart health.
For example, only half of the 26 percent of women who report concerns about their heart health medication consult their pharmacists, though nearly all of those who do report their pharmacists are helpful.
What You Can Do By living a healthy lifestyle, you can lower your risk for heart disease. Such a lifestyle, advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, includes:
• Eating a healthy diet low in saturated fats, trans fat, and cholesterol and high in fiber.
• Maintaining a healthy weight — your BMI should be between 18.5 and 25.
• Getting enough physical activity — 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate exercise a week.
• Not smoking or using other forms of tobacco.
• Limiting alcohol use — no more than two drinks a day for men, one for women, on average.
Learn More You can find further information about heart health at www.cvshealth.com/gored. Knowing your numbers may help you save yourself from the No. 1 killer in America. — NAPS
ProActive Sports Rehab, with offices in Hamburg and West Seneca, offers one-on-one physical therapy and rehabilitation services. For more information, please call 674-9600 (West Seneca office) or 648-8700 (Hamburg office). You can also follow ProActive Sports Rehab on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProActiveSportsRehab for frequent updates.
Having a “glass half full” approach to life has long been considered important for overall wellness. But evidence suggests that there may be truth in this folk wisdom.
Humana recently surveyed 2,000 people aged 60 and over, and found that 87 percent of seniors who identify themselves as “most optimistic” reported their health as good to excellent. This is compared to 44 percent for those who said they’re “least optimistic.”
Also, the most optimistic people reported nine fewer physically unhealthy and seven fewer mentally unhealthy days per month than their least optimistic counterparts.
Seniors who rated themselves as most optimistic also reported positively on other attributes linked to health, including sleep, confidence and overall happiness.
• 91 percent of the most optimistic respondents reported feeling confident in the past week, while only 52 percent of the least optimistic respondents did, a difference of 39 percentage points.
• 90 percent of the most optimistic respondents reported feeling happy in the past week, compared to 44 percent of the least optimistic respondents, a difference of 46 percentage points.
• And, only 31 percent of the most optimistic respondents reported getting a restless night’s sleep in the past week, while 62 percent of the least optimistic respondents did, another difference of 31 percentage points.
Despite these impressive numbers, having an optimistic mindset is often easier said than done. The stresses of life, social stereotypes and one’s natural temperament can all impede approaching aging with optimism. Dr. Yolangel Hernandez Suarez, Humana vice president and chief medical officer for care delivery, has the following advice for anyone struggling to stay on the sunny side of life:
1. Take ownership and recognize that your health is your own. To achieve your best health, you need to set personal goals just for you.
2. Engage with your doctor, physical therapist or other health care professional and build a trusting relationship.
3. Find a higher purpose that makes you excited to get up in the morning. Humana’s survey found that the majority of respondents (86 percent) who identify as optimists also rank a sense of purpose as an important attribute for aging.
4. Remain socially engaged, not isolated, and nurture close relationships. The importance of social engagement is recognized by the 71 percent of Humana survey respondents who identify as optimists and get together with friends or relatives either monthly or weekly. Further, 80 percent of optimists say maintaining an active social life is an important motivator to stay healthy.
5. Stay active and remember that physical activity is important. Find something that’s right for you and that you like to do. Almost all of the most optimistic survey respondents (97 percent) say remaining physically active is a major motivator for retaining good health.
6. Practice gratitude and make it a habit to look for and appreciate everything you’re thankful for in life.
“As a boomer myself, I know that the majority of the decisions about my own health take place outside of a doctor’s office,” said Dr. Hernandez Suarez. “With the knowledge that optimism may be linked to health and well-being, I’m focused on making positive health decisions through all aspects of my life. Our goal at Humana is to empower everyone to approach health in the same way.”
— NewsUSA
ProActive Sports Rehab, with offices in Hamburg and West Seneca, offers one-on-one physical therapy and rehabilitation services. For more information, please call 674-9600 (West Seneca office) or 648-8700 (Hamburg office). You can also follow ProActive Sports Rehab on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProActiveSportsRehab for frequent updates.
According to a study of patients with Parkinson disease (PD), high-intensity aerobic exercise performed on a treadmill in the early stages, and within five years of diagnosis, can slow the severity of symptoms of the disease. While researchers say more research is needed, the treatment proved to be safe and effective after six months.
These findings were published in JAMA Neurology in December 2017. Authors divided 128 patients with PD into three groups: A high-intensity group who did 30 minutes of treadmill work with an 80 to 85 percent maximum target heart rate four times a week, a moderate-intensity group who did 30 minutes on the treadmill with a 60 to 65 percent maximum heart rate four times a week, and a usual-care group who maintained their current rates of physical activity.
After six months, participants completed the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and scores were compared with baseline scores. Those in the high-intensity only group experienced a 0.3 increase in disease progression, compared with a 3.2 increase among those in the usual-care group, and a 2.0 increase among those in the moderate-intensity group.
Parkinson disease is a progressive neurologic disorder. The severity and symptoms can widely vary, but people with PD experience a slow decline in mobility and thinking as the disease progresses through stages. It is the second most common degenerative brain disorder affecting adults (Alzheimer disease is the most common). Physical therapists conduct comprehensive evaluations and develop an individualized and active treatment plan to help patients with PD stay as active and independent as possible.
— American Physical Therapy Association
ProActive Sports Rehab, with offices in Hamburg and West Seneca, offers one-on-one physical therapy and rehabilitation services. For more information, please call 674-9600 (West Seneca office) or 648-8700 (Hamburg office). You can also follow ProActive Sports Rehab on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProActiveSportsRehab for frequent updates.
The Alliance for Physical Therapy Quality and Innovation (APTQI) recently released study findings showing that lower back pain patients who adhere to a standard physical therapy regimen with multiple visits cost less in overall Medicare expenditures than do patients with fewer outpatient therapy sessions.
"These latest findings suggest that the intensity of physical therapy in terms of the number of visits, is inversely related to total Medicare spending," said Erik Williams, executive director of APTQI. "This study is one more indicator that sticking with a physical therapy program can help patients ease the pain in their lower backs as well as their wallets. Those in charge of insurance design should be looking at ways to remove barriers to physical therapy and improve attendance, not the other way around."
The independent analysis, conducted by health care research firm The Moran Company (TMC), assessed 38,260 Medicare patients. All of the patients had a lower back pain diagnosis and an outpatient physical therapy visit in the year following that diagnosis. Approximately 22 percent of those patients had a single therapy visit. The remaining patients averaged 9.1 therapy visits over the course of eight weeks. Patients with multiple visits incurred 14 to 32 percent lower average total Medicare spending in the year following their diagnosis than patients with one therapy visit in the same timeframe.
The study also found that 94 percent of the patients who had more than one therapy visit spent an average of $625 for outpatient therapy services. That fee is lower than the typical cost of an MRI or other diagnostics that don’t resolve the condition.
— PRNewswire
ProActive Sports Rehab, with offices in Hamburg and West Seneca, offers one-on-one physical therapy and rehabilitation services. For more information, please call 674-9600 (West Seneca office) or 648-8700 (Hamburg office). You can also follow ProActive Sports Rehab on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProActiveSportsRehab for frequent updates.
When discussing health, people typically think of physical health — their weight, strength, mobility and potential health issues they are facing. However, when looking at overall well-being, it’s important to think beyond the physical and focus on mental health as well.
This is especially true for older Americans, as many are tackling physical and mental health issues alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 11 million people ages 65 and older are living alone and are at risk for loneliness or social isolation. These issues can impact a person’s mental and physical health significantly, leading to high blood pressure and disease, as well as depression. In fact, according to a Harvard Health study, “loneliness has an equivalent risk factor to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, shortening one’s life span by eight years.”
Social isolation can also make it harder for people to take control of their health as they do not have a network to support and motivate them to remain socially or physically active. Activities that not only make people healthier but also allow them to connect with others can help those at risk for social isolation and improve health and well-being.
SilverSneakers, the nation’s leading community fitness program designed specifically for older adults, has seen the power of socialization combined with fitness firsthand. For more than 25 years, SilverSneakers has been helping older adults enjoy and get the most out of life by engaging participants in physical activity, as well as fostering new friendships with a welcoming member community. Through exercise and social interactions, SilverSneakers helps people maximize their health and well-being, and maintain an active lifestyle — recognizing that community is just as important as the fitness aspect. In fact, a recent survey of SilverSneakers members revealed that 65 percent of members have made new and valuable friendships through the program.
Community exercise programs like SilverSneakers help engage older adults in social activities and give them a built-in network of support, while also offering the benefit of improving their physical health. To find out if you are eligible for ÂSilverSneakers or to find a class in our area, visit www.SilverSneakers.com.
— NAPS
ProActive Sports Rehab, with offices in Hamburg and West Seneca, offers one-on-one physical therapy and rehabilitation services. For more information, please call 674-9600 (West Seneca office) or 648-8700 (Hamburg office). You can also follow ProActive Sports Rehab on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProActiveSportsRehab for frequent updates.
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