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Aging Well and Vision Part 1

How is your vision lately? Is it hard to see at night? Need brighter lights? Is that fine print getting smaller? Is that color green or aqua? And the glare….oh my!

Ok, those are the obvious concerns we all deal with when looking for answers for our visual needs. But did you know healthy vision means more than wearing glasses and being able to read fine print?

Let me ask you this: have you ever asked yourself why you are feeling more depressed lately? Have you been alone more? Not interested in past hobbies? Making excuses to get out of enjoying friendships? Not as active? Scared and anxious all of a sudden? Do you wear the same outfit or the same colors because it takes little effort? Nothing has changed in your life, and nothing out of the ordinary to cause that situation. SO WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME? “I know I’m just getting older, right?” You are CORRECT! But not the way you think. Because of the decline of your vision, your cognitive ability and mental state will also start declining.

You know the old saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it?”

How true!

That’s what happens when vision or hearing is impaired. When you see clearly, your vision is interpreted and processed by the brain via the eye. When the vision becomes impaired, your brain becomes less utilized, resulting in less brain activity in that particular area. Therefore that part of the brain diminishes. Your brain then reorganizes itself or adapts to the change.

This brings up mental health issues. Vision loss is linked to loneliness, social isolation, and feelings of worry, anxiety, and fear. There is a close correlation between depression and loss of sight, even in younger individuals. Interestingly enough, it has been found that when Alzheimer Patients wore glasses to correct their vision, they became more cognitively competent.

Other common disadvantages of our Golden Years are:

  • Not being able to read road signs clearly
  • Difficulty of close reading like your car panel, road maps, and instruments
  • Difficulty in judging distance and speed
  • Problems seeing in low light during fog, rain, and at night
  • Trouble adapting to bright sunlight or the glare from headlights
  • Loss of side vision, poor depth perception, and Presbyopia (farsightedness caused by the loss of elasticity of the lens of the eye primarily in people over 40)

What causes aging vision to decline? Some vision decline is due to genetics and can be tested at an eye exam just by swabbing the inside of your cheek. Of course, this is done when a genetic issue is in question, such as macular degeneration. Your eye is complicated. It has layers, and as you age, those layers decline. For example, when our muscles in our eye have difficulty focusing from near to far, it is impaired but can be corrected with glasses or contacts.

There are other signs of physical decline in our eyes, such as side vision or peripheral vision. Fading color vision. Certain colors are harder to distinguish from one another, which is usually common with cataracts or macular degeneration. Light sensitivity is a common complaint and is often caused by dry eyes. Our tear production lubricates our eyes and becomes reduced, resulting in dry eyes. Floaters are specks or spots on your eyes due to the protein gel substance breaking down and becoming more fluid-like. Those are all age-related and due to physical decline of the eye. Diseases can cause vision loss, like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related retinal deterioration, and thyroid eyes.

Can any age-related decline or eye diseases be prevented? Tune in next week the learn the answer and practical pointers on what to do about it.

Be well,
Sandy Fidler, Wellness Coach

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Aging Well with Better Sleep, Part 1

How did you sleep last night?

Was it interrupted, short, or did you wake up and stare at the clock only to find yourself tossing and turning?

Did you know that we spend a third of our lives sleeping? Sleep is survival, just like eating properly and drinking water. We cannot live without any of the three. You know from your own experience that we detox and repair our body through food and water, and we also detox and repair through our sleep.

How? Our stress, emotions, schedules, and activities are all stored in our brains every day. Our daily storage is ONLY under maintenance when we sleep. Think of your sleep cycle like potholes in the road. When roads are being used daily, they can’t be repaired easily. The only way they can be repaired is when the road is not being used or has to be shut down. Unrepaired potholes cause damage to other things such as our tires, our cars, the structure of the road, and our access to different destinations. When we have insufficient or no sleep, our brain cells aren’t able to shut down and become like potholes. Cells become damaged and worn, which could cause heart disease, obesity, diabetes, memory loss, limited cognitive ability, and other unhealthy body issues.

To get the proper amount of sleep, we must achieve no less than 7 hours of sleep daily and no more than 8 to 9 hours. We can face many obstacles to restorative sleep in our golden years, such as – chronic pain, medications, depression, work schedules, illness, and digestion issues.

What makes the ability to sleep more difficult as we age? Sleep is a balancing act, just like your diet and water intake. As mentioned in my previous articles, the Hypothalamus wears down as we get older. That part of the brain also controls our circadian rhythm, which comes from what kind of light your eyes receive to determine if it will produce Melatonin or stop its production. This can cause a tug of war between feeling sleepy and alert. White or blue light is the best for alertness but the worst for sleeping. Try to dim your lights at least 2 hours before bed. Your TV is a source of blue light, so keep the sound low and the content non stimulating before bed. Also consider using a timer to shut off automatically so as not to interrupt your sleep. If you need a light on while sleeping, use a soft yellow/orange or red light, which will not affect your circadian cycle. If you must work at night, hopefully, you will have white lights on to keep you awake, and when you are ready for bed during the daylight hours, wear an eye mask and use black-out curtains.

Also, as we get older, we mostly do not fall into a deep sleep. Deep sleep (REM) only lasts 20 to 40 minutes. REM allows for the consolidation of new memories. Lack of this deep sleep could lead to poor memory recall. One way to improve this is by raising our body temperature before sleeping. Our brain likes it warm. Take a warm bath, soak in a hot tub, or use an infrared sauna before bed. Keep your bedroom temperature cool to warm but not hot, or maybe do like they did back in the day to keep your head (brain) warm by wearing a hat to bed.

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Aging Well with Hydration

Aging Well with Hydration

Did you know you can live weeks to months without food but you can only live days without water?
Hydration is not only important as we grow, but also becomes a tool for aging well into our golden years.

So why are we targeting the importance of hydration as we age? Our thirst center is in our Hypothalamus – the part of the brain that also regulates our body temperature, sleep, and appetite. As we get older, that part of the brain doesn’t work as well, which means it doesn’t always give us a thirst signal indicating that we need to drink water.

When we were younger we relied on our thirst to make us drink because our Hypothalamus was fully working. We depend on those thirsty urges as a signal when we need to rehydrate. When we age, and our hypothalamus isn’t working up to par, we no longer get that signal which results in no desire to drink even if we did not drink all day. Thanks to our aging hypothalamus we go by those false feelings, and as a result don’t consume enough water. In other words, we are waiting for that signal to drink that just doesn’t happen any more and we don’t even know that it is hurting us and causing harm to our wellness.

Dehydration can be debilitating or even fatal because when we are older we don’t crave water. Our body doesn’t realize the amount of water lost especially when we are sweating, which can cause electrolyte deficiencies, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and adverse heart problems. Bloating and fluid retention are signs that your body is holding on to water because of dehydration. Other serious signs of dehydration are kidney stones, sore muscles and joints, dizziness, and impaired memory.

So how do we notice we may be dehydrated? Look for these signs:

  • headaches
  • cramping in your feet, hands, and legs
  • dark colored or infrequent urination
  • fatigue
  • dry eyes, mouth, skin and lips
  • low blood pressure
  • elevated heart rate
  • a general feeling of discomfort, uneasiness, or illness with no explanation accompanying it
  • Worried about wrinkles? Fill them in by drinking water.

Additional benefits of adequate hydration include: staying full between meals, which can help prevent weight gain; assistance with elimination and other digestive issues because it helps us to detox naturally; improved absorption of medications and supplements.
In fact, by not giving your body enough water your medications or supplements may not be absorbed, and therefore may cause a build up, which could present false results and cause required doses to be ineffective.

What can we do to prevent dehydration? Try to drink at least one half of your body weight in ounces of pure water daily. If you weigh 140 lbs then you would need to drink 70 ounces of water a day. There are water bottles on the market that show you the amount of water to drink by certain times of the day to help you reach your hydration goal each day. Keep in mind, If you like soda, coffee, tea, alcohol, or energy drinks, these all act as diuretics causing you to lose more fluid – so you need to drink an additional glass of water to make up for each serving that you consume.

Another way to stay hydrated is eating foods with a high water content. For example, cucumbers, iceberg lettuce, zucchini and celery contain 95% water. Cauliflower contains 92%, and watermelon and strawberries contain 91%. Drinking water without added artificial ingredients and sweeteners will create a more efficient detoxing and delivery system. If you are among those who “just don’t like to drink plain water”, try infusing your water with sliced fresh fruit (like lemons, limes or oranges) and/or herbs (like mint or rosemary) to add natural flavor.

Keeping your Hypothalamus in healthy, working condition is one of the main ways to keep a hydrated body at any age. Wellness tips for the hypothalamus include: taking Omega 3 supplements, exercising regularly, getting proper sleep, eating a balanced diet, and staying away from sugary foods and drinks.

Remember that exercise, and any other sweat inducing activities, increase your daily need for water. So when you are gardening, walking or engaging in any type of physical activity, remember to drink water immediately after, even if you are not thirsty. Water is the WELL in aging well.

Sandy Fidler, Wellness Coach

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Pregnant? STAY CALM!

Pregnant? STAY CALM!

Staying stress-free is hard for everyone these days. So why are we pinpointing pregnancy?  The focus of our Fresh News today is on the unborn child’s mental and emotional health. More children are being diagnosed with depression, ADHD, anxiety, and many other mood disorders. One out of six children from ages 6-17 are being diagnosed with these ailments. Remedies for emotional and psychological disorders usually lead to medication, diet changes, and therapy. 

Still, they don’t end the ripple effect that it has on the educational and psychological development of the child throughout their formative years. They are a great fix but not a solution for healing. Is there a way we can try to stop and prevent those disorders, and in the long run, produce a more mentally-healthy society? The answer is yes!

A 2020 study conducted by The University of Edinburgh showed an infant’s brain might be shaped by the stress the mother experiences during pregnancy. The stress hormone level —  cortisol — is linked to the development of the baby’s amygdala. That is the area of the brain known to be involved with emotional and social development during childhood. They took hair samples of 78 pregnant women, which measured the amount of cortisol during the previous three months. The women’s babies were scanned by an MRI while they slept and found that higher levels of cortisol in the mother’s hair were linked to structural changes in the infant’s amygdala. It also showed differences in brain connections. (The study, unfortunately, did not show how emotions were affected because those are determined by future inquiries made to the children.)   

We are all stressed for one reason or another, but you have to wonder why more children are having emotional and cognitive issues. So, could it be from the start of the development in the womb?  Maybe, according to the study in Edinburgh. So how can we help the mother’s-to-be and their future children? 

Here are 8 simple habits you (or someone you love) can practice at home to reduce stress, stay calm, and relax:

 

  1. Focus on breathing, taking deep, relaxing breaths. 
  2. Daily stretching. Why? When you are experiencing stress, your muscles tighten. Stretching is a great way to counteract tightness. 
  3. Get plenty of rest. If you cannot sleep at night, try to take a 20-minute  nap during the day. 
  4. Massage! Use massage oil and focus on breathing while you gently massage tight areas with the palm of your hands. 
  5. Try a tense and relax exercise by tensing muscles in your feet for three seconds, then relax while focusing on your breathing. 
  6. Use positive self-talk. You can de-stress yourself by saying a simple mantra that makes your mind focus on the positive. 
  7. Sip peppermint tea. It contains menthol, which is a muscle relaxant and sedative. 
  8. Talk about what is bothering you to someone you trust. If you do not have that access to someone, just try to focus on the moment. Get out of the past and do not focus on the future because that is not here. Focusing on the present moment will reduce anxiety and will also help you savor and appreciate what you would have missed if you were worrying about the future or fretting about the past. 

Please be aware and introspect on your emotions and feelings, because when you do, you are starting to take care of your child at their most important stage of development in the womb. So take a deep breath, relax, feel beautiful, and have sweet dreams because you will be bringing your biggest dream to life soon! Remember, we are here for you as always.

             

Blessings to you and yours, 

Sandy Fidler, Wellness Coach

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Gastroparesis Awareness Month Week 5

Welcome to Part 5 of our series on Gastroparesis. If you missed Part 4 you can read it here. (Parts 1-4 are all available on our website under Recent Articles.)

Why is the treatment of “believe & support” so hard to administer when it is the most important one to give and receive by everyone and for everyone, and it doesn’t cost a penny? According to a Social Psychologist Peter Ditto, PHD, “motivation, emotion, and intuition influence judgement.” He stated “People are capable of being thoughtful and rational, but our wishes, hopes, fears and motivation often tip the scale to make us more likely to accept something as true. If it supports what we want to believe.” A social study by Ditto and David Lopey also concluded that “It takes more information to make you believe something you don’t want to believe than something you do.” This brings me to my reason for getting this information about Gastroparesis out to the public, because there is no information given to the public to understand and look into Gastroparesis as a possibility.

Referring back to the symptoms, Gastroparesis is physically inconspicuous. The symptoms are so similar to other GI issues, it is often misdiagnosed, therefore the lack of familiarity of knowing this disease keeps people from believing Gastroparesis patients and what they are going through, resulting in non-support, proving Ditto’s theory.

When a Gastroparesis sufferer deals with the hidden physical suffering from those misinterpreted symptoms, it leads to negative emotional and psychological issues from lack of support. This brings me to one of the earliest studies done in 1905 by Dr. Joseph Pratt on how physical and psychological health benefit from social support. This study showed evidence of how powerful positive psychological support has on our health and healing. Also supporting that study, research from “Verywell Mind” indicated a link between relationships and health and wellness. Poor social support is linked to depression and loneliness, which is a common complaint of Gastroparesis patients. It has also been shown to alter brain function and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, alcoholism, depression and the major concern of suicide.

There are different types of social support such as monetary, informational and emotional, all of which are crucial, especially for Gastroparesis individuals, because their quality of life decreases as they continue living. Most importantly, social support is beneficial when coming from family, friends, or people you can turn to in a time of crisis or need, to give the individual a broader focus and positive self image. As a result, social support from trusted individuals or groups showed improved immunity and reduced physiological issues and psychological consequences of stress. Spending time with family and friends should make you feel accepted and energized, not rejected or ostracized.

Not only do Gastroparesis sufferers experience lack of support because of their unhealthy appearance, they also deal with the humiliation of dealing with simple social skills such as eating in public at gatherings or just with family. In 2013, when Pub Med interviewed 9 Gastroparesis patients in “A loss of social eating”, four themes occurred. What the individuals found most problematic were:

  1. Their experience and opinions of the medical profession
  2. Understanding mental illness and mental health
  3. Behaviour at mealtime was associated with feelings of loss, isolation, and rejection, which is a big influence on their quality of life
  4. How they managed social lettings and their identity and security

Therefore, Gastroparesis not only impacted their physical state but all aspects of their lives.

Not only are there social theories about the need for belief and support from family and friends in the chronically diseased individual, but it is also important to point out how their need for support from the medical profession is especially crucial. Because of their impaired digestive system that has no cure, depression and anxiety are understandably a problem.

When you aren’t absorbing your nutrients from your food, you are initiating vitamin and mineral deficiencies, which lead to malnutrition. Anxiety and depression become a physical complication rather than just an emotional one. The need for support from the medical profession as believing their patient’s symptoms are physical rather than emotional become important and crucial for the health of the patient. Again, this is why information is so important so we can become our own advocate!

They are finding that our gut microbiome has a lot of influence on our emotions and psychological diseases such as ADHA, Alzheimer’s and others in which deficiency in certain strains are a cause. Impairment of the gut microbiome caused by Gastroparesis causes the lack of those proper strains that positively affect anxiety and depression. These are called “Psychobiotics.” These strains are supposed to communicate in your gut and then transport information through the Vagus nerve.

As covered in Part 1 of our series, the gut and Vagus nerve are the problematic areas of Gastroparesis, with damage of the Vagus nerve being the culprit. You can find more information about Psychobiotics from an August 2019 article called “The 9 Most Promising Psychobiotics for Anxiety” by Optimal Living Dynamics, a group of doctors called “The Goodness Lovers.” There is starting to be a lot of information on the gut microbiome and how it affects us psychologically and emotionally.

I have pointed out different studies and theories to show there is scientific backing on the importance of “the no cost treatment” and it’s healing consequences. Remember that just because someone looks the opposite of what they are confiding with you does not mean they are making it up. It means they are reaching out to you for support, belief and understanding, so they don’t feel alone and insecure.

Remember they are also having a hard time adjusting and believing in themselves as well. Look at the nature of the sloth and how cute and healthy a sloth appears. So what makes a sloth sleep so much and why do they move so slow? Well, their digestive system represents the function of Gastroparesis. That is why sloths are Gastroparesis mascots. It takes their digestive systems two weeks to digest a meal, which is why they sleep a lot and move slowly.

So the next time you label someone as being lazy, or unmotivated, and having no zeal for life, don’t criticize and judge them because you are only going by what your experiences in life lead you to believe and perceive. Talk with and listen to that person and be there for them. Who knows, your support and belief in them may change their thoughts and their motivation to continue their life or end it.

I hope your DIGESTION of this information I have given you has not been impaired by subjective thoughts. I hope you can incorporate this information as a way to help MEDICATE our social society on how to BELIEVE and SUPPORT. We all want to send a get well card to the sick once we acknowledge their suffering, but what they really need most importantly to be sent is support!

Thank you to all who followed and were open to new information. If you want to help any who need this no cost treatment, you can join Gastroparesis support groups, or any other support groups that you feel close to. Joining alone will be a medication dose to all who suffer and need encouragement and understanding.

Be well, and take care of each other!

Sandy, Wellness Coach

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Mushrooms are Nature’s Superfood for your immune health and so much more

Mushrooms are Nature’s Superfood for your immune health and so much more

Wow! What a great time to talk about mushrooms! Now that we are all back in our routine of school, teaching, and “NO VACATIONS” and are attending public events, it is time to think about helping our immune systems while maintaining our nerves, stress, and brain health. We are all worried about the Covid variants and if it could severely affect us or someone close to us. We do not know what can happen, but what we can do is prepare our body’s immune system to fight off any kind of attack, and at the same time, help our cognition and memory.

One easy way to take care of our immune and mental health is by supplementing mushrooms in our diet. So what are mushrooms? Are they just fungi? What makes them so nutritionally condensed? Did you know that a certain variety of mushrooms fights both viral and bacterial infections? (Antibiotics can only fight bacterial infections.) Also, did you know the mycelium of the mushrooms breathe in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide just like we do? Mushrooms begin developing from the mycelium; they are the fruit that results from the mycelium, much like an apple on an apple tree.

Mushrooms are the fruiting body of Mycelium, a complex network made of fine white filaments. The mycelium network is nature’s recycling system of the natural deposits of decaying plants, animals, food, and even plastic and petroleum. Yes, I did say plastic and petroleum – according to Paul Stamets, an American Mycologist, who shared information about a study on the best way to clean up oil spills. In the study, there were four piles of oil spills: one was a control pile; one was treated with bacteria; another was treated with enzymes, and the fourth pile was treated with mushroom mycelium. All sources were covered with tarps. After removing the tarps weeks later, researchers found that the three not treated with mycelium ended with a black stinky residue on the ground – and the one treated with mycelium resulted in a future residence for mushrooms which attracted insects, larvae, then birds who transported seeds, leading to the beginning of a new ecosystem.

Mushrooms are nature’s superfood, packed with B vitamins, prebiotic fiber, L- Ergothioneine (which is a powerful antioxidant), and beta glucans – more powerful than those in yeast or oats and considered to be the most effective immune enhancer known to science.

There are tons of varieties of mushrooms with varying medicinal properties and scientifically proven to enhance our nervous system, memory, immune health, and longevity. For example, studies show that Lion’s Mane improves the condition of Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Other commonly known varieties include Reishi, Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, Shiitake, Maitake, Turkey Tail, and Chaga – each one offering life enhancements such as immune wellness, energy /vitality, improved endurance (especially in seniors with COPD), longevity, calm and relaxation. Additional benefits include balancing an overactive immune system, such as in the case of autoimmune disorders (avoid Reishi if you are taking immune modulator prescriptions.)

More specifically – Lion’s Mane enhances the functions of our nervous system and brain. It helps us to cope with anxiety, depression, and focus. It helps with memory and cognition. It also increases the release of the nerve growth factor, a protein that can increase the length of nerve cell processes. Turkey Tail has been the most researched mushroom and was used in cancer research for both humans and animals, showing positive results. Maitake is considered a culinary mushroom. It supports blood sugar and balances insulin levels. Chaga is the king of mushrooms, as it is rich in antioxidants and promotes healthy aging. Shiitake mushrooms can help to fight cancer, specifically breast cancer. It reduces cholesterol levels in the blood, reduces inflammation, and high doses of Shiitake can lower total fat deposition.

While we have always carried mushroom supplements at Freshlife, we are excited to share that we have expanded our selection with a new line of products from OM. OM makes it easy to enjoy the benefits of mushrooms, even when we do not choose to eat them, allowing us to increase our nutritional resources. We can add their powders to smoothies, coffee, tea, or water. There are also two coffee options, Matcha Tea, and even a hot chocolate choice! In addition to powders, OM products are also available in pill form. With single mushrooms and combination formulas, OM offers remedies for sleep, beauty, stress, energy, immunity, fitness, restoration, breathing, brain fuel, and Zen. Some blends contain additional adaptogens to help with overall balance. OM also has vegan and non-vegan broths containing 7 to 10 grams of protein, which can be used alone or added to recipes. As always, we are here to guide you toward your personal health and wellness. So please come in, ask a Wellness Coach for assistance, and enjoy trying our selection at hand. We know you won’t be disappointed!

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