Arizona Assisted Living Homes — The Alternative to High Priced Senior Care
June 18, 2008
The cost of skilled nursing care is slowly rising. Currently, the average cost of care in Arizona ranges from $3,500 to $4,500 per month. Skilled nursing facilities are great for seniors who require skilled nursing care by medical professionals such as registered nurses or physicians. However, is skilled nursing care appropriate for those who only require assistance with their activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing and going to the bathroom? Is it realistic for someone to pay $3,000 to $6,000 a month for skilled nursing care when their only requirement is assistance with their ADLs? Believe it or not, there are many seniors who do not require skilled nursing care and remain in nursing homes due to their lack of knowledge of the options available to them. There are affordable alternatives to nursing home care. When a senior requires long term care without 24 hour medical supervision, the preferred alternative is Assisted Living Homes.
Exercise Walking For Seniors: Preventing Foot Problems
March 22, 2008
Exercise has a very important role in the general health and the quality of life of everyone, but especially in seniors. Seniors who walk tend to look younger, sleep more soundly and have fewer visits to the doctor. Walking for 30 to 60 minutes four to six days a week will help improve osteoarthritis and decrease the risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Walking is the top recreational sport for seniors.
Although many seniors may be scared to start an exercise program because they are worried about injury, the health benefits of exercise outweigh the risk of injury. Walking is considered one of the best forms of exercise because it’s safe, cheap and easy. Unfortunately, foot problems can prevent seniors from starting or continuing with a walking program. Follow these tips to help avoid foot problems when walking:
1. Choose the right shoe. Make sure the shoe is supportive and bends only at the toes. The shoe should also be stable from side to side. If you can twist the shoe or fold it in half, it is too flexible. The shoe should have enough wiggle room for the toes, yet be snug enough to keep the heel from slipping.
Review of the Changing Protein Requirements for Seniors
December 30, 2007
Youth, it is said, is wasted on the young. Too busy figuring life they hardly take the time to enjoy it. Fortunately, with medical research and scientific progress, lifespans have doubled over the last century. We can now start life at fifty and have another go at youth. Health consciousness, appropriate diet and exercise, can make the later years of life a pleasant experience. Dietary principles play as especially important role in this regard. Compensating for the physiological changes of aging, they can give us better odds at achieving our genetically determined lifespans.
The advancing years experience a complex interplay of changes affecting the mind, body, and the environment. Alterations in organs systems and cellular function can often predispose to malnutrition and a host of chronic illnesses (Servan 1999). Some of these problems can be attributed to the decrease in the total protein content and are in themselves preventable with appropriate attention to the protein content of the diet.
A decrease in protein turnover, such as that seen in aging, has far reaching effects (Chernoff 2004). Vital organ systems like the heart and lungs slow down, becoming incapable of further exertion. Neural processes like thought, planning and cognition are also affected. The immune system becomes weak, exhibiting a delay and difficultly in dealing with infections (Thompson 1987). Wound healing and repair, which requires a constant supply of amino acids, is also compromised.
How To Find Affordable Senior Housing
October 5, 2007
A few years ago Miranda M. became a widow. After a short time her grandson (her only available relative) persuaded her to move across several states to be closer to him.
He located a nice retirement apartment where meals, housekeeping, and transportation are provided. By using her small Social Security income, and funds left by her loving husband, Miranda was just able to afford her rent and basic living expenses.
She didn’t much like taking all her meals in the community dining room, so she continued to fix some of them in her own kitchen.
She reluctantly accepted the help of housekeeping for the heavy cleaning. But, as she said, “I need to keep busy. If I can’t make my own bed and dust around I feel like a useless slug. I intend to keep doing for myself just as long as I can get up out of this chair.”
But for one unforeseen disaster, Miranda and I never would have met, and she would have happily lived on in her sunny apartment.
You see, disaster struck because Miranda lived too long.
Why Everyone Over 50 Should be Training for the Senior Games
July 11, 2007
by Phil Campbell, M.S., M.A., FACHE Senior Games participant and author of Ready, Set, GO! Synergy Fitness - 2nd Edition
New biomedical research proves why everyone over age 50 should be training for the Senior Games.
Research discoveries in 2002 show that we can unleash the most powerful body fat-cutting, muscle-toning, anti-aging substance known to science, naturally, with specific types of exercise, and the workouts necessary in training for many of the Senior Games events do the job.
The American Heart Association recently cited research showing that high-intensity exercise can significantly lower the risk of heart disease. Simply, as exercise intensity goes up, the risk of heart disease goes down.
The researchers compared the impact of different levels of exercise intensity on men with an average age of 66. The subjects in the high-intensity exercise group produced a 31 percent risk reduction for heart disease, which was 14 percent better than those who performed less intense exercise.
“The harder one exercises … the lower the risk of heart disease,” says lead researcher Dr. I-Min Lee, associate professor Harvard Medical School.
Anti-aging exercise
Anaerobic exercise (as contrasted with aerobic exercise) involves short, high-intensity sprint training, rather than endurance training.
