An Apple A Day… Seniors And Nutrition

Every time you turn on the television or open a general interest magazine these days, you are bound to be confronted with a story about the startling and ever-growing worldwide problem of obesity. More and more people are unhealthily overweight, to the point where eating can actually endanger our lives. There have always been some individuals that have eaten unhealthily, mainly because naughty foods taste so good, but the population as a whole now has to consider how our diets are affecting us. We can become sluggish and lethargic if we are getting the wrong amounts of nutrients and so conscious thought about what we put into our bodies is essential, and that especially applies to seniors.

As we get older, our metabolism slows down and we can no longer burn calories at the same rate as we used to. It therefore makes it easier for us to put on weight but harder for us to shed it. However, putting on weight has a more negative affect on seniors than it does any other age group. Being overweight can put unnecessary stress on the joints and thus accelerate the affects of arthritis, osteoporosis and other bone and muscle disorders and illnesses. It can also bring about the onset of diabetes, which is more common in seniors than in any other age group as it is. Whilst any senior should enjoy a little of what he or she loves to eat every now and again, no matter how unhealthy it may be, a regular balanced nutritious diet is just what the doctor orders!

A typical senior diet should consist of:

• 5 to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables a day, although more of the latter than the former
• 6 to 10 servings of complex carbohydrates a day, which incorporates rice, pasta, bread and cereals
• 2 or 3 helpings of calcium-based products, which includes milk, cheese and yoghurt (although the low fat variety would work out best)
• 2 to 3 servings of meat, poultry or fish a day o provide the body with protein
• A large amount of fiber throughout the day, which can also be found in the cereals, fruit and vegetables mentioned above

All of the foodstuffs in the list above are finely balanced as far as amount are concerned. This diet would fulfil every nutritional need that a senior has and would encourage good health. However, dieticians do advise that seniors stay away from saturated fats and sodium. The latter, also known as salt, is a factor of increased blood pressure. Therefore, salt should only b used sparingly. Most natural foods do contain salt, but in healthy doses, and so excess salt should be avoided. Avoid baking with it if at all possible, and try to resist that liberal sprinkle on your main meal! Saturated fat is actually resistant to the body’s nutritional process. That is to say it is not broken down and used for good within your body. It just sits there and clogs up your arteries. As a result, it is a factor in heart disease, forms of cancer and gallbladder disease, as well as the widespread obesity in society today.

A well balanced diet can boost your health, but a poor diet that does not fulfil all bodily nutritional requirements can actually cause it to deteriorate. In seniors, this is especially dangerous. After all, if you struggle to move the how are you supposed to work off the excess weight? If you are in shape you can avoid immobility. It is therefore a vicious circle that may relate directly to your diet.

All seniors should enjoy life to the fullest extent, but eating healthily on a regular basis can actively extend the amount of time you have left to enjoy it! Make the most of every opportunity because you only get one chance at life. Revolutionize your diet and reap the rewards!

An Introduction To The World Of Dating For Seniors

There are two common misconceptions about dating that society has held for so many years that they have virtually merged into unwritten rules. The first is that dating is for the younger generations only, and the second is that seniors are not only too old for it but they are past it. Seniors have an unjustified reputation for being set in their ways and thus it is frowned upon for them to accept somebody new into their lives, let alone into their beds! However, the Internet and more liberal attitudes are starting to change the perspective of society as a whole. There is a long way to go until the world of senior dating is fully accepted but everyone should have the choice. The question is, to date or not to date?

Seniors are renowned for having friendships with the opposite sex rather than actual relationships and, even though the former often merges into the latter, are always termed that way. Individuals into their fifties often date, but beyond that it is frowned upon for a variety of reasons. If a senior has been widowed, it may be a result of their existing family.

Sons and daughters, even though they are grown up and have lives and children of their own, often make dating difficult for individual seniors. The attitude that they take is that nobody can replace their mother or father and that no individual should actually step into their parent’s shoes. That applies to any potential suitor, regardless of how happy they may make the parent left behind. Children of any age are notoriously unforgiving if their parents should move on after a split or death, but the fact remains that it is your life to do as you please. Another issue may be greed, although most seniors refuse point blank to think of it in those terms. Children and grandchildren would view seniors’ dates as someone trying to get their hands on their rightful inheritance. Unfortunately, there have been many stories of conmen that have added credibility to this perspective, but that is not so in the majority of cases and everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt. However, it is up to individual seniors to make their minds up as to whether they can effectively ignore these arguments and date.

If seniors do decide that the time is right for them to move on and have someone, they have plenty of options as far as dating is concerned in this day and age. Simply joining senior groups will introduce you to likeminded people that you could form a relationship with. The key to an enduring and healthy relationship is a solid foundation built upon common interests. If you can talk to someone for hours, even if it is on the one subject, then you can translate that into a relationship. Dating as a senior is all about finding a companion to enjoy the rest of your days with after all.

Having said that, some seniors don’t actually settle for the one companion. They choose to date several men or women, depending on gender and sexual orientation, so that they have several relationships that can form a support network. This is especially common if they have been committed to one person for many years and feel that nobody else would offer the same security or sense of satisfaction that they had previously had. The people that they choose to have relationships with, therefore, are there to fulfil a specific individual role that a previous partner had fulfilled on his or her own.

Dating as a senior is not all about sex and should never be thought of in that way. The majority of seniors that do date choose to do so to find a companion and fill a void in their lives. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. It is a personal choice that should be respected, just as we respect the rights of younger individuals that choose to date. It should not be all about anyone but the senior in question. If he or she chooses to date, regardless of what other people think, then good luck to them!

Avoiding The Stress Of Coping With Debt As A Senior

We live in a consumer society where the mentality is that if we cannot afford something then we should use the credit that we have been offered by various loans companies to buy now and pay later. This is all well and good if you can afford to pay later, but a high number of people cannot afford that luxury and get further and further into debt as a result. Being in debt can be a humiliating and frustrating experience because, once you are in it, it proves to be near on impossible to get out of it. Credit companies thrive on this because it is how they make their profits. However, seniors suffer more than most as a result of it because most seniors do not have the means to pay back debts as readily as younger people do. They cannot go out and earn more money in order to pay back loans and credit cards. It is just not that simple for them. However, there are solutions to this pressing problem.

Debt is not an individual problem; it is an issue for a high percentage of society. Whilst this is not a comforting thought and doesn’t help an individual senior’s plight, it has resulted in the introduction of various services that will offer solutions to the problem of debt in general. If you cannot pay loans back, then counselling and debt services can be called upon to offer you free advice and act as a liaison between you and the debt companies. This should only be a last resort because it can affect your credit rating. However, if you are having problems with debt then you are unlikely to want to get into that situation in a hurry again! However, this is where the “just in case” theory comes in. You never know what will happen to you in the future and thus it is best to leave your options open if at all possible.

There are many things that an individual senior can try to work his or her way out of debt, but not literally. However, before even attempting to come up with solutions to any financial problems you may have, you must first make a detailed plan of your financial situation. You must work out your exact incomings and outgoings, using your personal records from the last six months. Calculate your average expenditure in relation to your income, and then you are fully equipped to design payment plans for yourself as well as trying to come up with plausible and realistic ways to cut the amount you are spending. After all, that is where the debt came from and that is also where cuts should be made to accommodate that.

Another option is to contact the credit companies themselves and ask for your account to be frozen. Most companies will then be quite happy to work with you to put a payment scheme in place, where you pay a set amount every month until your debt is cleared. You will then have the option of closing the credit account or reinstating it. Companies are usually happy enough to do this because it means that they will make a profit. If they have to sell your debt on to a specialist company because you are failing to make payments every month, they will not even recoup the money that you own them, let alone the interest. This should be attempted before going to a negotiation service because it will not affect your credit.

Sorting out your debts is all about making the right decisions for you. Your main priority is to make sure that your debts are reduced and then kept in check. You need to make the first move in order for this to happen, but you will feel the weight lift off your shoulder as soon as you do!

Create Your Ideal Home In Your Senior Years

Retirement is the ideal time to get your life in complete order and take the time to make sure everything is just how you want it to be. Seniors have plenty of time on their hands to make plans and follow through with them instead of leaving jobs and tasks only half complete, which can serve to create an enduring mess that drives you insane but you lack the time to actually fix. Seniors years afford you all the time you actually need to make your life the way you have always wanted it to be, so why not start with your home? You no longer have children at home to create a new mess every day and you may well have enough disposable wealth to completely fund it without having to get financial help.

Giving your home a complete makeover can give you an immense sense of achievement and satisfaction. The results will be around for a long time so you can actually enjoy them, and the fruits of your labour can also revive your sense of being. Revamping your home gives you chance to let your creative juices flow. You can experiment with colours and designs of your own choosing, whether they happen to be unique because you have designed them or you have chosen existing designs to tweak to suit your own tastes and preferences. It may be worth bringing outside designers into your home to help you rework it or at least give you advice on what would go best and where. However, if you choose to do it entirely by yourself, then good luck to you.

You can use the Internet and interior design magazines to give you ideas. There are also useful how to sections on various websites that you can use to complete part of your new home yourself. There is nothing you cannot find out how to do out there, and all thanks to the era of information and technology! Do It Yourself websites tend to give information on basic tasks, such as installing a panelled or tile floor, installing a new shower and putting up furnishings like curtain rails and coving. However, you should always stop short of any integral work because that should be left up to an expert. Only experts who have trained in their field for years before qualifying should carry out rewiring and plumbing.

There are thousands of things you can do to redecorate your home, from redecorating the spare bedroom to having a conservatory installed to look out over your back yard. If you do insist on having a hand in the renovations then it is advisable to come up with a strict timetable. Not only will this ensure that any work is fully completed in a timely manner, it will also ensure that you do not do too much and put your health on the line. Be sensible about the goals that you set yourself because a senior body is not as young as you would like to believe. It is easy enough to strain your back or pull muscles that may take some time to heal if you push yourself too hard, so make sure that you only do as much as you can. Having a timetable will also make it possible to rearrange some tasks if necessary but keep the whole project on course.

Taking on a project can be healthy for a senior because it gives the individual a sense of purpose. You just have to remember that you are only human and can’t work miracles. Keep your goals realistic and then sit back and enjoy the results!