Nutrition Health and Fitness
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Marlina Toblianski is our fitness center manager here at Siena in Las Vegas. Siena is an age restricted community for all of us over 55 seniors and baby boomers. Marlina often puts an informative article in our community magazine “Siena Style”. Recently we asked her if she would allow us to share some of her articles on our site as a guest author. She was delighted. The following article is a combination of her first two articles. It fits so well with choosing a healthy lifestyle and maintaining youth that we think all of our readers will enjoy it. Read on! Read more
VITAMINS or NOT?
Many people still believe vitamins can replace food. That is very simply NOT TRUE. All natural vitamins are only found in plants and animals and must be supplied through your diet or in dietary supplements when your body is not getting the adequate amount of nutrients it requires on a daily basis. Eating smart can influence how you age and help you fight off disease. Here are three tips to a vitamin rich diet and a healthier you. Read more
Brain Plasticity
The human brain is an awesome and amazing organizational structure. Plasticity of the brain is a fascinating and extremely hot topic topic in brain research. Norman Doidge, Canadian psychologist says it is “One of the most extraordinary discoveries of the 20th century.” This YouTube video is not only heart warming, but also demonstrates the miraculous resilience our brain possesses.
Just what is plasticity of the brain and what types of impact might it have in our own brain health? At first the term itself sounded very odd to me. Plastic cups and containers came to mind immediately. Brain plasticity is nothing like the hard plastic we use everyday to store food or carry water. Brain plasticity refers to the brains ability to actually change. It is not static as we may have believed, but responds to new learning and experiences. Actually it is cortical remapping where brain activity associated with a particular function can move to a different location in the brain as you just viewed in the video. Brain plasticity is a physical process simple in a way and yet extraordinarily complex. New neural connections can be made and refined or made weak and even severed. The gray matter in our brains can shrink or become thicker. All of these changes reflect new or improved skills that we learn, memory lapses that we have or a weakened skill.
The brain is amazing. It does not stop developing when we are young, but has the capacity for continuous physical, chemical and brain functionality change even when we are old. We can actually retrain our brains. A type of an anti-aging process for our brain. The key, of course, is to know which mechanisms to target, how to exercise them and which activities work the best. Not only can we learn new skills as we grow older, but the possibilities of brain plasticity for brain health and science are tremendous. New therapy for treatment of all types of cognitive problems such as stroke, traumatic brain injuries, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, dementia and cancer patients with brain damage from chemo therapy are possible. Brain plasticity knowledge is causing a revolution in brain science and medicine.
Brain plasticity knowledge is important for everyday life too. We all want to live longer, add a few years to our life, be healthier and we want our brains to be vibrant and healthy as well. It is important for brain health to exercise our bodies and our brains, learn new tasks, challenge ourselves, explore new horizons and expand our capabilities. Just because you are growing old does not mean that you are not capable of new and wonderful things. Be a better older person and take care of your brain. It is a vital part of maintaining your youth and anti-aging.
To read about the seven rules of the brain try this site: www.harmonyhealth.com
To check out a computer based brain fitness program try this site: www.positscience.com
Happy anti-aging everyone.
Chuck and Gayle
Five Best Supplements For Seniors
Nothing will ever replace highly nutritional food, however, the foods we eat often fall short. What we lack in important vitamins and minerals can be found in high quality supplements from companies following the highest standards in the industry. The 5 best supplements I take every single day and recommend for most seniors are the following;
1. Vitamin C: 1-2000 milligrams daily. This is one of the best antioxidants that fights free radicals which cause disease. Vitamin C can also increase your life span.
2. Calcium: Calcium is very essential for keeping teeth and bones strong. It also helps with the proper functioning of muscles and nerves.
3. Vitamin D: 1000 milligrams daily. The sunshine vitamin drives calcium into your blood and helps to keep bones flexible and healthy. Vitamin D is necessary at any age.
4. Fish Oil/ Omega 3’s: 1000- 1500 milligrams daily. Fish oil is essential for heart, brain, joint and digestive health.
5. Garlic: 550 milligrams daily. Provides significant benefit to the cardio vascular and immune systems. Garlic is also a powerful natural antibiotic.
Seniors are far more susceptible to developing illness as they grow older. When the body ages it becomes less efficient at using the nutrients in foods. Many seniors today live alone and do not prepare good nutritionally balanced meals for themselves and need to find supplements that will put these nutrients back into their bodies. Studies suggest that many seniors are under nourished and perhaps unhealthy. Exercise is often lacking in their lifestyle, which also contributes to these vitamin and nutrient deficiencies. Seniors may require age-specific multivitamins, a blend of vitamins and nutrients designed specifically for their bodies. It is important to check with your doctor before taking any supplements to be sure they do not interfere with any medications.
Dr. Vincent Bellonzi is a chiropractor and a Certified Clinical Nutritionist. In this Youtube video he examines the question, should you take vitamins and supplements?
Brainpower Tips For Maintaining A Youthful Brain
Have you ever walked into a room, stopped suddenly, and asked yourself, why am I here? Can’t find your sunglasses only to find that they are perched on top of your head? Have you had someone ask you for a name or place and it lingers on your tongue and yet you cannot dredge it up, but hours later it pops into your head? Not to worry, you are not alone, all of us have these “senior moments”. Chances are you are not in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Just like an overloaded computer system the one between our ears will crash now and then causing these lapses or moments. It is true that memory and the way we process information does start to decline in our 40’s. The good news is that there is hope for all of us, our brainpower potential keeps growing even as we age. Your body changes with age no matter what and like the rest of your body the brain changes with age. No doubt about it Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are two of the worst and most feared diseases known. They affect the memory in the worst way. This does not have to be the inevitable outcome. Most of our memory loss is slight and probably due to all the information that we carry about in our brain. Bills, jobs, e-mails, children, chores are all fighting for attention and making it more difficult to recall information. Stimulating your mind, building up your brainpower, can help build a better and more complex brain to help solve problems, learn new tasks and retrieve memories. Using your brain lowers the risk of brain decline and disease and keeps your brain young. Use it, don’t lose it! Build up your brainpower to maintain a youthful brain with these ten easy tips.
- Protect Your Head
- Avoid Tobacco
- Don’t abuse alcohol
- Exercise
- Interact with friends and family, socialize
- Eat healthy, eat the right foods, count calories
- Travel, explore new places and things
- Be happy and stress free, keep a positive attitude
- Improve your blood pressure,cholesterol and blood sugar
- Learn new things, read, play games, challenge yourself mentally everyday
Start building your brainpower with these fun and challenging activities I found on Youtube:
15 Great Healthy Snacks
Do you get the munchies mid-afternoon ? Is 4 p.m. tummy growling time? Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger, fact is 3 in 10 of us get the munchies around that time of day. After dinner and late evening also gets me searching the cupboard or refrigerator for a snack. Even though I know it is important to watch what I eat in order to stay healthy and keep my waistline trim., I still crave that snack. I also know that taking in less calories helps us to live longer. Hooray for adding extra years to my life, but giving in to that urge to snack is really difficult. It does not, however, have to be a bad thing. Eating every 3-4 hours can actually help maintain blood sugar levels and boost the old metabolism. What is important is to choose the right kind of snack with the least amount of calories and best nutritional value. Remember that all snacks are not created equal. Healthy is the key. Strive for a balance of nutrients.
Sound too difficult? Impossible maybe? Read more
Baby Boomers or Age Busters?
While surfing the net I found this great article by Dr. Michael Brickey PH.D on anti-aging and felt compelled to share it with everyone. He has some wonderful articles written about anti-aging that are inspiring and enlightening. Anyone over the age of 50 will learn something from him.
Happy reading everyone!
“Dr. Michael Brickey, The Anti-Aging Psychologist, teaches people to think, feel, look and be more youthful. He is an inspiring keynote speaker and Oprah-featured author. His works include: Defy Aging, 52 baby steps to Grow Young, and Reverse Aging (anti-aging hypnosis CDs). Visit www.NotAging.com for a free report on anti-aging secrets and a free newsletter with practical anti-aging tips.”
Baby Boomers or Age Busters?
ACTION TO TAKE
If you are a Baby Boomer, adopt a new designation for your generation.
WHY
Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. Boomers’ claim to fame is that
they are so big we can’t be ignored. But Boomers need a new public relations firm.
Is size all the generation stands for? The previous generation knew PR and called
themselves “The Greatest Generation.” Now that’s great marketing.
Baby Boomers need to drop the Baby. Boomers are well out of diapers and
have changed quite a few diapers themselves. Eighteen years is really more than one
generation and earlier and later Boomers had quite different defining events.
What most distinguishes the Boomer generation? They have redefined aging.
Boomers made 50 the new 30, etc. It wasn’t rhetoric. Though often overweight,
Boomers tend to look and act twenty years younger than people used to act at their age.
The change has come from their spirit and determination. It effected a paradigm shift in
how people age. To give proper credit, however, they also had a lot of help from medicine,
science, and cosmetics.
So let’s give Boomers the credit they deserve for helping all of us to look and feel younger.
Let’s change their name from Baby Boomers to Age Busters.
QUOTES
I hope to die young, as late as possible.
~actors Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy
HUMOR
Radio talk show caller: I’m 75, Flo. I used to want to live fast and die young!
Flo: And now?
Caller: Well…now I just want to die young at a very old age.
~Flo & Friends cartoon by Campbell Bigel
We could certainly slow aging process down if it had to work its
way through Congress.
~Unknown
This article was from:
THE DEFY AGING NEWSLETTER
Anti-Aging Psychology
Holistic Health and Wellness
LIFESTYLE LINKS:
Karaoke At Seventy?
I have been singing for many years. In high school and college it was a lot of fun singing in school shows and at many dances, but it was just for fun. Eventually it became a career. I loved performing for many years to come. Flash forward to my 50s, 60s and 70s when I sold cars and real estate making a decent living, but left the fun behind. I found out what a “real” job was like. We moved to Las Vegas in the 90s and I continued to sell cars. My wife and I met some folks and started to go to the Texas Station local casino. It was in Vegas where I was forced, I mean encouraged, to perform in Karaoke contests. I needed this encouragement and push to get up and sing again since many years had passed since I had performed. Now keep in mind, I did not even sing in the shower anymore.
Let’s face it, even though I stay fit, work out and eat right, age does take its toll, in particular, my voice. My voice was not the same in my late 60s as it was when I was singing for a living. Quite frankly I didn’t like what I heard. Of course my friends and wife said, just get up there and do it, you can still sing. You guessed it, I went and bought Karaoke CDs and learned a few songs. I entered a contest and won the right to compete in the finals. My secretary recommended I should sing Sinatra’s hit New York, New York. Everybody loves that song. I was also born in New York City. Guess What? I split first place with a female singer in her twenties and there I was, an old man of 70, singing again. I won about $350, which paid for the CD’s and gas to get to the Texas Station every week.
Hey all you creative seniors out there, don’t allow the years of inactivity to take away the things you used to do and love. Do you believe age is just a number? I do. Do your thing, applause comes in many, many ways! I hope you enjoy my moment on stage at Texas Station . It was great fun!
Watch my video! I hope you enjoy it.
My advise to those of you who sang professionally at one time in your life or to those who just enjoy singing for fun, display your talent at any number of places in your city. Here are some tips to get you started. Choose your song carefully, make sure it showcases your style and talent. Pick a song most people are familiar with, but do it your way, your spin. Judges and the audience will appreciate your command and style rather than a copy of the “same old thing”. Just be yourself. Keep it somewhat short, you do not want to bore the judges and your audience. Hit one out of the park and take your bows. Most importantly, if you are having fun , you can be sure the audience and judges will be too. Move around the stage and for goodness sake, don’t sing to the monitor, sing to the audience. Judges love that! Dress is very important. Come out there and look like an entertainer. Dress sharp! In closing, don’t expect to win the top spot based solely on your singing voice. Believe me, judges look at 3 criteria; vocal ability, stage presence and of course, audience reaction. Shine my friends, shine!
No matter what Simon Cowell, from American Idol, has said about Karaoke, it is an art form. Karaoke is very entertaining when done well. I have personally seen and heard many great performers on the Karaoke stage. There is a lot of undiscovered talent out there. Unfortunately they are not heard by enough folks. Everyone loves to be appreciated and admired and show off their creativity. Creativity, like singing, may play an important role in healthy aging . Even though our brains age, it doesn’t stop us from being creative. When you have interesting things to do, you tend to be more outgoing and have a more positive attitude, and therefore you are healthier as a result. Being creative is really emotionally good for you at any age.
Music Idol, Michael Buble
My background as an amateur and eventual professional singer spanned about 25 years, most of which was a ball. I grew up listening and enjoying pop singers or crooners, such as; Frank Sinatra, Vic Damone, Perry Como, Eddie Fisher, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Jerry Vale to name a few. Not only were they well equipped with great pipes, but in those days they chose really great material, great songs with meaning, beautiful melodies and great lyrics. My very first interest as a child was with the drums. My idol was Gene Krupa. As I grew older I began to realize I had a singing voice. My interest as a singer began to form.
Most of the singers of today do not hold my interest except for one, Michael Buble. (pronounced boob lay) Sounds French. He is in my opinion, one of, if not the very best singers of popular songs today. Early on Michael’s music-loving Italian grandfather introduced him to the singers who became Buble’s idols. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin and Ray Charles are a few of his favorites. Michael has a warm and engaging voice and an indisputable taste in music. He chooses great songs and beautiful melodies much like his idols. He sings to packed theaters and arenas all over the world. His debut album was an international success, earning him his first Juno Award for best new talent. His second album, “It’s Time”, brought him much international fame and sold 5.5 million copies . His latest CD “Call Me Irresponsible” boasts more of Buble’s modern interpretations of standards from a variety of eras. His popularity continues to grow as he continues to tour the globe.
This is a great video about Micheal’s newest album.
We had the pleasure of seeing and hearing him live here in Las Vegas in 2007. When you see and hear him live in concert you appreciate his music and talent even more. Besides a great voice he is a great showman. Michael will be on stage with,“david foster & friends”, May 23 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. We are looking forward to seeing Michael along with Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Peter Cetera and Katharine McPhee. They are all paying tribute to one of the world’s greatest songwriters and producers, David Foster. We will keep you posted and let you know just how great the show was. We know it will be fantastic! We are looking forward to Michael’s next CD.
We’ve both always been lovers of music all our lives. Music lifts the spirit and keeps one motivated and inspired. The effects of music are felt in almost every area of our lives. Music also has a way of bringing people together simply by sharing the same favorite songs, singer or types of music. Music can enhance your health in many ways. Use music to boost memory, ease depression, motivate and keep energy up during exercise, relieve stress and even alleviate pain. Studies show that just listening to music an hour a day can relieve pain by as much as 20 per cent. Classical music can help lower blood pressure and help you get a good night’s sleep. Michael’s music is relaxing and great to listen to right before falling asleep. He has a way of relaxing you and releasing the tensions of the day. Music is definitely a great choice for a healthy lifestyle.
Home For Sale In Nevada, Senior Lifestyle
It’s springtime here in Nevada and a lot of homes are on the market. Many of them are in foreclosure which is very sad. Chuck and I both have homes in a lovely age restricted community called Siena. Siena is a 667 acre age-privileged community located within the master-planned community of Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada. Secluded behind a six-foot high masonry perimeter wall and accessed-controlled entries are 2,001 homes. We enjoy many amenities here including a golf course, club house, health and fitness center, indoor and out door pools, tennis courts, horseshoe pits and bocce courts and a huge community center for social and club activities. This Village Center contains over 71,000 square feet of interior space, all of which is connected by a meandering pedestrian walk adjacent to the lake, streams and waterfalls that border the first golf hole.
Chuck is ready to sell his home and scale down to something smaller and more
manageable. He has a beautiful 2234 square foot single family home that he has just put on the market. It has 2 master suites and 2.5 baths and is located on the 15th green of the Siena golf course. There is a fireplace in the living room and and granite countertops in the kitchen. The lot is very private and has a beautiful view of the Red Rock Canyon.
Imagine sitting here in the cool, cool, cool of the evening with a nice glass of your favorite beverag
e. Ours is always a good Cabernet. Siena offers seniors a wonderful healthy and joyful lifestyle. We love to bike around the community on the safe streets and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The gym gets our attention every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It is a great place in which to live and to maintain a youthful mind, body and spirit.
If you love the desert and Nevada and are looking to move or know someone who might be interested in moving, take a look at this home in Las Vegas Nevada listing number 21562046.
LIFESTYLE LINKS
Hi there and welcome to our blog. Chuck and I are 76 and 67 respectively. Chuck’s background is from the music field and mine was in education. Chuck and I are both retired now and living our best healthy lifestyle.