Wellness

During flu season, what are the best ways to avoid catching a virus?

The Centers for Disease Control tell us to wash our hands frequently and thoroughly. Wash for 20 seconds with soap and running water. Avoid touching your face, eyes , nose or mouth with unwashed hands. If your doctor recommends a flu shot, listen to their advice, particularly relevant for elders and people with immunity concerns

Eat a healthy diet, rich in fruits and vegetables. Various nutrients in food help your immune system fight off pathogens.
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Exercise, a Key Element to Robust Immune System

Researchers have repeatedly found that regular exercise improves health and immunity.  They see reduced risk of cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive problems, vision conditions, weight management issues, hormonal imbalances, and those who get regular moderate exercise have stronger immune system.  Depending on our personal likes and dislikes, this exercise can be moderate or intense, but regular modest exercise has been shown again and again to have a beneficial effect on the immune system.
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Getting a thorough eye exam has always been about more than reading letters off an eye chart. That is even truer today. One reason: We are harder on our eyes than ever before. Many of us spend hours each day staring and squinting at screens, developing digital eyestrain, and exposing our eyes to potentially damaging blue light.

But the typical tests offered during a standard eye exam may not go far enough to find problems as early as possible. Even a basic dilated eye exam may not be enough.
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The world is changing. Our concepts of western medicine have shifted over the past 30 years. Today’s public wants a more comprehensive, integrated approach from health care providers.

Complementary, integrated health care is slowly replacing the idea of referring each symptom to a different specialist.

We need to look at the whole person, his or her dietary preferences, exercise regimen, and the types of relationships they are engaged in. Also, we need to examine the particular symptoms that created their condition in the first place.
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A study published in the February 2019 issue of Aging Cell indicates that metformin may reduce the effectiveness of exercise. Metformin is a drug that has been approved for people with Type 2 diabetes to help control blood sugar. However, the drug is also used by healthy people for its anti-aging properties. The researchers are concerned about off-label use of this drug.

Metformin is a popular drug worldwide for those who have Type 2 diabetes. This medication helps improve their blood-sugar control and sensitivity to insulin.
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Parkinson’s disease is a multi-neurological disease. Currently, most Parkinson’s treatments focus on increasing dopamine production and reducing motor symptoms and tremors through medication. However, this disease has many causative or contributing factors that cause changes in healthy brain function. Many of these factors are also relevant for dementia, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Wilson’s diseases as well. Which factors impact brain functioning and the development of brain disease? Are there natural approaches to preventing and slowing the progress of such devastating diseases? This article offers a brief overview, based on the new book, Natural Parkinson’s Support: Your Guide to Preventing and Managing Parkinson’s.
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Brain health is especially important in seniors. Seniors are susceptible to dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, memory problems, and cognitive decline. Which foods boost brain power the most? At Natural Eye Care, we have picked eleven common foods that have brain-saving properties. Scientists have been studying the nutrients in foods for decades. They have isolated specific nutrients that cross the blood-brain barrier. These types of nutrients get direct access to the brain and even the retina. The retina is made from neural tissue. Researchers find that many of the nutrients helpful for the brain also stave off eye diseases such as macular degeneration and glaucoma.

Try adding some of these foods to your regular diet. Seniors need fewer calories than younger folks. Therefore, replace “junk food” like cookies, candy, and chips with these brain-boosters.
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Findings from a recent study suggest that blue light, the same light emitted from smartphones and fluorescent light bulbs, causes brain damage and premature aging in fruit flies.

Why would research on fruit flies be important for human brains?  Surprisingly, many of the genes of fruit flies are the same as the genes in humans, and studies on fruit flies often reveal information valuable for human health. Fruit flies’ life cycle is short so scientists can see aging patterns.

As published in the journal Aging and Mechanisms of Disease, researchers at Oregon State University conducted an experiment where they subjected adult fruit flies to blue light. The targeted group of adult flies was exposed to twelve hours of blue light, followed by twelve hours of darkness. They then compared these flies to the control group. Those flies were kept in total darkness for twenty-four hours or bathed in light where blue wavelengths were blocked.
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Three time-tested supplements stand out as champions for eye and brain health: garlic, ginseng, and ginkgo. Research on these supplements backs up why they have been used for thousands of years. Garlic plays an important role in all three major traditional medicines–Traditional European Herbal Medicine, Ayurveda, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Ginseng and ginkgo are crucial herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Do these supplements work? Are they beneficial for aging brains and eyes? What does the research show?
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