Staving Off Disease So You Live a Longer, Healthier Life

Diseases can be common at any age, but older people are prone to get certain diseases that are commonly associated with aging. While aging does make you more likely to develop some types of diseases like cancer or diabetes, you can prevent or even reverse the damage done.

5 Common Cancers You Should Know About as You Age

Your cancer risk increases drastically as you age. It’s important that you be aware of the most common types of cancer and how to prevent them. One of the best ways to prevent cancer is to practice reversal.

Specifically, reversal of free radical damage. Antioxidants, like vitamin E, are known to prevent and even reverse these effects. Foods that contain vitamin E include spinach, nuts, broccoli, and many types of seeds are examples of this.

You can get vitamin E in supplement form to make sure you’re getting enough of this nutrient. By reversing the free radical damage in your body, you can reduce the chances that you’ll ever go on to develop cancer.

Colon cancer is the first type of cancer that you should know about. This type of cancer is found in the rectum and colon. If you have a family history of polyps or colon cancer, then you’ll want to look for signs like rectal bleeding, narrow stools or other bowel changes, constipation, and abdominal pain.

To prevent colon cancer, eat a diet rich in fiber and try to avoid animal fats. You should also get your daily dose of Vitamin C, another antioxidant that can reverse free radical damage.

Cervical cancer is the second type of cancer to keep an eye out for. This cancer is a result of the human papilloma virus or HPV. The virus can be transmitted during sexual activity.

Since not everyone with HPV has symptoms, you may never know you’re infected until you develop cervical cancer. Smoking raises your chances of developing cervical cancer and it also puts more free radicals in your body. To decrease your chances of cancer, stop smoking.

You should also know about breast cancer. This type of cancer is often thought of as a woman’s cancer. But men can develop breast cancer as well. Symptoms to be aware of are a lump in your breast, nipple discharge, and a change in one or both of your breasts. You can prevent breast cancer by taking it easy on the alcohol and avoiding hormone therapy for prolonged periods of time.

Next on the list of cancers common as you grow older is prostate cancer. This type of cancer often brings symptoms like urinary problems, blood in your urine, bone pain, and erectile dysfunction.

Besides making sure you get enough antioxidants, you should also eat plenty of omega-3 fatty acids like the ones founds in salmon, cauliflower, walnuts, and sardines.

Skin cancer is another disease you can get as you age. One of the top causes of skin cancer is too much exposure to UV rays. If you’ve had a severe sunburn or are fair-skinned, your chances of developing this cancer go up.

What you can do is to treat your skin well now. Always remember to wear sunscreen and try to avoid direct sunlight during the hottest parts of the day.

What You Need to Know to Reverse Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease of the pancreas. When you eat food, your pancreas naturally releases insulin. This insulin helps your body balance your blood sugar level.

If your pancreas is diseased, it may not be able to release as much insulin as you need or it may not release any insulin. There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes happens when your pancreas can’t produce any insulin.

People who have type one often have to give themselves shots of insulin to help their body regulate their blood sugar levels. In people with Type 2 diabetes, the pancreas produces some but not all of the insulin the body needs.

Both types of diabetes require you to carefully monitor your blood sugar level. If your level gets too low or too high, you won’t feel your best and you can develop other health issues as well.

There are medications available to people with either form of diabetes. However, research has shown that you can reverse the effects of diabetes. One of these ways is through weight loss.

While anyone can develop diabetes, you’re more likely to have the condition if you’re already overweight. Losing weight helps take some of the strain off your pancreas.

Watching what you eat can also help you. Your goal should be to keep your blood sugar levels consistent throughout the day. You don’t want your sugar level to spike too high or drop too low.

Some people with diabetes have found that they can reverse the disease by avoiding snacks and meals high in carbohydrates. There are two types of carbohydrates and those are fast acting carbs and slow acting carbs.

You can find fast acting carbs in many popular junk foods. If a food contains white flour or high amounts of sugar, it’s probably a fast-acting carb. These types of carbs often give you a sugar rush and provide a temporary amount of energy thanks to a spike in your blood sugar level.

There are also slow acting carbs. These carbs are much better for your body because they release slowly over time and don’t cause sudden sugar spikes. If you’re looking for some slow acting carbs, reach for black beans, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, sweet potatoes, and oatmeal.

Are You at Risk for Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a medical condition that causes the bones in your body to become thin. As you age, your bones naturally thin due to density loss. But with osteoporosis, your bones become thinner beyond what’s normal.

This makes you susceptible to fractured or broken bones. There are some things that make you more likely to develop osteoporosis. One of those things is a family history of the condition.

Another is your frame. People with a small frame are more likely to develop osteoporosis. But there are things that you can do to prevent and even reverse the signs of osteoporosis.

You need to start by getting enough calcium. Your doctor can perform a blood test to monitor the levels of calcium in your body and this is something you may want to have done anyway as you grow older.

Because it’s better to prevent than try to reverse a condition. If you have too little, you may need to take a calcium supplement. You can also find calcium in dairy foods like milk and cheese but you need more than calcium for strong bones.

You also need plenty of vitamin D. Like calcium, your doctor can check your level of this vitamin. Without enough of it, your body may not fully absorb the calcium your bones need.

You can get vitamin D from sun exposure and from the foods you eat. Foods that are high in this vitamin are tofu, fish, ham, oysters, mushrooms, and eggs. If you find that you need a lot of vitamin D, choose fish like caviar or sushi.

Some people would rather take supplements to make sure that they get enough. You can find this vitamin at a vitamin shop or health food store. You can also try Cod Liver Oil, which is high in both vitamin D and vitamin A.

Exercise is a good idea for people with osteoporosis. Regular exercise can help keep your bones healthy. It also improves your balance. If you have good balance, you’re less likely to fall and injure yourself.

Professionals usually recommend that people with osteoporosis start with simple exercises like walking. As you start to gain endurance, you’ll want to add strength training to your routine.

You don’t have to get a membership to your local gym to work out - nor do you need dumbbells. You can start weight lifting by using household objects like full water bottles.

People with osteoporosis also need to develop their flexibility. There are many types of exercise that can help you do this. Look for exercises like yoga and pilates.

You can’t build back up your bone density by doing these exercises. But exercise regimens focused on flexibility will help you with balance issues so you’ll be less likely to experience a fall.

Some people can experience a thinning of their bones due to a medication side effect. Anti-seizure medications, steroids, and proton pump inhibitors can cause you to lose bone density. Make sure you tell your doctor if you’re using these medications and begin showing signs of osteoporosis.

Three Things You Can Do to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease

After your brain, your heart is one of your most important organs. It’s a pumping machine that constantly directs blood to your vital organs. If your heart is damaged due to heart disease, your whole body will feel the effects of that damage.

Living with heart disease can make you feel fatigued, short of breath, weak, and dizzy. You may also experience chest pain. You may feel like your heart is beating irregularly. The beat can feel too fast or too slow depending on what your normal heart rate is.

Like many diseases, heart disease can be prevented - and even if you’ve already been diagnosed, some doctors believe heart disease can be reversed. There are steps you can take to help your heart stay healthy longer.

Whether you’re looking to prevent or reverse heart disease, the first thing you should do is change your eating habits if you don’t eat right. You need to remove red meat, junk food, and fatty foods from your diet. These foods are often high in saturated fats.

Saturated fats raise your level of cholesterol. Cholesterol is the plaque that builds up in your arteries. This plaque makes it hard for the blood to flow smoothly in and out of your heart. The result is that your heart is working overtime constantly.

You can reverse the damage caused by the plaque buildup in your arteries by eating foods that lower your cholesterol level. Foods that you want to focus on are tea, spinach, nuts, avocados, and garlic. All of these lower levels of your bad cholesterol and some of them even raise your levels of good cholesterol.

The second thing you can do to prevent or reverse heart disease is to limit your alcohol intake and stop smoking. Both smoking and drinking can cause or worsen your heart disease. If you can’t stop completely, try to cut back or switch to a healthier alternative.

A study performed on reversing coronary atherosclerosis showed that people that change their lives with healthy eating plans as well as exercising, could reverse the effects of coronary heart disease.

Another thing you can do is to get enough sleep. If you’re always tired in the mornings or can’t get through the day without a fifteen-minute nap, then you’re not getting enough sleep. Besides leading to obesity, a lack of sleep makes it harder for your immune system and your vital organs to function well.

Aging doesn’t have to be a process that you simply surrender to. Instead of waving a white flag and accepting your fate, start fighting back with good nutrition, ample exercise and hygiene routines that erase damage and restore your body to its peak condition.