Do You Really Want Fries With That?

Science Daily (Apr. 25, 2008) — "America's aging citizens are facing a health care workforce

too small and unprepared to meet their needs, according to a new report from the Institute

of Medicine (IOM) titled 'Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care

Workforce' ." This warning from last year has not been heeded. As we head further into this

recession, as medical costs increase and co-pay deductibles increase, medical care for the

aging "boomers" dwindles dangerously.

According to the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), a labor pool of adequate size and

competency to care for a rapidly increasing over-65 population is mandatory. In their

report, they said that there is ".. a much-needed strategy for developing a network of

health professionals and frontline workers to avert a crisis in quality care for older

persons. Complex chronic illness is an issue that we all will face with age. The current

fragmented system of care desperately requires an increase in better-prepared personnel to

sustain itself.The combination of the aging of the Baby Boom generation and the increase in life expectancy is going to yield a doubling of the numbers of older people , and it's important to

understand that older people themselves account for a disproportionate amount of the

utilization of health care resources."

Marie Bernard, MD, president of The Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (GSA's

educational unit), said "..policymakers must act quickly to address these problems.

To meet the needs of our aging parents and grandparents, we need to increase the number of

geriatric health specialists — both to provide care for those older adults with the most

complex issues and to train the rest of the workforce in the common medical problems of old

age," Bernard said.

We "Boomers" must act in our own interests to insure that we are subjected to the fewest

number of age related illnesses as possible, and this begins with the WEIGHT EPIDEMIC in our

age group ( a reported 1 in 4 is OBESE!) The bottom-line message from a decades-long study

of monkeys on a restricted diet is simple: Consuming fewer calories leads to a longer,

healthier life.

Writing July 10 in the journal Science, a team of researchers at the University of

Wisconsin-Madison, the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center and the William S.

Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital reports that a nutritious but reduced-calorie diet

blunts aging and significantly delays the onset of such age-related disorders as cancer,

diabetes, cardiovascular disease and brain atrophy.

"We have been able to show that caloric restriction can slow the aging process in a primate

species," says Richard Weindruch, a professor of medicine in the UW-Madison School of

Medicine and Public Health who leads the National Institute on Aging-funded study. "We

observed that caloric restriction reduced the risk of developing an age-related disease by a

factor of three and increased survival. In terms of overall animal health", Weindruch notes,

"the restricted diet leads to longer lifespan and improved quality of life in old age. There

is a major effect of caloric restriction in increasing survival if you look at deaths due to

the diseases of aging," he says.

In the following picture, see what person these brave cousins of ours look like, and how old

do they appear? This is visual proof of the effectiveness of a healthy diet and moderate

exercise (how much room does the monkey have to move?). Start making the corrections

today...the number of years you have left is up to you!

Diet and Fitness - A Powerful Combo

Diet fitness is as essential as exercise itself. Diet for fitness provides the essential nutrition one needs to restore worn-out muscles and should never be taken for granted. With the popularity of keeping fit, many different views, methods, programs and dieting strategies have been formulated by many professionals. Among these are high carb diets and high fat diets. Which one is more effective and which one should one choose to follow?


Diet fitness is not all about losing fat - one must also consider his diet in order to keep fat away. Research shows that sustainable loss of weight can only be achieved on a diet which suits the individual food preferences, lifestyle, medical profile and satiety signals. Diet programs overall can help you shed off excess pounds, but only one diet can help you stay sexy, healthy, and fit and it is the one that satisfies you most.


Diets for fat loss and fitness should be in moderation, with balance and variation. One must be careful not to leave out important nutrients and other substances necessary for healthy body functioning. There should be an additional and emphasized focus on nutrition (and supplements when necessary). Achievement of fitness goals can only happen when the body has all the nutrients it needs to sustain your efforts.

Low fat high carbs, high carbs low fat; the question is not which diet program will work out but which is it that will work for you. Striving for a sexy and healthy body does not have to burden an individual, diet fitness does not have to mean sticking to the same kind of food for life. There must be variety and adventure. After all, why did you go to all the effort to make the change?

Nutrition and Fast Fat Loss

Deal or No Deal?

One doesn't need to look very far on the Internet to find someone doing research on the benefits of Multivitamins and Supplements. Their studies conclude that "you don't need to supplement a good diet", that "they don't add benefits", or that "they are beneficial"..results conflicting at best. Yet, the real question remains "When did you last read a report on the nutritional benefits of the produce you buy, or the meat products?"

Many talented researchers are wasting their efforts on vitamins and supplement research without answering the question of "why are they needed in the first place?" Wouldn't their time be more appropriately
spent on discovering why nutritional values of meat, dairy, and produce have been falling over the past ten years?

Much has been written about the benefits of a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, but to what avail when the core elements (vegetables) are consistently losing nutritional values due to the manner in which they are grown? How beneficial is it when vitamins and supplements are needed to achieve the MINIMUM Required Daily Intake?

The consumption of vitamins, minerals, and supplements to insure RDI is the only Deal when this Recession forces families to change their normal diet to a cheaper one. Ignoring the RDI for one's health is No Deal at all.

21 Day Trial Exercise and Nutrition Program

Obesity: A National Pandemic

Obesity is rapidly becoming the major concern for health professionals in the United States today. Obesity in adults, adolescents, and even children aged 2- 10 is on the rise. With the recession deepening in an ever increasing spiral towards depression, with fewer dollars being available for food, more Americans will join the ranks as they choose cheaper foods (as opposed to healthier foods) to stay in their budget. These same inexpensive foods are loaded with fats, oils, and carbohydrates which inevitably will add weight.

Obesity raises concern because of its implications for the health of Americans, by increasing the risk of many diseases and health conditions, such as:

• Coronary heart disease

• Type 2 diabetes

• Cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)

• Hypertension (high blood pressure)

• Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)

• Stroke

• Liver and Gallbladder disease

• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems

• Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint)

• Gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility)

We are inundated with media coverage of “healthy lifestyles”, of “quick weight loss” programs which only seem to make the billfold thinner. Yet, we know that we need to be healthier to live longer, a fact fully realized by the “baby boomers”, children of WWII. So, how can we get healthy and comfortable with our weight and be the person we want to be? Weight Control and Fitness

Weight Control is only half of the problem...fitness must follow to help maintain weight control. Here lies problem #2.......who has the time or the money to spend hours in the gym to achieve this fitness? Solutions, however, are available. There are many concerned in your individual health and well being..their programs do work and are more reasonable than the gym or expensive equipment. For more information, see My Favorite Websites.