When you get older, things change. One of the changes you may notice is that your ability to focus and remember isn’t as strong as it used to be.

A slight drop in thinking and memory is normal with advanced age, as processing speeds slow down a bit. A lower level of focus can make it harder to absorb information quickly, which can slow down its ability to move into your short-term memory.

The result can be some frustration and occasionally missing an appointment or parts of conversation.

But this does not signify significant trouble or that you’re trapped. There are a few things you can do that may help increase focus and the amount of information you retain.

Engage Closely: When someone is talking to you, look at them and listen very closely. If you happened to miss something that they said, ask them to repeat or speak more slowly.

Paraphrase: When a person is finished speaking, paraphrase what they said to make sure you understood. Paraphrasing also allows you to reinforce the information you were just given. For example, if your friend says, “We can go the Mexican restaurant or the Thai restaurant for 6:30” try responding with “What works better for you: the Mexican of the Thai at 6:30?”

Limit Background Noise: If you’re easily distracted during a conversation, it may have something to do with background noise making it hard to focus. This could have a relatively easy fix: meeting at home or other quieter spaces that allow you a better opportunity to focus.

If you do find yourself in a busy, noisy environment, try to sit near a wall. That way, you aren’t getting distracting sights and sounds from every angle. Ask your companions to sit with their backs to the wall so that your distractions are limited.

Do One Thing at a Time: Multitasking is a myth; practically nobody does it well. And those that think they can get even worse at it with age. But even leaving what you’re doing to focus on something else for a moment can make it hard to retain the information.

So, if you’re doing something – cooking, reading, filling out forms – and the phone rings, don’t answer. Finish what you’re doing then schedule a call back.

Keeping your colon healthy might not be top of mind, but it’s definitely something you don’t want to ignore.

Gut health can play a significant role in how your body functions, from how you feel to how your immune system works. Much of the bacteria that help determine these outcomes resides in the colon.

So, in the big picture, what is good for your colon is good for your overall health.

Here are five things you can do right now, and start at any age, to help improve the health of your colon.

Eat Vegetables and Healthy Fats: Research suggests that the Western diet of highly processed foods, plenty of sugar, and dangerously low fiber contributes to colon problems. In fact, common ages for severe colon troubles continue to get younger.

But people who eat high-fiber diets are far more likely to maintain better gut and colon health. Fiber is a non-digestible compound found in whole fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, which essentially act as food for healthy gut bacteria.

Good fats like those found in nuts, avocado, olive oil, and fish are also great for colon health.

Get Activity: Yes, exercise can benefit your heart and brain, but it’s also good for your gut. The type of exercise doesn’t matter, either. Just aim for at least 30 minutes per day on at least five days of the week.

Manage Your Weight: Bodyweight, particularly body fat, plays a role in colon health. But here’s a tip: if you’re eating better and moving (the top two things to boost colon health), you’ll likely begin to start shedding extra weight.

Limit Alcohol and Quit Smoking: Drinking more than a moderate amount, defined as one drink per day for women and two for men, can increase the risk for colon troubles. Do your best to stock in this range and only exceed it for a special occasion.

If you smoke, quitting is highly recommended. Talk to your doctor about the strategy that’s best for you.

Stay Current with Check-Ups: Make sure you stay up to date with colon screenings and other tests that can help determine the health of your gut. That way, you can learn about and act on any problems as quickly as possible.

New research has found that male athletes may have poor bone health and low testosterone levels. RED-S (relative energy deficiency in sport) was previously characterized as a female disease. But this new research shows that men are also at risk of developing the syndrome.

The prevalence of RED-S is not yet known in men, so more studies are needed. The syndrome is characterized by low energy availability when athletes eat too few calories compared with the energy they expend through exercise. A clear sign of this syndrome in women was an absence of menstruation, but men do not have a clear indicator.

Some signs of RED-S in men can include low testosterone, poor bone health, lack of sleep, and low resting metabolism. When metabolism lowers, it means that the body prioritizes vital functions at the expense of other systems in the body. This means that the rest will not function as well as they should. All of these factors can contribute to an athlete having less energy available than they should have.

Thomas Bikedal Stenqvist, who has one of the first thesis’ on the subject, explains, “In the long run, this will affect performance in sport. There will be issues such as poorer recovery and that the body does not produce the hormones needed to reach the performance level you want.”

 Maintaining Bone Health and Testosterone Levels

This research helps to outline the importance of athletes keeping a balance between improving results and maintaining health. Men’s health is an important issue not just in athletes but in many men throughout life. Testosterone Rescue uses natural ingredients to help promote testosterone production in men. It is common for men’s testosterone levels to drop 1% per year as they age. So, it is vital to support healthy levels.

Having strong bones becomes essential to living an active and healthy lifestyle as you age. Bone Rescue contains 680mg of strontium along with additional ingredients to help support and promote healthy bones. These include well-known bone supporting vitamin D3 and magnesium. Bone Rescue is an excellent way to support your diet for bone health maintenance.

Hiking, trail walks, or just spending time close to nature are common summer activities that can seem relatively low-risk. But thanks to ticks, those outings are becoming increasingly risky.

Ticks have become known, in recent years, for transmitting Lyme disease, which is a bacterial infection that can sometimes be successfully treated with antibiotics.

But now it appears that a new virus, called the Heartland virus, which has no treatment and is potentially fatal, is also being carried and transmitted to humans by ticks.

The Heartland virus was initially discovered in 2009 in Missouri, and has been found in parts of the Southeast and Midwest. It is spread by the lone star tick. Recently, however, a different version of the virus was discovered in Georgia, indicating that it is mutating.

Currently, there are no ways to test for or treat the virus. As millions set to take to the outdoors this season, it could create some concern.

Since its discovery, there have been more than 50 cases of the virus. And as of last year, it’s been found in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, according to the CDC.

Its spread may be due to climate change, which has enabled the tick to spread into new regions.

Lone star ticks are so small that you may not even notice one landing on or biting you. They get their name from the small white dot they carry on their backs.

Symptoms of the Heartland virus include fever, fatigue, decreased appetite, headache, nausea, diarrhea, muscle, and joint pain. It may also affect blood counts and liver function, and symptoms can take up to two weeks to appear.

You can still enjoy the outdoors and protect yourself from tick bites by:

• Knowing the environments where ticks dwell: they mostly live in grassy, bushy, or wooded areas.
• Treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5 percent permethrin.
• Use insect repellent with DEET, picaridin, IR3535, para-methane-diol (PMD), or 2-Undecanone.
• Stay covered and check clothing after being outdoors in the woods or fields
• To kill ticks on dry clothing, tumble dry on high heat for 10 minutes
• Check pets and gear for ticks
• Check your whole body
• Shower after being outdoors

Sleep apnea has built quite the list of negative health effects. The latest may be that it accelerates the aging process.

Thankfully, the same study found that using a CPAP machine for at least four hours per night for a year could potentially slow or reverse those effects.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition where the upper airway becomes blocked during sleep. It leads to breathing problems and an inability to remain asleep. It’s associated with a host of potential health problems.

CPAP machines are a common and effective treatment. They are masks that supply Continuous Positive Airway Pressure for uninterrupted breathing, and therefore, sleep.

The new study looked at sleep apnea’s impact on epigenetic age acceleration, which simply means having a biological age older than chronological age. It is linked to chronic disease and early mortality.

The results noted that sleep apnea speeds up the aging process through oxidative stress and inflammation. However, using a CPAP machine appeared to both slow and reverse these effects.

Of course, how do you even know if you have sleep apnea? For those who sleep beside a partner, it’s much easier. If they consistently inform you of heavy snoring, or that it sounds like you are regularly gasping for air, it’s definitely worth a sleep exam.

If you sleep alone, pay attention to how you feel during the day. Do you feel well-rested upon waking, or are you fatigued and lethargic throughout the day? You could also consider any other health conditions you’re living with, like high blood pressure or obesity. Those feelings and conditions could be indications of sleep apnea, so speak to your doctor about booking a sleep test.

More research needs to be done, but it does seem to make sense that better sleep can promote better health and fight accelerated aging.

A study is showing that a little red wine may go a long way in helping to prevent type-2 diabetes and control blood sugar.

But the timing may play a crucial role.

The new study suggests that a little red wine with meals may lower the risk of blood sugar disease. And when they say a little, they really mean it.

The benefit seemed to arise when women drank about a half-ounce of wine and men drank one ounce and only when served with a meal. For reference, a standard “drink” of wine is 5 ounces.

Of course, plenty of existing research suggests moderate drinking can be safe and produce some benefits, particularly red wine. In moderate amounts, it is associated with improved cardiovascular health, for example.

To arrive at their conclusion, the research team collected data from more than 312,000 drinkers who were part of the UK Biobank. At the beginning of the study, none had diabetes or heart disease.

During a roughly 11-year follow-up, about 8,600 participants developed type-2 diabetes. Those who had it with meals had a 14% lower risk of getting it than those who drank without eating.

The most significant benefit was seen in those who drank wine with meals and not other alcoholic drinks. Beer and liquor were actually linked with a higher risk for type-2 diabetes.

Red wine, of course, should not be your primary focus if you’re concerned about blood sugar. Instead, focus on your overall diet, limiting sugar intake, and consuming unprocessed foods. Exercise is also a great way to manage blood sugar.

Drinking in moderation, for most, is fine. Data exists to show both benefits and harms, but as long as you remain in the standard one-two drinks per day zone, you are unlikely to pose much of a threat to your health.

So drink safely with meals, and maybe you’ll get a little boost in blood sugar health.

Surviving a stroke is traumatic, and for many, life looks different after such a significant event. One of the changes could be to pay closer attention to “bad” cholesterol levels. However, a new study suggests that might not be the best strategy.

It’s true that “bad” LDL cholesterol levels get the most attention when it comes to stroke risk. But the new data indicates that another type of blood fat, triglycerides, may play a more dominant role in repeat stroke risk.

Researchers found that stroke survivors with high triglycerides suffered repeat strokes at about twice the rate of survivors with normal triglyceride levels.

The risk of heart disease and severe chest pain went up similarly, even if participants were on cholesterol-lowering statin medication.

Researchers could not say that triglycerides are necessarily to blame for the enhanced risk for repeat strokes or if it is perhaps just a marker of something else going on.

The good news is that many of the lifestyle tips recommended to stroke survivors, like a diet low in processed food, getting regular physical activity, and avoiding alcohol, will all positively affect triglycerides.

Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood. When people eat too many calories, particularly from processed foods high in sugar and saturated fats, levels can elevate and drink excessively. High triglycerides generally go hand in hand with conditions like high blood pressure, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and kidney disease.

If you’ve had a stroke and want to prevent another, doing your best to adopt lifestyle measures to mitigate risk is essential. Keeping an eye on certain indicators, like blood fat, and doing your best to eat well and get exercise, may help you avoid a repeat stroke.

Studies show that people with diabetes are at a higher risk for developing secondary conditions, with the incidence of heart disease being among the highest. Many conditions are common in people with diabetes, but cardiovascular disease is prevalent, with most people with type 2 diabetes eventually developing it.

Cardiovascular disease is a broad term to describe many types of chronic disease that affect blood circulation in the body. This can include heart disease, when the blood circulating to the heart is slowed or stopped due to a blocked artery.

People with type 2 diabetes are up to four times more likely to die from cardiovascular causes than the general population. This has led doctors to recognize the need to reduce heart disease risk in people with diabetes. Commonly, those with diabetes are only taught to manage their glucose or blood sugar levels.

This new information should encourage physicians to help their patients recognize that positive lifestyle changes can contribute to better heart health. These changes can include quitting smoking, losing weight, exercising more, lowering blood pressure, and developing a healthy diet. Research shows that by controlling these cardiovascular risk factors, people may have an improved quality of life and may also prolong their life by an average of eight years.

Heart disease occurs in people with diabetes as the condition can damage blood vessels and make the heart muscle stiffer. This can eventually lead to problems with fluid retention and heart failure. People with diabetes have also been found to have a higher risk of accelerated coronary artery disease and heart attacks. Unfortunately,  diabetes may cause nerve damage, which can cause diabetic patients not to feel chest pain or other discomforts that may signal something wrong with the heart.

The good news is that new antidiabetic therapies with proven heart benefits have been made part of clinical guidelines over the past few years. Dr. Wamil, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic health care in London, says, “This is an exciting time in our field because we have multiple therapeutic options and understand better how to reduce the risk of heart problems in people with diabetes.”

Reduce the Risk

As heart disease and diabetes are known chronic conditions that cannot be cured, it is vital to take steps to help reduce the risk or manage symptoms. This includes following healthy lifestyle behaviors such as getting plenty of exercise, consuming a healthy diet, and getting the proper vitamins and nutrients to keep the body healthy.

Healthy Blood Sugar Support uses several ingredients that have been shown in human clinical studies to help support healthy blood pressure. Using a unique variety of ingredients, this formula can support blood-sugar metabolism, help maintain healthy blood sugar balance, promote healthy cholesterol, and reduce excessive hunger or increased appetite.

Heart Rescue is an excellent way to support and promote cardiovascular health. Using various ingredients, including omega-3 fatty acids, CoQ10, magnesium, and hawthorn extract, this formula can help provide a strong and healthy heart as you age. 

Italian researchers found that people who see a spike in blood pressure when they stand up could be at an increased risk for heart attack and stroke.

They learned that even a relatively small increase in standing blood pressure – 6-7 mmHg – could predict major cardiac events in the long run.

The study looked at 1,200 Italian adults between the ages of 18 and 45, with untreated stage 1 high blood pressure (defined as systolic blood pressure of 140 to 159 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure of 90 to 100 mm Hg).

Systolic blood pressure, the top number in a reading, represents the force exerted on blood vessels when the heart beats; the diastolic reading measures the pressure between beats.

None of the participants had taken blood pressure-lowering medication before the study, and all were considered low risk for a major heart event.

Each participant had their blood pressure taken in various physical positions, including lying down and standing up. Those with the highest rise in blood pressure upon standing averaged an 11.4 mm Hg increase in blood pressure.

The other participants averaged a 3.8 mm Hg drop in systolic blood pressure when they stood, a far more common occurrence.

Over a 17-year follow-up period, study participants had 105 major heart-related events. The most common were heart attack, heart-related chest pain, and stroke. The odds for people in the top 10-percent were nearly double to experience one of these events,

Staying seated or lying down, of course, is not an option. But these findings do suggest that a boost in blood pressure upon standing my help predict a future cardiac event. Even if you only have slightly high blood pressure, do your best to keep it in a normal range.

Normal blood pressure is in the 120/80 mm Hg range and could be achieved through weight loss, more activity, and a healthful diet featuring plenty of fruits and vegetables and low in processed foods.

With an aging population, cognitive decline is quickly moving to the forefront of studies in older people. One such study has found a possible link between the use of antibiotics by middle-aged women and cognitive decline later in life.

Previous studies have suggested a connection between gut microbiome health and mental health issues such as depression and schizophrenia. This communication between the gut and central nervous system has been labelled the gut-brain axis.

Other studies have also shown that antibiotic use can lead to severe disruptions in the microbiome. This is because the microbiome is partly made up of bacteria that antibiotics can wipe out.

For this new study, researchers were able to find a link between antibiotic use by women in middle age and cognitive impairment issues. Researchers pulled data from the Nurses’ Health Study II, focusing on middle-aged females with a mean age of 54.7. Data from 15,129 nurses describing antibiotic use and the results of cognitive scores were collected over several years. The cognitive tests consisted of computerized playing card tasks to measure memory, learning, attention, and thinking speed.

It was concluded that the nurses who had taken antibiotics for at least two months scored lower on the cognitive tests than those who had taken antibiotics for a shorter period, or not at all. It was suggested that this decline was the equivalent of three to four years of aging.

Brain Health

Brain function and memory are issues that should be addressed from middle age onwards, as this study suggests. Some degree of cognitive function is normal with aging, but steps can be taken to help reduce the factors that take a toll on the ability of the brain to function at peak potential. Environmental factors can affect concentration, memory, and overall cognitive function.

All of this highlights the importance of supporting brain function. The Smart Pill is an excellent way to maintain healthy brain function and support memory. This unique formula includes ginkgo biloba, huperzine A, bacopa extract, rosemary extract, and a B vitamin complex. The Smart Pill can help improve memory, promote clear thinking, increase concentration and more. Try it today!

Vitamins and minerals might not always get the love they deserve, but the truth is that they are as essential for living as the air you breathe and the water you drink. They keep you healthy and functional and help offer protection from plenty of diseases.

These essential life components easily get thrown together, but the truth is that they are quite different.

Vitamins are organic substances that come from plants and animals. They are often called “essential” because, other than vitamin D, the body doesn’t synthesize them on its own; that’s why we have to get them from food.

Minerals, on the other hand, are inorganic elements that come from rocks, soil, or water. You get them indirectly from plant foods or animals that have eaten certain plants.

Both vitamins and minerals come in two forms. Vitamins can be water-soluble, which means the body expels what it does not absorb, and fat-soluble, where leftover amounts are stored in fat cells.

Vitamin C, as well as the B-complex vitamins (1,2,3,5,6,7,8,12) are water-soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E, and K.

Minerals are classified as either major or trace. Majors aren’t necessarily more important than a trace. It just means that you need more of them. Calcium is an example of a significant mineral, whereas copper is a trace mineral.

It can be challenging to follow all the daily recommended amounts outlined in the federal health guidelines. Instead, it’s easier to follow this one piece of advice: eat a good variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, whole grains, dairy, and meat.

If you’re deficient in a particular nutrient, or a doctor recommends increasing intake of one or another, supplements may be useful.

Otherwise, your diet should be able to take care of everything you need to remain functional and healthy.

A few nice days can certainly get people in the mood for summer, but not everyone will be reaching for their shorts.

What’s stopping them? Spider veins.

Spider veins are small, visibly damaged veins that can make some people self-conscious. They aren’t necessarily dangerous, but they aren’t something most people get excited about either.

Thankfully, they can be removed without much pain or recovery time.

Laser treatment and sclerotherapy are the two main spider vein removal procedures. Laser treatment destroys the vein by penetrating the skin to kill it essentially. It can lead to a slight burning sensation, and it will also lead to skin damage.

Sclerotherapy treats larger areas of veins than laser therapy and works by injecting a solution through a tiny needle into the vein. The solution irritates the vein and causes it to scar and shut. It also disperses to all the branches of the vein, and you can literally watch them disappear.

The needle is tiny, and the entire procedure is essentially painless, and it is, by and large, a more efficient procedure than a laser.

Regardless of the procedure, you’ll have to wear a compression wrap for a few hours after the procedure. Once treated, spider veins don’t come back. However, others may appear in different areas.

Some lifestyle changes may help prevent spider veins, too. They include:

• Wearing sunscreen
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Wearing compression stockings
• Activity
• Limit time tight clothing
• Avoid overuse of hot tubs and saunas
• Limit alcohol
• Get regular exercise
• Elevate your legs for at least five minutes per day

People sleep with a nightlight for all types of reasons. It can aid vision if they need to get up at night, while others aren’t always comfortable in total darkness.

But a new study suggests that sleeping with a light on may be unknowingly keeping their nervous system awake and boosting their chances of further health problems.

A small study of 20 adults found that just one night of sleeping with the lights on led to changes in their bodies. Even though participants reported sleeping well, the light seemed to cause increases in sleeping heart rate and morning insulin production.

The effects were not significant, but the researchers suggested that these small effects on a nightly basis may ultimately impact a persons’ health.

Sleeping in the darkness definitely has benefits, however, you may not need total darkness. After all, humans used to sleep under the moonlight.

If you need to keep a nightlight for safety or just like to have one, try to pick one on the red/amber end of the light spectrum and not blue or white. You could also keep it low to the ground and even think about getting one with a motion sensor, so it is illuminated only when you’re up and on the move.

The real problems may be people aren’t exposing themselves to enough natural light during the day and too much artificial blue light—from electronic devices—in the evenings. These devices may suppress melatonin and make it harder to reach a restful state.

The study found that nightlights did not disturb melatonin. However, it found that they may have activated the sympathetic nervous system, which keeps people alert during the day.

Other research from 2019 found that women who slept with light or TV on tended to gain more weight over time and were more likely to become obese than those without light. It’s possible this could be tied to insulin.

If you can sleep without the lights on, go for it. If not, think about a motion sensor nightlight and consider the aforementioned tips.

People with Alzheimer’s are already at a higher risk for falls than the average person. A new study suggests that damage to the inner ear system that controls balance could be a major reason.

The vestibular system is an intricate network consisting of several canals and bony structures deep inside the inner ear. The impaired system can lead to dizziness, vertigo, and balance issues, even in perfectly healthy people.

A new study by researchers at John Hopkins Medicine found that damage to the vestibular system may be especially dangerous for people with Alzheimer’s.

Overall, their small study of 48 with Alzheimer’s found that impairment to the vestibular system was linked with a 50 percent increase in fall risk.

People with Alzheimer’s with no damage to the vestibular system were about half as likely to fall than those with impairment.

Falls are a major problem for people with Alzheimer’s disease. They tend to fall at twice the rate of healthy older adults, often leading to injury, assisted living requirements, or early death.

Some describe the vestibular system as a sixth hidden sense because it functions subconsciously. It is always “on” and usually operates to keep people oriented as they move through space.

It senses what’s up, down, and all around and feeds that information to the brain, much like other sensory organs like the eyes or ears. But unlike closing your eyes or plugging your ears, you can not wilfully control the vestibular system. When the system is impaired, it is very difficult to navigate the world.

Thankfully, vestibular treatment is available. Balance exercises performed with the care of a physical therapist can help, but it is up to doctors to recognize it and screen Alzheimer’s patients for damage.