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Regular eye tests can help detect diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and certain types of cancer that affect eyes. Researchers in Salt Lake City suggest that occasional 24-hour fasts can lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Men tend to avoid visiting doctors due to the misconception that signs are not worth worrying about, which can cause treatable problems to worsen. Older people of both sexes should see their dental hygienist regularly, as gum disease can be linked to heart disease, asthma, and other illnesses.
Also, gum disease can cause inflammation and lead to osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Israeli researchers suggest that walking around during hospital stays can help older people recover faster. Finally, a study in Canada found that comparing oneself negatively to more successful friends or coworkers can lead to higher stress hormone cortisol and physical symptoms, so it is important to focus on one’s achievements.
Have an eye test
Regular trips to the ophthalmologist can do more than just check on the health of your eyes; they may also help find other diseases that can affect us as we get older. Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, liver problems, and some kinds of cancer can all cause problems with the eyes. When you get regular eye tests, you can find these problems early and start treatment right away.
One day of fasting
Researchers in Salt Lake City, Utah, think that 24-hour fasts every once in a while could lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Researchers think that this defense may be due to the fact that blood glucose and triglyceride levels are lower during a fast. It’s important to drink a normal amount of water while fasting, and if you have type 2 diabetes or other health problems, you should talk to a doctor before fasting. People with type 1 diabetes should not go on a fast.
Don’t be macho
Men should go to the doctor when they need to. Men usually don’t go to the doctor as often as women do because men tend to think that signs are nothing to worry about. This way of thinking can make it so that a treatable problem gets worse before someone goes to the doctor. Men should go to the doctor if they feel sick in a way that isn’t normal. Men’s health may improve if they start to take their complaints seriously and go to the doctor, who will set up tests if they need to. It’s also important to get regular check-ups and health tests.
See the hygienist to save your bones
Your gums and teeth aren’t the only things your dental hygienist can help protect when you see her regularly. Researchers have found links between gum disease and heart disease, asthma, and other diseases. This is especially important for older people of both sexes, but because estrogen levels naturally drop after menopause, postmenopausal women are at a higher risk. Also, gum disease can cause the body to make cytokines, which are chemicals that cause inflammation and have been linked to osteoporosis in older women. To keep your oral health in check, it is important to see your dental hygienist on a daily basis.
Get out of bed
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The sooner you can go home from the hospital, the faster you will get better and be able to move around. Israeli researchers looked at 485 people over 70 who had to stay in the hospital for at least 2 days. They found that those who walked around during their hospital stay were there for an average of 1.5 days less than those who stayed in bed. This is especially important for older people, whose muscles are more likely to get weak because they don’t move around as much. So, it’s important to start moving as soon as it’s safe to do so and to get help from physiotherapists and other health workers to get your strength and balance back.
Don’t return back
A study done in Canada found that people who compare themselves negatively to friends or coworkers who are more successful are more likely to get colds than those who compare themselves to people who have less. Higher amounts of the stress hormone cortisol are linked to having regrets in life, which can make physical symptoms worse. So, it’s important to let go of mistakes and concentrate on the good things you’ve done in life.
Stay in Sun
Spending time in the sun can help prevent many diseases, such as autoimmune disorders, cancer, dementia, sadness, heart disease, infectious diseases, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis. But as we get older, we may not get enough vitamin D because we spend less time in the sun or are less able to absorb it. Middle-aged people are often overweight, which can also make it hard to absorb vitamin D. To make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D, you can:
- Spend 10-15 minutes in the sun every day without sunscreen
- Take vitamin D pills if you can’t get enough sun exposure (talk to a doctor or nutritionist first)
- Eating fatty fish like mackerel and sardines, sun-dried shiitake mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes, which all have small amounts of vitamin D.
Pop an aspirin
Still up for discussion are the pros and cons of taking a low-dose aspirin every day. But researchers at Oxford University in the UK recently said that a daily dose of 75mg aspirin might be able to avoid and treat certain types of cancer, like bowel cancer, in less time than was thought before. This finding could be important for older people in particular. At the moment, healthy people shouldn’t take aspirin on a daily basis, but you might want to talk to your doctor about whether or not this drug is right for you.
