Our health issues

It could have been a word I didn't know or know the use of it in certain contexts. My vocabulary isn't the greatest and I come across words I don't know all the time.

I'm not giving up my morning coffee no matter what. "Shouldn't this, shouldn't that." Stupid articles. There's not going to be anything left to eat or drink. And besides I'm drinking it indoors, not outside in a snowstorm.

Actually, I don't drink that much coffee anyway. And as I get older, I am beginning more and more to eat and drink what I want--up to a point. Many people who deprive themselves don't seem to live any longer than those who allow themselves treats!

15 Causes of Swollen Fingers

My "swollen" fingers tell me I've gained a lot of weight.

5 Common OTC Medications Pharmacists Wish You'd Stop Taking

Foods That Help Improve Ciruclation

Are bananas good for you?

Thanks for the article on bananas. I eat them often on my breakfast cereal. I recall, many years ago, there was a woman who lived near us who had ulcers. She ate bananas to help relieve her discomfort.

I was pleased to read they help reduce sodium. We try to avoid eating salt as much as possible. However it's almost impossible to avoid it altogether. Plus, we have a water softener that uses salt pellets. So we get some additional salt just drinking tap water.

I didn't use to like them for some reason but I eat them now. They are delicious with peanut butter on them! For years I used to eat banana bread or cake but didn't like the actual bananas.

They are supposed to be calming but doesn't work for me. Somewhere I read not to drink water right after eating one or during eating, as it can cause indigestion with some people. I don't recall the reason. This happens to me so I wait awhile before eating one or after. The thing about them is that they get ripe too fast. They actually get a bit brown during the short drive back home after the store. So I just buy 2 or 3 at the most.....Other fruits like apples keep for many days.

It has potassium which is a diuretic but we're also supposed to drink a lot of water daily. So bathroom trips all day.

I stopped eating a lot of salt years ago, even though I don't have a blood pressure problem. It took months to get used to "low salt" foods. I used to use so much salt, I'd literally POUR it on my French fries when I was in my 20's. They used to give me two tiny packets and I'd say I need MORE.

No, you can't avoid it as almost everything has it. But some sodium is necessary.

We read, in one of our cookbooks, that you can refrigerate bananas and they'll keep longer. The peels will start turning black, but the fruit will still be good. So we tried it, and it works! Now we can buy more bananas at a time and not run out.

I do that and they do turn brown fast! The fruit also is awfully soft or mushy, I don't like it like that. But too lazy to use it in baking, which is texture you want to add it to batter.

If they are green or yellow/green I keep them at room temp for just 2 days at the most, then they start getting ripe.

Pictures of Best Foods to Eat as You Age

Today I got and filled out the papers for advanced directives. I’ve known what I wanted for years and always meant to get around to it. Today I had the annual wellness check with a nurse. She asked about it and I confessed I I’d put it off and now I didn’t know where the papers were. She gave me new papers and an appointment for Friday to have it witnessed and entered into the records. So now after years of procrastinating I’m done. Feels good.

Most evidence is correlational and people who drink 1-2 glasses a day (and not less and not more) are often people who engage in many proven healthy behaviors and have other good things going for them such as socioeconomic status, and those things and not alcohol explain positive health outcomes. Do not worry that you cannot drink and do not like to. Just do things that are proven to health, such as exercising.

Be careful though with what you put into your Advanced Directive. I had a major, nearly lethal suicide attempt in 2009 after which I was brought back to life at Stanford Hospital. I was on a ventilator for several days. Had I had an AD with a "do not resuscitate" order in it, I would not have received another lease on life. since we are on a mental health forum with bipolar and similar dx's, I thought I'd mention that.

I have not read the article but wanted to mention that coffee is strongly correlated with protection against diabetes and Parkinson's. I try to drink at least 3 cups a day for this reason.

I just drink one cup in the morning. Any more than that and I'd be up part of the night.....Sometimes I can get away with a second cup, if it's for example a chilly morning. But I need to drink it before noon.

Okay I can vent in this thread. I just had my physical and my cholesterol is still too high and I'm still pre-diabetic. I never even heard those terms in my youth when getting a physical. Sick of the preachy letters from them every year telling me what to eat and not to eat, when I'm ALREADY doing that. I've been trying to get that d a m n cholesterol down for 20 years now. I swear eating healthy takes the joy out of eating.

I'm not giving up anymore foods; there won't be anything left to eat. I know everything is going up in price but fresh produce has skyrocketed and I'm supposed to eat 4 servings a day.

The above gif is because the ones on the site don't feel like enough in this case. Gosh when I was younger I could eat anything, in any amount and any time of the day or night. Aging sucks.

Honestly I no longer believe Cholesterol is bad for you - necessarily.

At 30 I was constantly in a fight with my doctor about my high cholesterol. It was only 240 then - it is much more after menopause. But I refused statins and she essentially fired me. At 50 I got into it with my doctor again, but this time I demanded a Coronary Calcium Scan. A very light CT of your heart. This will tell you if you have blockages. There is a free movie on You tube called "the widowmaker" that will tell you about it.

20 years of high cholesterol -- my CAC score was zero. That means I have ZERO blockages at 50. That is as good as you can get. My doctor still wanted me on statins even though the American heart Association says that is not the standard of care.

There is so much that your body needs cholesterol for. I think the doctors are completely wrong on this. Did you know your body makes nutrients for the heart called Cardiotonics? Those keep your heart pumping strongly. Guess what your body makes those out of? Cholesterol.

I would recommend you ask for a coronary calcium scan to know your true heart risk.

With regard to the high blood sugar.... honestly -- you must reduce carbs and sugar. Also do some fasting. I did Alternate day fasting (but that is a bit hard) and my blood sugar level got down to an A1C of 5.0%. I eat veggies but not high starch ones. I would look into time restricted eating.

High blood sugar is a culprit with regard to damage to the vascular system. Among other things there is this hair like structure in your arteries called endothelial glycocalyx. This keeps things away from the sides of the arteries. Studies have shown that when you have high sugar in the blood this hair like structure flattens. Thus damage to your artery walls is more likely at that time.

Did you know that blood viscosity has been more tied to heart damage than cholesterol? There is an easy way to reduce blood viscosity. Donate blood regularly. And yes there are studies that show reduction in heart disease with those who regularly donate.

High blood sugar also makes your blood more thick if viscous. The American diabetes Assocation recommends everyone with diabetes take an aspirin for this reason (but I think aspirin can be dangerous).

I am a regular blood donor and I did not know that!