Help Yourself to Vitality-

Rae's family's amazing results  from marine collagen supplements & the miraculous benefits of a daily walking regime.

Sorry, couldn't help using this amazing photo, and apologies to my family as it is not supposed to mean anything other than it being a top National Geographic photo of the year, used to illustrate that vitality is within the grasp of us all. One just has to climb the odd tree as sustained good health takes a degree of effort to maintain at any age.

Following on from the tips of last week, we present some personal results and articles, including the benefits of anti-aging collagen, how to prevent the disease that ups dementia risk and the multiple benefits of daily walking.

 

Preventing Dementia and Alzheimer's

Preventing dementia is of particular concern to me (Raewyn) as both my Mother & Grandmother were sufferers so I am reading everything and prepared to try it all.

I don't know whether any of you have had the experience of watching a parent gradually decline with dementia or Alzheimer's.  It is a very sad situation when the person you know well has no idea who you are anymore.  So, can these diseases be prevented?  The Director of UCLA Centre on Aging, Gary Small MD has this to say: "Perhaps the greatest misconception about Alzheimer's is that genetics, or what we inherit from our parents, accounts for the entire risk and we can do nothing to prevent it."  Plus the author of 100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer's and Age-Related Memory Loss. Jean Carper reports: "Most people think there is little or nothing we can do to avoid Alzheimer's.  But scientists know this is no longer true.  In fact, prominent researchers now say that our best and perhps only hope of defeating Alzheimer's is to prevent it." Jean says in her book on page 99 to 'walk, walk, walk, - A brisk walk is a huge boost for your brain. According to leading authority Arthur Kramer, PhD, a neuroscientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, six months of regular walking pays off with an astonishing 15 to 20 percent improvement in memory, decision-making ability, and attention, plus a bigger brain with more grey matter.'

In addition to the 100 things contained in the above book, new research finds that older people are more likely to experience memory decline if they have metabolic syndrome, a condition which has already been linked to heart disease. Metabolic syndrome is defined as the presence of three or more of the following risk factors: large waist circumference, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high blood sugar and low HDL ("good") cholesterol. for the rest of the article click here.  Once again, I am following those suggestions with regular check ups. 

However, it seems the answer may be in just getting off the couch.  In a great article 'It's Never too Late to Have Oomph' which profiles a yoga practising, snow skiing octogenarian, Dr. Mark Lachs, director of geriatrics at the NewYork Presbyterian Healthcare System, and author of a newly published book Treat Me, Not My Age: A Doctor's Guide to Getting the Best Care as You or a Loved One Gets Older , is quoted as saying, " Lifestyle choices made in midlife can have a major impact on your functional ability late in life, he emphasized. If you begin a daily walking program at age 45, he said, you could delay immobility to 90 and beyond. If you become a couch potato at 45 and remain so, immobility can encroach as early as 60."

Other than walking, what you can do - '8 Exercise tips for Boomers.'

Anti-aging Collagen tablets

Now on to the good and easy bit.  Anti-aging collagen tablets.  Now used by most of the family with fantastic results.  Not only do they help broken bones to heal faster, the side effect is less wrinkles, smoother skin, better hair and nails and so much better sleep.  Here is the story of how this came about:

Gavin, my husband, broke his foot.  Again.  And, in talking to Birgit Spahn, our natural therapist, about where to from here after he decided he was not going into plaster, she suggested he take collagen tablets.  Not just any tablets, but ones derived from pure marine collagen, which Birgit claimed would make his bones heal faster.  In support of his taking a natural supplement I decided I would come along for the ride as Brigit explained the other benefits.  And, lo and behold, 5 weeks later Gavin is spending more and more time out of his moon boot and sleeping so much better.  I, on the other hand, cannot extol the virtues of this product enough.  Not only is my skin feeling 10 years younger, I too am sleeping better.  Plus my daughter, Melissa, who has had a lifelong problem with sleep deprivation has been known to sleep 9 hours uninterrupted. And friend Joan who is an owl who didn't sleep during the day either is enjoying many nights of unusually deep slumber.  Plus, like me she is amazed at the difference in her skin.  How pleased are we with Brigit that she is offering a chance for wisanow readers to enter a draw to win 3 months supply of this amazing product. 

And, last but not least, I would like to share a great video which initially was an advertisement to persuade women on the benefits of regular mammograms - 'When I grow up.........'

If it has been a  while since you had a good chuckle, watch this wee family - they call it the anti-depression video