Our Wellness Blog
CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION
WE ARE MONITORING THE CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) OUTBREAK
AND
WHAT IT MEANS FOR OUR CLIENTS & COMMUNITIES.
THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC.GOV)
IS THE BEST SOURCE FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION.
THE OUTBREAK IS EVOLVING QUICKLY,
AND THE CDC AND HEALTH DEPARTMENTS IN EACH STATE
ARE WORKING ON PUBLIC HEALTH POLICIES
TO HELP PREVENT THE SPREAD
OF THE ILLNESS.
PLEASE CONTACT US DIRECTLY WITH QUESTION
&/OR
CONCERNS YOU MAY HAVE
AND
IN REGARDS TO, YOUR PLAN BENEFITS AND SERVICES.
PLEASE TAKE PRE-CAUTIONS
AND
BE SAFE...
WE ARE HERE TO HELP,
PLEASE CONTACT US TODAY,
WE ARE HAPPY TO ASSIST!
A NEW YEAR LIFESAVER
Let’s say it’s 7:25pm and you’re traveling home alone
after an unusually hard day on the job.
You’re tired and upset with the time you are leaving
from work
and
you are feeling frustrated...
Suddenly, you start experiencing severe pain in your chest
that starts to drag out into your arm
and
up in to your jaw.
You are only about 5 miles
from the hospital
nearest your home.
Unfortunately,
you don’t know
if you’ll make it that far.
You have been trained in CPR,
however,
the course
did not tell you
how to perform CPR on yourself...
HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE
Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack
and
without help,
the person whose heart is beating improperly
and
who begins to feel faint,
has only about 10 seconds
before
losing consciousness.
However, these individuals can help themselves
by
coughing repeatedly
and
very vigorously...
A deep breath should be taken
before each cough,
and
the cough must be deep
and
prolonged,
as when producing sputum
from deep inside the chest.
A breath
and
a cough
must be repeated
about every two seconds
without
let-up
until help arrives,
or
the heart is felt to be beating
normally again.
Deep breaths
get oxygen into the lungs
and
coughing movements
squeeze the heart
and
keep the blood circulating
The squeezing pressure
on the heart
helps
the heart regain
normal rhythm.
In this way,
heart attack victims can get to a hospital.
Tell as many other people about this blog post,
as it could save their lives!!
A cardiologist predicts
If everyone who reads this
kindly passes it on to 10 people,
you can bet that we’ll save at least one life.
Have a safe, happy and healthy 2020!
***
VITAMINS AS WE AGE:
Multivitamins
There’s little, if any, proof that multivitamins benefit seniors
who are otherwise healthy.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
recommends against daily multivitamins
to ward off cancer or heart disease.
Multivitamins marketed at seniors
may be tailored with
higher doses of vitamins D or B12
or less iron.
But unless you have a poor appetite
or have conditions that keep you from
eating a healthy diet,
you probably
don’t need them.
Where to Get Them?
Whether it’s vitamins, minerals, or fiber,
it’s best to get them from foods instead of pills.
But that can be a challenge for some older Americans,
especially if you don’t eat a balanced diet.
You’re most likely to lack
vitamin D, potassium, calcium, or dietary fiber.
If you think you need more than you can get from food,
talk to your doctor about supplements that will be safe
with your meds, diet, and health.
Vitamin D
Your body needs it to absorb calcium.
So take them in tandem to help prevent osteoporosis.
Vitamin D also helps your muscles, nerves, and immune system work right.
Most people get some vitamin D from sunlight.
But your body is less able to convert sun’s rays to vitamin D as you age.
It’s harder to get this vitamin from foods, but
fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines
are a good source.
Potassium
Potassium plays a part in almost everything
inside your body,
including your heart, kidneys, muscles, and nerves.
It also may help protect against
stroke, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis.
Many Americans don’t get enough.
Dried apricots, bananas, spinach, milk, and yogurt
are good sources.
Ask your doctor before you take supplements.
They can interfere
with medications for
high blood pressure, migraine,
and other conditions.
Calcium
With age, you can start to lose more of this mineral
than you absorb.
That can make your bones break
more easily (osteoporosis),
especially for women after menopause.
Calcium helps your muscles, nerves, cells, and blood vessels work right.
You get most of it from your bones, which get it from food.
Women over 50 and
men over 70
should get about 20% more
than other adults.
Milk, yogurt, and cheese
are good sources.
Fiber
You probably know fiber is good for you.
But did you know
it’s even more important as you age?
Fiber helps protect against strokes,
helps you eliminate more regularly,
and
lowers your cholesterol and blood sugar
these are
big benefits in
older bodies.
Women over 50 should get
at least 21 grams a day,
while men need 30 grams,
however,
most people don’t get that much.
That’s equal to about 6-8 servings of whole grains,
or
8-10 servings of vegetables
Read your food labels
and
you can reach these numbers
with more ease..
Come back for more nutritional advice
in future blog
posts
*
SOURCES​: American Heart Association: “7 is the lucky number for reducing stroke risk.”Mayo Clinic: “Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet.”National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: “Omega-3 Supplements: In Depth,” “Probiotics: In Depth.”National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: “Multivitamin/mineral Supplements,” “Folate,” “Potassium,” “Selenium,” “Zinc,” “Omega-3 Fatty Acids,”
“Magnesium,” “B6,” “Vitamin D,” “B12,” “Calcium.”Oregon State University: “Zinc deficiency mechanism linked to aging, multiple diseases.”
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: “Association of low plasma selenium concentrations with poor muscle strength in older community-dwelling adults: the InCHIANTI Study.”
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: “Vitamin Supplementation to Prevent Cancer and CVD: Preventive Medication.”Harvard Medical School: “Should you take ‘senior’ multivitamins?”
***
ACCELERATED DEATH BENEFIT
a living benefit:
You have the power to chose a “new kind” of life insurance.
Whether it's term, universal life, indexed universal life, or whole life products
with an accelerated death benefit as a living benefit
which allows you
the ability to accelerate the death benefit in your life insurance policy
should you get sick or injured.
This revolution in life insurance coverage is the best way to protect yourself from
the financial hardship and medical bankruptcy risks
associated with such occurrences from;
heart attack, cancer diagnosis, stroke, or any other critical, chronic, or terminal illness.
The accelerated death benefit rider
makes these living benefits possible!
Simply put,
it’s a better, evolved breed of life insurance
that comes at the same cost to you.
***
ADVANCE DIRECTIVES
Avoid confusion:
let others know what you want for your individual care before you need help
Advance directives explain how you want medical decisions to be made when you're too ill to speak for yourself.
These legal doc​ument's tell your
family, friends, and health care professionals:
What kind of health care
you want
&
Who you want to make decisions
for you!
Types of Advance Directives
Advance Directives legally states which treatment you want if your life is threatened, including:
Dialysis and breathing machines
Resuscitation if you stop breathing or if your heart stops
Tube feeding
Organ or tissue donation...
How to get advance directives
Create a document such as a HEALTH CARE POWER OF ATTORNEY document
in which, you name someone you trust, to make health decisions for you, if you can’t.
This can also be in the form of a DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY which includes financial and health powers and varies State by State
(check with your State laws for Power of Attorney and HealthCare Proxy or an Attorney knowledgeable in Elder Law & Estate Planning)
Get advance directive advice from any of these sources:
Your Health Insurance Agent - Me!
Your Health Care Provider
An Attorney
Your local Area Agency on Aging
Your State Health Department.
Your State Laws
What to do with your advance directives
Carry a card in your wallet that says you have an advance directive
or
a bracelet on your wrist with instruction for EMT's
Keep the original copies of your advance directives where you can easily find them
or
where your designated person(s) can locate them easily
Give a copy to
your health care proxy
power of attorney
health care providers
hospital,
nursing services
provider,
family,neighbor, trusted friend...
Review your advance directives each year.
***