Body Care After 40 Maintaining Digestive System (After 40)
 Preventing Digestive Problems: The most simplest thing can affect your digestive system and the most simplest change can help help it too. Some people find that their digestive system gets less efficient with age. Digestive problems can occur at any age. If your diet has been low in fibre and high in refined foods, digestive problems may take place. Besides having poor dietary habits, older people may suffer from digestive problems due to hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid is released from the stomach wall and it begins the breakdown of protein in the stomach. One good solution is to eat high fibre diet. Fibre is not digested by the body so it passes through the gut, exercising the intestines in excess and adding bulk to stools. You should remember along with increasing your intake of fibre, you should increase intake of water as the fibre swells and absorbs water in the intestines. Foods that are rich in fibre are baked potatoes, wholewheat cereals, oats, lentils, brown rice, beans and wholegrain bread. Vegetables like broccoli and cabbage should be eaten several times a week to lessen the risk of colon cancer. Exercising is also a good way of digesting. You should avoid taking commercial laxatives. Sluggish bowel function can be treated by some therapies such as massage, acupuncture, acupressure, homeopathy, herbalism and naturopathy. Garlic, peppermint, camomile and fennel may relieve flatulence. Tea made with ginger root may help alleviate nausea. Garlic and onions may be used to help cleanse the digestive system. Psyllium husks may help relieve constipation. They are available in capsule form. For mild constipation, honey, olive oil, chilli, ginger, rhubarb, linseed and prunes are used. Colon cleansing formulas can be used too. Broad spectrum digestive enzymes, available in health shops help in controlling digestion. If you have a persistent digestive disorder, like blood in the stools or pain in the bowels, do consult your doctor. Maintaining Digestive System (After 40)
 Looking After Eyesight: To prevent your vision from deterioration and the prevention of eye disease, it is important to take care of your eyes. Many people are unaware of the fact that healthy eating and exercising can affect your eyesight. Changes take place gradually. If there is a sudden change of vision, do consult your doctor as it might be a sign of underlying illness. As we grow older, the vision gets blurred and it loses its flexibility. The retina becomes less sensitive to light, and a condition called glaucoma, in which pressure builds up inside the eyes becomes more likely. There is loss of peripheral vision,flashes of light and floating shapes. The vision is hazy, and it feels as if you are looking through a fog. Sudden and severe eye pain is present, eyes get teary, there is a nausea sensation, headache occurs and vomiting takes place. To take care of all these complications, you should consult your ophthalmologist about changes in your vision. The treatment can be for reading glasses to surgery for cataracts. If you are suffering from diabetes, you should be vigilant and have regular check ups. Try not to work in poor light, avoid spending hours in front of the computer. It is very important to eat oily fish as it supplies the body with DHA and Omega 3 fatty acids. Sardines, mackerel and tuna are good for eyesight. Maintaining a healthy weight is necessary. Always remove contact lenses or glasses before starting any eye exercise. You should be careful and make sure that your sunglasses are scratch free otherwise they may harm you more than helping you. It is good to splash the eyes with warm water and then cold water, helps the circulation to increase. Smell, Taste And Hearing (After 40)
 Humans are considered to have more than 5 senses. The nervous system has a specific sensory system or organ. Taking care of one's body after the age of 40 includes smell, taste and hearing, because without these organs, functioning in a normal manner is impossible and you have to resort to other means.
Smell: Smell is a chemical sense. Our sense of smell is a much neglected asset. Impairment of the sense of smell affects 50% over the age of 65 and 75% over the age of 80. Researchers have found out that people have suffered from a diminishing sense of smell after they have suffered from a respiratory infection. This organ helps us in dangerous situations, for example, alerting us to a fire. Aromatherapists depend solely on the olfactory system for their work. Receptors in the nose absorb smells that helps stimulate the olfactory organ. Signals are then sent out to the limbic system, part of the brains involved in the control of emotions. As we get older, the sense of smell gets weaker and you cannot differentiate between different smells. Combined with a loss of taste, food becomes less appetizing. Breathing exercises, where you can hold your breath, is a way to help your sense of smell which can deaden over time.
 Taste: On an average, there are about 10,000 taste buds on the tongue, the roof of the mouth, the pharynx and the oesophagus. During young age, these taste buds are replaced on a regular basis, but as we grow older, the replacement process becomes slow and less efficient. As you get older, food starts to taste bland. Consumption of alcohol, cigarette smoking and certain medications trigger off this malfunction of the taste buds. People who wears dentures suffer with this problem as the receptors in the food palate are covered. After menopause, women suffer from malfunction of the taste buds. As women get older, their taste buds diminish , so they stop eating healthy food like vegetables and fruits, and resort to spicy food and sauces, and strongly flavoured meat and cheese. This can be hazardous to the health. Taking care of the body after 40 does implement eating the right type of food to suit the body. Eating food with too much of salt causes high blood pressure. Rich food brings on cardiovascular disease. Without a word, zinc is the best thing to take when your sense of smell starts to diminish. Zinc's ability to restore the taste faculties is legendary. Most people suffer from zinc deficiency, so you should boost it up. Hair analysis shows whether someone is deficient in zinc. Liquid zinc is the best absorbable form of zinc. Examples of zinc-rich foods are oysters, pecan nuts, ginger root, peanuts, wholewheat grains, dry split peas and egg yolks.
 Hearing: Loss of hearing starts from the on-start of our lives, right from the beginning when we are born and the tiny hairs in the inner part of the ear start to die. It is an age related process due to deterioration of the sensory nerve cells. Loss of hearing is a very gradual process. With age, the sounds gets fainter. Age related hearing loss is known as presbycusis. It is common in men over 40 and may be genetically influenced. The most common complaints you come across when hearing deficiency occurs are difficulty in hearing high frequencies, difficulty understanding speech and, difficulty hearing in noisy places and being unable to hear sounds you used to. Precautions should be made by consulting your ENT doctor when the first signs of hearing loss appears. Hearing Aid is an alternative you can use. Some benefit from lip reading and sign language. Treatments like reflexology and osteopathy are beneficial to help improve loss of hearing. Tittinus is an age related problem which is very common and can be avoided by wearing earplugs in noisy situations. Avoiding alcohol, loud music, doing exercise and practising relaxation are techniques which can ease the symptoms. More Body Care After 40  |
