Healthy Aging: Body, Mind & Spirit

Eight tips to help you bounce back from a lay off

Upon first losing your job, you can expect to experience an onslaught of emotions similar to the stages of grief, in any order:  shock, denial and anger are very common, as well as fear and depression.

But ultimately you will move towards the rewarding feeling of acceptance. Now you are ready to turn this apparent crisis into the BEST opportunity of your life!  How do you get to this point?

Eight Tips to Help You Bounce Back from a Lay Off

1. Manage your fears. One of the biggest hindrances to job seekers is fear; fear of your financial situation, fear of failure, and so on.   Falling into this mindset can do major damage to your self-esteem — the last thing you need when you’re looking for work.  To help manage your fears, find ways to relieve your negative thoughts and instead focus on all you have to offer.  Ask yourself: “What are the facts about my abilities and my situation?”  Do a reality check.
2. Take time to regroup. Immediately following a layoff, take some time to let it all sink in before you develop your plan of action.   Your body and mind need time to absorb the shock and begin your transition.
3. Don’t take it personally. If you lack self-esteem you may over-generalize and conclude that you are less competent than others.  However, the best way to rebuild your self-esteem is to pick yourself up after you have fallen.  If you have been laid off, embrace it.  Turn this job loss into a positive by figuring out where you went wrong, then apply what you have learned about yourself to your next endeavor.  Now you are free to reinvent your life.
4. Resist the urge to sleep in. Lingering in bed to watch daytime talk shows may damage your morale and self-esteem.  Instead, get up in the morning as you normally would, take a brisk walk, do some stretching and then get ready to make the most of your day.
5. Update your resume and possibly your skills. If it’s been awhile since you’ve been in the market for a job, make sure your resume is up to date.   You may need to enroll in some continuing education courses or seminars to give yourself an edge over the competition.
6. Become a standout in your industry. To establish this kind of credibility and enhance your network of contacts, consider joining a professional organization, publishing a blog relevant to your career goals, or offering your expertise to the media.   Now is the time to enhance your brand, which will have a long-lasting impact on your future career success and possibilities.
7. Stay active. Both on the career front, such as attending career fairs and networking events, and also on a personal level.  Regular exercise and activities such as volunteering will help keep your mental energy at its peak.
8. Consider starting your own business. For many, becoming an entrepreneur may turn out to be a more steady, more secure and wildly more rewarding career choice than working for someone else.

Why do some people never get depressed?

According to the World Health Organization, depression affects just over 120 million people worldwide. One in ten Americans are now on antidepressant drugs.  So why do some of us handle life’s stresses so well, while others simply fall apart?

According to Manchester University psychologist Dr Rebecca Elliott, we are all situated somewhere on a slidling scale.  “At one end you have people who are very vulnerable. In the face of quite low stress, or none at all, they’ll develop a mental health problem,” she says.  “At the other end, you have people who life has dealt a quite appalling hand with all sorts of stressful experiences, and yet they remain positive and optimistic.”

Most of us are somewhere in the middle.   Learn more here!

Here’s some new info. about your blood pressure!

Measuring blood pressure in both arms should be routine, because the difference between left and right arm could indicate underlying health problems, says a study review.

The Lancet research found that a large difference could mean an increased risk of vascular disease and death.

Click for full BBC article.

Have your doubts about global warming?

Then go checkout this article and the video at the bottom which shows how much the earth’s temperature has changed since 1880!

Eliminate toxins to prevent breast cancer!

The Institute of Medicine’s concise message: “Limit or eliminate your exposure to chemicals that are plausible contributors to breast cancer risk.”

–About 34,000 cancer deaths a year are due to environmental pollutants.

–The report found the strongest evidence for a) secondhand smoke; b) chemicals in gas fumes, car exhaust and some work environments; and c) solvents in dry cleaning, paint and paint thinners.

–Hormone-like chemicals in plastics, pesticides and elsewhere could also be a problem.

Don’t shrug off these warnings. Instead, take these five steps. They’ll lower your exposure to many toxins that threaten breasts most.

Learn more about toxins and your health from Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz.

What we who are 50+ need to know about vitamins

AARP tells you their opinion here.

Are compact florescent bulbs dangerous?

The benefits of CFL bulbs are clear.  They include a much longer life, use far less electricity, and emit little heat.   However, overshadowing the advantages are several important health concerns being raised not just in the U.S. but around the world.

Learn more here.

The Healthiest Cities for Women

according to Women’s Health…

Natural Treatment Options for Fungal Infections

A new study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that an antifungal protein (Pr-2) in pumpkin rinds may hinder Candida albicans without harming cells. The study’s researchers believe it could be an effective way to treat yeast infections naturally.   Another option is olive leaf extract, a widely available supplement that has been shown to kill fungi, including Candida.

That said, depending on what type of fungal infection you are dealing with, a systemic approach often works best. The top steps to treat candida overgrowth on a whole-body level include:

1. Eat a healthier diet and avoid sugar. Your diet should focus on whole, unprocessed fresh foods, and should drastically limit, or even better eliminate, sugar and refined carbs. Remember, sugar is a favorite food for yeast, so the less you “feed” it the better.
2. Restore balance to your intestinal microflora. If your intestinal balance has been upset, as is typically the case if you have candida overgrowth, active compounds of garlic can be used as they have demonstrated strong antibacterail and antifungal activity against candida.

1. Repopulate your digestive tract with good bacteria. Choose a probiotic supplement of therapeutic dose, especially if you have been on antibiotic therapy.A high-quality probiotic supplement can provides clinical applications that support systemic health and wellness through immune-system protection, allergy reduction and effective, enhanced nutrient absorption making it necessary to restore balance to your gastrointestinal tract and ultimately will replace the candida with good bacteria.

1. Support your immune system. A weakened immune system puts you at a disadvantage when you are trying to fight a chronic yeast infection or yeast overgrowth.

1. Avoid exposure to chemicals. This includes not only chemicals in your food and home and personal care products (perfume, paints, household cleaners, etc.), but also in unnecessary medications.
2. Nurture your emotional health. Stress can be a major factor in candida overgrowth, so use these tips to start relaxing more and tending to your emotional needs.

What Can Help Soothe Itchy Yeast Infections, Jock Itch and Athlete’s Foot, Naturally?

Anti-fungal creams (prescription or over-the-counter) are often recommended to help relieve the itchy symptoms of yeast and fungal infections. The downside to this is that many proprietary creams used to relieve irritation and itch contain chemicals that can cause discomfort.

Remember, yeast multiply quickly so it’s very easy for them to quickly take a hold of your body. However, combining the tips above with the care of a knowledgeable health care practitioner (who specializes in candida overgrowth and other fungal infections) will allow you to fight against candida and ultimately restore balance to your body and your health.

Could you have a Candida infection?

Millions of people struggle with hard-to-treat fungal infections caused by Candida, a type of yeast that is the most common human fungal pathogen.  Candida albicans, the most common species of Candida, is the leading cause of vaginal and oral yeast infections, as well as the fourth most common hospital-acquired blood-borne pathogen.

About 30 to 50 percent of healthy adults have Candida in their mouth; and the single-cell fungi also lives, often harmlessly, on their skin and in their intestines (and, in women, in the vagina).

According to the National Candida Centers:

“The bacteria to yeast ratio in a healthy person is about 10:1, so in a normal bowel everything lives in a nice ecological balance. The problem comes when your “inner ecology” gets off balance through a variety of causes … The bowel becomes vulnerable to other opportunistic’ microorganisms seeking a new home. With no healthy probiotics [good bacteria] to keep it under control, the growth of yeast takes off, multiplies and causes Candida Overgrowth yeast infection resulting in a multitude of symptoms.”

What Causes Yeast to Take Over?

Your body is a veritable Petri dish of sorts, teeming with bacteria and fungus at this very moment. Candida typically live harmlessly on your skin and on certain parts of your body, but if your system becomes out of balance it can trigger an overgrowth of yeast.

Candida is so widespread and pervasive that anyone with a suppressed immune system, including the young, the elderly and people receiving corticosteroid or chemotherapy treatments, are at an increased risk.

Further, in a hospital setting receiving a catheter or central intravenous line increases your risk by allowing an entry point for fungi to enter your body. Because treatment options are very limited, and fungi are growing increasingly resistant to available drugs, systemic fungal infections in a hospital setting have a mortality rate of nearly 45 percent.

There are many other factors that can also throw your body off kilter and allow opportunistic yeast to take over. Among the most common factors are:

• Taking antibiotics, which kill both good and bad bacteria

• Eating lots of processed foods, especially sugar and refined carbs (which feed the yeast)

• Chronic stress and exposure to environmental toxins, both of which lower your immune system’s ability to control candida

• Certain medications, including antibiotics, birth control pills, antacids, anti-inflammatories and corticosteroids, that promote the growth of yeast

• Excess alcohol, which kills good bacteria and increases the toxic load on your liver, and allows candida overgrowth

• Pregnancy and certain illnesses, such as diabetes, can also promote yeast growth, as can drinking tap water that contains chlorine

Five Common Fungal Infections

Fungal infections can take on a variety of forms and cause symptoms ranging from irritable bowel syndrome and food allergies to PMS and asthma.   The most common manifestations are:

Candida Overgrowth: Also called candidiasis, candida overgrowth typically begins in the digestive system and then spreads to other areas of your body. Yeast overgrowth begins when the flora in your digestive tract become unbalanced. When this occurs, the “bad” bacteria overwhelm the good, and diseases, like candidiasis, develop. When your gut is overwhelmed by candida, the yeast can actually burrow into your intestinal wall, which creates gaps in the membrane lining. These gaps, in turn, allow partially digested food particles along with the 180 toxic byproducts of yeast, to be absorbed by your bloodstream, creating symptoms such as gas, bloating, food cravings and more.

Vaginal Yeast Infections: Vaginal yeast infections, which occur when there is an overgrowth of Candida yeast in the vagina, impact three out of four women during their lifetimes. Further, nearly half of women will have two or more yeast infections during their lives.

Athlete’s Foot: Athlete’s foot is one of the most common skin infections around, and usually attacks your feet in the dark, damp areas between your toes. Athlete’s foot is contagious and spreads easily from person to person.  You can catch it by skin-to-skin contact with an infected person (it’s possible to carry the fungus that causes athlete’s foot and not have any symptoms) or by touching an object that carries the fungus. It’s also possible to transmit athlete’s foot to other parts of your body, such as your groin or underarms.

Jock Itch: Jock itch is a fungal infection that causes a red itchy rash on your inner thighs, buttocks and groin area. Its name stems from the fact that it’s common in people who sweat a lot, such as athletes and “jocks,” but the name is deceiving as anyone can get jock itch — even women.  Fungi called dermatophytes causes jock itch (his is the same type of fungus that often causes athlete’s foot). It is highly contagious and can easily be spread from your feet to your groin area or vice versa.

Ringworm: Ringworm is a fungal infection closely related to athlete’s foot and jock itch and develops on the top layer of your skin or on your scalp (this latter form typically impacts children).  What sets ringworm apart is the circular red rash it forms on your skin, which typically has slightly raised, expanding rings that give it a worm-like appearance. Ringworm may also appear as a round, flat patch of itchy skin.  Like athlete’s foot and jock itch, ringworm is transmitted by contact with infected people and objects (clothing, towel, bedding, combs, brushes, etc.) and by contact with an animal with ringworm. In rare cases ringworm can also be transmitted through contact with highly infected soil.

Here’s a link to some natural treatment options for fungal infections!