For dad at his special time of the year, along with the tie or card give him something truly valuable—your love and some good advice that’ll help keep him around as long as possible.

While these tips are good for anyone to follow, they are the key to keeping dad at the peak of health well into his later years:

• Eat a healthy diet low in fat and at least five fruits and vegetables a day to lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis, all common in older men.
• Get at least 30 minutes of physical activity at least 3 days a week. Moderate physical activity reduces the risk of heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. It can also help dads maintain a healthy body weight, joint strength and mobility. Even brisk walking does the trick!
• Some studies have also shown that healthy men, and those who have already suffered a heart attack, can reduce cardiovascular risk by eating nuts regularly. Almonds anyone?
• Prevent disability from arthritis. Weight control and injury prevention (especially sports-related injuries) can lower dads’ risk for developing one of the most common types of arthritis: osteoarthritis.
• Get regular physical exams and important health screenings. Dads age 50 and older should be screened for colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the country. Regular colorectal cancer screening at age 50 and after can find and remove polyps before they ever become cancerous, or enable early treatment, when it can be most effective. Although effective measures to prevent prostate cancer have not yet been identified, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all men talk to their doctors about the risks and benefits of screening so that they can make informed decisions about whether screening is right for them.

So even if you have to push him to keep him healthy it’ll be worth it for both of you.

Happy Father’s Day!

Do you not see as well as you used to? One reason may be astigmatism, here is some information that can help you understand and manage astigmatism.

Astigmatism is a common condition causing poor vision, and is a distortion of the cornea that leaves the eye oval or football­shaped, rather than round. Round eyes are normal and are important for good eyesight. In cases of astigmatism, the eye focuses on two points instead of one; this happens because rays of light do not form a single point of focus as they enter the eye. The word astigmatism is derived from the Greek alpha, meaning ‘without’ and stigma meaning ‘point.’

The most common symptoms of astigmatism are:

• Blurred vision
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Eye pain

Straight lines may seem crooked and even distorted. People with astigmatism may complain about blurry or fuzzy lines, and develop severely distorted depth perception over time.

What Causes Astigmatism?

Since astigmatism is a distortion of the cornea, it is difficult to pinpoint its exact cause. Over time, the cornea of the eye can lose its natural roundness. In addition, poor posture, and frequent tilting of the head can lead to astigmatism and problems with perception.

Treatments for Astigmatism

Many treatment options for astigmatism are available, but some have higher risks than others. Surgical procedures developed in recent years include Lasik surgery and photo reactive keratomy (PRK). Both of these are invasive procedures that carry a risk of damage. Side effects may include:

• Feelings of ‘halos’ around lights
• Tears in the retina, and damage to the optic nerve
• Chronic dry eye, and a diminished capacity to produce tears
• Free radical damage
• Impaired visual acuity

There are natural remedies and cures available as an alternative to surgery. Ayurvedic theory indicates that vision problems are related to digestive imbalances. As a result, some options include regular eye exercises, consumption of Ayurvedic herbs such as amla, triphala, and licorice, and a diet rich in carrots, spinach, and antioxidant vegetables.

The Bates Method involves re­educating the eye to improve healthy eyesight. This works by taking frequent breaks where the mind and body are in a relaxed state. This can involve a peaceful walk or meditation, closing the eyes but improving receptive awareness, and focusing on detailed but pleasant scenery. Over a period of time, this can help train the eyes, mind, and body to work in harmony.

Eating a balanced and healthy diet also can significantly improve eye health. Diets that are good at reducing eye degeneration include food such as:

• Those high in antioxidants, such as Acai berries, Goji berries, red grapes, cherries, mangos, and citrus fruits. Unsweetened cocoa is also an excellent choice that is rich in antioxidants and natural flavonoids.
• Organic egg yolks for the high carotenoid content
• Green leafy vegetables, including leaf lettuce, chard, kale, collard greens, spinach, and parsley
• Those low in unhealthy hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. This includes avoiding processed and fried foods, refined sugars, alcohol, and simple carbohydrates.

Other Considerations

Eye exercises throughout the day can significantly improve your eye health. Resting your eyes for five minutes every 30 minutes can help relax your gaze and improve your overall energy.

Other exercises to try include:

• Blinking your eyes regularly to reduce eyestrain
• Taking regular breathing breaks and meditative rest periods
• Rapidly switching focus from near to far for 20 to 30 minutes
• Rolling eyes up and down in a full circular motion for five minutes, five times a day

As the weather continues to get warmer and the clothing gets smaller, there things other than extra pounds that one may want to hide. Don’t let those varicose veins get int the way of sporting shorts or the new bathing suit by using these natural treatments!

Varicose veins are much more common in women, leading some experts to believe that the disorder may be related to hormones. The culprit may also be wearing high heel shoes, which cause the blood to pool in the calves. Men aren’t immune to varicose veins, however. They’re much more noticeable on women, since women tend to shave their legs, yet varicose veins can cause painful throbbing and cramps in both genders.

Causes

Besides the possibilities mentioned above, varicose veins are thought to be caused by standing, sitting, or lying down for long periods of time—in other words, lack of movement. Sitting or lying down for long periods of time causes the blood to pool toward the feet. Ultimately, as a result of this pooling, the heavy, swollen veins protrude, forming varicose veins. There may also be some connection with the health of your blood vessels and arteries and capillaries.

Preventing Varicose Veins:

Here are a few ways to help prevent varicose veins:

• Though varicose veins are a common hallmark of aging, crossing the 50 ­year ­old threshold doesn’t mean you have to develop them. Keep your blood flowing and your cardiovascular system as a whole healthy by staying active
• Along with staying active, maintaining an ideal body weight is essential to varicose vein prevention. Don’t put extra physical stress on the veins in your legs and feet by weighing them down
• Take enzymes, including bromelain (like in BoKU Super enzyme blend)
• If your liver is congested, your whole circulatory system suffers. Maintain good liver health by not drinking too much alcohol and by ingesting foods and herbs that sustain the liver. These include red grapes, blueberries, cherries, beets, artichokes, dandelion, milk thistle and blackberries.
• Keep your circulation flowing by eating hot, spicy foods, particularly hot peppers, onions, and garlic. Also Una de Gato (Cat’s Claw) is good for circulation.
• Massaging the legs is helpful if you don’t already have varicose veins in the area of the massage.

Getting Rid of Varicose Veins:

• Varicose veins are much more difficult to treat than prevent, but if you do develop varicose veins, all is not lost. The bioflavonoid rutin (found in citrus fruits,  berries, buckwheat, mulberry) strengthens capillaries, and there is some evidence that it can help reduce the severity of varicose veins.
• Horse chestnut herb is useful for varicose vein therapy.
• Eat lots of fruits with Vitamin C and bioflavonoids.

Summer will soon be upon us, the weather is warming and it’s time to show some skin. Most people understand that they must use caution when exposing their skin to the sun, while also getting enough unhindered UVB exposure for vitamin D production. However, there has been a lot of debate over the safety of common sunscreen lotions, and with good reason. Most sunscreens that you will find in stores contain ingredients like parabens, oxybenzone, octinoxate, cinnamates, and homosalate and other chemicals that can have ill effects on health such as actually promoting cancer!

Even some of the more “natural” sunscreens natural UV blockers that are micronized or nano-sized to make them more transparent on your skin. The trouble is that these are non-reactive while on the surface of the skin, but the tiny nano-particles may enter the skin, the effects of which are still unknown. This article details a study that found that nano particles of zinc oxide are twice as toxic to colon cells as larger particles if accidentally eaten: http://www.physorg.com/news189862905.html. Does that sound like something you would want on your skin?

Fortunately, there are safer manufactured sunscreens. Both Badger Sunscreen SPF 30 Face Stick and Loving Naturals Sunscreen, SPF 30+ contain Non-nano zinc oxide and have earned scores of 0 on the Environmental Working Group’s Safest Sunscreens List. You can see the entire list here: http://www.ewg.org/cosmetics/report/sunscreen09/Beach-Sunscreens

If you want complete control over what goes into your sunscreen to make sure it is truly all natural you can always make your own at home! Just purchase zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide in cream or powder form. Make sure it’s not nano or micronized, and DO NOT inhale the powder, it’s best to use a mask and gloves while handling them. Add a tablespoon of one or each to about 8 oz of olive, sunflower, jojoba, eucalyptus or other oil, feel free to mix them and add any essential oils you wish and add 1 oz of emulsifying wax. All of these ingredients are available online from cosmetics or soaping suppliers like this one: http://www.camdengrey.com/

Of course nutrition plays a large role in sun protection as well. Eat foods with plenty of antioxidants like fruits and berries; foods rich in carotenoids like tomatoes and red bell peppers and watermelon; and drink plenty of tea especially green tea for natural internal sun protection.

Current research demonstrates that as we age we tend to lose muscle mass, and the best way to avoid muscle loss is to increase our protein intake. Yet as people get older they often have trouble digesting high protein foods and supplements, this is mainly due to the high levels of saturated fat contained in the most common animal based protein sources.  So we at BōKU^® formulated one of the most hypo-allergenic and easily digestible protein powders on the market.

Most protein supplements are marketed toward bodybuilders and athletes as the only ones who specifically want to build muscle.  In reality, adequate protein intake is vital for everyone and plays a critical role in anti-aging, muscle mass retention, weight control, and even boosting our immune systems.

Loss of skeletal muscle begins between the ages of 30 and 40 in most people even those with good nutritional habits. In a 2008 study that focused on the optimal amount of protein intake in the elderly, R. Wolfe, et al. discovered that as one aged the recommended daily allowance of 0.36 grams of protein/lb of body weight (weighing 150 lbs. would require one to consume at least 54g or 2oz of pure protein) for adults became inadequate. The researchers found that “protein intake greater than the RDA can improve muscle mass, strength and function in the elderly. In addition, other factors, including immune status, wound healing, blood pressure and bone health may be improved by increasing protein intake above the RDA.”

The only difficulty noted is that as people age they may have a reduced appetite or trouble digesting foods with high protein content. This often leads them to “consume less than the protein RDA, likely resulting in an accelerated rate of sarcopenia.”

Digestion troubles, as well as allergies, bad taste and the protein needs of vegans and vegetarians are what prompted Rollé to develop the new BōKU^® Super Protein powder. BōKU’s Master Formulator, Dr. BJ Adrezin, come up with a protein formula that could be used by the greatest number of people possible. He formulated an organic, vegan, kosher, protein powder that is completely free of dairy, soy, wheat and gluten and yet contains 26 grams of pure vegetable protein in every 30 gram serving.  The high protein content comes from raw, organic sprouted brown rice, and it contains an enzyme blend so it actually improves digestion.

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed