The Healing Power of Laughter

You have probably heard the old saying that “laughter is the best medicine.” But did you know that many doctors and scientists are actually studying laughter and the effects it may have on our health?

Some recent studies have shown:

• Laughter may reduce the risk of heart attack by lowering stress, which can destroy the lining of blood vessels.
• Laughter may help people cope with pain caused by illness and decrease anxiety before operations or other medical tests because it helps us to relax.
• Laughter may lower stress hormones that otherwise would raise blood pressure and impair the immune system.

We sometimes do not express negative feelings, such as anger, sadness and fear. Laughter can help to release these emotions in a harmless way.

What Happens When You Laugh?

Laughter is our body’s response to humor. When we laugh two things usually happen. We make sound, which can range from a soft chuckle to a hearty roar, and parts of our bodies move, depending on how hard we are laughing.

We use 15 different muscles in our face when we laugh. Muscles in our arms, legs, chest and stomach may get involved, especially if we think something is really funny.

Most people have had the experience of laughing so hard that their stomach muscles hurt. We may gasp for air or our eyes may tear up. In the end, it may feel as if you just had a workout. Researchers say that laughing 100 times is probably equal to riding an exercise bike for 15 minutes!

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.”
- Irish Proverb

It’ Spring – Let’s Go for a Walk

Walking for good health
Physical activity does not have to be vigorous or done for long periods in order to improve your health. Walking is suitable for most people. Regular walking can help you lose body fat, maintain a healthy weight, improve your fitness, and reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers.

Walking is low impact, requires minimal equipment, can be done at any time of day and can be performed at your own pace. You can get out and walk without worrying about some risks associated with other more vigorous forms of exercise. It’s also a great form of physical activity for people who are overweight, elderly or those who haven’t exercised in a long time.

Benefits of walking
You carry your own body weight when you walk. This is sometimes called “weight bearing” exercise. Some of the benefits include:
• Increased cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lung) fitness
• Reduced risk of heart disease and stroke
• Improved management of conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, joint and muscular pain or stiffness, and diabetes
• Stronger bones and improved balance
• Increased muscle strength and endurance
• Reduced body fat.

Walk regularly if you can
Try to make walking a routine – for example, try to walk at the same time each day. Remember, you use the same amount of energy no matter what time of day you walk, so do what is most convenient for you. You may find that asking someone to walk with you will help make it a regular activity. Some people find that keeping an ‘activity diary or log’ also makes it easier.

April is Foot Health Month
General Care and Hygiene
• Never go barefoot either indoors or outdoors.
• Inspect your feet daily. Use a mirror and pay particular attention to soles and between toes. Ask a family member for help if necessary.
• Wash your feet daily. Test the water first with your forearm or elbow to be sure it’s not too hot.
• If your feet become excessively dry, lubricate them. Spread a thin film of moisturizing cream on the soles while still wet, immediately after bathing. Don’t get the cream between your toes.
• Don’t use garters or elastics to hold up stockings.
• Don’t use panty girdles that are tight around the legs.
• Avoid exposing your feet to extremes.
• Never walk on hot sand or pavement.
• Protect feet against sunburn with sunscreen.
• Check temperature of bath water with forearm or elbow before bathing.
• Never use hot water bottles or heating pad to warm cold feet. Wear loose socks at night in bed if feet are cold.
• Beware of car heaters on long trips.
• Trim nails straight across – don’t round corners.
• Never cut corns or calluses yourself. (However, with careful instruction from your physician, you can be taught how to work on calluses that aren’t too thick by using pumice stones or emery boards.)
• Never use commercial corn or callus removers, foot pads or arch supporters.
• Don’t use adhesive tape on your feet.
• Don’t “ice down” your feet if they feel hot.
• Never use hot or cold soaks for your feet.
• Keep toes clean and free of debris between them.

Footwear
• Buy only comfortable well-fitting shoes. Have the clerk fit them for you, walk around in them and be sure they are comfortable immediately.
• Buy new shoes late in the day. Feet enlarge slightly during the day and shoes that fit in the morning may be too tight by noon.
• Choose shoes with soft leather uppers that can mold to the shape of your feet. Modern walking or running shoes may be beneficial.
• Diabetics - never buy shoes with open toes or heels.
• Diabetics – never wear or buy sandals, particularly those with thongs between the toes.
• Inspect feet immediately after wearing new shoes for signs of redness or blisters. Call your doctor if these signs appear.
• Never wear shoes without socks or stockings.
• Always inspect the inside of your shoes carefully before putting them on and after taking them off.

How are You Doing With New Year’s Resolutions?

Here are some practical suggestions for improving your diet from the Nutrition Action Health Letter, Volume 34, Number 1, January/February 2007.

Eat bran cereal in place of other cereals.
Don’t get us wrong. Any 100% whole-grain cereal is good for you. But bran cereals appear to be better. Why? For starters, they’re loaded with fiber. Without them, it’s tough to reach the new recommended target: 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you eat per day. (That works out to about 21 grams for women 51 or older, 25 grams for women 50 or younger, 30 grams for men 51 or older, and 38 grams for men 50 or younger.)

An ordinary whole wheat cereal like Wheaties has just 3 grams of fiber per serving, but raisin brans hit 5 to 8 grams and an all-bran cereal reaches 10 to 14 grams. That’s because bran- the outer layer of the whole grain- is fiber-rich.

What’s more, although many studies have found a lower risk of disease in people who eat more whole grains or more grain fiber (from breads, cereal, pasta, rice, etc), a few have looked at bran alone. For example, in a study of nearly 43,000 men, the risk of heart disease was 30 percent lower in those who consumed the most bran (roughly 7 grams or more a day) than in those who are none. “We found that bran seems to lower the risk of heart disease more strongly than whole grains,” says researcher Eric Rimm of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. “The mechanism has never been clear,” he adds, since soluble fiber seems to lower cholesterol, but bran is high in insoluble fiber. Among the possibilities: bran may cur inflammation or blood clotting.

Bran may also keep you trim. A recent study found less weight gain in men who increased their bran intake over eight years than in those who didn’t. “It’s possible that people feel full after eating bran so they don’t eat as much,” suggests Rimm.
Resolved: “Focus on whole-grain foods,” says Rimm. “But when you can, choose foods that are higher in bran.”

Hold the cheese.
Cheese is everywhere these days – in or on soups, salads, steaks, sandwiches, breads, potatoes, chicken, eggs. Panera throws cheese on all five of its Hot Panini sandwiches and seven of its nine Signature Sandwiches (like the Mediterranean Veggie and Bacon Turkey Bravo). Gorgonzola, Asiago, or feta ends up on six out of its nine salads.

Applebee’s serves cheese on five of its seven salads and all but two of its 12 sandwiches and burgers. You’ll find it on everything from the Zesty Ranch Chicken to the Roasted Turkey & Bacon Ciabatta.

Restaurants love cheese because it pumps up the flavor without much skill from the chef. But it’s bad news for the ol’ pumper in your chest. The 17 sandwiches with cheese that are listed on the menu at Au Bon Pain’s Web site, for example, have roughly 7 to 15 grams of saturated fat. Their four cheeseless cousins average only 4 grams.
Resolved: At restaurants, order cheeseless sandwiches, salads, etc., and pizza with half the usual cheese. At home, buy a high-quality wedge of Parmesan and grate a light dusting over your food as needed. (Or buy a good shaved or shredded Parmesan.) With intensely flavored cheeses, a little goes a long way.


Snack smart.
The average American eats three meals and two snacks a day. That hasn’t changed much since nationwide surveys started in the early 1970s.

What’s changed – along with our apparently inflatable national waistline – is how much we eat per snack and per meal. Surveys suggest that we’re eating more in ounces, in calories, and in calories per ounce (calorie density). No surprise there. How many 500-calorie scones, muffins, and Danish pastries can we grab on the way to work before it starts to show?

In surveys that ask people what they eat, “the lower the calorie density, the lower the incidence of obesity,” says Barbara Rolls, Chair of Nutritional Sciences at Pennsylvania State University. In her two-day studies, people ate 24 percent fewer calories when offered foods with lower calorie density (for example, a lower-fat, less-cheese pizza with veggies on top). “And when we offered lower-calorie-density food in small portions, they reduced their calories by 30 percent – that’s over 800 fewer calories a day,” adds Rolls, who is the author of Volumetrics (Harper-Collins, 2000).

In other words, trade the chips, candy, cookies, and other junk for apples, peaches, pears, carrots, red pepper slices, and other fresh (not dried) fruits and veggies. “Fruits and vegetables are key players in lowering calorie density,” says Rolls. In fact, she adds, “people who eat more fruits and vegetables can get away with eating a higher-fat diet and still be lower in body weight, because the water in fruits and vegetables dilutes the calorie density.”

And if you can afford the calories, think nuts. Nut eaters have a lower risk of heart disease, in part because the polyunsaturated fats in nuts help lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. You can have almonds on Monday, pistachios on Tuesday, walnuts on Wednesday, etc.

Resolved: “Wherever you can, try to get extra fruits and vegetables into your day,” says Rolls. “Tuck them into casseroles, sandwiches, and pizza, and keep your favorites on hand to turn to when you get the munchies.”

New exercise class beginning this month!

A new Healthy Steps in Motion exercise class will be offered on Monday and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. beginning Monday April 16, 2007. This class will be held at St Mary Catholic Church, 94 Walnut Rd, in Hamburg. The Health Steps in Motion class is designed for older adults wanting to stay healthy and fit. The focus of the class is on strength training through weight resistance exercises and exercises to improve balance and coordination.

Interested class participants can call the church secretary, 610-562-7657, to register. Please bring your own hand weights and/or dyna-bands to class. The class will be led by Susan Walley.

Other class participants have been quoted as saying, “it makes me feel good,” “I feel better physically and mentally,” “it’s easier to do things & more flexibility,” “I am attempting to slow the progression of osteoporosis,” and “it’s nice to exercise with a group.” So, why not give it a try!


On Active Older Adults Page

Add under Healthy Steps in Motion:
• St Mary Catholic Church, Hamburg……Mon. & Thurs. from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

PrimeTime Health
SPORTS CHALLENGE CALENDAR 2007

All adults over age 55 are invited to participate in the sports challenges and activities listed below. Pre-registration is required for all events. (Fees are associated with some activities). Please contact the PrimeTime Health Department of the Berks County Senior Citizens Council, 610-374-3195, for more information and to register.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007 Great Oaks Nature Trail Walk 10 a.m.
(rain date: May 2nd) Dry Brooks Day Use Area

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 Senior Health & Fitness Day 8:30 a.m.
(rain date: May 24th) Gring’s Mill Recreation Area, Wyomissing

Tuesday, June 5, 2007 Miniature Golf 9 a.m.
(rain date: June 6th) Schell’s, Fifth Street Highway

Tuesday, June 12, 2007 “Flip Side of Ontelaunee” Walk 9 a.m.
(rain date: June 13th) Leesport

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 Bocce 9 a.m.
(rain date: Sept.12th) Heritage Center, off Rt. 183

Tuesday, October 2, 2007 Wyomissing Park Walk 10 a.m.
(rain date: Oct. 3rd) Wyomissing

This project is funded in part under a contract with money allocated by the PA Department of Aging and the Berks County Commissioners through the Berks County Office of Aging.
 

Berks County Senior Citizens Council, Inc.
40 North Ninth Street
Reading, PA 19601
(610) 374-3195
berkssrs@bcscc.org