How to protect your eyesight as you get older
I have been wearing glasses since I was a teenager, so I am always interested in how to protect my eyesight. One of the most common cuases of failing eyesight as we get older is age related macular degeneration (AMD).
Scientists tracked the diets and eye health of over 2,000 people who were at least 49 years old at the start of the study. The people’s eye sight and diet were then tracked over the next 15 years. The researchers discovered that those eating between 100 – 142mg of vegatable nitrates were less likely to have the early signs of AMD. Currently once AMD starts medicine has no answers and it can in some cases cause blindness. This means prevention of AMD is very important.
Vegatable nitrates found in leafy green vegatables and beets reduces the risk of developing AMD by 35%. 100g of spinach contains 20mg of nitrate. One serving of spinach is 30g, so you would need ot eat 3 servings.
Reference
Gopinath B, Liew G, Kifley A, Lewis JR, Bondonno C, Joachim N, Hodgson JM, Mitchell P. Association of Dietary Nitrate Intake with the 15-Year Incidence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2018 Dec;118(12):2311-2314
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Are you excessively tired?
Fatigue and depleted energy could be addressed with weekly Swedish or Thai massages according to researchers at Teeside and Leeds Universities . One in 5 people experience excessive tiredness at any given time, while one in 10 people have chronic fatigue (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2018). They invited 20 participants with fatigue and/or depleted energy to receive trestments with a massage therapist. The participants all agreed to commit to a six-week study and complete diaries describing how they felt after their treatments. The participants were split into two groups and half of them received three 45-minute sweedish massage treatments and then three Thai massages in weeks 4 ot 6. The treatment order was reversed for the other ten participants. The results showed that both Swedish and Thai massage relieved symptoms of fatigue or depleted energy by
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Can reflexology help you with period pain?
It is claimed that up to 50% of women of reproductive age suffer from period pain. For many years from my mid-teens until my late twenties I suffered from dysmenorrhea (period pain). To avoid it interfering with my O Levels I went on the pill but discovered that didn't suit me. In my mid-twenties I tried reflexology and I felt it helped but I never knew if it was just as a I got older my periods were less painful. Recently I came across some research that supports my experience. A clinical trial in Iran compared the effectiveness of reflexology and ibuprofen in reducing period pain intensity and duration. 68 students with period pain were randomly divided into a reflexology group, receiving 10 reflexology sessions (40 minutes each) during two consecutive menses cycles or an ibuprofen group, receiving 400mg of ibuprofen every eight hours for three days during three consecutive menses cycles. The study results indicated that reflexology was superior to ibuprofen in reducing period pain and the effects off treatment continued even after discontinuing the intervention in the third mense cycle. Reference Valiani M, Babaei E, Heshmat R and Zare Z, Comparing the effects of reflexology methods and ibuprofen administration on dysmenorrhea in female students of Isfahan University Medical Sciences. Iran Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research. December 2010; 15 (S1): 371 - 378
