Good News for Senior Citizens....

It ain't all bad!!! Stop thinking doom and gloom. Oh, I know it's hard, especially this time of year. The weather's bleak. Flooding in March? You are poorer and older than you were last year, and you may be fatter. OK, let's don't get negative............

Your memory is shot.  You know deep down in your heart that you are becoming forgetful and what about all your bad habits?  Wish you could just resolve to make them disappear? POOF!! All gone............(I said, don't go negative......the world is in even worse shape than you are.)

Here's some good news to bolster you.......

The older brain is a wiser brain.   According to new findings in neuroscience, your inability to remember names at cocktail parties or where you left your keys is not necessarily a symptom of early-onset dementia.  Instead, it is a sign that your focus of attention has become broader. Getting distracted could be a good thing.
Did you ever think that getting distracted allows our creative juices to flow?  "It may increase the amount of information available to the conscious mind," Shelley H. Carson, a Harvard psychology researcher, told The New York Times.

"A broad attention span may enable older adults to ultimately know more about a situation and the indirect message of what's going on than their younger peers," adds Dr. Lynn Hasher, at the University of Toronto. "We believe that this characteristic may play a significant role in why we think of older people as wiser." In other words, while younger brains are cluttered up with trivia, your brain is freed to work on a whole lot more important things.

Be excited - the windmills of your mind just may not splinter!!!

Losing the ability to think, understand, and; learn among people over 70 has been declining sharply in recent years. Brain scientists aren't sure why, but they think it's tied to the fact that older people are better educated, wealthier(oh, really?) and more active than ever before. People who are better off are more likely to use it, not lose it (unless you knew Bernie Madoff).  So remember: Like sex, mental challenges are very good for you, and you are never too old. Spending time Googling is good for you.

There are remarkable findings about brain plasticity. It seems that the brain - even the aging brain - is more malleable than previously thought.  It can even grow new nerve cells. One day, you'll probably be able to take a pill to help keep your neural pathways firing on all cylinders. Meantime, exercise, social connections, flexibility (can you touch your toes?) and eagerness to embrace new experiences are extremely effective cognitive medicine.  Do you blog, twitter, use facebook?  All are good for your brain.  I guess the exercise of learning html is a very good thing even if it gives me a headache.....sigh....guess I'll keep working on 'flowing my brain juices'... 

Now THAT'S Good News!!!

If you want to read more about this subject or spend a little time exercising your brain with some teasers...you can visit Sharp Brains...Brain Teasers.

Yes, it's true....Spring is Here! Just a little too chilly to do much outside so while we're waiting for the grass to grow take a moment and browse all my collections of ashtrays, tobacciana, advertising, vintage items at Supergrannys Treasures.
The place for more Treasure Bargains!!

For example... a springtime gift for you or a Mothers Day gift...a whimsical Tea for One set from Barnes and Noble..New in box!

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Work at Staying Fit...Easily...Senior Citizens...Pay Attention

I woke up this morning (well...... that's a positive) feeling a bit off....maybe I'm grumpy and should go hide from the world ..................or could it be that as a Senior Citizen I'm stressing about life or the shape of my aging body.
I remember an article I read in (wish I could remember) maybe Good Housekeeping that gave some good ideas and stats on easy ways to help with the battle of the bulge .....

Say "Om"
De-stressing can be a powerful way to whittle down. A recent study from Oregon Health & Science University found that overweight women who performed daily relaxation techniques, such as meditation, yoga, or even writing in a diary for 20 minutes, lost an average of 10 pounds after 18 months — without consciously dieting.

Stay-Skinny Pasta
How to indulge without gaining: Cook the pasta al dente, so it's firm to the bite. Why? The longer you boil noodles, the more the starch breaks down, which raises the pasta's glycemic index. This causes your blood sugar level to rise faster — and may increase your junk food cravings too. Studies show that when you cook spaghetti for five minutes, its glycemic index is 38; after 20 minutes, it shoots up to 61. But even al dente cooking doesn't mean you can eat piles of fettuccine Alfredo every night. And high-cal pasta sauces are still off-limits.

30-Second Exercise Trick (I hate when this happens)
Now you can work out less — and get fitter. A recent study from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, showed that about a half-hour of sprint cycling (alternating speeds by pedaling quickly for 30 seconds and then at a slow pace for four minutes) is as effective as an hour and a half of moderate pedaling. The key is the series of 30-second power bursts. Another idea for a non-type-exercise when you're taking a "sit-down" is...sit with your back against the chair and pull in your belly button back to your spine and hold for 30 seconds. Do as many as you're able. OK, just pull it in as far back as you can.

Snooze to Lose
Add one hour of sleep to your schedule, and you could drop up to 14 pounds this year. New data from the University of Michigan shows that you'll likely eat 6 percent less if you replace 60 minutes of awake time (when you may snack) with an hour of shut-eye. And a Harvard study that tracked around 68,000 women found that those who clocked only five or fewer hours of rest a night had a 32 percent greater chance of gaining more than 30 pounds over a 16-year period than those who got seven hours of sleep.

Best Diet Breakfast
Say good-bye to bagels. Start your morning with eggs, and you’ll curb cravings for the rest of the day. (It's true - this works, start your day with protein) Researchers from Wayne State University studied 30 overweight women, feeding them a breakfast with eggs, toast, and jelly one day, and, two weeks later, a bagel with cream cheese and yogurt (both meals had similar calorie counts). When the women had the protein-packed eggs instead of the bagel breakfast, they ate 164 fewer calories at lunch and around 400 fewer calories over a 24-hour period. Cut that many calories a day, and it could add up to a 41-pound loss in a year.

I just remembered a favorite breakfast from years ago - We call it
Sunday Morning Breakfast ....here's the recipe...
For an individual
Mix 2 eggs
1/4 to 1/3 C flour
1/2 C milk
Dashes of cinnamon

Pour into individual baking dish that has been
preheated in the oven with a couple of teaspoons of butter till it melts.

Bake at 425 for 15 - 20 min

It puffs WAY UP (will deflate when taken out) Serve with a bit of sugar free or fruit only preserves. You now have had 2 eggs, equivalent of a piece of toast and your dairy!! If you really want to live it up and splurge - sprinkle with powdered sugar. Try it...easy, nutritious, and delicious.........




Laugh Off 40 Calories
It's no joke! A study from Vanderbilt University showed that you can burn up to that many calories by laughing genuinely for 10 to 15 minutes. (Watch Groundhog Day to giggle off even more weight.) Not only does it burn calories but hugely improves your state of mind!!!

Do Your Body Good
Try to have at least three servings of low-fat dairy daily. A study from the University of Tennessee showed that dieters on a six-month program who followed a high-dairy meal plan lost nearly twice as much weight (around 24 pounds) as their nondairy-eating peers, and they shed more abdominal fat too. The researchers suspect that dairy activates fat-burning mechanisms.

Skinny Little Pill
Popping a fish oil capsule can help you shed pounds. Researchers from the University of South Australia tracked 81 overweight people for three months and found that those who took a daily dose of fish oil and walked for 45 minutes three times a week lost an average of 4.4 pounds — without changing their diet. The pill-exercise combo is key: Those who worked out regularly but skipped the supplement stayed at the same weight; so did those who took the pill but didn’t walk. Bonus: Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil helped improve the participants’ heart health.
Well, after all that good advice, I guess I'll stay up and start by saying OM and meditating then I'll plan dinner around some really "chewy" pasta................I think I will dig out my bike from the stuffed garage and take off the dry rotted tires and get new ones. We like to ride bikes........ not a good time for a nap - I'll do that later...make us a SUNDAY MORNING BREAKFAST, take my pills with a glass of milk, all the while laughing!! If you find you have some EXTRA time, don't forget to keep exercising your brain..read, twitter somebody, do a crossword, try to figure out html.....

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Seniors - Good News!! & a Hearty Laugh

A Shiny New Year 2009?

It ain't all bad!!! Stop thinking doom and gloom. Oh, I know it's hard, especially this time of year. The weather's bleak. Flooding in January? You are poorer and older than you were last year, and you may be fatter. OK, let's don't get negative............


Your memory is shot. Worried your new year's resolutions will go down the river? You know deep down in your heart that you are becoming forgetful and what about all your bad habits? Wish you could just resolve to make them disappear? POOF!! All gone............I said, don't go negative......the world is in even worse shape than you are.


Here's some good news to bolster you.......

The older brain is a wiser brain
According to new findings in neuroscience, your inability to remember names at cocktail parties or where you left your keys is not necessarily a symptom of early-onset dementia. Instead, it is a sign that your focus of attention has become broader. Getting distracted could be a good thing.


Did you ever think that getting distracted allows our creative juices to flow? "It may increase the amount of information available to the conscious mind," Shelley H. Carson, a Harvard psychology researcher, told The New York Times.


"A broad attention span may enable older adults to ultimately know more about a situation and the indirect message of what's going on than their younger peers," adds Dr. Lynn Hasher, at the University of Toronto. "We believe that this characteristic may play a significant role in why we think of older people as wiser." In other words, while younger brains are cluttered up with trivia, your brain is freed to work on a whole lot more important things.


Be excited - the windmills of your mind just may not splinter!!!

Losing the ability to think, understand, & learn among people over 70 has been declining sharply in recent years. Brain scientists aren't sure why, but they think it's tied to the fact that older people are better educated, wealthier and more active than ever before. People who are better off are more likely to use it, not lose it. So remember: Like sex, mental challenges are very good for you, and you are never too old. Spending time Googling is good for you.


We are also being flooded with remarkable new findings about brain plasticity. It seems that the brain - even the aging brain - is more malleable than we thought. It can even grow new nerve cells. One day, you'll probably be able to take a pill to help keep your neural pathways firing on all cylinders. Meantime, exercise, social connections, flexibility (can you touch your toes?) and eagerness to embrace new experiences are extremely effective cognitive medicine. Now THAT'S Good News!!!

This is a new twist on the Red Riding Hood & the Big Bad Wolf story..............

Little Red Riding Hood is skipping thru the forest road when she sees the big bad wolf crouched down behind a log.
'My, what big eyes you have, Mr. Wolf.'
The wolf jumps up and runs away.
Further down the road, Little Red Riding Hood sees the wolf again. This time he is crouched behind a bush.
'My what big ears you have, Mr. Wolf.'
Again the wolf jumps up and runs away.
About 1/4 mile down the road Little Red Riding Hood sees the wolf again and this time he is crouched down behind a rock.
'My what big teeth you have Mr. Wolf.'
With that the wolf jumps up and screams, 'Will you knock it off, I'm trying to poop!'


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