Tag Archives: Health

Immunity Boosting Foods

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Food is medicine.

Food, along with exercise and adequate sleep, are done of the most powerful tools you have to help prevent disease and improve your overall health. And, a healthy body and mind begins with a healthy immune system, writes Angie Ferguson, an exercise physiologist and Tony Robbins Results Coach.

In addition to developing healthy lifestyle habits, the food you eat can help to reduce the risk and severity of infections, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In short, healthy, nutrient dense “food can be medicine”.

When trying to stay healthy, it’s best to cut back on foods that lead to inflammation (processed meats and foods, saturated fats, refined carbs, sugary foods and beverages) and instead fuel yourself with foods full on nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

  • Citrus fruits – vitamin C is an antioxidant
  • Garlic – contains the antioxidant allicin, which has antibacterial properties and strengthens your immune system
  • Ginger – has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties
  • Mushrooms – packed with vitamins and minerals and bio-active compounds called beta-glucans known to boost immunity
  • Green leafy vegetables – provide anti-inflammatory antioxidants, vitamins and minerals
  • Berries – rich in vitamin C and anthocyanins, which possess antioxidants agents, anti-inflammatory properties and support a healthy cardiovascular system
  • Turmeric – contains cur cumin which is an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-bacterial and detoxifying ingredient that’s amazing for digestive health.
  • Sweet potatoes and carrots – excellent sources of beta carotene which can reduce inflammation and boost immune function by increasing disease fighting cells in the body.
  • Olives – this fruit is an antioxidant powerhouses, which reduces inflammation and fight bad bacteria. Studies have shown that eating olives can raise levels of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant which acts as a defense against bacteria that cause airway and stomach infections. Olives possess a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid, which prevents heart diseases like atherosclerosis, heart attacks, plaque build-up, and strokes. The oil of olives is where this oleic acid is located; it can lower blood pressure and cholesterol, which reduces the chances of cardiovascular complications and general stress on the system.

Enjoy these nutrients dense foods in their different forms and see how healthy they can make you feel!

Reference:

  1. Ferguson, Angie, “First Line of Defense”, Florida Times-Union, , June 7, 2022, pg 1D.
  2. https://www.organicfacts.net/olives.html

Angie Ferguson is an exercise physiologist and Tony Robbins Results Coach.

Your Health is Everything

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Health is the greatest wealth!

People who’ve been sick and infirm understand that your health is everything and without health, nothing else like wealth and financial freedom matters.

You may wonder what being in good working order that has to do with wealth. Well, for starters, you can’t build wealth if you’re falling apart at the seams.

How bitter would it be to discover that your physical health is in tatters by the time you’ve achieved your wealth building and financial freedom goals.

So keep it simple: A healthy diet, regular exercise, sufficient sleep and regular doctor and dentist visits for checkups and at the very first sign of a problem.

Commit to a life of slow and steady wealth building, not the hope of a sudden windfall.

You might need to institute some austerity measures at first, which sounds neither fun nor glamorous. But some of the wealthiest people in the world have accumulated wealth without flaunting it.

Like a healthy diet, wealth creation must become an integrated part of your lifestyle. You’ll want to invest and build wealth for the long term. This doesn’t imply that you make an investment and hope it’ll grow miraculously on its own. Like a home, car, your kids or pets, you need to care for your investments, measure them, research them, feed them and adjust them.

Physical health is built through the long-term compounding of daily actions:

  • Exercise—daily movement
  • Nutrition—mostly real and natural foods
  • Sleep—good sleep habits

It’s never too late to start building—or restoring—your physical wealth.

Healths is wealth!

References:

  1. https://bestlifeonline.com/best-wealth-building-tips-ever/

“The trouble with most people is that they quit before they start.” ~ Thomas Edison

Just for Today

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Think and act cheerfully, and you will feel cheerful.

Create your happiness by follow daily program of cheerful and constructive thinking written by Sibyl F. Partridge.

  1. Just for today, I will be happy. This assumes that what Abraham Lincoln said is true, that “most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Happiness is from within; it is not a matter of externals.
  2. Just for today, I will try to adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my family, my business, and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.
  3. Just for today, I will take care of my body. I will exercise it, care for it, nourish it, not abuse or neglect it, so that it will a perfect machine for my bidding.
  4. Just for today, I will try to strengthen my mind. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.
  5. Just for today, I will exercise my soul in three ways; I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out. I will do at least two things I don’t want to do, as William James suggest, just for exercise.
  6. Just for today, I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress as becomingly as possible, talk low, act courteously, be liberal with praise, criticize not at all, not find fault with anything and not try to regulate nor improve anyone.
  7. Just for today, I will try to live this day only, not to tackle my whole life problem at once. I can do things for twelve hours that would appall me if I had to keep them up for a lifetime.
  8. Just for today, I will have a program and plan. I will write down what I expect to do every hour. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. I will eliminate two pests, hurry and indecisive.
  9. Just for today, I will have a quiet half-hour all by myself and relax. In this half-hour sometimes I will think of God, so as to get a little more perspective on life.
  10. Just for today, I will be unafraid, especially I will not be afraid to be happy, to enjoy what is beautiful, to love, to believe that those I love, love me.

Written by Sybil F. Partridge and printed in How To Stop Worrying, And Start Living by Dale Carnegie, 1951

Gratitude and Building Wealth

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“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey

Gratitude is the secret to building wealth! Why? Because gratitude turns what you have into enough. This is what makes gratitude a foundational element to wealth building. Gratitude allows you to find joy in what you already have. Keeping up with the Jones is the silent stealer of wealth.  Comparison is the thief of joy.  

Gratitude, the practice of appreciating all that the stuff you currently own, is an essential factor in building wealth over the long term. For example,

Gratitude allows you to appreciate and focus on the assets you already own.

“Gratitude in advance is the most powerful creative force in the universe. Most people do not know this, yet it is true. Expressing thankfulness in advance is the way of all Masters. So do not wait for a thing to happen and then give thanks. Give thanks before it happens, and watch energies swirl! To thank God before something occurs is an act of extraordinary faith. And that, of course, is where the power comes from.” — Neale Donald Walsch

The way to your best life is owning every moment and staking a claim to the here and now, according to Oprah Winfrey. “I live in the space of thankfulness — and for that, I have been rewarded a million times over. I started out giving thanks for small things, and the more thankful I became, the more my bounty increased. That’s because — for sure — what you focus on expands. When you focus on the goodness in life, you create more of it.”

Oprah says when she started keeping a gratitude journal more than 2 decades ago, it was one of the most important things she’s done. The daily practice of writing down five things to be grateful for balanced her life in subtle and inspiring ways. “It sounds simple,” Oprah says, “but when you go through the day staying conscious about what you put on your gratitude list, it shifts the lens through which you see the world.”

The practice of gratitude begins with being grateful for all the things you currently have – family, friends, experiences, and assets. Gratitude is focusing on all that you have and being thankful.

Wealth is much more than material things and owning assets. It is the presence of having a life filled with happiness in being, doing, and having what you want in life.

All too often, you fail to recognize your accomplishment because you are too busy moving onto the next task on your agenda. Yet, much of your success has to do with the people around you who have helped you focus on what’s important and helped you reach your goals.

Always remember, success, like wealth building, is a journey.

Building Wealth Takes Time

Some people are reluctant to make a wealth-building plan because they don’t want to wait 10 years. They would rather enjoy their money now.

The folly with this type of thinking is that most of us are going to be alive in 10 years. The question is whether or not you will be better off 10 years from now than you are today. Where you are right now is the sum total of the decisions you have made in the past. Practicing gratitude now can line you up for success and wealth building in the future.

Measure and focus on what you want more of. What you focus on expands.

You may think of money and wealth when you hear of measuring what you want more of, however; the same holds true for expressing gratitude. Make a list of things you are grateful for or write out what you are grateful for in a journal.

Complaining, blaming, or venting puts your focus on the negative things in life. You may wonder why some people seem more abundant than others.

To build wealth, it’s best to follow the two strategies that have the highest chances of success. And that is to practice gratitude, and to get into the habit of saving and investing early and to keep it up.

Gratitude is the key to building wealth

You might think building wealth is all about money, but it’s also very much about mindset. If you want to cultivate a money mindset that helps you build wealth, gratitude is a key component. Because gratitude can help shift your mindset from scarcity to abundance, help you spend less, and feel better. 

There is so much abundance in front of you if you choose to see it. The more you intentionally work to change your mindset, the easier it will become to see the abundance in life.

Actively practicing gratitude helps you realize how much you have to be grateful for right now instead of focusing on what’s missing. 

A scarcity mindset focuses on what’s missing and always wants more. It feels like there is never enough. This mindset can be harmful to your financial health because you can make poor decisions out of fear.

When you are in an abundance mindset, you realize your opportunities are limitless. You believe there’s never enough, instead you think there is always more than enough. Focusing on abundance can help you attract more money and have a healthier money mindset. 

Gratitude can help build that abundance muscle. Let’s say that you have a studio apartment but you dream of having your own 2-bedroom house. You don’t have the car you want now but imagine getting a Tesla. 

When you focus on gratitude, you focus on the fact that you have a roof over your head, that you’re healthy, and that your car still works instead of focusing on the fact that you don’t have a 2-bedroom house or Tesla yet. 

When you focus on gratitude and appreciate what you have now, you start to realize that you need even less than you thought. In today’s culture, we are conditioned to want more, to seek bigger and better, which of course affects our spending. 

Being content with what you have now can lead to less spending because you realize you have everything you need. That doesn’t mean that you can’t strive for more. It means that you can truly enjoy the journey rather than feel the emptiness of what’s missing. 

When you acknowledge and are grateful for whatever you have, it allows more to be drawn to you and changes the way you experience life. The more grateful you are, the more wealth that you have.

“Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.” — Christiane Northrup

References:

  1. https://debrakasowski.com/2014/02/22/what-does-gratitude-have-to-do-with-wealth-building/
  2. https://www.goalcast.com/7-oprah-winfrey-quotes-to-charge-your-day-with-gratitude/
  3. https://www.oprah.com/own-podcasts/oprah-winfrey-grace-and-gratitude
  4. https://www.newretirement.com/retirement/keys-to-building-wealth-after-50/
  5. https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-become-wealthy-356376
  6. https://grow.acorns.com/self-made-millionaire-money-habits/

Purpose

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“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” Steve Jobs

Purpose is an abiding intention to achieve a long-term goal that is both personally meaningful and makes a positive mark on the world, according to The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. The goals that foster a sense of purpose are ones that can potentially change and improve the lives of other people. “If you can tune into your purpose and really align with it, setting goals so that your vision is an expression of that purpose, then life flows much more easily”, says author Jack Canfield

Purpose is not a destination, but a life’s journey, a mindset and a practice. It’s accessible at any age and at any income level, if we’re “willing to explore what matters to us and what kind of person we want to be—and act to become that person”. Filmmaker and author Drew Scott Pearlman writes: “Your purpose must be particular to you. This is the road less traveled. Your purpose cannot be someone else’s path, not your family’s path nor your friends’ path.”

Individuals with a sense of purpose report higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction—which seems associated with better health, wealth and emotional well-being outcomes. For many people, it was good and beneficial to have a purpose or a goal, no matter what it was.

Additionally, the physical health benefits of a sense of purpose are well-documented. For example, a Harvard’s School of Public Health study found that people who report higher levels of purpose at one point in time have objectively better physical agility four years later than those who report less purpose.

Moreover, researchers suggest that people take better care of themselves when they feel like they have something to live for. Having a purpose also seems to be associated with lower stress levels, which contributes to better health and emotional well-being. And, according to Helen Keller, “True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”

Additionally, people with a more “prosocial” purpose—one aimed at helping others—experienced greater personal growth, integrity, and health later in adulthood. This result was echoed by a 2019 study by Anne Colby and colleagues at Stanford University. They surveyed almost 1,200 Americans in their midlife about their well-being and what goals were important to them. The researchers found significantly better physical health and higher emotional well-being among people who were involved in pursuing beyond-the-self goals, compared to those who were pursuing other types of goals. In other words, engaging in prosocial goals had more positive impact on physical health and emotional well-being than engaging in non-prosocial goals.

A sense of purpose appears to suggest that humans “can cooperate and accomplish big things together”. Research suggests that team leaders can effectively boost the productivity, work experience and well-being of their team members by helping them connect to a task-related higher purpose. The 2013 Core Beliefs and Culture Survey revealed that 91 percent of respondents who believe that their company has a strong sense of purpose also say it has a history of strong financial performance.

“Everything in your life informs you what your purpose is. How do you know it’s your purpose? It feels like it’s the right space for you. It feels like ‘This is what I should be doing; this is where I feel most myself.” Oprah Winfrey

Purpose also helps both individuals and the species to survive and thrive. Purpose often grows from our connection to others, which is why a crisis of purpose is often a symptom of isolation. Once you find your path, you’ll almost certainly find others traveling along with you, hoping to reach the same destination—a community.

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According to research by Kendall Cotton Bronk, a professor of psychology in the Division of Behavioral & Social Sciences at Claremont Graduate University, finding one’s purpose requires four key components:

  1. Dedicated commitment,
  2. Personal meaningfulness,
  3. Goal directedness, and
  4. A vision larger than one’s self.

Often, finding our purpose involves a combination of finding meaning in the experiences we’ve had, while assessing our values, skills, and hopes for a better world. It means taking time for personal reflection while imagining our ideal future. “Everything in your life informs you what your purpose is. How do you know it’s your purpose? It feels like it’s the right space for you. It feels like ‘This is what I should be doing; this is where I feel most myself’,” says Oprah Winfrey

A sense of purpose as we navigate milestones and transitions means that we can look forward to more satisfying, meaningful and abundant lives.

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” Nietzsche

References:

  1. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/purpose/definition
  2. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/purpose/definition#why-find-purpose
  3. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/purpose/definition#how-to-cultivate-purpose
  4. https://www.thegrowthreactor.com/quotes-about-purpose-in-life/

Heart Disease and Hypertension

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The #1 killer of Americans—Cardiovascular / Heart Disease.

Cardiovascular disease remains the #1 health threat and the leading cause of death in the U.S. Over 874,000 Americans died of cardiovascular disease in 2019, according to the American Heart Association’s “Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2022 Update.”

Moreover, cardiovascular disease (CVD) kills more people each year than COVID-19 at its worst and CVD is the preventable. Every year, cardiovascular disease kills twice as many people, at a younger average age, as COVID-19 has at its worst, and since 2020, there’s been a surge in fatalities from heart disease and stroke in the U.S.

Fortunately, we don’t need heroic medical innovation to turn back this pandemic. We already have the public health tools needed to prevent most early cardiovascular deaths. The question is whether we can muster the social and political will to use them.

First, some basics. In the first two years of the pandemic, COVID-19 killed nearly 900,000 people in the U.S. In those same years, heart attacks and strokes killed more than 1.6 million. Globally, COVID-19 killed more than 10 million people in the first two years of the pandemic; in the same two years, cardiovascular disease killed more than 35 million. The three leading drivers of heart attacks and strokes—accounting for around two-thirds of the global total—are tobacco use, hypertension and air pollution, and all three are preventable.

There are many things you can do to take control of your health and reduce your risk of heart problems without medication. One of the most important ways to protect your heart—and brain, as research shows—is to protect yourself against the dangers of hypertension.

Blood pressure is the force of that blood pushing against your artery walls. It is normal for your blood pressure to rise and fall throughout the day. But if it stays high for too long, the constant force on your arteries can create microscopic tears. These tears can turn into scar tissue, providing the perfect lodging place for fat, cholesterol, and other particles—collectively called plaque.  

Buildup of plaque narrows the arteries, which requires your heart to work extra hard to push blood through, causing spikes in blood pressure. When untreated, high blood pressure (or hypertension) is a ticking time bomb.

Most people experience no symptoms, often having high blood pressure without knowing. Left undetected or uncontrolled, hypertension can lead to heart disease, heart attack, stroke, kidney damage/failure, vision loss, peripheral artery disease, and sexual dysfunction.

The Brain and Blood Pressure Connection

Research is starting to show just how far-reaching the effects of hypertension can be, affecting not just the blood vessels in the brain, but also how the brain functions. A recently published study in Hypertension, the journal of the American Heart Association, found that high blood pressure appears to accelerate cognitive decline.

On the other hand, those with controlled hypertension did not experience these rapid declines in memory or cognitive function, which highlights the need to control blood pressure, regardless of age. As scientists in this study concluded, “In addition to hypertension, prehypertension and pressure control might be critical for the preservation of cognitive function.”

Other research confirms the importance of keeping heart health risk factors under control, especially for the prevention of dementia. In one study of 1,449 people, those who had better control over modifiable heart disease risk factors had lower risk of dementia later in life.

It’s time to pay special attention to understanding, preventing and treating heart disease. Here are just a few examples of how you can reduce your risk:

  • Doing at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week
  • Eating healthy (the AHA’s Heart-Check mark can guide you)
  • Not smoking or vaping
  • Maintaining a healthy weight
  • Controlling blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure
  • Getting regular checkups
  • Finding ways to relax and ease your mind, such as meditation

Caring for yourself and taking care of your heart is good for your brain. That’s because many of the risk factors for heart disease, including high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, are also related to brain diseases such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

References:

  1. https://www.newportnaturalhealth.com/blogs/popular-posts/ticking-time-bomb-fighting-the-1-killer-in-the-u-s
  2. https://www.wsj.com/articles/stopping-a-pandemic-deadlier-than-covid-11648220259
  3. https://www.heart.org/en/around-the-aha/reclaim-your-health-during-american-heart-month-in-february
  4. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001052

Visualization: Your Life In Focus

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“The key to effective visualization is to create the most detailed, clear, and vivid a picture to focus on.”

Research shows that the more you focus on the things you desire, the better chance you have at getting them. Thus, knowing what you want and focusing on what you want are essential for success and achieving your best life.

As you might ascertain, having a clear direction of where you’re headed or where you want to go is essential. Without a clear purpose and goals, it can be very easy to get caught up in things that aren’t actually moving you forward in your life’s journey.

For example, struggling comedian and actor, Jim Carrey used to picture himself being the greatest actor in the world. When Carey was still a “wannabe” during one of his appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, he spoke about his early days trying to make it in the entertainment business. He was broke and had no future. But he took a blank check and wrote out $10 million dollars to himself for acting services rendered and dated it five year in the future.

Subsequently, he carried that check in his wallet at all times and looked at it every morning, visualizing receiving $10 million. Five years after he wrote the check to himself, he found out that he was going to earn $10 million from the movie “Dumb and Dumber.”

“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.” Oprah Winfrey

Vision boarding is an excellent way to get clear on your goals. Creating a vision board is a powerful way of getting to know yourself and what it is you truly want in your life.

A vision board is essentially a physical (or digital) manifestation of your goals. Vision boarding involves collecting images or objects that speak to the future you want to create and arranging them on a board for a tangible and aesthetically pleasing reminder of where you’re heading.

References:

  1. https://seatgeek.com/tba/articles/oprah-winfrey-2020-vision-tour-dates-tickets/
  2. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-20630/8-successful-people-who-use-the-power-of-visualization.html
  3. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/how-to-make-a-vision-board

 

“Success = Knowing, Growing, Acting and Serving.”

Your Health is an Investment

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Your health is an investment, not an expense.

The health of Americans is on a bad trajectory, it is declining. Things such as: obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and like health epidemics are growing at a feverish pace.

Healthcare — both preventive and reactive — is becoming harder to obtain. And, unfortunately, the industry focuses more on reactive approaches to disease and pushing pharmaceuticals than preventative approaches to treating diseases.

It’s important to know think proactively about all of the things you spend money on. Some things are critical to living such as food, a roof over your head, and clothes to wear.

However, as a whole, many people tend to spend money on some things that are unnecessary like a new luxury vehicle or a glamorous vacation, and then think that they don’t have enough money to invest in our health.

The biggest and most obvious reason that you should invest in your health is that you only get one body, mind and life! If you fail to take care of your body and mind, sooner or later you will suffer the consequences and they will fail you at a great cost at a later date and time. Thus, you must regularly invest in your health. The several types of investments to make regularly are:

  • Sleep – 7-8 hrs/night
  • Food – 50-70% good fats, 20-30% healthy proteins and less than 20% carbohydrates from organic, non-gmo, non-processed and non-added sugar sources
  • Hydration – Half your body weight in ounces per day, no more than 3 quarts
  • Exercise – 30 minutes per day of some type of exercise/movement
  • Stress – Daily stress-reducing and relaxation techniques
  • Gratitude– Being grateful for your daily blessings and the joy in your life
  • Spiritual/Mindfulness – Spending time nurturing your faith daily

If you’re not, then you’re spending time regularly neglecting your health.

  • You’re either getting quality sleep or you’re not.
  • You’re either eating foods that will nourish and fuel your body or you’re not.
  • You’re either properly hydrating on a regular basis, or not.
  • You’re either exercising in some way daily, or you’re not.
  • You’re either working to reduce stress on a daily basis or you’re not.
  • You’re either focusing on all of the good in your life and working towards your goals, or not.

You should do something daily to invest back in your health. If not, some day you’re going to wish you had made different choices along the way.

Optimal health is not something you can buy; however, it might just be the most valuable investment you can ever make.

Today be thankful and think of how rich you really are. Your family and friends are priceless, your time is gold, and your health is wealth.

References:

  1. https://kellyshockley.com/your-health-is-an-investment-not-an-expense/
  2. https://thetakeawaybypokk.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/your-health-is-an-investment-not-and-expense/

Guide to Medicare Enrollment

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At age 65, you’re eligible to enroll in Medicare and reap some benefits from a program you’ve contributed during your pre-retirement years. But, getting the most out of Medicare can be daunting. 

It’s important to understand your options and the rules that apply. For instance, missing your enrollment date may mean penalties or even higher premiums for the rest of your life. At the same time, you don’t want to pay for additional coverage you don’t need, especially if you’re still working.

If you are receiving Social Security, you are automatically enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B (known as Original Medicare) at 65. You’ll receive a Medicare card two or three months before your birthday, and coverage starts on the first day of your birthday month.

  • Part A covers hospitalization and usually comes with no premiums, assuming you or your spouse paid into Medicare while working.
  • Part B, which covers medical services, does require premiums, but you have the option of withdrawing if you wish.

If you aren’t yet receiving Social Security, you will need to apply for Medicare during one of the designated annual enrollment periods. Your initial enrollment period lasts for seven months, beginning three months before the month in which you turn 65. To help avoid a potential gap in coverage, consider enrolling during the three months prior to your 65th birthday.

If you’re still working and covered at age 65, you should consider enrolling in Part A anyway, as it is generally premium-free and may cover some expenses not included in your employer’s health plan.

Premiums for Part B may be higher because of your income, so it may be wise to delay enrollment in Part B until after you retire as long as you work for a company with 20 or more employees.

If your company has fewer than 20 employees, consider enrolling in Part B as well because Medicare is considered your primary insurance. You can enroll without penalty at any time during the eight months after you stop working or your employee health coverage ends.

If you miss that window, you may be subject to penalties that, in the case of Part B, could last as long as you remain covered. (For insights on what you can consider doing if you lose your health-care benefits before you turn 65.

Additional coverage includes Part C, known as Medicare Advantage. It includes plans administered by private companies such as health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations. They offer the benefits of Parts A and B, and often include such additional benefits as vision, hearing and dental coverage.

Costs for Part C plans vary according to the insurer. Some plans may require referrals or restrict you to doctors in a network, and you must already have Parts A and B in order to enroll. Another consideration: Some plans may limit their coverage to a certain geographic area, so if you anticipate traveling a great deal or relocating, Medicare Advantage might not be for you.

And, Part D offers prescription drug coverage for both brand-name and generic prescription drugs. You must be enrolled in Medicare to enroll in a Part D plan, which you purchase from a private insurer. Although premiums, deductibles and copays vary by plan, federal law limits your annual out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. Before enrolling in Part D, check whether you’re already covered for prescription drugs under a Part C Medicare Advantage plan. You may not need it. And if you decide later on that you need additional coverage or want to change your existing plan, you can do so during designated enrollment periods.

There are services that are not covered by Medicare. Original Medicare (Parts A and B) won’t cover copays, coinsurance or deductibles, nor will it cover medical care when you travel outside the United States. Some services, such as long-term care, acupuncture and cosmetic surgery, also aren’t covered. Some of these services are likely to be covered if you enroll in a Part C plan. Long-term care, however, is not among them.

As an alternative to Part C, you may supplement Original Medicare with Medicare Supplement Insurance, also known as Medigap. Plans providing such coverage follow strict federal and state standards, and costs vary by policy and insurer.

To buy a Medigap policy, you must be enrolled in both Parts A and B. To guarantee availability, you must sign up within six months of enrolling in Part B.

If you have TRICARE (health care program for active-duty and retired service members and their families), you generally must enroll in Part A and Part B when you’re first eligible to keep your TRICARE coverage. However, if you’re an active-duty service member or an active-duty family member, you don’t have to enroll in Part B to keep your TRICARE coverage.

Most people with TRICARE entitled to Part A must have Part B to keep TRICARE drug benefits. If you have TRICARE, you don’t need to join a Medicare drug plan. However, if you do, your Medicare drug plan pays first, and TRICARE pays second.

If you join a Medicare Advantage Plan with drug coverage, your Medicare Advantage Plan and TRICARE may coordinate their benefits if your Medicare Advantage Plan network pharmacy is also a TRICARE network pharmacy. Otherwise, you can file your own claim to get paid back for your out-of-pocket costs. For more information, visit tricare.mil, or call the TRICARE Pharmacy Program at 1-877-363-1303.

To learn more, the official Medicare site, medicare.gov, offers detailed information on signing up; the specifics of Parts A, B, C and D; costs associated with Medicare; penalties for missing enrollment; and other important issues. Go to the site’s “Find Health & Drugs Plans” section to sort through and compare the plans available in your region.

References:

  1. https://www.medicare.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/10050-Medicare-and-You_0.pdf
  2. https://www.ml.com/articles/your-guide-to-medicare-5-key-questions-answered.html
  3. https://www.medicare.gov
  4. https://tricare.mil

Better Workouts Include the Brain and Body

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Movement is Medicine: ‘We can use our bodies as a tool to affect the way we think and feel, like a hotline to the mind.” Caroline Williams, researcher and author of ‘Move: How the New Science of Body Movement Can Set Your Mind Free’

“Movement affects your brain; but your brain also affects movement.”

Regular physical activity is an important part of a healthy mind, body and lifestyle. Not only is exercise good for your muscles and bones, but it is also an important part of keeping your brain healthy too. Exercise doesn’t only mean working out or playing sports, it just means moving your body and being active. A few other examples of exercise are: dancing, walking, biking, swimming, or throwing a Frisbee.

What happens in the body and brain during exercise: As your heart rate increases during exercise, blood flow to the brain increases. As blood flow increases, your brain is exposed to more oxygen and nutrients. Exercise also induces the release of beneficial proteins in the brain. These nourishing proteins keep brain cells (also known as neurons) healthy, and promote the growth of new neurons. Neurons are the working building blocks of the brain. As a result, individual neuron health is important to overall brain health.

Studies have shown that the connection between your brain and your body is a “two-way street” and that means physical movement can effectively change your brain for the better, explains Srini Pillay, M.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Your brain plays a major role in your physical and emotional well-being, and it directly affects your ability to exercise. Your brain was designed for survival and avoiding danger (fight, flight or freeze). Regular aerobic exercise can reduce anxiety by making your brain’s “fight, flight or freeze” system less reactive.

One way to trick your brain is doing a Gatorade swish, which misleads your brain into thinking your body is getting a jolt of energy from a sugary beverage, even if it isn’t. The act triggers the brain, which naturally wants to preserve energy for survival, into releasing dopamine to help jump start exercise based on the false promise is sugar, Dr. Jennifer Heisz, explains in Move Your Body; Heal Your Mind.

Movement can improve your cognitive functions and mental health. Regular physical activity and movement benefit more than just the body. They actually augment brain function. Movement supplies brain cells with oxygen, promotes the production of new brain cells, and aids in creating new synapses.

Regular exercise such as aerobic, resistance, flexibility, and balance exercises can reduce depressive symptoms. Exercise can be as effective as medication and psychotherapies.

Regular exercise may boost mood by increasing a brain protein called BDNF that helps nerve fibers grow.

Mindfulness during exercises and workout.

“A 12 minute walk alters metabolites in our blood, molecules that affect the beating of our heart, the breath in our lungs, the neurons in our brain.” explains Annabel Streets, “52,ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time.

Physical activity is ignored by experts who are too focused on addressing mental health issues from the neck up. “It’s low hanging fruit,” she says, “brain chemist, thought, behaviors might take years to address on the couch.” Dr. Ellen Vora, a New York psychiatrist.

“The brain is always working against you to not expend energy, but we can override it,” says Dr. Heisz.

Exercise can be turned into a powerful meditation practice states Anita Sweeney, author of “Make Every Move a Meditation: Mindful Movement for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Insight”. Exercise can be turned into a powerful meditative practice by focusing the mind on a single thought, object or sensation during exercise can help bring clarity and peace of mind. For example, focusing on your left foot hitting the pavement can help you focus.

Exercise is essential for those seeking better emotional well-being and better mental health. Both physical exercise and meditative movement are activities that you can do to improve the way you feel.

Studies have found that people who exercise daily are at greatly reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Rudolph Tanzi, Kennedy professor of neurology and cofounder of the McCance Center for Brain Health at MGH, states, “It’s hard to imagine anything better for brain health than daily exercise, and our findings shed new light on the mechanism involved: protecting against neuroinflammation, perhaps the biggest killer of brain neurons as we age.”

References:

  1. https://www.wsj.com/articles/best-books-2022-workout-fitness-11641905831
  2. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-simply-moving-benefits-your-mental-health-201603289350
  3. https://www.dana.org/article/how-does-exercise-affect-the-brain/
  4. https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2022/01/right-now-brain-on-exercise
  5. https://www.discoverhealthfmc.com/blogs/understanding-how-your-brain-affects-your-movement