Seniors Health Care

By Marilyn Zink

I heard a senior make this comment recently, “I’m so busy I don’t know how I found time to work.”

That senior is indicative of many seniors today, who are leading busy, active healthy lives. Seniors today are more aware of their health and making the effort to look after their health, exploring both contemporary and alternative health care.

“Most seniors want to live longer and better,” says Paulette Roscoe, a naturopathic doctor in Nanaimo.

JoAnne McKee, who runs Oceanside Bio-Energy Centre in Qualicum Beach, says many of her clients are seniors who are becoming more pro-active with alternative health care.

“They’re starting to get more interested, understand better and are not afraid,” says McKee. “Younger people have a harder time being proactive, they don’t understand preventative medicine. Doing preventative medicine is 50% of alternative health.”

Darcy O’Toole, owner of Medicine Centre’s two branches in Qualicum, has seen many seniors come in over the past 15 years and agrees they are more aware of health care.

“Nowadays, the concept of a 65-year-old being old isn’t old anymore. Certainly, they’re being more aware and there’s more help available. The treatment for chronic diseases has improved,” says O’Toole. “I think there are a greater number of people who are proactive. They’re looking at all modalities.”

While seniors are more active, aware and healthy, there are still many health issues that affect the senior population. “Digestion is probably 50%, along with arthritis and people worried about dementia,” says Roscoe.

O’Toole says dementia and terminal illnesses are a concern, not just for the senior experiencing it but for the caregivers as well. “So there’s caregiver burnout,” she notes.

McKee says arthritis is a big concern among her clients as well as digestive problems while the middle-age people “are finding allergies to be more of a problem than seniors,” says McKee. “They’re actually more toxic than seniors.” She says that’s because seniors have often lived the first third of their lives in a clean environment, eating healthy while those in the Baby Boomer generation have been exposed to a more toxic environment.

However, seniors tend to develop chronic illnesses and cancer and diabetes. While cancer is a concern, particularly breast cancer, “women diagnosed now have a much greater survival rate,” says O’Toole. She says diabetes is a major concern among seniors along with concerns about cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.

“I think blood pressure is right up there,” says O’Toole. “Blood pressure is known as the silent killer. You don’t get a full body rash that’s glowing green. The first sign people often get is a heart attack or stroke, often resulting in death.”

O’Toole advises seniors to look at non-medicinal approaches, monitoring salt intake and eating healthy along with exercise. “I certainly find the people who are healthy are between aquacises or heading out for a round of golf or going to their walking group,” she says. “I find particularly in Qualicum there are a number of very active seniors.”

Roscoe says her older clients who are healthiest are good at exercising.

TREATMENTS

Roscoe says chronic inflammation is often a precursor to many degenerative diseases of aging. The inflammatory marker is a high homocysteine level, a particular concern for heart health. People can get their homocysteine levels checked with a simple test from their doctor. Consuming B vitamins lowers the homocysteine levels. B vitamins are good for the nervous system and help to lower stress levels.

B vitamins – a complex group of eight vitamins; thiamine (B1 roboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6), folic acid (B9) cyanocobalamin (B12), biotin and pantothenic acid. B vitamins can be consumed from liver, brewer’s yeast, wheat germs and rice polishings.

Detoxing - is another important way to stay healthy. Cleaning the liver can help with high cholesterol, as 50% of cholesterol is made in the liver, says Roscoe. “Doing detox on a regular basis really is an important therapeutic regime to lower your aging threshold,” says Roscoe. A detox program will help your liver to work better and move the toxins out."

Antioxidants – like Vitamins C and E along with fruit juices such as goji juice and mangosteen, help to neutralize oxidation, fight free radicals that affect aging and correct any damage that has been done. Think of anti-oxidants as the repair crews in your body.

Essential Fatty Acids – these good oils are rich in linoleic (omega-3) and alph-linolenic (omega 6) fatty acids, key components of healing oils. EFA’s are lubricants in the body, good for digestion, protection against diabetes and heart health. EFAs build cell structure, generate electrical energy and produce hormones. They are critically important for good health. Consume EFAs from cold water fish, flax seed oil, evening primrose or borage oil or hempseed oil.

Enzymes – many seniors are deficient in enzymes; which leads to digestive problems and other concerns. In his book ‘Conscious Health,’ Ron Garner states, ‘Enzymes are the living catalysts that activate all bio-chemical reactions within our bodies. Without sufficient enzymes, the body degenerates into disease.” All raw food contains enzymes. Enzymes can also be taken in supplement form with meals.

Exercise – it’s already been mentioned, however regular exercise is so important to healthy aging. Seniors lose a significant amount of muscle mass as part of the aging process. Exercise helps combat that, oxygenates the body and has many other benfits.