The senses often become blunted with age. Changes tend to take place very gradually. If you experience a sudden change in your ability to see or hear, consult a doctor as it may be a sign of underlying illness.

The eyes undergo a number of changes as you grow older. The lens becomes more opaque and loses its flexibility, the iris becomes sluggish, the retina can become less sensitive to light, and a condition called glaucoma – in which pressure builds up inside the eye – becomes more likely. On average, the eye of a 60-year-old person lets in half as much light as a younger person’s. The most common type of age-related vision change is long-sightedness.

Warning signs of eye problems are as follows:

difficulty seeing objects close-up (this may be caused by long sightedness)
hazy vision, a blur around lights and the sensation of looking through fog (this may be caused by cataracts)
loss of peripheral vision, flashes of light and floating shapes (this may be caused by retinal detachment)
rapid or gradual vision loss and distorted vision when reading (this may be caused by macular degeneration)
blurred vision, sudden and severe eye pain, teary, aching eyes, halos around lights, headache, nausea and vomiting (this may be caused by glaucoma).

You should have your eyesight tested yearly as you get older, and consult your doctor or ophthalmologist about any changes in your vision. The treatment for eye problems ranges from reading glasses for long- sightedness to surgery for cataracts. If you have adult-onset diabetes, you should be particularly vigilant about having regular eye checks – diabetes is one of the main causes of blindness.

Try to protect your eyes as a much as possible by: Read more »

In August 2005, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) extended its policy statement to include organic claims on personal healthcare products that have met the organic standards of formulation and manufacturing laid down by the National Organics Program (NOP), a division of the USDA. While this came as great news to personal healthcare manufacturers, it also created a great deal of confusion and controversy.

The Food and Drugs Administration does not define or regulate the term “organic” as it applies to cosmetics, body care, or personal care products. As a result, both manufacturers and consumers are confused as to what qualifies the “organic” label on personal healthcare products. There are private interpretations for the “organic” label on personal healthcare products and as a result, third party organic certifications can be obtained. But without any qualifying standards, an “organic” claim on a personal healthcare product may mean little or nothing.

Getting Organic on Soap

In April 2008, the NOP released a news bulletin clarifying the USDA standards for organic certification of cosmetics, body care products and personal care products. The USDA is responsible for all “organic” claims on food products, but is currently not enforcing the same standards on personal healthcare products labeled “organic” as it does on organic foods and dietary supplements.

The issue with soap is one of the major controversies. Some view that the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) does not allow soap manufacturers to put any organic claims either “organic” or “made with organic ingredients” on soap products. They believe that any soap product that claims to be “organic” is violating the OFPA. The NOP differs with this viewpoint and has drafted a document that supports the interpretation of the OFPA to allow organic certification and labeling of soap products formulated and manufactured in conformity to the regulations laid down by the NOP. Read more »

Core training is still definitely a hot topic. Whether it be the individual with low pain, the athlete seeking to improve their performance or the average person who wants to look and feel good, core training is often at the center of their program. When we think of core training certain images may come to mind.

We may picture someone performing crunches on a stability ball. Or perhaps it is someone performing a rollout with a stability ball. Or maybe it doesn’t involve any equipment at all and instead is simply someone doing a plank.

Regardless of what comes to mind, the goal is usually to stabilize or strengthen the trunk of the body. Sometimes our clients will perform what they recognize as core drills initially but not as much thereafter. And they are puzzled how their core continues to get stronger when are not continuing with these drills.

Well the reason is that we select specific drills and exercises based on a number of criteria. And core drills are a means to moving on to the next phase of training rather than the end goal in and of itself. For example, I don’t know of any athlete that has won a competition in planks or crunches. Read more »

This is the time of year of a number of firsts. First month of the year, first days back to work and school, and for many it’s the first step towards better health and fitness. This should come as no surprise as every gym is packed these days with people aspiring towards a leaner physique, a flatter tummy, six pack abs or whatever the goal is.

And as many put in the efforts towards better health there is one measure that ultimately reinforces and motivates or demoralizes and derails the progress. This measure is the scale. People can be fitting into their jeans more easily, waking up without knee pain, sleeping better through the night and getting their blood sugar under control all by simply adding in some resistance based workouts. However one step on the scale where the needle didn’t drop from the last visit and we’re ready to give up. But should we?

The first phase of a new program will elicit some neurological adaptations. This is a fancy way of saying that our body gets better at sending and receiving the message from our nervous system while working out. And as a result of this and later physiological adaptations we are going to stimulate lean body mass. Translation = we will add muscle to our frames. Read more »

I really like common sense approaches to things. One thing that always makes sense to me is to use a scientific approach to discovery and problem solving. Rather than letting spontaneous decisions or random occurrences account for the results we achieve it is much more efficient and effective to plan out and have some control over our health. Here are 5 ways you can set up your day-to-day living as a mini experiment to achieve the best health.

Step 1 - Know what the end product is. We have to be really specific here. We can’t just say ‘lose a few pounds’ or ‘tone up’. We need to have an exact number in mind and be specific with describing it. For example you might say ‘I want to lose 9 pounds by April 1 but lose no muscle mass’. This is very specific, it has a time component and puts restrictions of the type of weight loss allowed.

Step 2 - Look at what you are currently doing and see if you are the fittest, leanest, healthiest person you know. If you answered yes, find healthier, leaner friends. Only somewhat joking about the last part. But seriously, if you aren’t 100% happy with the way you look, feel and perform than you need to identify what it is you are currently doing related to your nutritional plan, your exercise and your rest. And you’ll need to change at least one of these three. Read more »