#and community isn’t just able bodied working adults between 20 and 65

[huneydue]

answer all of them

1. Are looks important in a relationship?- for me they aren't. I'm more attracted to the way people act towards others, their sense of humor, but I know for others physical attraction is really important. I just don't think that they are. Not for me. 
2. Are relationships ever worth it?- heck yeah
3. Are you a virgin?- 🤗
4. Are you in a relationship?- nope
5. Are you in love?- I don't think I am anymore 
6. Are you single this year?- I haven't been in an official relationship this year but I did have a kinda thing with someone
7. Can you commit to one person?- of course 
8. Describe your crush- funny, cute, sarcastic, sappy, caring, amazing
9. Describe your perfect mate- funny, cute, good flirt to roast ratio, caring, amazing
10. Do you believe in love at first sight?- I believe in being extremely attracted to someone at first sight, but I think that love takes time.
11. Do you ever want to get married?- I wanted to at one point. It just all depends on who I'm with. 
12. Do you forgive betrayal?- not really. It depends on who the person is who does it. 
13. Do you get jealous easily?- oh you betcha 
14. Do you have a crush on anyone?- I do
15. Do you have any piercings?- 1
16. Do you have any tattoos?- I don't
17. Do you like kissing in public?- ehh small kisses are cool but that's it
20. Do you shower every day?- yep
21. Do you think someone has feelings for you?- maybe but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 
22. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now?- heck yeah
23. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat?- no one I've ever been with has been able to but I know I can do it 🤗
24. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years?- I don't think so 
25. Do you want to be in a relationship this year?- if it happens cool but if not that's cool too 
26. Has anyone told you they don’t want to ever lose you?- lots of people 
27. Has someone ever written a song or poem for you?- both actually
28. Have you ever been cheated on?- yep
29. Have you ever cheated on someone?- I would never
30. Have you ever considered plastic surgery? If so, what would you change about your body?- I wanted to change my nose actually bc I really hate it 
31. Have you ever cried over a guy/girl?- oh you betcha 
32. Have you ever experienced unrequited love?- OH YOU BETCHA
33. Have you ever had sex with a man?- ////
34. Have you ever had sex with a woman?- 🤗
35. Have you ever kissed someone older than you?- 🤗
36. Have you ever liked one of your best friends?- I have 
37. Have you ever liked someone who your friends hated?- oohhhh boy you bet I have. I think my friends have hated everyone I've ever liked 
38. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to?- all the time 
39. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have?- unfortunately 
40. Have you ever written a song or poem for someone?- a poem!
41. Have you had sex so far this year?- nope
42. How long can you just kiss until your hands start to wander?- well you see I'm touchy so 
43. How long was your longest relationship?- a couple months 
44. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had?- 3
45. How many people did you kiss in 2012?- NONE
46. How many times did you have sex last year?- 0000
47. How old are you?- 18
48. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say?- uhh I think I'd just say that's cool tbh
49. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, what is your favorite thing about him/her?- I can't answer this BC IM SINGLE
50. If your first true love knocked on your door with apology and presents, would you accept?- I would want to but she doesn't deserve me so no
51. Is there a boy/girl who you would do absolutely everything for?- yes 
52. Is there anyone you’ve given up on? Why?- my ex. I was stubborn and I didn't want to for a long time but sometimes you just gotta give up on people that aren't willing to change 
53. Is there someone mad because you’re dating/talking to the person you are?- I don't think so 
54. Is there someone you will never forget?- tons of people. Everyone I meet usually leaves some sort of impression on me that stays with me 
55. Share a relationship story.- tbh?? I don't think I have many good ones so no thx
56. State 8 facts about your body- my eyes are green, I can move one of my thumbs in a really weird way, my ankles are shit and I roll them all the time, my thighs and stomach are squishy and make great pillows, my cheeks are chubby, my skin is really soft, I have small hands, and I have a birthmark on the back of my head under my hair 
57. Things you want to say to an ex- I wish I hated you but you're always going to be someone I wish I could have in my life and I'm going to always miss you no matter where I am or what I'm doing. And I'll always wish it could have worked. 
58. What are five ways to win your heart?- pizza, animals, trips to the aquarium, cuddles, neck kisses
59. What do you look like? (Post a picture!)- look at my avi 
60. What is the biggest age difference between you and any of your partners?- it was like 2 years 
61. What is the first thing you notice in someone?- their smile usually
62. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you?- support me and love me even tho my mental illnesses make it hard to do that lmao 
63. What is your definition of “having sex”?- uh just ya know, having sex
64. What is your definition of cheating?- allowing yourself to fall for someone, whether in love or in lust, while with someone else. Cheating isn't just physical. It can be emotional too. 
65. What is your favourite foreplay routine?- ////
66. What is your favourite roleplay?- ////
67. What is your idea of the perfect date?- take me to the aquarium please 
68. What is your sexual orientation?- lesbian 
69. What turns you off?- dull conversations, people who don't put in effort, rudeness
70. What turns you on?- kindness, humor, a nice smile, a cute laugh
71. What was your kinkiest wet dream?- ////
72. What words do you like to hear during sex?- ////
73. What’s something sweet you’d like someone to do for you?- um not give up on me lmao 
74. What’s the most superficial characteristic you look for?- I don't think I have one
75. What’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for you?- wrote a song for me
76. What’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for someone?- I drove to her house and brought her chicken nuggets because she was crying 
77. What’s your opinion on age differences in relationships?- age gaps do matter. A legal adult shouldn't date someone under 18. And age gaps can determine how mature some people will be in the relationship. I think they matter 
78. What’s your dirtiest secret?- sometimes I wear the same bra 3 days in a row 
79. When was the last time you felt jealous? Why?- ummm when this person went out of her way to try and make me jealous by telling me she was gonna kiss her friend 🤗
80. When was the last time you told someone you loved them?- I told Jessica I loved her last night 
81. Who are five people you find attractive?- Jessica, myself, my boy Baylee, Carolyn, and Maura 
82. Who is the last person you hugged?- my little sister
83. Who was your first kiss with?- one of my friends but idk if you can really count that 
84. Why did your last relationship fail?- effort wasn't there, communication wasn't there, I don't think either of us were in it completely
85. Would you ever date someone off of the Internet? - of course

[stephenmccull]

‘More Than Physical Health’: Gym Helps 91-Year-Old Battle Isolation

MONROVIA, Calif. — Most mornings, like clockwork, you could find Art Ballard pumping iron.

At least five days a week, he drove to Foothill Gym, where he beat on the punching bag, rode a stationary bike and worked his abs. After he joined the gym five years ago, he dropped 20 pounds, improved his balance and made friends.

At 91, he’s still spry and doesn’t take any medication other than an occasional Tylenol for aches and pains.

“Doctors love me,” he said.

But when California enacted a statewide stay-at-home order in mid-March, his near-daily physical exercise and social interactions abruptly ended.

https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/art-audio-1.mp3

Ballard’s health started to deteriorate: His back hurt, his legs cramped and he started becoming short of breath. As happens too often with older people, he also started to feel isolated and depressed.

“I was deeply concerned for myself because I didn’t have an exercise routine at home,” he said.

Art Ballard is proud that he doesn’t have to rely on several medications at his age. He takes only Tylenol as needed for aches and pains.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard worked out at Foothill Gym a few weeks before it was officially open to the public. “I’m feeling so good,” he says. “I snapped back.”(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

The University of Southern California’s Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research conducted an analysis in late March, as the coronavirus established a foothold in the U.S., that found that older adults over 60 who lived alone were more likely to report feeling anxious or depressed than those living with companions.

The combination of the pandemic and nationwide lockdown orders put this already vulnerable population at greater risk, said Julie Zissimopoulos, co-director of the aging and cognition program at USC’s Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. Social distancing measures have weakened the support systems that older people who live alone depend on for basic activities, such as help with grocery shopping and transportation to doctor appointments.

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“There’s a huge, disproportionate impact on older adults with this virus and the health outcomes,” said Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of AARP Foundation. “During this shutdown, we’ve had growing public health and community acknowledgement of how serious it can be to sever the ties with our network.”

Ballard, a retired jeweler, lives alone in a one-bedroom condo in Monrovia, a city of about 36,000 people about 20 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. He lost his wife of more than 50 years, Dorothy, to Alzheimer’s disease in 2015. Since then, he has embraced his solitude and reveled in his newfound bachelorhood. He enjoys cooking and trying out recipes, listening to 1950s music and watching YouTube videos about World War II.

Ballard holds a photograph of himself and his wife, Dorothy. She died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease almost five years ago. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

He has a girlfriend he met online — a retired greyhound trainer who lives in Arkansas. They haven’t yet met in person.

Ballard felt he could handle the isolation of the lockdown order. He didn’t have visitors during quarantine, but his son, Dan Ballard, checked on him by phone weekly.

In the beginning, Ballard tried to keep busy. He did his shopping early in the morning and took strolls around his neighborhood. But after a couple of months of not visiting the gym, Ballard began feeling sad and frustrated, and his health started to slide. He relied more on his walker and sometimes struggled to breathe.

https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/art-audio-2.mp3

“My girlfriend was concerned with how I was thinking,” said Ballard, who speaks to her on the phone several times a day.

For Ballard, a self-proclaimed gym addict, Foothill Gym was a second home. Just as in the 1980s sitcom “Cheers,” it’s a place where everybody knows his name. Not going to the “club,” as he calls it, was taking a toll on his mental and physical health, so he decided to visit Brian Whelan, the owner of the small, family-run gym, in late May.

“He comes in, out of breath, with a walker,” Whelan recalled. “He couldn’t hold his head up straight and it took him five minutes to catch his breath.”

During the lockdown, Ballard started having difficulty keeping his balance. His solution was to walk around his neighborhood with a walker. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard takes a break between sets to chat with Foothill Gym owner Brian Whelan on June 13. For Ballard, the benefits of the gym are twofold. “It’s the health factor and the social aspect,” he says. “Everybody there is so positive. It makes my day worthwhile.”(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard performs seated cable pulls during his total body workout at the gym. “I try to get my heart rate up to 140,” Ballard says.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Whelan felt sad and angry. “Everyone here was almost in tears because this vibrant man was gone,” he said. So Whelan broke the rules. He invited Ballard to visit the gym even before it officially reopened to the public.

“The gym business is more than physical health,” said Whelan. “It’s mental health.”

https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/art-audio-3.mp3

Ballard resumed his beloved routine the last week of May, with the gym mostly to himself.

“Every day for the past two months, I’ve been sad,” Ballard said on the first day back. “Today, I woke up and I was happy.”

Day after day, Ballard improved. “Now he comes in without a walker, head up straight, and the spark in his eyes is getting brighter,” Whelan said.

Ballard says it took him a while to get his hands on a mask. He wears it when he goes grocery shopping and to doctor appointments. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment. He’s self-sufficient and says he wants to live independently as long as possible. More than one-quarter of adults 65 and older live by themselves, according to 2018 U.S. Census Bureau statistics.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard combs his freshly cut hair before heading to the gym. He has always had a crew cut, and the quarantine forced him, for the first time, to grow it out.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

The gym reopened June 15. Despite the threat of COVID-19, Ballard is back to working out six days a week. Masks are required to enter the gym but can be removed when exercising.

Ballard isn’t worried. “I’m 100% comfortable,” he said. “I’ll wear a mask if they ask me to.”

Son Dan said he’s worried about his dad being around people, but realizes the benefits.

“It’s a scary balance. If he stops going to the gym and can’t see anybody, I know he’s going to deteriorate,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s a quality-of-life decision that’s his to make.”

Ballard believes not being able to socialize was a bigger threat to his health than the risk of contracting the coronavirus.

“I found out how important my routine and exercise is,” said Ballard. “It’s given me back my life. And it’s only going to get better.”

Ballard always ends his gym session punching the heavy bag at least 60 times in a row, he says. “The most important thing to do is to shake those bones up, especially when you’re old,” he says. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

‘More Than Physical Health’: Gym Helps 91-Year-Old Battle Isolation published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

[dinafbrownil]

‘More Than Physical Health’: Gym Helps 91-Year-Old Battle Isolation

MONROVIA, Calif. — Most mornings, like clockwork, you could find Art Ballard pumping iron.

At least five days a week, he drove to Foothill Gym, where he beat on the punching bag, rode a stationary bike and worked his abs. After he joined the gym five years ago, he dropped 20 pounds, improved his balance and made friends.

At 91, he’s still spry and doesn’t take any medication other than an occasional Tylenol for aches and pains.

“Doctors love me,” he said.

But when California enacted a statewide stay-at-home order in mid-March, his near-daily physical exercise and social interactions abruptly ended.

https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/art-audio-1.mp3

Ballard’s health started to deteriorate: His back hurt, his legs cramped and he started becoming short of breath. As happens too often with older people, he also started to feel isolated and depressed.

“I was deeply concerned for myself because I didn’t have an exercise routine at home,” he said.

Art Ballard is proud that he doesn’t have to rely on several medications at his age. He takes only Tylenol as needed for aches and pains.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard worked out at Foothill Gym a few weeks before it was officially open to the public. “I’m feeling so good,” he says. “I snapped back.”(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

The University of Southern California’s Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research conducted an analysis in late March, as the coronavirus established a foothold in the U.S., that found that older adults over 60 who lived alone were more likely to report feeling anxious or depressed than those living with companions.

The combination of the pandemic and nationwide lockdown orders put this already vulnerable population at greater risk, said Julie Zissimopoulos, co-director of the aging and cognition program at USC’s Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. Social distancing measures have weakened the support systems that older people who live alone depend on for basic activities, such as help with grocery shopping and transportation to doctor appointments.

Email Sign-Up

Subscribe to KHN’s free Morning Briefing.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

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“There’s a huge, disproportionate impact on older adults with this virus and the health outcomes,” said Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of AARP Foundation. “During this shutdown, we’ve had growing public health and community acknowledgement of how serious it can be to sever the ties with our network.”

Ballard, a retired jeweler, lives alone in a one-bedroom condo in Monrovia, a city of about 36,000 people about 20 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. He lost his wife of more than 50 years, Dorothy, to Alzheimer’s disease in 2015. Since then, he has embraced his solitude and reveled in his newfound bachelorhood. He enjoys cooking and trying out recipes, listening to 1950s music and watching YouTube videos about World War II.

Ballard holds a photograph of himself and his wife, Dorothy. She died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease almost five years ago. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

He has a girlfriend he met online — a retired greyhound trainer who lives in Arkansas. They haven’t yet met in person.

Ballard felt he could handle the isolation of the lockdown order. He didn’t have visitors during quarantine, but his son, Dan Ballard, checked on him by phone weekly.

In the beginning, Ballard tried to keep busy. He did his shopping early in the morning and took strolls around his neighborhood. But after a couple of months of not visiting the gym, Ballard began feeling sad and frustrated, and his health started to slide. He relied more on his walker and sometimes struggled to breathe.

https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/art-audio-2.mp3

“My girlfriend was concerned with how I was thinking,” said Ballard, who speaks to her on the phone several times a day.

For Ballard, a self-proclaimed gym addict, Foothill Gym was a second home. Just as in the 1980s sitcom “Cheers,” it’s a place where everybody knows his name. Not going to the “club,” as he calls it, was taking a toll on his mental and physical health, so he decided to visit Brian Whelan, the owner of the small, family-run gym, in late May.

“He comes in, out of breath, with a walker,” Whelan recalled. “He couldn’t hold his head up straight and it took him five minutes to catch his breath.”

During the lockdown, Ballard started having difficulty keeping his balance. His solution was to walk around his neighborhood with a walker. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard takes a break between sets to chat with Foothill Gym owner Brian Whelan on June 13. For Ballard, the benefits of the gym are twofold. “It’s the health factor and the social aspect,” he says. “Everybody there is so positive. It makes my day worthwhile.”(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard performs seated cable pulls during his total body workout at the gym. “I try to get my heart rate up to 140,” Ballard says.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Whelan felt sad and angry. “Everyone here was almost in tears because this vibrant man was gone,” he said. So Whelan broke the rules. He invited Ballard to visit the gym even before it officially reopened to the public.

“The gym business is more than physical health,” said Whelan. “It’s mental health.”

https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/art-audio-3.mp3

Ballard resumed his beloved routine the last week of May, with the gym mostly to himself.

“Every day for the past two months, I’ve been sad,” Ballard said on the first day back. “Today, I woke up and I was happy.”

Day after day, Ballard improved. “Now he comes in without a walker, head up straight, and the spark in his eyes is getting brighter,” Whelan said.

Ballard says it took him a while to get his hands on a mask. He wears it when he goes grocery shopping and to doctor appointments. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment. He’s self-sufficient and says he wants to live independently as long as possible. More than one-quarter of adults 65 and older live by themselves, according to 2018 U.S. Census Bureau statistics.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard combs his freshly cut hair before heading to the gym. He has always had a crew cut, and the quarantine forced him, for the first time, to grow it out.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

The gym reopened June 15. Despite the threat of COVID-19, Ballard is back to working out six days a week. Masks are required to enter the gym but can be removed when exercising.

Ballard isn’t worried. “I’m 100% comfortable,” he said. “I’ll wear a mask if they ask me to.”

Son Dan said he’s worried about his dad being around people, but realizes the benefits.

“It’s a scary balance. If he stops going to the gym and can’t see anybody, I know he’s going to deteriorate,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s a quality-of-life decision that’s his to make.”

Ballard believes not being able to socialize was a bigger threat to his health than the risk of contracting the coronavirus.

“I found out how important my routine and exercise is,” said Ballard. “It’s given me back my life. And it’s only going to get better.”

Ballard always ends his gym session punching the heavy bag at least 60 times in a row, he says. “The most important thing to do is to shake those bones up, especially when you’re old,” he says. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/quarantine-physical-and-mental-health-gym-workouts-help-91-year-old-battle-isolation/

[gordonwilliamsweb]

‘More Than Physical Health’: Gym Helps 91-Year-Old Battle Isolation

MONROVIA, Calif. — Most mornings, like clockwork, you could find Art Ballard pumping iron.

At least five days a week, he drove to Foothill Gym, where he beat on the punching bag, rode a stationary bike and worked his abs. After he joined the gym five years ago, he dropped 20 pounds, improved his balance and made friends.

At 91, he’s still spry and doesn’t take any medication other than an occasional Tylenol for aches and pains.

“Doctors love me,” he said.

But when California enacted a statewide stay-at-home order in mid-March, his near-daily physical exercise and social interactions abruptly ended.

https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/art-audio-1.mp3

Ballard’s health started to deteriorate: His back hurt, his legs cramped and he started becoming short of breath. As happens too often with older people, he also started to feel isolated and depressed.

“I was deeply concerned for myself because I didn’t have an exercise routine at home,” he said.

Art Ballard is proud that he doesn’t have to rely on several medications at his age. He takes only Tylenol as needed for aches and pains.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard worked out at Foothill Gym a few weeks before it was officially open to the public. “I’m feeling so good,” he says. “I snapped back.”(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

The University of Southern California’s Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research conducted an analysis in late March, as the coronavirus established a foothold in the U.S., that found that older adults over 60 who lived alone were more likely to report feeling anxious or depressed than those living with companions.

The combination of the pandemic and nationwide lockdown orders put this already vulnerable population at greater risk, said Julie Zissimopoulos, co-director of the aging and cognition program at USC’s Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. Social distancing measures have weakened the support systems that older people who live alone depend on for basic activities, such as help with grocery shopping and transportation to doctor appointments.

Email Sign-Up

Subscribe to KHN’s free Morning Briefing.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

Sign Up

“There’s a huge, disproportionate impact on older adults with this virus and the health outcomes,” said Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of AARP Foundation. “During this shutdown, we’ve had growing public health and community acknowledgement of how serious it can be to sever the ties with our network.”

Ballard, a retired jeweler, lives alone in a one-bedroom condo in Monrovia, a city of about 36,000 people about 20 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. He lost his wife of more than 50 years, Dorothy, to Alzheimer’s disease in 2015. Since then, he has embraced his solitude and reveled in his newfound bachelorhood. He enjoys cooking and trying out recipes, listening to 1950s music and watching YouTube videos about World War II.

Ballard holds a photograph of himself and his wife, Dorothy. She died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease almost five years ago. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

He has a girlfriend he met online — a retired greyhound trainer who lives in Arkansas. They haven’t yet met in person.

Ballard felt he could handle the isolation of the lockdown order. He didn’t have visitors during quarantine, but his son, Dan Ballard, checked on him by phone weekly.

In the beginning, Ballard tried to keep busy. He did his shopping early in the morning and took strolls around his neighborhood. But after a couple of months of not visiting the gym, Ballard began feeling sad and frustrated, and his health started to slide. He relied more on his walker and sometimes struggled to breathe.

https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/art-audio-2.mp3

“My girlfriend was concerned with how I was thinking,” said Ballard, who speaks to her on the phone several times a day.

For Ballard, a self-proclaimed gym addict, Foothill Gym was a second home. Just as in the 1980s sitcom “Cheers,” it’s a place where everybody knows his name. Not going to the “club,” as he calls it, was taking a toll on his mental and physical health, so he decided to visit Brian Whelan, the owner of the small, family-run gym, in late May.

“He comes in, out of breath, with a walker,” Whelan recalled. “He couldn’t hold his head up straight and it took him five minutes to catch his breath.”

During the lockdown, Ballard started having difficulty keeping his balance. His solution was to walk around his neighborhood with a walker. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard takes a break between sets to chat with Foothill Gym owner Brian Whelan on June 13. For Ballard, the benefits of the gym are twofold. “It’s the health factor and the social aspect,” he says. “Everybody there is so positive. It makes my day worthwhile.”(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard performs seated cable pulls during his total body workout at the gym. “I try to get my heart rate up to 140,” Ballard says.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Whelan felt sad and angry. “Everyone here was almost in tears because this vibrant man was gone,” he said. So Whelan broke the rules. He invited Ballard to visit the gym even before it officially reopened to the public.

“The gym business is more than physical health,” said Whelan. “It’s mental health.”

https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/art-audio-3.mp3

Ballard resumed his beloved routine the last week of May, with the gym mostly to himself.

“Every day for the past two months, I’ve been sad,” Ballard said on the first day back. “Today, I woke up and I was happy.”

Day after day, Ballard improved. “Now he comes in without a walker, head up straight, and the spark in his eyes is getting brighter,” Whelan said.

Ballard says it took him a while to get his hands on a mask. He wears it when he goes grocery shopping and to doctor appointments. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment. He’s self-sufficient and says he wants to live independently as long as possible. More than one-quarter of adults 65 and older live by themselves, according to 2018 U.S. Census Bureau statistics.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Art Ballard combs his freshly cut hair before heading to the gym. He has always had a crew cut, and the quarantine forced him, for the first time, to grow it out.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

The gym reopened June 15. Despite the threat of COVID-19, Ballard is back to working out six days a week. Masks are required to enter the gym but can be removed when exercising.

Ballard isn’t worried. “I’m 100% comfortable,” he said. “I’ll wear a mask if they ask me to.”

Son Dan said he’s worried about his dad being around people, but realizes the benefits.

“It’s a scary balance. If he stops going to the gym and can’t see anybody, I know he’s going to deteriorate,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s a quality-of-life decision that’s his to make.”

Ballard believes not being able to socialize was a bigger threat to his health than the risk of contracting the coronavirus.

“I found out how important my routine and exercise is,” said Ballard. “It’s given me back my life. And it’s only going to get better.”

Ballard always ends his gym session punching the heavy bag at least 60 times in a row, he says. “The most important thing to do is to shake those bones up, especially when you’re old,” he says. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

‘More Than Physical Health’: Gym Helps 91-Year-Old Battle Isolation published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[electricoutdoors]

Basic Survival Needs: What Do You Need to Survive?

Basic Survival Needs

The so-called rule of 3’s is a pretty standard idea in the survival community. It states that a human can live for three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food. It’s not exactly scientific, but it’s a good way to remember how long a person can go without certain things in a survival situation.

What are the basic survival needs? The basic survival needs for a human are oxygen, shelter, water, food, and sleep. Sleep is often ignored, but it’s required to keep the brain functioning properly and a lack of sleep will eventually lead to you not being able to supply yourself with the other 4 basic needs. [wc_toggle title=“Table of Contents” padding=“” border_width=“” class=“” layout=“box”]

Basic Survival Needs

Five Basic Survival Needs

Oxygen

Hypoxia

Shelter

Exposure to the Elements

Water

Food

Sleep

Conclusion

[/wc_toggle] Let’s look at each of these basic survival needs a little closer.

Five Basic Survival Needs

Your basic survival needs are those things that you absolutely need to have in order to survive. Oxygen, shelter, water, food, and sleep are all necessary.

Oxygen

We need oxygen to survive. Our bodies are designed to breath normal air which is about 20.9%. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that safe oxygen concentrations for humans are between 19.5 and 22% oxygen.

If you’re in an environment that less than 19.5% oxygen, it’s considered to be oxygen deficient. Environments that have more than 22% oxygen are considered to be oxygen-enriched and start to become hazardous as well. Luckily, you’re not likely to encounter either of these unless you work around confined spaces or decide to use a confined space as shelter.

Hypoxia

Hypoxia is the name of the condition that happens when the tissue in your body isn’t getting enough oxygen. This can cause damage to the brain and liver in just a couple of minutes.

Most of us don’t need to worry about it, but if you or your family members have asthma or other breathing problems, you should know what to look for.

Common hypoxia symptoms:

Changes in the color of your skin

Confusion

Cough

Fast heart rate

Rapid breathing

Shortness of breath

Slow heart rate

Sweating

Wheezing

You could also find that you don’t have breathing problems under normal conditions, but if you get caught in a riot where tear gas or pepper spray are being used, you could also start to show hypoxia symptoms. Get to fresh air as soon as possible.

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Gas masks protect you from things like riot control agents, but they don’t do anything in oxygen-deficient atmospheres!

[/wc_box]

Drowning is probably the first thing most of us think of when we think of not having oxygen. As the lungs fill with liquid, the body can’t get oxygen and then loses consciousness and eventually dies.

We can only go for 3 - 6 minutes without oxygen. The time varies a little between people but even a couple of minutes without oxygen can cause permanent brain damage.

Shelter

Shelter helps us regulate our internal body temperature. Shelter is anything from your clothing, to a survival shelter, to our homes. Some animals have heavy coats of fur to help them, we have our brains.

Dressing appropriately for the expected environment is the most basic form of shelter that we have.

In a survival situation, you should get out elements as soon as you can. Hot weather and cold weather are both possible causes of injuries when you’re just trying to make it one more day.

The exact temperature will dictate how quickly it can kill you, but even exposure to somewhat harsh environments without shelter can kill in a matter of hours.

Exposure to the Elements

Exposure to the elements is often one of the first things that cause death in survival situations. As our body temperature drops, we start to experience hypothermia and as it rises we start to experience hyperthermia.

Hypothermia is a medical emergency that happens when you lose heat faster than your body can produce it. Normal body temperature is around 98.6 F (37 C). Hypothermia happens as your body temperature falls below 95 F (35 C).

When your body temperature drops that low, your heart, nervous system, and other organs can’t work normally. If you don’t get treatment, hypothermia can eventually lead to complete failure of your heart and respiratory system and ultimately lead to death.

Hypothermia normally happens due to exposure to cold weather or falling into cold water. You treat hypothermia by warming the victim to raise their body heat.

Hyperthermia is when the body gains heat faster than it can cool itself. It becomes a medical emergency when the body gets to 104 F (40 C).

Heatstroke comes in two forms:

Nonexertional heatstroke. This type of heatstroke is caused by simply being in a hot environment which leads to a rise in core body temperature. Nonexertional heatstroke typically occurs after exposure to hot, humid weather, for prolonged periods. It is most common in those with illnesses or adults over 65.

Exertional heatstroke. This type of heatstroke is caused by an increase in core body temperature brought on by intense activity in hot weather. If you’re working in extreme heat can find themselves succumbing to exertional heatstroke. It’s most likely to occur if you’re not used to high temperatures.

You can take the following steps to reduce the person’s core temperature:

Get them to shade or air-conditioning: If you don’t have air conditioning keep them calm and lay them on their backs with their legs above their heart in the shade.

Cool off with damp sheets and a fan.

Take a cool shower or bath.

Rehydrate by drinking plenty of fluids.

The CDC found that cold weather killed nearly double the number of people that hot weather did.

Water

Everyone knows how important water is to our survival. It’s one of the first things you should store when you start prepping and it’s one of the first things that you’ll need when you in a survival situation.

Based on research, the bare minimum that a human needs to survive is 1 liter a day, but experts suggest that you should be drinking 64 oz of water every day to maintain proper hydration. This amount increases if you live in extreme heat or cold and based on your activity level.

The body relies on water to do the following:

Regulating body temperature.

Removing waste from the system.

Cushion the brain, spinal cord, and joints.

Absorbing nutrients into the body.

Prevent certain medical conditions.

Losing water will cause the following to happen to the body:

Respiration will slow as the mucus in your lungs thickens.

The body will begin to overheat when there isn’t enough water to cool it through sweating.

The kidneys will have to work harder, eventually failing.

Loss of cognitive function will gradually increase stress levels and increase your heart rate.

The intestines will absorb as much water from your food as they can and lead to constipation.

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% of Body Weight Lost in Water Symptoms 2% Thirst 3% Severe Thirst, Absent-Mindedness, Loss of Appetite 4% Flushed Skin, Irritability, Increased Body Temperature, Exhaustion, Decrease in Urine 5% Headache, Feverish Feeling 8-10% Swaying, Convulsions over 20% Kidney Failure, Death

Food

Food is arguably the least important part of our survival needs. It’s miserable to be hungry! Luckily, it takes quite a long time to actually die from starvation.

The British Medical Journal published a study that looked at hunger strikes that happened in modern times. The study showed that humans can last 21 - 40 days without food during these self-imposed periods of starvation. All of these hunger strikes ended because of the severe medical effects brought on from the lack of food.

In a survival situation, hunger is going to feel like it’s life-threatening pretty quick, but it won’t kill you for a long time. Most people can survive 45 - 60 days without food before dying, but they are basically rendered immobile and unable to care for themselves long before that.

Sleep

I’m really surprised to see that most people don’t consider sleep to be a necessity for survival! After just a couple of days without sleep, you can lose a lot of your ability to reason and you may even start to hallucinate.

The longer you go without sleep, the less you’ll be able to think clearly and creatively. This can be a killer in a survival situation. A lack of sleep causes distraction, increases the risk of accidents and decreases the effectiveness of the central nervous system, endocrine system, immune system, respiratory system, and digestive system.

Not sleeping also causes psychological risks that can be fatal when you’re trying to make it out of a horrible situation intact. The psychological risks of not sleeping include:

Impulsive behavior

Anxiety

Depression

Paranoia

Suicidal thoughts

The National Sleep Foundation did a study that examined how much sleep we actually need. This is how much sleep we need based on age:

Older adults, 65+ years: 7-8 hours

Adults, 26-64 years: 7-9 hours

Young adults, 18-25 years: 7-9 hours

Teenagers, 14-17 years: 8-10 hours

School-age children, 6-13 years: 9-11 hours

Preschool children, 3-5 years: 10-13 hours

Toddlers, 1-2 years: 11-14 hours

Infants, 4-11 months: 12-15 hours

Newborns, 0-3 months: 14-17 hours

Routinely getting less sleep than what’s listed can lead to chronic sleep deprivation which has its own risks.

Conclusion

We need oxygen, shelter, water, food, and sleep to survive. We see a lot of people discussing oxygen, shelter, water, and food all the time, but sleep is overlooked a lot more than it should be.

Basic Survival Needs: What Do You Need to Survive? was originally published on: Ready Lifestyle

Basic Survival Needs: What Do You Need to Survive? published first on https://readylifesytle.tumblr.com

[digitalmark18-blog]

Controlling the Social Media Juggernaut

New Post has been published on https://britishdigitalmarketingnews.com/controlling-the-social-media-juggernaut/

Controlling the Social Media Juggernaut

It isn’t easy to wrap your mind around the global adoption of social media. The Visual Capitalist website posted a compelling infographic that shows the current use data for all of the major social media platforms. Clearly, no other technology has grown so much, so fast, and become entrenched so deeply into the global habits and patterns of human beings across the world. More than one-third of the world’s population uses smartphones, and despite the relatively young age of social media, billions of people use it for online communication, commerce, news, and information. The implications of this revolution are mind-boggling.The Daily MeMore than 20 years ago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Nicholas Negroponte wrote about the rise of what he called The Daily Me: individuals bypassing traditional media outlets to choose the kind of news and information they are most interested in. With social media and today’s abilities to save, share, bookmark, and personalize online experiences, we have found ways to better focus on what is important to each of us individually—but at what price?And individuals aren’t the only ones who are curating their experiences. Hashtags, algorithms, and other technological features, often implemented behind the scenes, are working to tailor your experiences to what they assume (based on your usage) you would most want to know.The results of this can be stark. A study from Columbia University finds that when recommendation algorithms are used on a social network, women become less visible. Another study finds that the aggregated partner preferences on dating websites “created aggregate communities unseen by the users themselves, but no less influential for dating opportunities. …”Stephen Davies of the University of Mary Washington studied the interaction between what sociologists refer to as homophily (the tendency of people to connect with others who share similar beliefs, characteristics, statuses, or attitudes) and accessibility. He writes, “Clearly there is a delicate interplay here, at the heart of which remains an unresolved question about what the end result of enhanced communication will be for a society. Will the expanded freedom of selection lead to people simply forming more homogeneous factions? Or will the greater exposure to more ‘remote’ parts of the society result in greater diversity of one’s social groups?” Davies believes that the second option may win out.In 2017, a Stanford University study analyzed Airbnb users and social bias. According to a press release, “Airbnb and data suggests measures that enhance a user’s reputation, like stars or reviews, can counteract … harmful prejudices. … [S]ites that use reputational tools create a fairer and more diverse online marketplace.”Trends in Social Media UseThe American Psychological Association (APA) recently released an in-depth study comparing digital media and legacy media (aka traditional media) use. It examines “generational/time period trends in media use in nationally representative samples of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in the United States, 1976–2016 …” and finds the following:Digital media use has increased considerably, with the average 12th grader in 2016 spending more than twice as much time online as in 2006, and with time online, texting, and on social media totaling to about 6 [hours] a day by 2016. Whereas only half of 12th graders visited social media sites almost every day in 2008, 82% did by 2016. At the same time, iGen adolescents in the 2010s spent significantly less time on print media, TV, or movies compared with adolescents in previous decades. The percentage of 12th graders who read a book or a magazine every day declined from 60% in the late 1970s to 16% by 2016, and 8th graders spent almost an hour less time watching TV in 2016 compared with the early 1990s. Trends were fairly uniform across gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.A recent issue of the APA journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture shows the pervasiveness of contemporary research exploring the impacts of social media. One study looks at the relationship between narcissism and social media and finds that “grandiose narcissism is positively related to … 4 indices”—“(a) time spent on social media, (b) frequency of status updates/tweets on social media, (c) number of friends/followers on social media, and (d) frequency of posting pictures of self or selfies on social media”—“although culture and social media platform significantly moderated the results.” Another study examines the self-esteem of college women, finding that “passive Facebook usage influenced the [study subjects’] internalization of societal beauty ideals, which was related inversely to [their] satisfaction with their bodies and self-esteem.”The Telegraph details a University College London study of 11,000 children, which determines that their “time on social media could be detracting from reading and homework,” leading to concerns about basic literacy. “Figures from the millennium cohort study, which tracked children born in 2000 at ages nine months, three, five, seven, 11 and 14, found that by their teenage years children were far more likely to spend time on social media or video games after school than doing homework or reading books.”Facebook Reigns, but Other Platforms Are KeyPew Research Center’s “Social Media Use in 2018” report shows that the patterns of social media use vary by age: “A majority of Americans use Facebook and YouTube, but young adults are especially heavy users of Snapchat and Instagram.” Additionally, “Roughly three-quarters of the public (73%) uses more than one of the eight platforms measured in this survey, and the typical (median) American uses three of these sites. As might be expected, younger adults tend to use a greater variety of social media platforms. The median 18- to 29-year-old uses four of these platforms, but that figure drops to three among 30- to 49-year-olds, to two among 50- to 64-year-olds and to one among those 65 and older.”The thought of giving up social media is problematic for most user groups: “[T]he share of social media users who say these platforms would be hard to give up has increased by 12 percentage points compared with a survey conducted in early 2014. But by the same token, a majority of users (59%) say it would not be hard to stop using these sites, including 29% who say it would not be hard at all to give up social media.”The Impact of Social Media on a Free PressA sobering Duke University report, “Assessing Local Journalism: News Deserts, Journalism Divides, and the Determinants of the Robustness of Local News,” studied “over 16,000 news stories, gathered over seven days, across 100 randomly sampled U.S. communities” and found depressingly little local news, including the following:Only about 17 percent of the news stories provided to a community are truly local—that is actually about or having taken place within—the municipality.Less than half (43 percent) of the news stories provided to a community by local media outlets are original (i.e., are produced by the local media outlet).Just over half (56 percent) of the news stories provided to a community by local media outlets address a critical information need.The decreasing dependence on traditional news sources in favor of the web has led to serious economic challenges for the news media. The study continues, “As news distribution and consumption have migrated online, it has been difficult for news organizations to attract the same kind of subscription revenue that they were able to attract for their print product. Attracting advertising revenues in the highly competitive online environment has proven equally difficult. Online platforms have siphoned off traditional forms of newspaper advertising such as classifieds. Social media platforms such as Facebook have proven capable of siphoning off not only national advertising dollars, but local advertising dollars as well.”And the results aren’t indicators of a robust democracy: “Research has shown, for instance, that the demise of local newspapers leads to increases in government costs, as the absence of the governmental watchdog allows local governments to operate under less scrutiny and thus, apparently, less efficiently.”Regulating Social MediaConsider the recent actions by social media companies concerning American radio show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars website. No one denies the shocking content of his programs or the often extreme actions that his followers have undertaken; however, are the actions by Apple, Facebook, Spotify, and YouTube—and perhaps others—to remove his content the best or only solution?In July, officials from Facebook, Alphabet (Google), and Twitter gave testimony to a U.S. House of Representatives panel investigating whether the companies’ filtering practices are politically motivated. Twitter’s Nick Pickles defended his company’s efforts, noting, “Our purpose is to serve the conversation, not to make value judgments on personal beliefs.” However, having the private sector responsible for monitoring the new age of communication is troublesome.In an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, authors Danielle Tomson and David Morar suggest a type of multi-stakeholder initiative: “Instead of making decisions in private isolation, companies would do better by engaging one another and their users to shape content-moderation policies in a more transparent and consistent way. We propose a deliberative body, a ‘content congress,’ where stakeholders—including companies, civil-society groups and even constituencies of end-users—could hash out best practices, air grievances, and offer rebuttals.” That way, social media companies lose their current “seemingly authoritarian power … to decide what gets removed in an opaque content-moderation process.”The authors cite examples of collaborative organizations or standards-making groups that involve stakeholders in their decision-making. They say, “Companies would do well to be proactive by engaging each other and stakeholders in solution-making before government or courts step in. Recently, key industry players have expressed willingness to collectively discuss their content moderation practices in a more open forum. This participation is a signal of goodwill and an opportunity to create a sustainable, innovative multistakeholder body within the industry.” However, Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the European Union (EU), and other bodies may have other ideas.In fact, TNW reports that the EU is planning to fine social media companies that take more than an hour to remove extremist content from their platforms. This follows a report from the Policy Exchange, “The New Netwar: Countering Extremism Online,” in which the authors argue that “more must be done to force jihadist content out of the mainstream. It is clear that the status quo is not working; it is time for a new approach.”A report from the Counter Extremism Project notes that “tech companies have yet to release the details of their counter-extremism efforts for third-party review. [Facebook] promises that ‘we work every day to get better.’ But without a mechanism to truly evaluate tech’s progress, the public can only hope that these tech companies are taking the problem as seriously as they claim before the next terrorist attack.”Social media is a major force in our lives, a juggernaut driven by human behavior and available technology, and it’s moving faster than research, legislation, or social norms can keep up. And there is little evidence that that fact will change, so buckle up.Source: http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Controlling-the-Social-Media-Juggernaut-127025.asp

[moleskin-journal]

Sugar Belly Secret Review

Sugar Belly Secret Review

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Sugar Belly Secret Review

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Here’s How The “Sugar Belly Secret” Will Remodel Your Life: Fast, Healthy Fat Loss WITHOUT “Dieting” Low-Carb, High-carb, Vegan, Low-Fat, Atkins, Ketogenic – you name it, I’ve tried it. And you recognize what? They can work! But they are terribly onerous to keep up. Which is why I failed to keep my results, and why so several others fail. (Who wants to pay hours on a daily basis shopping and making ready meals and turning down every invitation to eat out with friends and family?) These days I eat out every single day, never do intense exercise, and that i not diet. But I look higher at fifty five than I ever did before. The reason is straightforward – I discovered an “eating strategy” that’s simple to maintain, causes rapid weight loss, and doesn’t disrupt your life! It’s as easy as selecting and choosing the right foods – even fast food! Enjoy Smoother, Younger-Wanting Skin Decision me a vain “pretty boy” if you wish, but as I get older I don’t really need to appear older. Maybe you can relate… The smart news is, your skin will remodel into a younger, healthier version of itself. In my mid-40s, my skin had become pale, grey and saggy, and it absolutely was all because of my eating habits. When I finally discovered the simple-to-follow “eating strategy” I share with you inside The Sugar Belly Secret, you’ll discover the way to get pleasure from youthful, glowing skin again, all-naturally... In truth, with this eating strategy, it’s not uncommon to “turn back the clock” ten to 20 years (several people mistake me for guy in my 40s…and i’m 55!) Super-Charge Your Energy and Clarity With this easy strategy, you'll be able to eliminate “brain fog,” too. No additional mid-afternoon crashes or zombie-like fatigue throughout the day... I don’t care how young or previous you're – you’re NOT speculated to feel that manner. Using this simple-to-follow strategy, you’ll notice yourself hopping away from bed within the morning before the alarm goes off and maintaining an even, clear-headed stream of energy throughout the day (without pots of low or jittery energy drinks). Reduce Inflammation and Eliminate Pain If you’re not careful, chronic inflammation will cause dangerous diseases, like some cancers. Within the short term, it will cause your joints to hurt, impact your mobility, and cause pain throughout the day. Much your inflammation is as a result of of 1 source – food. Eat the right foods and your inflammation will decrease, and therefore can your pain and your risk of bound diseases and conditions. Better Sleep, Less Anxiety, Reduced Stress Did you know lack of sleep is directly connected to obesity, stress and anxiety? It’s easy to suppose that not obtaining enough sleep causes anxiety and weight gain...however it’s really the opposite approach around! Once you discover The Sugar Belly Secret and begin losing weight easily and naturally, your sleep can naturally improve as your hormones balance… And your anxiety (and even symptoms of depression) will lessen and disappear in a very short amount of your time. 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If you just follow this straightforward eating strategy, you will terribly quickly learn the way to create wiser decisions when eating out and looking at the store…. WITHOUT having to stick to some super-strict nutrition set up that’s impossible for the average person to follow. Within the Sugar Belly Secret – that you'll have sent straight to your step for FREE (just pay a meager shipping and handling fee) – I lay the groundwork for what's quite presumably the best, handiest Eating Strategy on the earth. One that doesn’t create you follow some inflexible meal arrange… But truly lets you move out to eat (I eat out each day), eat packaged foods, and live a normal life that doesn’t involve hours of exercise or meal preparation… And STILL get the trim body you want. If you want an Eating Strategy that actually fits your busy lifestyle, then click below and that i’ll send you this breakthrough book FREE. All you pay could be a small Shipping & Handling fee. HOWEVER YOU WOULD LIKE TO HURRY – copies of this book are limited. We have a tendency to solely have so many in print.

[jamagotchi]

Sugar Belly Secret Review

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Sugar Belly Secret Review

Sugar Belly Secret Review

https://view.joomag.com/sugar-belly-secret-review-sugar-belly-secret-review/0195013001526117612

https://steemit.com/sugar/@alwaysus/sugar-belly-secret-review-does-sugar-belly-secret-really-works

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx39kn1Va40

Here’s How The “Sugar Belly Secret” Can Transform Your Life: Rapid, Healthy Fat Loss WITHOUT “Dieting” Low-Carb, High-carb, Vegan, Low-Fat, Atkins, Ketogenic – you name it, I’ve tried it. And you recognize what? They will work! But they're very onerous to maintain. That is why I failed to stay my results, and why thus several others fail. (Who desires to pay hours daily shopping and preparing meals and turning down every invitation to eat out with friends and family?) Nowadays I eat out each single day, never do intense exercise, and i now not diet. However I look higher at fifty five than I ever did before. The reason is easy – I discovered an “eating strategy” that’s straightforward to maintain, causes fast weight loss, and doesn’t disrupt your life! It’s as easy as selecting and choosing the correct foods – even fast food! Enjoy Smoother, Younger-Trying Skin Decision me a vain “pretty boy” if you wish, but as I get older I don’t actually wish to look older. Maybe you'll be able to relate… The smart news is, your skin will transform into a younger, healthier version of itself. In my mid-40s, my skin had become pale, grey and saggy, and it had been all because of my eating habits. When I finally discovered the easy-to-follow “eating strategy” I share with you within The Sugar Belly Secret, you’ll discover a way to get pleasure from youthful, glowing skin once more, all-naturally... In fact, with this eating strategy, it’s not uncommon to “turn back the clock” 10 to 20 years (several people mistake me for guy in my 40s…and i’m fifty five!) Super-Charge Your Energy and Clarity With this easy strategy, you can eliminate “brain fog,” too. No additional mid-afternoon crashes or zombie-like fatigue throughout the day... I don’t care how young or old you're – you’re NOT supposed to feel that approach. Using this simple-to-follow strategy, you’ll find yourself hopping out of bed within the morning before the alarm bangs and maintaining a consistent, clear-headed stream of energy throughout the day (without pots of low or jittery energy drinks). Reduce Inflammation and Eliminate Pain If you’re not careful, chronic inflammation can cause dangerous diseases, like some cancers. Within the short term, it will cause your joints to hurt, impact your mobility, and cause pain throughout the day. A lot of your inflammation is as a result of of 1 supply – food. Eat the correct foods and your inflammation will decrease, and thus will your pain and your risk of sure diseases and conditions. Higher Sleep, Less Anxiety, Reduced Stress Did you know lack of sleep is directly connected to obesity, stress and anxiety? It’s simple to assume that not getting enough sleep causes anxiety and weight gain...but it’s actually the opposite means around! Once you discover The Sugar Belly Secret and start losing weight easily and naturally, your sleep will naturally improve as your hormones balance… And your anxiety (and even symptoms of depression) will lessen and disappear during a terribly short quantity of your time. Here’s Just A “Taste” Of What You’ll Learn In Your FREE Copy Of The Sugar Belly Secret     Why white-colored foods are creating you fat     Six “healthy” breakfast foods that you should avoid in any respect costs (HINT: One of them is Oatmeal)     Quick-food choices that are literally NICE for you (Don’t feel guilty concerning eating that Classic Egg McMuffin at McDonalds….or the other foods I list)     One “ingredient” you can boost food that sets up a roadblock against the consequences of sugar and carbs – making it NOT POSSIBLE for them to gather as fat     A way to eliminate that “jiggly” belly once and for all (NOTE: That kind of “jiggly” belly is known as Visceral Fat or “Intra-Organ fat,” and it’s terribly dangerous because it puts pressure on your vital organs)     Learn regarding the right carbs to eat, that truly aid in weight loss (This is great news for people who are uninterested in feeling “guilty” for eating carbs)     Win The GAME OF HORMONES – Did you know there’s a war occurring inside you right now? Leptin, Insulin, Ghrelin, Dopamine, and Cortisol are all battling every alternative. However, with the proper eating strategy, you'll be able to restore order. Did you know virtually all of the world’s a pair of.2 BILLION overweight people suffer from a communication breakdown between one of those hormones and their brain? When communication is restored, it FORCES your brain to tell your body to get rid of fat.     A short, easy guide to veggies from a veggie-hater     Love sweet treats? Me too – here’s some that won’t wash up your results! (NOTE: One of my favorites could be a sure cookies & cream bar)     ….abundant, much more! What Exactly IS The Sugar Belly “Secret”? The secret is easy – fat isn’t making you fat. Neither are carbs… Neither are eggs…bacon…steak…burgers….burritos…sandwiches….spaghetti…hot dogs… or alternative yummy foods those alternative “fad diets” tell you to stay away from. The issue isn’t the food itself – it’s what the massive food conglomerates have ADDED to it and TAKEN Off from it. Here’s what I mean… Check out this graph on US sugar consumption from 182a pair of to 2005: Now, take a look at this chart of adult obesity rates… Notice anything? The a lot of sugar we consume…the more weight we gain! Experts note that we have a tendency to weigh twenty fivepercent additional than we have a tendency to did just twenty five years ago… And nowadays fifty five% of adults are over-weight… And today fifty fivepercent of adults are over-weight… That is anticipated to rise to 65% by 2030! And it all comes right down to TWO THINGS the large food companies do to us: 1. Adding Sugar 2. Subtracting Fiber/ Within the Sugar Belly Secret I reveal the end-all be-all solution to the present problem by FLIPPING that around… one. Subtract Sugar 2. Add Fiber Low-carb…high-carb….vegan…Mediterranean…Keto….Atkins…doesn’t matter. The reason they all work is as a result of all of them SUBTRACT SUGAR and ADD FIBER. If you only follow this straightforward eating strategy, you will terribly quickly learn how to form wiser decisions when eating out and looking at the shop…. WHILE NOT having to stay to some super-strict nutrition plan that’s not possible for the common person to follow. In the Sugar Belly Secret – which you can have sent straight to the doorstep for FREE (simply pay a meager shipping and handling fee) – I lay the groundwork for what is quite possibly the best, handiest Eating Strategy on the world. One that doesn’t make you follow some inflexible meal plan… However actually lets you venture out to eat (I eat out each day), eat packaged foods, and live a traditional life that doesn’t involve hours of exercise or meal preparation… And STILL get the trim body you would like. If you want an Eating Strategy that truly fits your busy lifestyle, then click below and that i’ll send you this breakthrough book FREE. All you pay is a small Shipping & Handling fee. HOWEVER YOU WANT TO HURRY – copies of this book are restricted. We have a tendency to only have so several in print.

[sherristockman]

Are There Cheaper Alternatives to Hearing Aids? Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola Nearly 20 percent of Americans, or 48 million people, report having some degree of hearing loss.1 After age 65 that percentage continues to rise as age is the strongest predictor of hearing loss.2 Almost 15 percent of school-age children also have some degree of hearing loss. While hearing loss affects millions, it is an invisible condition, often creating a barrier between the sufferer and society. In adults, the most common cause of hearing loss is noise pollution and aging. As you get older changes occur in the inner ear that may trigger a slow and steady loss of hearing. Noise-induced hearing loss may happen suddenly or more slowly over time, while hearing loss that results from an infection more often occurs suddenly. It may be easy to take your hearing for granted as it happens without effort on your part. However, it is a complex process that begins with sound occurring in your environment and ends in your brain. Unlike other senses that involve a chemical process, such as smell, taste or sight, hearing involves strictly physical movement. Loss of hearing may increase your risk of other health conditions and of becoming socially isolated. In an effort to reduce this risk, many turn to hearing aids to amplify the sounds in their environment. However, the cost of these little pieces of equipment may be outside your budget, and they are not covered by traditional Medicare or private insurance companies. Recent research has found alternatives for mild or moderate hearing loss that are more cost effective. By understanding how your hearing works, and how the equipment interacts with hearing function, you may be better equipped to choose the right device for your individual needs. How You Hear Sound is created by causing vibrations through the air, which your ears capture. The structure of your outer ear helps you decipher the direction from which the sound originates. Once past the outer ear, the sound waves enter the ear canal and vibrate your eardrum, a thin piece of skin that sits between the outer and middle ear. However, your eardrum is far from passive. When exposed to loud noises for a prolonged period, it becomes more rigid, essentially dampening the noise level. Once in the middle ear, the sound waves move a group of tiny bones called the malleus, the incus and the stapes. Collectively called the ossicles, these are the smallest bones in your body. They are used to amplify the force of the sound from your eardrum as it passes through the middle ear to the inner ear and the cochlea. Fluid in the cochlea conducts the sound where it is translated into nerve impulses your brain can recognize. Finally, as sound waves reach fibers with a resonant frequency, a burst of energy is released that moves tiny hair cells in the organ of corti, a structure stretching across the length of the cochlea. The movement of these hair cells generates an electrical impulse through the cochlear nerve that transmits information to your cerebral cortex in your brain for interpretation. The concept of how hearing works is fairly straightforward, but the specifics of how these small structures produce recognizable patterns of sound in your brain is complex. Scientists are still learning how your brain interprets these electrical signals, especially as it relates to prevention and treatment of hearing loss. Over-the-Counter Amplifiers May Help Mild to Moderate Hearing Loss A hearing aid is a small electronic device that makes some sounds louder.3 The device contains a microphone that accepts the sound, an amplifier that makes the sound louder and a speaker that delivers the sound into your ear. They are primarily used to help improve both speech and hearing in people who suffer hearing loss. However, only 20 percent of people with a hearing loss actually use hearing aids, as the cost often averages $4,700 for a pair.4 Traditional Medicare plans and many private insurance companies don’t pay for hearing aids. Recent research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association5 found over-the-counter amplifiers sold at a fraction of the cost of hearing aids can potentially improve your hearing almost as well as hearing aids. A comparison was made between five different personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) and conventional hearing aids, which require a physician’s prescription and adjustment by an audiologist.6 Forty-two adults whose average age was 72 and who suffered mild to moderate hearing loss participated in the comparison study. In a sound booth, the participants listened to sentences with “speech babble noise” in the background and were asked to identify what was said without assistance, equipped with a hearing aid and then with the PSAPs.7 Without a hearing aid, the participants understood 77 percent of what was said. With a hearing aid, they understood 88 percent, and with four of the PSAPs, accuracy was between 81 percent and 87 percent, depending upon the model. The fifth $30 model resulted in a 65 percent accuracy, less than what the participants experienced without assistance, as the amplifier was poor quality and distorted the sound. Hearing aids are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but PSAPs are not. The PSAPs are available online and at stores. According to the FDA, PSAPs are designed to be used by people who do not have hearing loss, to help them distinguish distant sounds. Study author Nicholas Reed, an audiologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, commented on the use of PSAPs and hearing aids:8 "Hearing aids are regulated medical devices and should all be able to aid someone with hearing loss. While not all hearing aids are the same, they should all be able to meet this minimum requirement of making sound louder at appropriate frequencies and with minimal distortion. The results suggest that the [PSAP] devices are technologically and objectively capable of improving speech understanding in persons with hearing loss.” What Are Your Options? With advances in technology, some of the PSAP devices are performing as well as many prescribed hearing aids. By law, manufacturers of PSAPs are not allowed to advertise or label their products as intended to help with hearing loss.9 Without regulation, PSAPs do not have design control requirements or performance standards, meaning consumers must do their due diligence before purchasing a product that may lead to results worse than not using any product. However, without regulation, the industry is advancing the technology more quickly. Companies such as Samsung and Panasonic say they are working on options for consumers that include Bluetooth capability that connect wirelessly to smartphones, tablets and digital assistants such as Apple’s Siri.10 It’s anticipated these products will be sold over-the-counter. Customers will test their own hearing using apps on their smartphones or online programs. In an effort to reduce barriers to purchase of products that help you communicate, both the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine came out in favor of making low-cost, over-the-counter devices available to consumers. Both organizations point to a significant body of research that links hearing loss to further health risks, creating a financial and emotional burden on families and communities. Options for PSAPs and hearing aids are changing as technology advances. Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) recently announced they intend to introduce legislation that endorses the manufacturing and sale of over-the-counter hearing aids without requirement of a medical prescription or audiologist evaluation. Their goal is to lower cost and increase access, as six companies currently control 98 percent of the market, contributing to the high price of the products. The four amplification devices Reed used in his study that resulted in an 81 percent to 87 percent accuracy rate in hearing were: • Sound World Solutions CS50+ • Etymotic Bean • Tweak Focus The fifth was a low cost MSA 30X Sound Amplifier, which yielded accuracy results that were worse than not using anything. Dr. Frank Lin, otolaryngologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a member of the National Academies committee, commented on the use of PSAPs: “Some PSAP companies are very good, founded by former hearing aid executives and engineers. The devices you see in Walmart for $40 … are terrible.” Health Risks and Costs Associated With Hearing Loss The cost of mild to moderate hearing loss, which may be addressed by making amplifiers available over-the-counter cheaper than hearing aids, may make a significant financial impact on your community and your family. Loss of hearing isn’t just frustrating; it may also be linked with other health risks that are both emotionally and financially costly. In a study at Johns Hopkins, researchers tracked over 600 adults for 12 years, and found even mild hearing loss doubled the risk of developing dementia, while moderate hearing loss tripled the risk.11 Hearing loss may contribute to an increase in brain atrophy and social isolation that may contribute to the development of dementia. In another study from Johns Hopkins, researchers found those with moderate to severe hearing loss over age 70 had a 54 percent higher risk of death.12 Yet another study found middle-aged adults who had untreated hearing loss experienced 33 percent higher medical bills compared to people who didn’t have a hearing loss.13 Psychologist Mark Hammel damaged his hearing in his 20s while serving in the Army. It wasn’t until he was 57 that he got his first pair of hearing aids. He said:14 "People with hearing loss often don't realize what they're missing. So much of what makes us human is social contact, interaction with other human beings. When that's cut off it comes with a very high cost." Those suffering from hearing loss that is left untreated are also more likely to experience anger, depression, cognitive impairments and paranoia. A survey of over 2,000 hearing impaired individuals also uncovered the frustrations of family members who were saddened by misunderstandings and difficulty communicating with their loved one.15 People who have hearing loss also find they experience greater fatigue, stress and headaches as a result of trying to hear and understand during the day.16 They also report greater problems with eating, sleeping and sex. People who have a hearing impairment are likely to earn less, or be unemployed. Hearing loss may also impact your ability to pick up on auditory signals such as alarms, bells or shouts of warning, raising your risk of being injured in an accident. Use Nutrition to Support Your Hearing Your body has an amazing system to protect your hearing that you can support using good nutrition. In fact, nutritional imbalances may contribute to some hearing loss.17 Age-related hearing loss results from how your brain processes information By filtering out unwanted sound, your brain gives you proper feedback on what you hear. This begins to decline in your 40s and 50s, making it more difficult for you to sort out what you’re hearing. Nutrients that appear to be the most beneficial to protect and improve your hearing are:18,19,20,21 • Carotenoids, especially astaxanthin and vitamin A • Folate • Zinc • Magnesium These nutrients support your hearing in a number of ways, including: • Protecting against oxidative stress in the cochlea • Preventing free radical damage • Improving blood flow, thereby reducing cochlear damage related to a compromised vascular system • Improving homocysteine metabolism The support for vitamin A is mixed. In one large study that included data from more than 65,500 women, no correlation was found between vitamin A intake and risk for hearing loss.22 However, a number of other studies have found a positive correlation. Researchers have found zinc may help to improve idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). This sudden and unexplained loss of hearing has been typically treated with high-dose steroids, even though the evidence to support the effectiveness of treatment is limited. In one study, intravenous (IV) magnesium was found effective against SSNHL;23 48 percent of patients achieved recovery using a combination of IV magnesium and carbogen inhalation (17) (a mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen gasses). Researchers discovered that by increasing the production of a protein, neurotrophin-3 (NT3), they could reverse hearing loss in mice that had been partially deafened by loud noise. This NT3 plays a key role in communication between your ears and your brain in the synapses that link hair cells in your inner ear to nerve cells in your brain. These cells are damaged with loud noises, resulting in hearing loss. Astaxanthin raises your body’s expression of NT3, thereby helping your body to heal. Protect Your Hearing Noise-induced hearing loss may happen suddenly or slowly over time. Reducing your everyday exposure to loud noise, such as music, noisy work environment or even using a lawn mower may help to reduce your potential for experiencing hearing loss over the years.24 Throughout the world, nearly 360 million people suffer from moderate to severe hearing loss and it’s estimated that nearly half may have been avoidable.25 Protecting yourself from loud noises is a foundational principle to preventing hearing loss. The following recommendations may also help protect your hearing and avoid hearing loss: ✓ Turn down the volume on personal audio devices ✓ Try a decibel meter app for your smartphone, which will flash a warning if the volume is turned up to a potentially damaging level ✓ Wear earplugs when you visit noisy venues, and if you work in a noisy environment, be sure to wear ear protection at all times ✓ Use carefully fitted noise-canceling earphones/headphones, which may allow you to listen comfortably at a lower volume ✓ Limit the amount of time you spend engaged in noisy activities ✓ Take regular listening breaks when using personal audio devices ✓ Restrict the daily use of personal audio devices to less than one hour ✓ If you live in a very noisy area, you may want to consider moving. If that's not an option, consider adding acoustical tile to your ceiling and walls to buffer the noise. Double-paneled windows, insulation, heavy curtains and rugs can also help. Use sound-blocking headphones to eliminate occasional sound disturbances such as that from traffic or lawnmowers ✓ Wear ear protection when using your lawnmower or leaf blower

[omcik-blog]

New Post has been published on OmCik

New Post has been published on http://omcik.com/how-the-medicaid-debate-affects-long-term-care-insurance-decisions/

How the Medicaid debate affects long-term care insurance decisions

The latest version of the Senate’s bill , and it didn’t do much to change the in Medicaid spending that were in the original legislation.

Here’s why that’s important to nearly everyone, even people who are reasonably affluent for now: As I’ve explained in two recent columns, for retirees who run out of money but still need home-based care or must move into a nursing home. Medicare generally doesn’t cover those costs, and they are high enough that even people with can end up spending everything they have the years before they die.

The money for Medicaid comes from both the federal government and the states, and this week, the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington had to say about what the future holds: “States will not be able to sustain spending for long-term services and supports as baby boomers begin to need these services and supports.”

More from New York Times:

Something will have to give if we are to take the senators responsible for this bill at their word, and plenty of readers are taking them literally. So the question I’ve heard most in the last two weeks is this: How seriously should I consider getting some kind of to cover my care in case big Medicaid cuts are on the horizon?

Over most of the past couple of decades, answering this question meant shopping for long-term care insurance. At first it covered only nursing homes, but policies eventually paid for assisted living and home-based or community-based care, too. To make a claim, you must generally be unable to handle at least a few basic aspects of everyday living on your own.

What are the odds that you might need such intensive assistance? According to a 2015 , by Melissa Favreault of the Urban Institute and Judith Dey of the office of the assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the federal Health and Human Services Department, 52 percent of people turning 65 will need it at some point before they die.

And how long might they need it for? Of 100 people — including those who will never require any care — 27 will need it for less than two years. Fourteen of 100 will need care for five or more years. If you break it down by sex, women stand an 18 out of 100 chance of joining the five-year club, compared with just 10 out of 100 men. The costs will vary significantly, but 8.6 percent of people will end up spending more than $250,000 out of their own pockets.

The numbers are scary enough that plenty of people bought insurance in recent decades — and kept the plans long enough to start making claims. And most of the insurance companies guessed wrong about how many customers would need to cash in (to say nothing of all their other wrong guesses). Most insurers have left the long-term care market, and many of the rest have raised prices significantly, both on existing policyholders and newcomers.

Take, for example, a single, 60-year-old man who wants to buy a policy today. He is seeking a $250-a-day benefit for care and a provision that raises that benefit 3 percent per year to try to keep up with inflation. He wants to guarantee three years total of care and is willing to agree to a 90-day waiting period before he can collect. He will pay an average of $3,355 per year, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

Things get worse for a single, 60-year-old woman, who would pay an average of $4,470 for the same plan. (Women are responsible for two-thirds of all claims in dollars, so they pay more in most states, though gender-based rates are of a federal administrative complaint.) Couples could save money by joining forces and sharing the benefits; a heterosexual couple would pay $4,945.

Plenty of people can’t afford premiums that large. Others can’t get coverage at all. According to the most recent industry data, 25 percent of consumers who tried to get a policy between the ages of 60 and 69 were rejected altogether. For those who tried when they were 70 to 79, 44 percent could not get coverage at any price. Buying earlier could mean three or four decades of premiums.

While it’s foolish to approach this decision without digesting the actuarial odds and prices, there is no calculator that can size things up precisely. Should you bet against your ability to care for yourself later by buying expensive insurance — or do so to protect assets for your heirs and to keep them from having to change your adult diapers? Or is it smarter to bet on your ability to save, keep saving, keep working and have the stock market deliver enough returns so that, 20 or 30 or 40 years from now, you will have enough money to pay for in-home care or a nursing home?

Many people use their own experience as a guide. Victoria Coyle’s mother paid roughly $500 each month for long-term care insurance for about a decade. To afford it, she skipped dental insurance, put off home repairs and cut back on grandchild visits. “Our mother was pretty adamant that she didn’t want to burden us in any way,” Ms. Coyle said.

Her children tried to persuade her to drop the coverage, but she wouldn’t budge. She died last year at 75 after two heart attacks, having never made a claim. None of her children have long-term care insurance, though Ms. Coyle said she hadn’t ruled it out.

There is another option: that offers a long-term care benefit. If you don’t need it, your heirs get money when you die. It outsells traditional long-term care insurance, according to Limra, a research company. My colleague Paul Sullivan late last year.

Financial services representatives are positively gleeful. in a trade publication described “off the charts” interest and “strong crowds” at professional events. This exuberance should make their clients extremely wary. If you’re considering any such product, hire an independent adviser on an hourly basis (say, from the ) to examine the policy side by side with traditional long-term care insurance and the possibility of paying for care out of pocket.

Sophisticated readers who wrote to me in recent weeks described doing all of the above and still throwing up their hands in confusion. It took a professional storyteller, , to help me understand why.

Ms. Gillis spent many years watching her mother slowly melt away from dementia. In an interview this week, as she contemplated her own future, Ms. Gillis spoke of changing generational narratives: Once upon a time, you grew up, married, had kids, got your pension, the end. “The entire storytelling trajectory has now changed,” she concluded, after describing her mother’s last few years, when she did not recognize her daughter. It is not how she wants her own life to play out.

So here’s my guess as to how the story might end in the future — and why we should all think very hard before buying a lot of pricey insurance that we’d need to keep for decades. As several of you pointed out in your emails, there is something radically unfair about the fact that Medicare pays for years of expensive treatment for cancer and heart disease but won’t touch the long-term care and supervision that is, in effect, the prescription for people with memory conditions.

Given how strapped Medicaid is likely to become and how many more of us will live long enough to find our brains and bank accounts depleted before our bodies, it seems quite likely that the federal and state governments will have to do more, not less, to keep older Americans off the streets. No one in Washington seems to want to own up to that, but they will soon have no choice.

Susan Flanders, a retired Episcopal priest who watched her father die slowly while in the throes of Alzheimer’s, believes that the will eventually catch up to the desire of many people to make plans in advance to end their lives, should their minds permanently falter in a severe fashion.

She’s also utterly unafraid to mix money into the conversation about the meaning of life when the mind deteriorates. “What we’re paying for is something that many people wouldn’t want if they had a choice,” said Rev. Flanders, who is working on a book about dementia. “It’s hundreds of dollars each day that could go towards their grandchildren’s education or care for people who could get well.”

Given the fact that dementia and related cases are often the most expensive and long-lasting, it’s possible that a change in approach like the one Rev. Flanders imagines could mean that lots of people would need less money for their own care. No one would have to sign up for an assisted death, but many people would probably choose to.

How soon will the federal and state governments come around, by formally paying for long-term care for all dementia patients and by allowing a different kind of death for those who choose it? It’s hard to say, but many of us didn’t think gay marriage and legal marijuana would happen so quickly.

“What many people care about isn’t living as long as we possibly can,” Rev. Flanders said. “It’s about having a reasonably good quality of life for as long as we can.”