As we enter cold and flu season, strengthening our immune systems becomes the focus of much of our health routines. The first step is always talking with your doctor to be sure you’re creating a lifestyle and routine that works for you and your health. We each have different concerns and issues, so be sure to create a plan unique to your needs.
With that in mind, there is a great deal we can do to build immune-strengthening lifestyles. The first step in keeping our immune systems strong and bodies healthy is getting good sleep. According to The Mayo Clinic, “… lack of sleep can affect your immune system. Studies show that people who don’t get quality sleep or enough sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as a common cold virus. Lack of sleep can also affect how fast you recover if you do get sick.”
In fact, studies over the last 25 years show “… research following a systems approach of neuroimmunology has accumulated surprisingly strong evidence that sleep enhances immune defense, in agreement with the popular wisdom that ‘sleep helps healing’” (Besedovsky, Lange & Born, 2012). When we sleep, we de-stress. Our levels of cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine decrease, which means we calm down and recover from the stresses of our day. Without enough quality sleep, our immune systems are negatively affected. Enough sleep differs among age groups and people. The Sleep Foundation suggests adults sleep 7-9 hours each night, and people 65+ should sleep 7-8 hours each night.
The year is coming to an end. It feels like a flurry of activity, as it always does. The holidays keep us engaged and focused on the next moment. Family and friends come and go. We travel, have house guests, bake cookies, wrap gifts and attend late-night church services in thanksgiving and appreciation.
In our feature, we explore boosting the immune system as we head into cold and flu season with tips for lifestyle changes you can make today for a healthier tomorrow. You’ll want to try the herbal remedies offered in this article to jazz up your evening tea or morning smoothie.
In this month’s Ask the Expert, AOS Care Manager Ashley Seace offers support for those living with multiple sclerosis (MS).
OCTOBER
| editor@outreachnc.com
2022 - 2
Well, it’s official: fall is here. I had my first pumpkin-spiced latte just two days ago, as the evening temperature dipped low enough to merit a fleece.
Don’t worry. It was decaf.
In December’s faith column, Colette Bachand is back with thoughts of happiness, laughter and faith. Now that the immediate COVID crisis has receded a bit, Bachand notices how laughter is, in fact, the best medicine.
October is a gentle month. There are constant reminders of change. We turn inward, toward warmth and if we are lucky, toward each other. We have lingering conversations over tea. We burn fires and sit in silence as the flames flicker. Smoke dances around us in a circle. We zip our jackets and consider hats.
Amy Phariss, Editor-in-Chief , OutreachNCDr. Sara Morrison offers insight for dealing with an issue we all face as we age: balance. The risk of falls is not only increased for seniors, but falls can also have greater health impacts after the age of 50. Dr. Morrison writes about the Top 7 Reasons Seniors Fall and 7 Signs Your Balance May Be Worsening.
In this month’s feature, we’re starting an important conversation: how do we choose the proper senior care community for ourselves or a loved one? Fox Hollow Senior Living’s Sales and Marketing Director, Robin Hutchings offers inside perspective for making this decision.
Let us all be well and stay well as we head into 2023 and embrace another year together.
In Ask the Expert, Amy Natt answers a reader’s question regarding what to do when a loved one passes away without any estate planning. Without a will or access to important accounts, what does a family do?
Perhaps there is no greater communal friend to quote than Oprah Winfrey herself, who says:
here. I had my first pumpkin-spiced latte just two days ago, as the evening temperato merit a fleece. decaf. month. There are constant reminders of change. We turn inward, toward warmth and if each other. We have lingering conversations over tea. We burn fires and sit in silence as dances around us in a circle. We zip our jackets and consider hats. we’re starting an important conversation: how do we choose the proper senior ourselves or a loved one? Fox Hollow Senior Living’s Sales and Marketing Director, inside perspective for making this decision. Natt answers a reader’s question regarding what to do when a loved one passes planning. Without a will or access to important accounts, what does a family do?
Physical therapist Dr. Sara Morrison of Total Body Therapy and Wellness helps readers understand potential diagnostic tools used in physical therapy to help diagnose and treat pain. You’ll want to learn how these tools differ from what other doctor’s offices may offer.
Year’s
Sara Morrison of Total Body Therapy and Wellness helps readers understand tools used in physical therapy to help diagnose and treat pain. You’ll want to learn how what other doctor’s offices may offer.
I’m going to agree with Nathaniel Hawthorne this month, who wrote: I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house. So I have spent almost all the daylight hours in the open air. Here’s to enjoying the October sunshine, falling leaves and daylight hours.
Here’s to happy holidays and another chance to get it right!
Nathaniel Hawthorne this month, who wrote: waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house. So I have daylight hours in the open air.
October sunshine, falling leaves and daylight hours.
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Aging Well Experts
We are passionate about helping older
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end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.
Question:
I recently was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and I don’t really know what to expect. I am fearful of this diagnosis and what all is going to come with the symptoms. How is this going to affect my life? Can you provide me with some insight to this disease?
I absolutely can provide you with some insight! It is completely normal for you to be afraid and unsure of this diagnosis. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affects everyone differently, so I understand why you might be scared. The best thing to do is to learn about this disease and learn ways to alleviate the symptoms. It is important for you and your family to understand that MS is an invisible disease. People will not know you have it by looking at you, but that does not invalidate your fears or make you any less of a person. It is hard
for others to understand invisible disorders because they cannot see what is going on, so educating others is also crucial, but not always your job.
To find out if you have MS, your doctor can do blood tests, a spinal tap, an MRI, or an Evoked Potential Test, which records how your nervous system responds to stimuli. Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that attacks the Central Nervous System (CNS). The CNS is the brain and spinal cord. The Myelin Sheath, the fatty substance that covers your nerves, starts to deteriorate and you feel the effects of that. So, what symptoms might you begin to have? You might start to notice numbness or weakness in your limbs, electric-shock sensations with different neck movements, a tremor, a lack of coordination, vision problems, fatigue, dizziness, tingling, or bladder and bowel
incontinence. These are common in individuals with MS. However, they are all manageable through medications, therapies, and different holistic methods. Later, I will discuss some options for treating MS.
What is the disease progression? Again, this looks differently for everyone. Most diagnoses are a relapsing-remitting course, meaning you might experience periods of symptoms relapsing over a few days to weeks, then you have a quiet period of a few months to even years. Within 10 to 20 years of the diagnosis, you might develop secondaryprogressive MS which is a progression of the symptoms with and without periods of remission. As the symptoms worsen, problems with mobility and gait become more prominent. Eventually, your diagnosis can turn into primary-progressive MS, which is when there are no relapses for your symptoms.
While there is no cure for MS, you can treat it in various ways. When you have an attack, your doctor might prescribe corticosteroids. These could be oral or intravenous medications to reduce inflammation in the nerves. Your doctor could also prescribe a plasma exchange. This would be done if you have new, severe symptoms that don’t respond to steroids. Your doctor can also prescribe injectable medications, oral medications, or infusion treatments to modify the progression of your MS. Each pharmaceutical treatment will work differently for each person, so it is important for you to maintain open communication with your
providers to decide if you should continue certain medications.
Non-pharmaceutical methods of treating MS include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, massage therapy, and acupuncture. These are encouraged because they can get your body moving and provide some relief to the pain you are feeling. Doctors often encourage regular exercise, balanced diets, keeping the body cool, and resting as much as possible to alleviate your symptoms as well.
If you are unsure about which doctors to work with or finding ways to alleviate the symptoms at home, you might want to consider working with a care manager. A care manager can help find these resources and help implement these new tools into your daily life. They can also provide you with a support system and attend appointments with you so you can focus on what the doctor is saying.
Receiving an MS diagnosis is a scary thing. There is a lot that is still unknown about MS. Because it affects everyone differently, doctors sometimes treat patients with a trial-and-error mindset until they get the best results. However, MS is a manageable disease with medications and non-pharmaceutical methods. If you find yourself needing extra support, especially financially, consider checking out the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. They can provide you with educational tools, support groups, and financial assistance via grants.
Stress is another lifestyle factor affecting immunity. According to the American Psychology Association, stress can reduce the number of lymphocytes in the body. We need lymphocytes to fight viruses, so killing them off lowers our immunity and ability to ward off disease. Chronic stress is particularly damaging. The stress of longterm caregiving, for example, can affect our health and wellbeing. Major sources of stress include:
• Work-related stressors such as working long hours, poor management, poor pay, facing discrimination and harassment and worry about promotions and/or job loss.
• Health-related stressors such as chronic illness, mental health issues or the health concerns of loved ones. Caregiving also relates to health-related stress.
• Financial stress such as fear of unemployment or termination, inability to meet basic cost of living, and worry about family’s financial wellbeing.
• Relationship stress including marriage, divorce, parenting, friendships, work relationships and relationships within the community. Conflict in any of these relationships is a major source of stress for many people.
How we deal with stress is important for both our physical and mental health. Mindfulness, prayer, socialization, breathing exercises, spending time in nature and having fun are all examples of how we can deal with stress once it hits and prevent stress in the first place.
Other lifestyle factors can help boost our immune systems and keep us healthy throughout the year.
IMMUNE SYSTEM
Eating a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables is key to keeping us feeling our best.
HOW TO BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
Exercise (as always) is important to keep our blood flowing, our moods stable and to combat the daily stressors of life. Exercise and eating a nutritious diet also help maintain a healthy body weight, which is linked with keeping the immune system strong.
Socializing is also good for your health. In fact, research shows that “…social contact is associated with antiviral immunity” (Leschak & Eisenberger, 2020).
IMMUNE SYSTEM
Quitting smoking and drinking in moderation also positively affect the immune system. Smoking can hinder the body’s ability to fight off disease. Drinking too much alcohol can, over time, weaken the immune system.
We’ve learned a lot through the COVID-19 era about keeping safe and protecting against viruses. We’re more attuned to hand washing, staying home when we feel ill and paying attention to how our bodies are feeling. Now that we are on the other side of the pandemic, we can be proactive about our immune health. Getting enough sleep is key. Diet and exercise (as always) play a role. Getting together with friends and feeling supported emotionally goes a long way towards keeping our bodies healthy from the inside out. And managing stress helps us feel better in the short term and the long run.
As we say goodbye to 2022, let us embrace a happy and healthy 2023 full of quality rest, good friendships and a moment (or two) of genuine relaxation.
One way to get in the nutrients necessary for a strong immune system is using these easy ice cube recipes. Full of important immune-boosting nutrients, these ice cube recipes are easy to make, store and reach for to make a cup of tea, add to a smoothie or boost the flavor in your favorite soup.
WHOLE LEMON ICE CUBES
Lemons are an immune-boosting food as an excellent source of vitamins and antioxidants. Lemons are a great source for vitamin C, citric acid, vitamin B6 and zinc. Rather than settling for a slice of lemon in your water, you can make these whole lemon ice cubes and add the entirety of the lemon to a cup of warm tea, a glass of water or even soups and smoothies.
Ingredients:
• 2-3 Lemons (organic if you can find them since you’ll be eating the peel)
• Water
Directions:
Cut lemons into small chunks and place them into a blender. Add water as needed and pulse to get a smooth consistency. Pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze. Remove from trays and store the cubes in a freezersafe bag.
Pop a cube into your evening tea with a bit of local honey and a slice of ginger for homemade lemon-ginger tea or enjoy in a smoothie first thing in the morning for an immune-boosting start.
GINGER TURMERIC CUBES
Turmeric and ginger both play key roles in health and wellness in many cultures. Americans are jumping on the ginger/turmeric bandwagon, too. Turmeric, also called the Golden Root, has a history as a medicinal herb going back 4,000 years in India and south Asia and is used in Ayurvedic medicine for its antibacterial, antiviral and antiparasitic properties. As a powerful antioxidant, ginger is touted for its anti-inflammatory benefits as well as benefits for digestive issues, heart disease and even cancer.
According to Web MD, “Ginger has immunity-boosting properties and can guard against some bacteria.” Web MD also notes ginger may keep RSV at bay. Ginger can also soothe sore muscles, help ease arthritis symptoms and even lower cholesterol.
These ice cubes can be used just like the lemon cubes, for teas, in smoothies or even in soups. As noted above, always check with your doctor to ensure the ingredients don’t interact with any medications or health issues.
Ingredients:
• 2 cups filtered water
• 1 ounce ginger root, peeled & chopped
• 1 orange, chopped
• ½ cup natural sweetener such as honey
• 2 lemons, chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Combine all ingredients into a high-powered blender and pulse until smooth. Add to ice cube trays, freeze and pop out into freezer-safe bag for storage. Put two ice cubes in a mug and pour hot water over the top for an immune-fighting evening tea.
Tips:
If your blender can’t pulse whole pieces of orange and lemon (with peel still intact), you can juice the lemons and orange and add slivers of peel to the cubes before freezing. You’ll still pack a punch of vitamin C either way.
The black pepper is added to enhance turmeric absorption, so even though you might be tempted to leave it out, add it in!
Even herbal tonics and teas can affect medications, so speak with a healthcare professional about your specific health and wellness plan!
Sources: https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/herb/turmeric https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-health-benefits-ginger
https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-lemon-ginger-tea
Leschack, C.J. & Eisenberge, N.J. (2019). Two distinct immune pathways linking social relationships with health: Inflammatory and antiviral processes. Psychosom Med. 81(8): 711-719. doi: 10.1097/ PSY.0000000000000685.
