Caregiver Burnout and How to Protect Your Health

We would like extend a warm thank you to everyone for taking time to respond to the information gathering survey we sent out recently; the survey was a wonderful way to learn more about the topics and issues that are of most interest and relevance to our subscribers. We had an overwhelming response and hope that those first 100 respondents have enjoyed their Starbucks e-gifts! Based on the survey, one of the leading reasons subscribers join our mailing list is to get more information on the topic of caring for an aging parent or other loved one. Inspired by your feedback, we are hosting our second free public webinar in the Home Care Assistance Healthy Longevity Webinar Series: Caregiver Burnout and How to Protect Your Health.  
The webinar will be held on Tuesday, May 1^st at 11 AM Pacific, 2 PM Eastern, and will be presented by prominent psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Hoblyn, Chief Medical Officer of eTherapi and Professor at the Stanford School of Medicine. The webinar will not only explore the challenges that family and professional caregivers experience, but will also provide practical information and tips that caregivers can incorporate in their own lives to improve their health and quality of life. Space is limited, so make sure to reserve your seat as soon as possible. 
 
In addition to the webinar, Home Care Assistance is also promoting awareness of caregiver burnout and stress through community outreach and education. The premise driving the educational initiative is that individuals who are informed about the challenges associated with caregiving are more likely to engage in healthy practices to protect their own quality of life. If you are currently caring for a loved one, please go through our Caregiver Burnout Checklist to better understand the impact of caregiving on your life. With 75 million adults in North America caring for an elderly, chronically ill or disabled family member and the vast majority of these individuals also raising children and holding down full-time jobs, it’s important to know the signs of caregiver burnout and become knowledgeable about prevention. By increasing awareness around the topic of caregiver burnout we hope to empower individuals that provide care to others to take the steps necessary to promote their own mental and physical health. Start protecting your health today by registering for our free public webinar: Caregiver Burnout and How to Protect Your Health. 

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Home Care Assistance offers the highest quality 24/7 live-in home care in the Region of Halton (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton), Region of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon), Hamilton and surrounding areas.

Salt: the truth behind the flavor

It's no secret that salt is the magical ingredient that adds flavor to any dish. "This tastes bland, better add SALT!"

And over the years we've managed to put salt into many food and beverages to enhance flavor and help preserve freshness. As a result, most people are exceeding their daily sodium intake without even knowing it. The average Canadian’s sodium intake is estimated to be 3,400 mg per day, where as Health Canada recommends for adults 1,500 mg of sodium daily with a maximum limit of 2,300 mg per day.

Zoomer Magazine has passed on some helpful tips to reduce your sodium intake daily:

• Use less or no salt when preparing meals.
• Pay attention to product packaging and look for foods labeled sodium-free, no added salt, low sodium, or reduced sodium. For example, PC Blue Menu products have an easy to read (-) symbol in an arrow that indicates lower sodium content or no sodium added.
• Use the Nutrition Facts table on food labels to choose foods that have less than 120 mg sodium per serving or less than 5% Daily Value (DV).
• Choose breads, crackers, baked goods, snack foods, canned sauces, soups and dressings with a low sodium count per serving.
• Talk to a pharmacist. Some grocery stores have even initiated programs for customer consultations. For example, the pharmacists in Loblaw banner grocery stores offer one-on-one guidance for concerns such as heart health, blood pressure and nutrition, including the recommended daily intake of sodium.

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Home Care Assistance offers the highest quality 24/7 live-in home care in the Region of Halton (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton), Region of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon), Hamilton and surrounding areas.

Heart Healthy Recipe: Eggplant Cannelloni‏

With heart disease as the leading cause of death and a major cause of disability, it's important to foster a diet that is low in saturated and trans fats and high in fiber and good fats such as omega-3s. To further maintain a healthy heart, keep a close eye on calorie consumption and engage in moderate exercise at least three times a week for 30 minutes or more.  

 

Before we share a delicious heart healthy recipe with you, here are a few nutrition basics from the Heart Association that will help benefit your mind, body and spirit. Make sure to read to the bottom of the recipe where we include a link to a recording of the recent webinar we hosted in conjunction with Cleveland Clinic heart experts!

• Eat nutritious foods from all of the food groups, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy products and fish.
• Limit foods high in calories but low in nutrients; decrease your consumption of foods high in fat and limit cholesterol, sodium and sugar.
• Try baking, broiling, or grilling lean meats and fish, as these are healthier than frying or sautéing.

Eggplant Cannelloni

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 large shallots, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 jars (12 ounces each) roasted red peppers, drained
• Juice of 1 orange (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 medium eggplants, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices
• Cooking spray
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 4 kalamata olives, pitted and minced
• 1 teaspoon capers, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook shallots and garlic until soft, about 1 minute. Reduce heat. Cook until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add peppers and juice; bring to a boil. Lower heat; simmer until peppers are soft, about 5 minutes. Cool. Puree in a blender. Pour into a 9" x 13" baking dish. Coat eggplant slices with cooking spray and broil on a baking sheet until golden on both sides, about 15 minutes. Heat oven to 400°F. Mash cheese, olives, capers and 1 tablespoon of the parsley in a bowl. Place 1 tablespoon of filling at the end of each eggplant slice; roll up. Lay seam side down in dish. Bake 10 to 15 minutes. Top with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

 

For more heart healthy food tips and other practical information that you can apply in your daily life to achieve healthy longevity, listen to a recording of our February 17th Heart Health 101 Webinar that featured Dr. Steve Nissen and Dr. Marc Gillinov, renowned Cleveland Clinic heart experts and authors ofHeart 411-The Only Guide to Heart Health You'll Ever Need.

Heart Health 101 kicked off the Home Care Assistance Healthy Longevity Webinar Series, an ongoing educational series that will bring experts from a diverse spectrum of health and wellness fields to our clients and the wider community in an engaging and informative format. The webinars are offered free to the public as part of our broader education initiative, through which we will actively provide information and resources around topics related to aging, wellness and quality of life. 

 

Stay tuned for more details on our next webinar which will be on Caregiver Burnout!

 

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Home Care Assistance offers the highest quality 24/7 live-in home care in the Region of Halton (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton), Region of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon), Hamilton and surrounding areas.

Keeping your kidneys healthy

How to maintain kidney health

Ward off kidney disease

Diabetes and high blood pressure are 2 of the leading causes of kidney disease. If you have diabetes, you can reduce your risk of kidney damage by managing your blood sugar levels. If you have high blood pressure, you can help protect your kidneys by getting your blood pressure to a healthy level. There is much you can do to help manage these 2 conditions or, in some cases, to prevent them. By doing so, you'll benefit your overall health - not just your kidney function.

Diabetes and your kidneys

About half of those who have diabetes will develop early signs of kidney damage. Unfortunately, though, early kidney damage has few symptoms, so it's important for people withdiabetes to have regular tests to check their kidney function. It's also important to be aware of the risk of kidney damage so that you can do as much as you can to minimize it.

While you may not be able to completely protect your kidneys from the effects of diabetes, the following steps will help your kidneys stay as healthy as possible:

• Keep control of your blood sugar levels with the help of your doctor or pharmacist.
• Ask your doctor about regular urine and blood tests to monitor your kidney function.
• Check your blood pressure regularly - your doctor can advise you on your target blood pressure and how often to check.
• Eat a healthy diet - your doctor or dietitian can advise you on the best foods for you to choose or avoid.
• Try to quit smoking.
• Exercise regularly.

Your doctor may also recommend that you take a medication called an ACE inhibitor (e.g., lisinopril, enalapril) to help protect your kidneys.

High blood pressure and your kidneys

The complications of high blood pressure are serious. You may be aware that high blood pressure can lead to a stroke or heart attack, but did you know that it could also cause kidney damage? If you already have kidney disease, maintaining a healthy control of your blood pressure can help protect your kidneys.

What can you do to help control your blood pressure?

• Consult your doctor about your "target" blood pressure.
• Monitor your blood pressure regularly as recommended by your doctor. Many pharmacies sell blood pressure cuffs that you can easily use at home. If you discover your blood pressure is higher than it should be, speak to your doctor. You may need to adopt some lifestyle changes (see below) or take a medication (or combination of medications) to help lower your blood pressure.
• Follow a low-fat, low-salt diet (such as the DASH diet).
• Exercise regularly.
• Keep a healthy body weight.
• Reduce the amount of alcohol that you drink.
• Try to quit smoking.

Ward off kidney stones

Passing a kidney stone can be an extremely painful experience. And aside from the pain, kidney stones also pose a risk of kidney damage and urinary tract infection.

One in 10 Canadians will experience a kidney stone during their lifetime. Kidney stones are usually made of a substance called calcium oxalate, but the stones may also be made of uric acid or cystine. Once you have developed a stone, your options are:

• to pass the stone when you urinate
• to have it surgically removed
• to have it dissolved with medication
• to have it broken up through a special procedure using high-energy shock waves (extra-corporeal shock wave lithotripsy or ESWL)

Your best course of treatment will depend on factors such as the type and size of the stone.

What can you do to avoid a kidney stone?

• Drink plenty of water! Aim for at least 2 L (about 8 glasses) of water daily. If you are exercising, you'll need to drink extra, as your body will lose some fluid through perspiration and therefore this fluid will not pass through your kidneys.
• Keep a healthy body weight. Recent studies show that weight gain and obesity increase your risk of forming a kidney stone.
• Consume a diet that has normal dietary amounts of calcium and is low in salt and animal protein.
• If you've had kidney stones in the past, you may need to avoid or restrict certain foods in your diet (e.g., foods that are high in oxalate such as organ meats or chocolate). Your doctor can advise you on this.
• If you still develop kidney stones despite dietary and lifestyle changes, you may need to start taking medications as recommended by your doctor.
• Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about whether one of your medications may be increasing your risk of kidney stones.

Written and reviewed by the MediResource Clinical Team

http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_section_details.asp?text_id=2949&channel_id=10&relation_id=11001

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Home Care Assistance offers the highest quality 24/7 live-in home care in the Region of Halton (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton), Region of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon), Hamilton and surrounding areas.

CNN: Man Refuses to Retire

Maine's John Calderwood has given up retirement for a real labor of love. WABI reports.

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Home Care Assistance offers the highest quality 24/7 live-in home care in the Region of Halton (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton), Region of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon), Hamilton and surrounding areas.