Who doesn’t love unwinding on a weekend night with a movie and a bowl of popcorn? When prepared with just the right ingredients, popcorn is low in calories, heart-smart, and surprisingly full of healthy nutrients. Popcorn’s reputation as a healthy snack food popped up a few notches recently as scientists reported that it contains more of the healthful antioxidant substances called “polyphenols” than fruits and vegetables.

Joe Vinson, Ph.D., explained that the polyphenols are more concentrated in popcorn, which averages about 4 percent water, while polyphenols are diluted in the 90 percent water that makes up many fruits and vegetables.

Vinson declared, “Popcorn may be the perfect snack food.” It’s the only snack that is 100 percent unprocessed whole grain.

One serving of popcorn will provide more than 70 percent of the daily intake of whole grain. The average person gets only about half a serving of whole grains a day, and popcorn could fill that gap in a very pleasant way.

An even healthier option for your senior loved ones could be a Home Instead CAREGiver who can help a senior manage his or her nutrition program with meal preparation and shopping in the Mississauga ON neighbourhood. We can be reached at 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

The family caregiver – whose spouse has Alzheimer’s disease – or other forms of dementia that challenge millions of seniors and their families each day.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s are varied and change with the stage of the disease, but many times leave families and their caregivers frustrated, confused and frightened.

A new ground-breaking training program now offers help for the many families who are dealing with the challenging behaviors that characterize Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, enabling them to remain at home longer.

The Alzheimer’s Disease or Other Dementias CARE: Changing Aging Through Research and Education^SM online educational course removes some of the dread associated with these diseases. The no-cost program provides an innovative approach that helps families make the most of a senior’s life journey – including that individual’s history, passions and hobbies – in helping to manage challenging behaviors associated with dementias.

“CARE is a wonderful hands-on approach that helps caregivers deal with the behavioral changes that too often accompany these disorders – one of the biggest stressors for caregivers,” said Dr. Jane F. Potter, chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. “There was previously no good program available using adult education techniques to provide hands-on practice in learning how best to help people who suffer from dementia. This is huge.”

In the featured video at the top of this newsletter, Dr. Potter helps family caregivers understand Alzheimer’s disease and the changes that family caregivers can expect to see.  HelpforAlzheimersFamilies.com provides even more information about how to make the most of living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, giving caregivers hope for a brighter future.

If you need help caring for your loved one, in the Mississauga ON neighbourhood, please call 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Stroke is a medical emergency. Recognizing and responding immediately to the signs of stroke by calling 9-1-1 or your local emergency number can significantly improve survival and recovery. If a person is diagnosed with a stroke caused by a blood clot, doctors can administer a clot-busting drug available only at a hospital, and only within a few crucial hours after symptoms begin.  That’s why it is very important to be able to recognize the 5 warning signs of stroke and immediately call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center said their research highlights the need for even more education about strokes. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a 911 call should be made for any of these symptoms.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation in Canada lists the the five common signs of stroke:

Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body;

Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding;

Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes;

Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination;

Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

Learn more about the Five Common Signs of Stroke

A Home Instead CAREGiver can serve as a second set of eyes and ears to help keep older adults safe in their home. If you need help caring for your loved one, in the Mississauga ON neighbourhood, please call 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Alzheimer’s is an incurable disease that afflicts nearly half of seniors older than 85 and affects not only the seniors but their family caregivers.

Now there is help. You don’t have to take on the care responsibility alone. Learn about the services available to assist you and your loved one. If you are caring for a senior loved one, please check out the Home Instead Senior Care network’s CARE training program, available to you at no cost. As part of this program, last week the Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias interactive educational course was just released. This e-learning course is also available for no cost for families caring for Alzheimer’s and other dementia sufferers

Home Instead Senior Care® network’s person-centered approach to Alzheimer’s care, backed by advanced research and CAREGiver education, can help seniors cope with the challenges of Alzheimer’s while enabling them to continue doing what they can on their own in the comfort of home.

Home Instead CAREGivers provide the highest quality of customized care that:

• Allows the senior to remain safe and calm at home

• Encourages engagement

• Provides nutritious meals

• Creates social interaction

• Provides mind-stimulating activities

• Manages changing behaviors

• Honours who the senior was earlier in life

• Supports the family

Most importantly, CAREGivers can provide assistance with enhancing and restoring the simple pleasures of life, such as a walk in the park, a ride in the car to get ice cream or spending time in the garden. Proven to maximize abilities and independence, such senior care activities remain one of the best non-medical treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

If you need help caring for your loved one, in the Mississauga ON neighbourhood, please call 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Memory loss is unusual forgetfulness, according to the National Institute of Health. The cause determines whether amnesia comes on slowly or suddenly, and whether it is temporary or permanent. Normal aging may lead to trouble learning new material or requiring a longer time to remember learned material. However, it does not lead to dramatic memory loss unless diseases are involved.

Memory loss refers to:

• Not being able to remember new events,

• Not being able to recall one or more memories of the past, or both.

In some cases, memory loss among seniors may be due to so-called “silent strokes,” research suggests. Such strokes, which may not cause noticeable symptoms, result in small pockets of dead brain cells and are found in about 25 percent of older adults, according to a study.

The research, which was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, appeared in the journal Neurology. Participants underwent MRI brain scans, as well as testing to gauge capacities in memory, language skills, thinking speed and visual perception.

The brain scans revealed that 174 of the 658 participants had experienced silent strokes, and the investigators found that these seniors did not perform as well on the memory exams.

Researchers said that study results also support stroke prevention as a means for staving off memory problems.”

Home Instead CAREGivers helps seniors who has memory loss in many ways, including companionship, light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders and transportation or errands in Mississauga ON, please check with your local office by calling 905- 276-2273.

For more help and understanding about dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, check out HelpforAlzheimersFamilies.com – Changing Aging Through Research and Education Training Program, which includes a free Family Caregiver Training.

Your local Home Instead Senior Care office in the Mississauga ON area CAREGivers who are trained to care for your senior living with Alzheimer’s disease. For personal home care in Mississauga, please check with your local office by calling 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Dementia can test the unity of even the most cohesive families.  “Alzheimer’s is very stressful because of the behavioral changes,’’ said caregiving expert Dr. Amy D’Aprix, who served on an expert panel to develop content for the Home Instead Senior Care® network’s Alzheimer’s Disease or

Following are tips to help families manage a loved one living with Alzheimer’s:

Get an accurate diagnosis

Communicate regularly

Confer with professionals. Learn skills and techniques

Expect change and learn to manage it

Ask for help if you’re the primary caregiver

Tune into the main caregiver’s needs

Assign tasks for family members

Consider the family legacy

Tap into resources

Coming soon, an interactive educational course, brought to you by Home Instead Senior Care, gives caregivers instructive information about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, valuable insight for providing better care, and techniques to help improve the quality of life for both you and your loved one experiencing memory loss. Visit HelpforAlzheimersFamilies.com to learn more.

Your local Home Instead Senior Care office in the Mississauga ON area CAREGivers are trained to care for your senior living with Alzheimer’s disease. Our CAREGivers also help with light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders and transportation needs. For personal home care in Mississauga, please check with your local office by calling 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Caregiving for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or other dementias is a journey that best begins with information and education. Listed below are the 10 warning signs that could indicate Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. “It’s safe to say that the thing that Alzheimer’s and other dementias have in common is a high risk of behavioral disorders – change in personality, people behaving in ways counter to their prior personality,’’ noted Dr. Jane F. Potter, chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. “But normal old age does not cause dysfunction.”

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, these are 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s:

Memory loss that disrupts daily life.

Challenges in planning or solving problems.

Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure.

Confusion with time or place.

Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships.

New problems with words in speaking or writing.

Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.

Decreased or poor judgment.

Withdrawal from work or social activities.

Changes in mood and personality.

Coming soon, an interactive educational course, brought to you by Home Instead Senior Care, gives caregivers instructive information about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, valuable insight for providing better care, and techniques to help improve the quality of life for both you and your loved one experiencing memory loss. Visit HelpforAlzheimersFamilies.com to learn more.

Your local Home Instead Senior Care office in the Mississauga ON area provides CAREGivers who are trained to care for your senior living with Alzheimer’s disease. Our CAREGivers also help with light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders and transportation needs. For personal home care in Mississauga, please check with your local office by calling 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

The importance of proper nutrition for seniors simply can’t be understated. Poor nutrition can affect the mind, the body, the immune system and energy levels in ways you may not be aware of. The more you know about the aging factors that can affect eating habits, the easier it will be to ensure the person you care for maintains a healthy diet.

We’ve collected a wide range of materials to help you recognize the warning signs of poor nutrition, understand the physical changes with age that affect appetite and digestion, and be aware of the lifestyle changes that can affect the way mealtimes are viewed. You’ll find nutrition guidelines for mature men and women, a list of food staples every senior should have, and suggestions for making shopping, meal preparation and dining more enjoyable. In addition, there are tips for food safety, recommendations for transportation and budget issues, as well as discussions about the role diet plays in patients with diabetes, cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

In this webinar, Dr. Amy D’Aprix of the DAI Foundation and Mary Alexander of Home Instead Senior Care tackle the topic of senior nutrition and mealtimes. CLICK HERE TO WATCH PRE-RECORDED WEBINAR. The benefits to modifying diets to accommodate age related changes and issues include:

• Increased cognitive functioning
• Resistance to illness
• Higher energy level
• Improved immune system
• Faster recuperation times
• Better management of chronic health issues (like diabetes)
• Social benefits through mealtime companionship

Your local Home Instead Senior Care office in the Mississauga ON area can provide a caregiver to help your senior fulfill their nutritional needs and assist with light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders and transportation needs. For personal home care in Mississauga, please check with your local office by calling 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Regular walking, a favourite exercise for seniors, is one of the most effective forms of activity that delivers substantial health benefits and improves heart health, the American Heart Association has said. The latest addition to the American Heart Association’s tools for persuading people to exercise is MyWalkingClub.org – walking clubs, which are being formed across Canada and the United States.

Walking is easy to start and continue, and it has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity. By joining an American Heart Association Walking Club, participants can connect with others who share their goals, lifestyles, schedules and hobbies – and do it for free. We are making it fun and easy to get your heart healthy with our Walking Clubs. To get started, just sign up and search for a Walking Club based on location and similar interests. If you can’t find a Walking Club location near you, volunteer to lead one here in Mississauga.

According to an American Heart Association survey, only 15 percent of North American adults achieve the association’s recommended level of moderate aerobic exercise, which is 150 minutes per week. Walking for as little as 30 minutes a day will improve circulation, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and promote weight loss.

Additional Benefits of Walking:

1. Lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol)

2. Raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol)

3. Lower your blood pressure

4. Reduce your risk of or manage type 2 diabetes

5. Manage your weight

6. Improve your mood

7. Stay strong and fit

Be sure to bring along a friend for the walk. This is a great way to socialize while getting some exercise. Walking partners can make the walk seem very short and enjoyable. The same goes for pets. Take the dog for a walk each day. The pet will benefit, and so will you!

Your local Home Instead Senior Care office in the Mississauga ON area can find a caregiver who will walk with your senior or help him or her find a walking club. Our CAREGivers also help with light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders and transportation needs. For personal home care in Mississauga, please check with your local office by calling 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

At Home Instead Senior Care, we are actively changing the face of aging. What does that mean?

It means we are working to abolish perceptions about the burdens of growing older and tapping in to the talents and contributions of older people such as wisdom and experience. It also means we are enhancing the lives of aging adults and their families.

Paul Hogan, Founder and Chairman of Home Instead Senior Care, serves as a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Aging and leading the Home Instead charge to help people around the world age with more dignity and respect.

As part of its efforts to celebrate the successes associated with aging, Hogan and his fellow Council members recently released a book titled, Global Population Aging: Peril or Promise?

According to the Council:

“Current demographic changes require comprehensive responses. However, much of the discussion focuses on the challenges occasioned by an ageing society rather than on the opportunities. These negative scenarios need not be our fate; there are significant benefits to an aging world, but they require smart policies. This Council focuses on healthy aging and the discourse on aging to facilitate healthy and participative living in age-friendly environments and to realize the social and economic potential of elders.”

Paul Hogan co-authored Chapter 7, Social Capital Lifelong Learning and Social Innovation (page 39), with Simon Biggs, Professor of Gerontology and Social Policy at University of Melbourne (Australia), and Laura Carstensen, Director of Stanford Center on Longevity. Read Chapter 7 Social Capital, Lifelong Learning and Social Innovation.

Hogan also penned Chapter 12 (page 61), Design and Operation of Health Systems in Developing Countries, with Linda Fried, and Jack Rowe, from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Read Chapter 12 Design and Operation of Health Systems in Wealthy Industrial Countries.

The old face of aging is isolation; the new face is companionship

The old face of aging is institutionalization; the new face is having the choice to age at home

The old face of aging is fear; the new face is hope

-Paul Hogan

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.