The Senior Scene

(Pictured: Laura Tamblyn Watts heads Canada’s national seniors advocacy organization).

Laura Tamblyn Watts is the chief executive officer of CanAge, Canada’s national seniors’ advocacy organization. She teaches subjects related to law and aging at the University of Toronto and has worked as a lawyer defending elders’ rights. She lives in Toronto. In the following Q and A, she talks about issues covered in her book, “Let’s Talk About Aging Parents: A Real-Life Guide to Solving Problems with 27 Essential Conversations” (www.theexperimentpublishing.com).

You’ve written academic papers and are a regular media guest and keynote speaker on aging issues. What made you want to discuss aging in this format?

I wanted folks to be able to get the kind of insider information and practical tips I can give them based on decades of experience in this field. But listing a bunch of facts and to-do lists can be overwhelming. This book is friendlier than that—I’m giving the straight goods in a safe space like if we sat down together over tea and talked out what was going on with your parents, your family, and how to keep your head on straight in all the confusion and emotions.

What makes your book relevant right now?

We are in the largest demographic shift in all human history, and we mostly don’t have the tools to deal with the issues that will arise. This book can help people identify key issues to look out for so they can get ahead of them or address them as they come up. There is plenty of information on the medical side and no shortage of caregiver stories, but nothing that actually helps you help your aging parents.

Have you noticed mistakes that the children of aging parents seem to struggle with most often?

It’s divided into two pretty even camps, both of whom have no idea what’s coming their way. The first group assumes everything is sorted—that their parents are fine now and will be fine, and that things have been arranged already. Too often, it probably won’t and isn’t, and they haven’t. When things start to go wrong, the process can be too late, much more expensive, and way more difficult.

The second group assumes that as the adult kids, they get to make the decisions, and that their parents should do what they are told. Good luck on that one! Older adults are still adults. The same way that you don’t want them telling you what to do when you are 50, they don’t want you telling them what to do when they’re 80, and they’re happy to tell you so.

This is where the 27 conversations in the book come in. They are meant to help start those discussions early, so you know and understand what the jumping off point is and where you need to help your parents make their own choices.

Can readers still use the advice in your book if they don’t have a traditional family or a good relationship with their parents?

The notion of family is important—this book never assumes that the readers have a middle class, white, heterosexual, urban, nuclear family. That’s one,  frankly quite rare and simplified version  of it. Most families are messy. There are families of biology, marriages and divorces and new relationships, difficult siblings, as well as families of choice, diversity, and all sorts of complexities. This book addresses all those glorious versions. There is even a chapter about what to do if you hate your parents, have been estranged, or were ill-treated by them.

(Pictured: Load up on non-starchy vegetables without the consequences of weight gain.)

By Stephanie Watson

Cutting is critical when you’re trying to lose weight. You cut calories. You cut fat. Basically, anything that’s crammed with carbs, sweetened with sugar, or dipped in a deep fryer is suddenly off-limits.

But dieting doesn’t have to require deprivation. Delicious (and healthy) food can still be part of your dining repertoire. Some members of the produce family are so light in calories and fat that you can eat them with relative abandon.

The one category of food you can eat loads of without suffering the consequences of weight gain are non-starchy vegetables, says Alexis Supan, an outpatient dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic Center for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine. “Mostly any vegetable besides potato, corn and peas, you can eat endlessly,” she said.

A cup of chopped broccoli or a grilled portobello mushroom contains just 30 calories and less than 1 gram of fat. Chow down on two cups of lettuce and consume less than 16 calories. Because of its high water content, a whole tomato has a mere 22 calories. Cauliflower, kale, carrots and sprouts are similarly nutrient-dense and light in calories.

These produce mainstays bring a few other things to the table. “What makes them so incredible and so beneficial for weight maintenance and weight loss is they are high in macronutrients [such as carbohydrates] and micronutrients [vitamins and minerals]. And they’re rich in fiber,” said Beata Rydyger, a registered nutritionist based in Los Angeles. Fiber keeps blood sugar levels stable, which helps avoid sudden attacks of the munchies that might otherwise make you crave junk food.

If vegetables aren’t your favorite, you might be thinking how unappealing this way of eating sounds. But there are ways to spice up veggies to make them more palatable. For instance, roast them in olive oil spray, then add a blend of garlic and other herbs and spices. If you love dip, which tends to be high in fat, use salsa instead to add even more vegetables into the mix. Or blend a ranch flavor packet into plain Greek yogurt.

What about fruit?

Fruit is a different story. You don’t want to go overboard.

“Grapes are a perfect example. A lot of people love to snack on grapes and could eat the whole bag in an afternoon without really thinking about it. But grapes are a high-sugar food,” Supan said. “Keeping most fruits to a cup-and-a-half for the day is a good goal.”

The exceptions are berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries), kiwi, and grapefruit. These are high in fiber and low on the glycemic index — which means they won’t boost your blood sugar too much. Just be careful before eating grapefruit to make sure it doesn’t interact with any medications (such as statins) you take. And don’t load it up with sugar to make it taste sweeter.

If you want all-you-can-eat food, it may be worth revisiting your entire diet to make sure it’s satisfying. “When people eat the right meals throughout the day, that tends to fill them up much more, and they don’t have that constant hunger,” Supan said.

Some food packs a powerful nutritional punch. Examples are healthy proteins such as fish, chicken, tofu or beans, which should be part of each meal. You also want to add healthy fats from nuts and olive oil, vegetables and whole grains such as quinoa or brown rice to your meals. They’re satisfying and fight off urges to overindulge.

Snacking on other high-protein, high-fiber food will help hold you over until dinnertime. A can of tuna, an apple with a tablespoon of peanut or almond butter, a handful of nuts, a cup of plain air-popped popcorn, a half-cup of cottage cheese, or a hard-boiled egg make excellent options.

Moving away from processed meat and toward plant-based proteins can provide benefits for your heart as well as your waistline. A November 2023 analysis published in BMC Medicine found that replacing processed meat with nuts, legumes, and whole grains lowers the risk of heart disease and death.  

Drinking a glass of water or having a cup of bone broth (which contains protein in the form of collagen) might also help fill you up before a meal.

When it comes to dieting, the aim is not “How low can you go?” Your body needs calories for energy. Try to focus less on the numbers and more on the overall quality. The most important thing is to eat whole foods — ones that aren’t processed in a factory. 

Eating nothing but low-calorie food could rob your body of the nutrients it needs, such as calcium that keeps bones strong. Plus it could leave you hungry, the opposite of the intended effect. 

When dieting, don’t go it alone. Get some help from your primary-care doctor or a dietitian. Your doctor can check your vitamin and cholesterol levels to make sure you safely embark on your new way of eating. A dietitian can assess your needs and create a meal plan that’s tailored to your goals and sustainable.

Source: AARP. Stephanie Watson is a freelance writer.

(Pictured: Steve Rand hands supplies to a boy on one of the relief missions to war-torn Ukraine by a humanitarian group Rand co-founded.)

Steve Rand comes from a small town in rural New Hampshire, spending his life raising his family, serving the nation in the armed forces, and carrying on the family legacy as third-generation owner of the 100-year-old Rand Hardware store in the center of Plymouth.  

A dedicated Rotary Club leader, Rand’s passion for service to others stands as a defining characteristic of his life. Rather than slowing down as he turned 80 years old on Oct. 17, he has launched into courageous work by entering the war zone of Ukraine 10 times (and counting) to deliver humanitarian supplies and to help fund mental-health counseling to Ukrainian orphans, displaced children, and families. 

Rand and three of his friends co-founded the grassroots, non-profit organization Common Man for Ukraine right after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Connecting to fellow volunteers on the ground in Ukraine and Poland through their Rotary network, the Common Man for Ukraine members flew to the wartorn country and started with s simple question: How can we help?  

Fast-forward more than two years. Common Man for Ukraine has raised and delivered more than $3.5 million in humanitarian aid. Its relief convoys travel to Ukrainian orphanages, child safe houses, and front-line villages twice each month. Rand has help lead 10 of them. The convoys have delivered more than 2 million pounds of food, 10,000 sleeping bags, hundreds of portable generators, and dozens of tons of additional critical supplies.  

The efforts to help Ukraine’s most vulnerable – the children of war – also extend to their emerging mental-health needs. Common Man funds and helps organize the Children of Ukraine Health Retreat, a monthly residential trauma counseling camp for children whose soldier-fathers were killed or are missing in the war. The retreat is staffed by certified counselors, teachers, and doctors, providing more than 800 children with a three-week respite, group and individual counseling, and a community of peers who understand what they are going through.

At a time in life when many people deservedly slow down, Rand is showing what can be done with enough heart and will, regardless of age.

Anyone wishing to support Common Man for Ukraine can do so at commonmanforukraine.org.  

(Kimchi, a fermented Korean dish, stimulates the immune system.)

According to the national Centers for Disease and Prevention, adults who eat a healthy diet live longer and have a lower risk of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Healthy eating can also help manage chronic diseases. Additionally, research published in the journal Nutrients reports that nutrient inadequacies can impair immune function and weaken immune response. Macronutrients, including vitamins A, C, D, E, and zinc, help with having a healthy immune system. 

Focusing on adding some nutritional powerhouses to the diet can be a simple way to meet more nutritional needs without feeling like people are making big sacrifices or getting rid of foods they love. Nutritional powerhouses can add a lot by providing macronutrients and antioxidants to the diet. 

Here are five nutritional powerhouses to add this month:

• Dark chocolate. Need we say more? Most people love chocolate, but they don’t realize that it’s a nutritional powerhouse when they opt for the dark variety. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, dark chocolate contains 50-90% cocoa, compared to milk chocolate, which contains 10-50% cocoa. They report that it provides iron, copper, magnesium, zinc, and antioxidants, which may help protect the heart. Opt for dark chocolate that is 70% or more cocoa to get the most benefit.
• Beans. Adding more beans and legumes to the diet can have some great benefits. A study published in the journal Nutrients reports that phytochemicals found in beans and legumes are considerably beneficial in improving blood cholesterol levels and glycemic status, providing vascular protection, and reducing markers of chronic inflammation. They help to improve the gut microbiome, which is linked to everything from losing weight to brain health.
• Ginger. Adding ginger to the diet can help in various ways, and it can be as easy as making a batch of ginger shots once a week and consuming one daily or adding it to oatmeal or chia seed pudding. According to the National Institutes of Health, ginger root improves immune system action and acts as an antibacterial/viral agent, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory agent, and anti-cancer agent.
• Green tea. Tea, whether black or green, provides antioxidants that can help protect the body from free radicals. According to research published in the journal Chinese Medicine, the high amount of polyphenols and potent antioxidants in green tea may help reduce the risks of many chronic diseases. The researchers report that green tea may also help lower blood pressure, which can help reduce the risks of stroke and heart disease.
• Kimchi. This fermented Korean food can easily be purchased in the produce section of most grocery stores. Keeping a jar in the refrigerator and eating a tablespoon or more daily can provide health benefits. A research study published in the journal Medicine reports that studies have shown that the biological compounds of kimchi stimulate immune function and reduce pro-oxidants, free radicals, certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome risks, and aging.

“If you feel all five of these are simple enough to add, then go for it,” said Jennifer Scherer, a dietitian, medical exercise specialist, and personal trainer. “If you are not yet ready for something like that, pick one or two. Adding one or two of these to your routine will be beneficial, and you can always add more later.”