Village at Belmar

Senior Living Blog & Events

5 Warning Signs You May Have a Nutrition Deficiency

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Are you getting enough essential vitamins and minerals?

Research shows it’s a common concern among older adults in the U.S. — the majority of people 55 and older say they use dietary supplements — and for good reason. When our bodies lack essential vitamins and minerals, physical symptoms such as fatigue and muscle aches can ensue. Nutrient deficiencies have also been linked to chronic diseases, like diabetes and osteoporosis.

Different deficiencies can cause different symptoms. To shed light on some of the warning signs, we spoke with Sameera Talegawkar, an associate professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

How to detect a deficiency

Keep in mind, the only way to know if you have a nutrient deficiency is by scheduling a doctor’s visit, which may include blood tests to assess your vitamin and mineral levels. 

Know that diagnosing deficiencies in older age can present greater complexities due to the presence of chronic diseases and the use of medications. Your doctor must carefully consider these factors and their potential impact on nutrient absorption.​ ​“Each nutrient has a physiological function in the body. So, if you have a deficiency, there’s going to be a consequence,” said Talegawkar. “It is important for a physician to take a look at what medications and what health conditions are present before you can diagnose. Some medications might have side effects, which could therefore cause a nutrient deficiency.”​

To read about the five warning signs of nutritional deficiency and how to prevent it, from AARP, CLICK HERE.

14 of Summer’s Top Nonfiction Books

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What’s a summer read? Why not an in-depth biography of President James A. Garfield or playwright August Wilson? If those sound too heavy for this sunny season, dive into the cool history of ice or the story behind Bogie and Bacall’s great romance — or one of the 10 other notable new nonfiction books described below.

The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight by Andrew Leland (May 25)

“Blindness is a radically distinct way of being in the world,” writes Leland, a Massachusetts-based writer, in this thoughtful story about his own transition to blindness. His loss of vision began in high school, due to what was eventually diagnosed as retinitis pigmentosa, an incurable condition marked by a slow reduction of sight. The author explains it as a narrowing of his vision, where he eventually felt like he was looking at the world through a narrow tube. Publishers Weekly raves that the book, “enriched by its sparkling prose,” is “an extraordinary and intellectually rigorous account of adapting to change.”

Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks: A Cool History of a Hot Commodity by Amy Brady (June 6)

And just in time for the summer heat, there’s this microhistory, which uses ice as a means to reveal unique bits of cultural history — like women’s role in whetting America’s appetite for ice. “They became early adopters of the stuff and among ice companies’ first salespeople,” according to Brady, who explores what she calls “the nation’s ice obsession,” which began some 200 years ago, allowing for far easier food preservation, not to mention wonderfully chilled cocktails. She contrasts this with how miserable and unrelentingly sweaty life was before ice became commonplace.

Never Give Up: A Prairie Family’s Story by Tom Brokaw (June 13)

The ever-nostalgic broadcast journalist expounded on the resilience and hard work of the Greatest Generation in his 2004 bestseller of the same name. Now he looks to the great folks within his own family for inspiration, exploring their humble beginnings in South Dakota. He highlights, among others, his father Red, who dropped out of school in second grade to work at the family’s hotel, the Brokaw House, and lived by the motto “Never give up.” Brokaw also gets personal about his own life growing up in the aftermath of the Depression and building his career in broadcasting.  

The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos (June 13)

Vlahos offers her unique perspective on end-of-life care through moving personal stories from her work as a hospice nurse. Because she grew up with a family in the funeral business, she asserts, she never particularly feared death and had no qualms making it a central part of her life. A vocal advocate for quality hospice care, she founded a nonprofit whose aim was to set up a hospice house where families could spend relaxing and joyful weekends together during their loved one’s final days. Young and photogenic, Vlahos is also something of a star on TikTok and YouTube, posting videos that portray what good care looks like (@nursehadley). 

To see the additional recommendations from AARP of 14 top nonfiction book to enjoy this summer, CLICK HERE.

Tingling Hands? Painful Feet? 7 Warning Signs of Neuropathy You Should Never Ignore

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It’s not unusual for neurologist Eva Feldman, M.D., to see patients who are experiencing pain or strange sensations in their feet. “They say, ‘My feet hurt, and they hurt worse at night when the sheets are on them.’ ”

Another common complaint she hears: “It feels like bugs are biting the bottom of my feet,” says Feldman, a professor of neurology at the University of Michigan.

A simple blood test, she says, often reveals the cause: high blood sugar. The pain and tingling in their feet are early signs of a condition called peripheral neuropathy, which is a common complication of diabetes.

For many people, these foot symptoms are “the first clear, obvious sign that someone has diabetes or prediabetes,” she says. When caught very early, both the foot pain and the elevated blood sugar can sometimes be reversed, she explains, before permanent nerve damage sets in.

That’s one good example, she and other experts say, of why it’s so important not to ignore any pain, tingling, numbness or weakness in your feet or hands or other symptoms that suggest you could have a form of neuropathy — a catch-all term for damage to nerves that branch out from our brains and spinal cords to the rest of our bodies.

To learn more about neuropathy, including symptoms to pay attention to and causes of the condition, from AARP, CLICK HERE.

First Steps to Treating Dementia May Lie in Related Diseases

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If there’s one thing neuroscientist Kasper Roet is feeling these days, it’s optimism.

QurAlis, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company he cofounded in 2016, recently ushered two drug candidates for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) into early-stage clinical trials.

Though they work in different ways — one increases levels of an important protein, the other activates a potassium channel — both therapies have the same goal: to protect against the deterioration and death of motor nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This hallmark of ALS leads to many of its symptoms, including muscle twitches, muscle weakness and difficulty chewing, swallowing and eventually breathing.

If all goes according to plan, the two experimental drugs could help to grow a short list of treatments available for the rare but devastating disease that affects roughly 5,000 Americans each year. There is no cure for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and most people with it live only three to five years after symptoms appear, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

To find out why researchers hope that will soon change, based on their better understanding of the disease, from the AARP, CLICK HERE.

How to Connect With Your Grandkids Through Reading

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Since my children were little, their grandparents have been sending them snippets clipped from magazines and newspapers in the mail. With headlines like “World’s Largest Snake” and “Chocolate is health food,” grandma edits the world’s news according to the changing interests of my now-teenage son and daughter. Not only do my kids delight in the strange and random tidbits, but the shared information gives our three generations fun conversation fodder when we all convene.  

Inspired by my parents’ quirky curation, I wrote a series of books called Totally Random Questions, 101 Wild and Weird Questions and Answers. Just like it sounds, this eight-part, photo-driven series is a totally random curation of topics ranging from space and science to animals and sports. The content is purposefully high-interest for the 8- to 12-year-old crowd, but because it’s about the real world, adults have been finding it fascinating too.

But it can take more than a fun book to encourage kids to read. I spoke with some experts about how grandparents can help foster a love for reading — and deepen their connections to their grandchildren in the process. 

To read about their tips, from AARP, CLICK HERE:

Four Things to Know About Depression and Older Adults

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Feeling down every once in a while is a normal part of life, but if these feelings last a few weeks or months, you may have depression. Read this article to find common signs and symptoms of depression, treatment options, and if you or your loved one may be at risk for depression.

What is depression?

Depression is a serious mood disorder. It can affect the way you feel, act, and think. Depression is a common problem among older adults, but clinical depression is not a normal part of aging. In fact, studies show that most older adults feel satisfied with their lives, despite having more illnesses or physical problems than younger people. However, if you’ve experienced depression as a younger person, you may be more likely to have depression as an older adult.

Depression is serious, and treatments are available to help. For most people, depression gets better with treatment. Counseling, medicine, or other forms of treatment can help. You do not need to suffer — help and treatment options are available. Talk with your doctor if you think you might have depression.

To learn about the types of depression that older adults may experience, as well as risk factors, signs and symptoms, and how you can support friends and family with depression, from the National Institute on Aging, CLICK HERE.