IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH’S

August 2017 Volume 4, Number 8 A Healthy Living Newsletter for Seniors

Healthy Heart, Healthy Healthy Brain behaviors for your heart The idea of getting Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia as we age is frightening. Is there anything you can and brain do to prevent developing dementia? • Limit salt and added sugar While it’s too early to say whether specific eating habits decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s or help maintain cognitive function, there • Eat more fruits and veggies, is some good news. What’s good for your heart is good for your especially berries and brain. � � green leafy vegetables • Eat more fish, poultry, Healthy heart—healthy brain. Our heart and brain depend beans and nuts on healthy blood vessels to keep them functioning at their best. Blood vessels operate like a transit system in our body, • Replace solid fats, such delivering oxygen and nutrients to our vital organs. as butter and stick margarine, with heart- Unhealthy behaviors, such as eating too much saturated fat, healthy oils can narrow blood vessels and limit the heart’s ability to pump • Increase physical activity blood to the brain. Less blood means less oxygen and fewer —aim for 30 minutes of nutrients, which is bad news for brain cells. Blockages are also moderate intensity, more common in narrow blood vessels, increasing the risk for five or more days stroke and memory difficulties. per week Take Action Corner Take this simple message to heart: eat well and move more. Fill up on fruits and vegetables from the garden harvest and enjoy the remaining days of summer. It’s never too late to make brain-healthy changes!

Dementia is an overall term for diseases and conditions depicted by a decline in memory. Dementia is caused by damage to nerve cells in the brain. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia.3 Too Many Zucchini and Tomatoes?

Zucchini Noodles Here’s a new food trend that may help you use up the zucchini your neighbor left on the doorstep. Find a good sturdy vegetable peeler in your kitchen drawer and make noodles—or zoodles! It’s super easy.

Run a vegetable peeler down the length of zucchini, creating long, thin strips. Microwave Compared to zucchini bread, zoodles are for two minutes. Serving options: a calorie bargain. One cup of raw zucchini • Toss with spaghetti or marinara sauce. Add has just 20 calories. Use yellow and green fresh herbs, diced tomatoes or sautéed zucchini for a colorful plate. onions for more summer flavor. • Drizzle with olive oil. Add diced tomatoes and fresh basil. Lightly sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and pepper.

Freezing Tomatoes Not sure what to do with all of those tomatoes? Create some space in your freezer because they can be saved! Freeze tomatoes whole, sliced or chopped. Their mushy texture when thawed makes them a perfect fit for any recipe that calls for cooked tomatoes - soups, chili, sauces and stews. Here’s how.� Tomates can be stored in the freezer for up to eight months. To remove the peel, place a 1. Choose firm, ripe tomatoes. frozen tomato under warm, running water. To remove excess water, thaw tomatoes in a strainer. 2. Rinse the tomatoes under running water and dry with a paper towel. 3. Remove the stem scar. Cut out the stem and surrounding area and discard. 4. Slice, chop or dice the tomatoes—whatever you prefer! 5. Keep the and seeds for extra flavor. Do not salt until you use tomatoes. 6. Place tomatoes on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer. Once frozen, place tomatoes into freezer bags or other airtight containers.

Fresh Conversations is developed by: Iowa Dept. of Public Health http://idph.iowa.gov/inn 2 Iowa Dept. on Aging http://www.aging.iowa.gov Too Many Zucchini Stay Cool in the and Tomatoes? Summer Heat

Water is important especially during the “dog days of summer.” It keeps your body hydrated and helps the heart pump blood more easily.

Don’t like plain water? • Add juice. Try a 50-50 mix of water and juice. • Add berries or citrus fruits. Toss in mint, basil or rosemary leaves. Allow flavors to infuse in a Testimonial pitcher over several hours. • Drink water at a different temperature. A little Dottie and Marlene attend Fresh Conversations heat—or ice—could make a big difference. at the Delaware County Adult Day Program. • Eat it. Fruits and veggies with a high-water content are summer favorites. Enjoy melons, Meet Manchester natives and faithful Fresh oranges, cucumbers and tomatoes—and more! Conversations attendees – Dorothy “Dottie” Helmrich and Marlene Wendling. They believe the Delaware County Adult Day program, congregate meals and Fresh Conversations are Try essential to their wellbeing. “This is our family,” adding says 88-year-old Dottie. fruit to your For Dottie, a puzzle guru, the recipe and food water! sampling portion of Fresh Conversations is a highlight. “I’m a recipe nut. I like all the recipes. They’re easy to prepare and it’s fun to try something new. My daughter likes to try them, too.”

Marlene credits Fresh Conversations and congregate meals with helping her eat better. “I consider myself healthy but don’t eat enough vegetables. The samples, recipes and information on veggies help me eat them more often. And participating in class helps keep my brain sharp.”

Marlene has debilitating cerebral ataxia but her can-do attitude and active lifestyle keep her independent and optimistic. “When I get down about my disease, I think about struggles other people face, and am grateful for the good things In a study of 5,000 people, those who ate more fruit I have in my life.” were less likely to be obese than those who didn’t eat as much.5 Both ladies take the transit van to the senior

center and encourage other Iowans to explore

Zucchini; 4. Walking; 5. Heart Health; 6. Tomatoes; 7. Alzheimer’s 7. Tomatoes; 6. Health; Heart 5. Walking; 4. Zucchini; services and programs offered by their Area Brain Scramble Answers (page 4): 1. Dementia; 2. Hydrate; 3. 3. Hydrate; 2. Dementia; 1. 4): (page Answers Scramble Brain Agency on Aging. “The programs help us live independently.”

Information & resources for seniors with home & family questions ISU AnswerLine 1-800-262-3804 3 Lace Up for Brain Health Brain Scramble If you’re looking for a reason to get moving when Unscramble these healthy brain words! you just don’t feel like it, keep reading. Moving more may help put the brakes on age-related 1. ETANDIME cognitive decline. Time and time again, physical ______activity has been flagged as a behavior that appears to have one of the biggest impacts on 2. YRADHET dementia and cognitive impairment.6 ______

3. CHINUCZI ______

4. KANGILW ______

5. AERTH ALTHEH ______

6. OMAETTOS ______Be sure to check with your doctor before beginning a structured physical activity program. 7. SHAMIELERZ ______This doesn’t mean you have to go to a gym or work so intensely that you feel miserable. Moderate intensity activities like brisk walking done for at least 30 minutes a day, five days per week, go a long way. Take Action Corner • Start gradually. Aim to do as little as 10 minutes This month I will… of movement most days during the week and slowly add more minutes to the total. • Break it up. Divide the recommended 30 minutes into shorter segments. Do 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes midday, and another 10 in the evening. • Find a buddy. Commit to walk or bike with a friend when you need motivation. Teaming up with a partner will get your heart pumping. Take Action Corner • Be active wherever you are. Take an extra lap around the grocery store or let someone else have the closest parking spot.

Sources: � 2014 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Retrieved June 2017. https://www.alz.org/downloads/ � Take Care of Your Brain. National Institute on Aging. Retrieved June 2017. https://www.nia.nih.gov/ facts_figures_2014.pdf health/cognitive-health/take-care � Freezing Raw Tomatoes - With or Without Their Skins. UNL Food. Retrieved June 2017. http://food.unl. � Protect Your Heart, Protect Your Brain. American Stroke Association. (May 2016). Retrieved June edu/freezing-raw-tomatoes-or-without-their-skins 2017, from http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/AboutStroke/UnderstandingRisk/Protect- 5 Don’t Fear Fruits’ Sugars. Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter. June 2017. Your-Heart-Protect-Your-Brain_UCM_439306_Article.jsp#.WU0lH1Xyvcv 6 Preventing Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Way Forward. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. June 2017.

Food Assistance can help you buy healthy food in Iowa. Visit http://dhs.iowa.gov/food-assistance for more information or contact your local Department of Human Services office. This material was developed by the Iowa Department of Public Health and funded by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, an equal opportunity provider IDPH and employer. If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Iowa Department Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA of Public Health office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information Iowa Nutrition Network requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, PROMOTING HEALTHY LIFESTYLES Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690- 7442 or email at [email protected]. 4