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After the age of 65, your lifestyle will play an important role in your quality of life. Your ability to live independently and perform your daily tasks is very dependent on how much muscle strength you have.

In addition to quality of life, having healthy muscles affects the heart health, mental health, immune system and bone health. Muscle loss tends to progressively decrease from the age of 45 years of age. The three main aspects to focus on when building strong muscles is eating a healthy balanced diet with adequate protein and calcium containing foods, muscle strengthening exercises and exposure to the sun which allows for Vitamin D absorption.

Protein, calcium and Vitamin D are the three main nutrients we focus on when it comes to building muscle.

Calcium

In a day you would require 3-4 serves of dairy foods to meet the recommended calcium requirement. One serve is made up of one glass of milk, one glass of non-dairy calcium fortified milk, 1 tub of yogurt and 1 slice of cheese. Other sources of calcium include sardines, tofu or bean curd, kale and almonds.

Protein

In a day we require about 2-3 servings a day. This can come from sources such as lean meat, legumes, tofu and eggs. One serving of protein is two large eggs/a palm size of meat (90-100g), small can of fish (95g) or 1 cup cooked or canned legumes.

Physical activity

Regular strengthening exercises can help muscle. It is especially important to work on your arms, legs, abdomen and back. It can be either in the gym or at home. The recommended amount of exercise time is either 30 minutes twice a week or 5-10 minute bouts on most days. There are activities which can help to build muscle such as carrying shopping bags, gardening, vacuuming or climbing stairs. Including protein rich foods enhances the benefits gained from muscle strengthening exercises. In addition to muscle building exercises, it is also important to include balance building exercises such as yoga or tai chi. While having a proper exercise routine is important, it is equally important to be physically active on a daily basis. This can involve doing household chores everyday or joining a sports club.

Contact us for results focused on nutritional advice

This article was written by our dietitian and nutritionist Juhi Bhambhaney. If you have any questions regarding health and nutrition, make an appointment with one of our dietitians. We‘ll provide you with a simple and effective routine targeted to your concerns. Contact us today.

The post Healthy living after the age of 65 appeared first on ENT Wellbeing Sydney.

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What is the NDIS?

The NDIS is a national scheme, which is being implemented across Australia to provide targeted support and better coordination and access to services for people with a disability. The scheme is a single national system catering people with any kind of disability anywhere in Australia with the aim of providing equal access to existing health care services across the country.

For children on the current Better Start and HCWA (Helping children with Autism) schemes this means that funding for therapy will transition and eventually by provided through the NDIS. For adults with disability, this will allow for access to private health care services at no cost to the individuals or their families.

How can the NDIS help individuals with speech difficulties?

Individuals with disabilities will be assessed on their needs including their physical needs and if deemed eligible they will be provided with funding to attend sessions with health professionals such as Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists to help meet their physical needs at home as well as during recreational and vocational activities. The same applies for the individuals mental needs.

Once assessed, the individual may then be eligible for therapy services to meet their mental health and communication needs. This means they will be eligible to receive funding for psychology and speech pathology services.

The amount of sessions they can receive for each service is then determined collaboratively by the individual, their Carer, the NDIS, and the specialist they are seeing. The NDIS is different from the current schemes in that funding for adults with disability is now provided through a single scheme. This means adults who have disabilities such as Down syndrome or Autism receive therapy to assist with their communication and swallowing. This means they can improve their ability to speak to members of their family at home, make new friends in the community or help them to gain employment and engage with colleagues at work.

For more information about the National Disability Insurance Scheme visit the NDIS website

Contact us for results focused speech therapy

This article was written by our Speech Pathologist Ashleigh Fattah who is a Speech Pathology Australia member. If you have questions about language activities, make an appointment. We‘ll provide you with simple and effective therapy targeted to your concerns. Contact us today.

The post What is the NDIS and how can it help adults with speech difficulties appeared first on ENT Wellbeing Sydney.

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“Moderation in all things” -Aristotle

It is a simple but powerful statement which is definitely applicable to the treats that a lot of us find hard to resist and sometimes trying to avoid them all together is counterproductive as you ban yourself for a long time and then one day, you give in! You lose self-control and you find that you have eaten an entire tub of ice cream or an entire packet of chips.

Here are some tips on how you can continue to include these treats in your diet without overindulging.

There are two ways in which one can include treats in moderation, either by swapping it for a healthier alternative option or portion controlling your regular favourite snack if you do not wish to replace it.

Ice Cream

The current weather in Sydney may make us want to cool down with an ice cream or a soft drink. Here are some swaps which can help you control calories, saturated fat and sugar you are putting in your body. For the purpose of simplifying, I have used magnum classic as an example as it is one of the popular brands.

When choosing healthier snacks we should look at snacks that are less than 150 calories, less than 2g/100g of saturated fat, less than 15g/100g of sugar and 120mg/100g of sodium.

1. Swapping a Magnum ice-cream bar for a paddle pop

Magnum ice-cream Paddle pop
288 Calories 107 Calories
13g of Saturated fat 1.6g of Saturated fat
24g of Sugar 13.5g of Sugar

2. Swapping a Magnum ice-cream bar for a Mango Weis bar

Magnum ice-cream Mango Weis bar
288 Calories 112 Calories
13g of Saturated fat 2.6g of Saturated fat
24g of Sugar 17.8g of Sugar

3. Swapping a Magnum ice-cream with flavored yogurt

Magnum ice-cream Flavored yogurt
288 Calories 94 Calories
13g of Saturated fat 0.2g of Saturated fat
24g of Sugar 6.4g of Sugar

Chips

We may wish to have something savoury now and again, but there are definitely some swaps that can help you save yourself from excess calories, saturated fat and salt without depriving yourself. Swapping something like Twisties for air popped popcorn can help control the calories, saturated fat and salt consumed.

1. Swapping Twisties cheese snack pack for popcorn snack pack

Twisties (6 pack) Popcorn (6 pack)
94 cal per snack pack 62 cal per snack pack
201mg of Sodium 64mg of Sodium
2.2g of Saturated fat 0.2g of Saturated fat

Portion control

Opting for mini versions of ice creams, chips and soft drinks can help decrease the calories, saturated fat and sugar consumed

1. Swapping regular sized Magnum bar for a Mini Magnum

Magnum Magnum Mini (6 pack)
342 cal 155 cal
15g of Saturated fat 7g of Saturated fat
24g of Sugar 13g of Sugar

2. Swapping regular sized Twisties cheese bag for a Twisties 6 pack

Twisties (90g) Twisties (6 pack, 1 pack 19g)
447 cal 94 cal
10.3g of Saturated fat 2.2g of Saturated fat
954mg of Sodium 201mg of Sodium

3. Swapping regular sized Coke Cola can for a mini sized Coke Cola can

Coke Cola (1 can, 375ml) Coke Cola Mini(1 can 200ml)
161 cal 86 cal
40g of Sugar 21g of Sugar

Although there is space in your diet for treat foods, it is recommended that one try and snack more on nourishing foods such as nuts, fruit and vegetable sticks with hummus to get the required energy boost during the day.

Contact us for results focused on nutrition

This article was written by our dietitian and nutritionist Juhi Bhambhaney. If you have any questions regarding health and nutrition, make an appointment with one of our dietitians. We‘ll provide you with a simple and effective routine targeted to your concerns. Contact us today.

The post How to enjoy snacks in moderation appeared first on ENT Wellbeing Sydney.

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The 15th of February marks the ‘International Childhood Cancer Day’. Cancer has often affected many people and their loved ones at some point during their lives including our beloved young children.

Cancer kills more Australian children than all other diseases combined. Around 1 in 285 kids are diagnosed prior to reaching adulthood. Over 10,000 Australian children are fighting cancer now. Another 1,100 are diagnosed each year. 1 in 5 kids die within 5 years of diagnosis.

Childhood cancer is very different than adult cancer. It can affect any child, and there are no known risk factors for childhood cancer, and nothing can prevent development.

Current treatments are outdated and toxic. Side affects both short and long term is inhumane. 90% of childhood cancer survivors develop chronic, lifelong health problems. Survivors are at greater risk of developing secondary cancers. Overall survival is compromised.

Even though there have been great advances in research and medicine, childhood cancer survival rates have continued to plateau. Pediatric cancer research has been insufficiently funded in both Australia and internationally. Improved rates of survival are reliant on further research for treatment options. As current treatments are very toxic and have been unchanged for many years. Both short term and long term side effects from current treatments cause the suffering children ongoing pain and suffering

International Childhood Cancer Day is a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer, and to express support for children and adolescents with cancer, the survivors and their families.

The day encourages increased awareness and hopes for better knowledge and understanding of the problems and challenges that affect childhood cancer, the current sufferers, the survivors, their families and the society as a whole. It also raises needed recognition for more support and improved access to treatment and care.

References

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1. Repeat, repeat, repeat!

Repetition is truly the key when it comes to picking up a language. Just as we need to hear a new word a few times before we truly understand what it means and how to use it, children require the same. Using the same word in a different context such as identifying a car outside and a picture of a car will help your child to solidify the concept of the word, especially with children who struggle with attention and may need to see the object physically in a form that attracts them.

2. Take turns and build on what has already been said

When we are hoping to get a child to interact, we often bombard them with questions, this can be overwhelming and most likely lead to a stunned silence. Instead wait for your child to point out something interesting to them and build on what they say e.g. if your child says car when they see a toy car you can model back a slightly longer phrase like ‘red car’ or push the car and say ‘car go’.

3. Use, interpret and respond to non verbal language

We can do the same for children who don’t yet speak by interpreting their body language e.g if your child points to the car, we build on this communicative intent by elaborating on the gesture and saying ‘car’. It is important to not only lookout for this communicative intent but also model with gesture by pointing and showing the object to the child as we say the word.

4. Slow down and stress key words

When using longer sentences especially, slow down your speech and stress the words that are important within the sentence. They may not necessarily be the most important words in the sentence; instead, they are the words that you are trying to teach. For instance in the example where the child says ‘car’ and you say ‘red car’, you want to stress the word red as the child is already familiar with the word car.

Most importantly, make it fun, so your child enjoys the experience and wants to interact with you more. This ensures that the learning continues and their language will flourish.

Contact us for results focused speech therapy

This article was written by our Speech Pathologist Ashleigh Fattah who is a Speech Pathology Australia member. If you have questions about language activities, make an appointment. We‘ll provide you with simple and effective therapy targeted to your concerns. Contact us today.

The post If you are using these 4 strategies then you are modelling language well for your child appeared first on ENT Wellbeing Sydney.

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