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Many of you who have been subscribers for some time will remember me writing about my hubby’s Auntie Pauline, his late mother’s sister. Pauline is now 95 years young but a few years ago she had a couple of falls and ended up in hospital. She then decided to go to a care home where she stayed for 18 months which coincided with the timing of the pandemic in 2020.
When she felt much better, she decided to move out of the home and back into a flat again in a building designed for retired folks. She is very happy there and has carers pop in every day to clean and shop for her and do her washing.
Pauline is a real character. She defies her age and is always fun to chat to on the phone – which I do regularly because she lives in Grimsby and I am in Leicestershire. Pauline has held a variety of jobs in her life but her last one was with Humberside Police, where she made many friends in the force who are still in touch with her today. The stories she tells me make me laugh out loud. I can imagine she was a shining light in that police station and I have no doubt she didn’t put up with any nonsense when she was on the front desk or answering incoming phone calls.
However, recently she hadn’t felt quite herself after her carer of many years had died and it knocked her for six. She wasn’t sleeping well and one day she told me that she thought she was getting dementia. Sadly, she had witnessed her second husband who had experienced this awful disease and Pauline was worried it might be happening to her. ‘I keep forgetting things and can’t remember where I have put things.’ she said. I told her that it all sounded pretty familiar to many people who are getting a little older, let alone 95 years old, and definitely including me! But Pauline was determined to speak to her GP as she wanted to be checked out. I thought this was a wise move because in recent years there have been great strides in treatment for dementia if diagnosed very early.
The GP took her request seriously and suggested a ‘memory test’ which would be arranged to be undertaken at her home. Last week the ‘memory man’ visited Pauline, together with her two new carers (a mum and daughter team), who were interested to see how she fared.
I wasn’t present so I can only recount what Pauline told me but I gather that the gentleman asked her lots of questions about where she had grown up, which school she attended, about her jobs and so on. There was no problem with any of those. Then he said ‘Now I’m going to ask you some maths questions.’ to which Pauline said, firmly, ‘I’m not answering those. I’ve never been any good at maths so there’s no point in asking me!’ Somewhat surprised, the guy accepted her response and moved on.
The whole process took over an hour and later he said ‘Earlier I told you a story that included an address… can you recall what I told you?’ to which Pauline immediately responded, ‘I can’t remember any of it because it was so boring!’ I seriously wonder whether this guy had ever met anyone quite like Pauline before!
At the end of the test, he announced the results. He said, ‘Well, apart from the two questions you refused to answer, you got full marks!’ Pauline was reassured and has now relaxed and is sleeping well once again.
I tell you this story because I am sure most people of a certain age wonder whether they will one day fall victim to this cruel disease. We only need to do something out of character like put the sugar bowl in the fridge and we begin to worry. But in most instances, we just have something on our mind and such preoccupation is preventing us from concentrating on the mundane and we find ourselves having done what we consider to be daft things.
Going upstairs for something and forgetting what we came up for; as well as being unable to recall a name instantly when we know we know it so well, are normal lapses which frustrate us and we always blame it on getting older. Perhaps forgetting where we parked our car is less common but it can occur for no reason at all other than we are distracted by our thoughts about something in our life. All of these examples have happened to me but now I have learned to just pause for a moment, relax and not get cross with myself. Having gone upstairs for something, I think back to what I was doing when I decided I needed ‘the thing’ I have now forgotten. It works almost every time and if it still doesn’t come back to me, it does by the time I get down the stairs again! Recalling names sometimes just takes time to allow it to come forth in our minds.
This all reminds me of my late father-in-law who used to say, ‘Our memory is rather like a rusty filing cabinet. It’s all in there but we just need to give the drawer a bit of shake’. How true that is.
If you or a loved one are worried that there may be concerning signs of dementia, it may be worth asking your GP to be checked out. These tests assess a number of different mental abilities, including:
- Short and long-term memory
- Concentration and attention span
- Language and communication skills
- Awareness of time and space (orientation)
Sometimes we worry unnecessarily, forgetting that only 11% of the population over 65 are likely to be diagnosed with dementia. Obviously, as we get older the odds increase because inevitably the older population decrease in numbers with age. But please take heart. If we eat healthily, exercise regularly and socialise with others on a regular basis, we will be helping ourselves to live longer, healthier and happier and boost our chances of avoiding this worrying condition.
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Baked Salmon with Sweet Ginger
Serves 2
Per serving 173 kcal/10g fat
Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time 10 minutes
2 tbsps lemon juice
4 tsps light muscovado sugar
1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
4 tsps chopped fresh dill
4 tsps light soy sauce
4 salmon steaks
freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F, Gas Mark 6.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the lemon juice, sugar, ginger, dill and soy sauce to form a glaze, and season with black pepper.
- Place 1 salmon steak in the bowl and toss in the glaze. Repeat with the remaining 3 steaks. Transfer the salmon to an ovenproof dish and pour the marinade over.
- Bake in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes until just cooked. Serve with salad or seasonal vegetables.
The fish can also be cooked under a hot grill for 6 - 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pieces. Check the fish is cooked by carefully pulling the flesh apart, using 2 knives. The flesh inside should be light pink in colour and not wet in appearance. When cooked, the flesh will flake away from the skin easily.
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Don't forget, you can download and print a copy of this recipe if you click on the image above to go to this recipe's page on the website.
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Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.
When I set out to write to you each week I have only one goal in mind - to encourage you all to move as much as you possibly can.
I use the word 'move' wisely, as a long time ago I discovered that some people really do hate the thought of formal exercise because they immediately imagine that ‘exercise’ means going for a run or joining a gym. However, 50 years on into my highly physical career, I have found people can be persuaded to exercise providing we can find the best way to motivate them. So, this week I am going to focus on your metabolism as a way of inspiring you to be as active as possible and to motivate you to include as much 'formal' exercise as your lifestyle allows.
Put simply, the more we exercise the higher our metabolic rate and the easier it is to control our weight, with the added bonus of a very fit and toned body!
What is Metabolism?
Our metabolism is the use of energy in our body to keep us alive. It involves such important things as providing the energy to enable our vital organs to work, for us to breathe, our body to repair cells and to digest food. If we stayed in bed all day, we would burn around 1400 calories just by being alive. That is called our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) but as soon as we start moving, and add in plenty of activity and exercise, we can seriously increase that rate to such an extent that weight loss is easily achieved.
Now a word of warning here. Many, many exercisers have made the BIG mistake in thinking their exercise was such hard work that they must have used up SO much energy (calories) that they can reward themselves with loads of extra food (calories)! Instead, if we eat just enough food to cover our BMR, and use exercise as the best way to burn all that ‘energy’ in our body, (stored in the form of body fat), our body has to call on our fat stores for extra fuel and our weight has to gradually reduce.
On average our BMR uses up 1 calorie per minute amounting to 1440 calories per day. Stick to that and then get moving!
Ways to Increase Our Metabolism
- Exercise regularly and we will maintain a higher metabolism.
- Muscle is an energy-hungry tissue that uses up more calories than fat. Following a whole-body Weights Programme like our Standing Weights Workout or Floor Weights Workout guarantees a significant increase in muscle size and strength as long as we are persistent and do it regularly. If we do, high metabolism is guaranteed!
- When we exercise generally, we may not need to do longer sessions, just add more intensity to burn energy at a faster rate. Faster ‘bursts’ occasionally on our daily 30+ minute walk will do just that!
- Those who fidget a lot tend to be slimmer which demonstrates that 'moving more' generally throughout the day has a big impact on our metabolism.
- Now, here’s the good news! An exercise session of around 30 minutes, creating a good amount of 'heat', gives you around 12 hours of a raised metabolism even after you have finished exercising. So, sitting on the sofa after a good workout is still burning off those calories much faster than if you had done no exercise at all!
So, if you have slackened off recently for whatever reason, (and we all have plenty of excuses to hand) get back on it. Set yourself a goal that is achievable and get spending energy that guarantees a higher metabolism.
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This Week's Fitness Challenge
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Did you know...
For a typical animal, the average daily rate of energy use is much higher than the animal's BMR. In fact, they need to consume between 2 to 4 times the energy they need to stay alive because they are so active. Humans are more sedentary than the typical animal which is why it is so easy to put on weight as we store the extra calories we have consumed over and above what we need.
 Hummingbirds, with their tiny bodies and high levels of activity, have the highest metabolic rates of any animal - roughly a dozen times that of a pigeon and a hundred times that of an elephant. To maintain those rates, these beautiful birds have to consume their own weight in nectar daily.
Sloths have leafy, low-calorie diets and very slow metabolisms to match. Their metabolic rate is only about 40-45% of what would be typical for their body weight. Because of this specialized metabolism, sloths need to be frugal with their energy use and spend 15 - 20 hours a day asleep.
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And finally...
Being encouraged to move more is such wise advice and we all need to hear it.
I am very conscious at the moment, with my leg in plaster, that I am moving very differently from normal and I am having to make a big effort to ensure that I still use my muscles in some way so that I don't lose my muscle strength which is such a risk when recovering from surgery.
If you are fully able please get out there, enjoy the sunshine and get yourself moving.
Have a great week.
With love and best wishes,
Rosemary Conley CBE DL
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LIVE LONGER | LIVE HEALTHIER | LIVE HAPPIER
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