A very informative and useful video on Strokes
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Aging Update 04: Fall & Fracture Prevention
A simple thing can change your life—like tripping on a rug or slipping on a wet floor. If you fall, you could break a bone, like thousands of older men and women do each year. For older people, a break can be the start of more serious problems, such as a trip to the hospital, injury, or even disability. If you or an older person you know has fallen, you’re not alone. More than one in three people age 65 years or older falls each year. The risk of falling—and fall-related problems—rises with age.
The fear of falling becomes more common as people age, even among those who haven’t fallen. It may lead older people to avoid activities such as walking, shopping, or taking part in social activities. But don’t let a fear of falling keep you from being active. Overcoming this fear can help you stay active, maintain your physical health, and prevent future falls. Doing things like getting together with friends, gardening, walking, or going to the local senior center helps you stay healthy. Many things can cause a fall.
- Your eyesight, hearing, and reflexes might not be as sharp as they were when you were younger.
- Diabetes, heart disease, or problems with your thyroid, nerves, feet, or blood vessels can affect your balance.
- Safety hazards in the home or community environment.
- Scientists have linked several personal risk factors to falling, including muscle weakness, problems with balance and gait, and blood pressure that drops too much when you get up from lying down or sitting (called postural hypotension).
- Foot problems that cause pain and unsafe footwear, like backless shoes or high heels, can also increase your risk of falling.
- Confusion can sometimes lead to falls. For example, if you wake up in an unfamiliar environment, you might feel unsure of where you are. If you feel confused, wait for your mind to clear or until someone comes to help you before trying to get up and walk around.
- Some medications can increase a person’s risk of falling because they cause side effects like dizziness, sleepiness, or confusion. The more medications you take, the more likely you are to fall.
The good news is, there are simple ways to prevent most falls. If you take care of your overall health, you may be able to lower your chances of falling. Most of the time, falls and accidents don’t “just happen.” Here are a few tips to help you avoid falls and broken bones:
- Stay physically active. Plan an exercise program that is right for you. Regular exercise improves muscles and makes you stronger. It also helps keep your joints, tendons, and ligaments flexible. Mild weight-bearing activities, such as walking or climbing stairs, may slow bone loss from osteoporosis.
- Have your eyes and hearing tested. Even small changes in sight and hearing may cause you to fall. When you get new eyeglasses or contact lenses, take time to get used to them. Always wear your glasses or contacts when you need them. If you have a hearing aid, be sure it fits well and wear it.
- Find out about the side effects of any medicine you take. If a drug makes you sleepy or dizzy, tell your doctor or pharmacist.
- Get enough sleep. If you are sleepy, you are more likely to fall.
- Limit the amount of alcohol you drink. Even a small amount of alcohol can affect your balance and reflexes. Studies show that the rate of hip fractures in older adults increases with alcohol use.
- Stand up slowly. Getting up too quickly can cause your blood pressure to drop. That can make you feel wobbly. Get your blood pressure checked when lying and standing.
- Use an assistive device if you need help feeling steady when you walk. Appropriate use of canes and walkers can prevent falls. If your doctor tells you to use a cane or walker, make sure it is the right size for you and the wheels roll smoothly. This is important when you’re walking in areas you don’t know well or where the walkways are uneven. A physical or occupational therapist can help you decide which devices might be helpful and teach you how to use them safely.
- Be very careful when walking on wet or icy surfaces. They can be very slippery! Try to have sand or salt spread on icy areas by your front or back door.
- Use the right shoes. Wear non-skid, rubber-soled, low-heeled shoes, or lace-up shoes with non-skid soles that fully support your feet. It is important that the soles are not too thin or too thick. Don’t walk on stairs or floors in socks or in shoes and slippers with smooth soles.
- Always tell your doctor if you have fallen since your last checkup, even if you aren’t hurt when you fall. A fall can alert your doctor to a new medical problem or problems with your medications or eyesight that can be corrected. Your doctor may suggest physical therapy, a walking aid, or other steps to help prevent future falls.
What to Do If You Fall
- Whether you are at home or somewhere else, a sudden fall can be startling and upsetting. If you do fall, stay as calm as possible.
- Take several deep breaths to try to relax. Remain still on the floor or ground for a few moments. This will help you get over the shock of falling.
- Decide if you are hurt before getting up. Getting up too quickly or in the wrong way could make an injury worse.
- If you think you can get up safely without help, roll over onto your side. Rest again while your body and blood pressure adjust. Slowly get up on your hands and knees, and crawl to a sturdy chair.
- Put your hands on the chair seat and slide one foot forward so that it is flat on the floor. Keep the other leg bent so the knee is on the floor. From this kneeling position, slowly rise and turn your body to sit in the chair.
- If you are hurt or cannot get up on your own, ask someone for help or call 911. If you are alone, try to get into a comfortable position and wait for help to arrive.
- Carrying a mobile or portable phone with you as you move about your house could make it easier to call someone if you need assistance. An emergency response system, which lets you push a button on a special necklace or bracelet to call for help, is another option.
Keep Your Bones Strong to Prevent Falls
Falls are a common reason for trips to the emergency room and for hospital stays among older adults. Many of these hospital visits are for fall-related fractures. You can help prevent fractures by keeping your bones strong. Having healthy bones won’t prevent a fall, but if you fall, it might prevent breaking a hip or other bone, which may lead to a hospital or nursing home stay, disability, or even death. Getting enough calcium and vitamin D can help keep your bones strong. So can physical activity. Try to get at least 150 minutes per week of physical activity.
Other ways to maintain bone health include quitting smoking and limiting alcohol use, which can decrease bone mass and increase the chance of fractures. Also, try to maintain a healthy weight. Being underweight increases the risk of bone loss and broken bones. Osteoporosis is a disease that makes bones weak and more likely to break. For people with osteoporosis, even a minor fall may be dangerous. Talk to your doctor about osteoporosis.
Go to https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/fall-proofing-your-home and learn how to fall-proof your home.
[Source: National Institute on Aging | September 2021++]
Sleep Disorder Update 06: What to Do When You Can’t Sleep
Compared with other insomnia symptoms, having difficulty falling asleep in 2002 was the main insomnia symptom that was predictive of cognitive impairment (dementia) 14 years later, in 2016. More frequent trouble falling asleep was predictive of poorer episodic memory, executive function, language, processing speed, and visuospatial performance. The associations between sleep initiation and later cognitive impairment were partially explained by depressive symptoms and vascular disease burden for all domains except episodic memory, which was only partially explained by depressive symptoms. Trouble falling asleep a modifiable risk factor for dementia.
If you’re one of the millions of Americans who struggle with insomnia, you may find your mind racing and your body tossing and turning when you just want to be asleep. With the right approach, you can reliably fall asleep within a matter of minutes. One of the keys to smoothly 71 falling asleep is relaxation. Research shows that the relaxation response is a physiological process that positively affects both the mind and body. By reducing stress and anxiety, the relaxation response can enable you to peacefully drift off to sleep. Some of the below step-by-step guides offer proven relaxation methods that may help with insomnia and other sleep problems. Experts emphasize that it can take time to master these techniques, but the practice pays off. Even better, these methods are customizable, so you can adjust them over time to make them work for you.
The Four Key Elements to Cultivating Relaxation
For thousands of years, relaxation has been a central focus of spiritual and cultural practices, enabling a sense of calm and connection with oneself and the surrounding world. Only in recent decades, though, have meditative practices for relaxation become a focus of scientific research, which has come to identify four key elements for fostering the relaxation response.
- A quiet environment. Quiet does not have to mean completely silent. Calming sounds or music can be beneficial. Loud, abrasive sounds or noises should be avoided.
- A focus of attention. A word, phrase, mantra, breathing pattern, or mental image can all be used to draw your attention and reduce thinking about external concerns.
- A passive attitude. Accepting that it’s normal for your mind to wander allows you to remain at-ease and draw your focus back to the object of your attention.
- A comfortable position. Finding a cozy place to relax is critical. Naturally, when relaxing to fall asleep, the recommended position is lying in bed.
All of the following methods are ways of achieving these core elements so that you can calmly fall asleep. Keeping these basics in mind empowers you to adjust these methods to suit your preferences. Once you’re lying comfortably in bed, try one of these techniques to put yourself at ease and settle gently into sleep.
Controlled Breathing — This is excellent for people just getting started with relaxation techniques or who have difficulty using other objects of focus like imagery or mantras. A series of slow, deep breaths can enable a sense of calm. This method, also known as pranayamic breathing, is believed to help reduce stress in the nervous system4 and may prepare the brain for sleep5 by reducing excitatory stimulus. How to Do It:
- Option 1: Counting Breaths
o Inhale slowly and gently through your nose.
o Exhale slowly and gently through your mouth.
o Count up. You can count each breath or each cycle of inhalation and exhalation, whichever comes more naturally to you.
- Option 2: Dr. Andrew Weil’s 4-7-8 Method
o Place the tip of your tongue near the ridge behind your front two teeth and hold it in this location throughout the breathing exercise.
o With your mouth closed, slowly inhale through your nose while counting to four.
o Hold your breath while counting to seven. Open your mouth and exhale while counting to eight. Because of the location of your tongue, exhalation should cause a whooshing sound.
o Repeat this 4-7-8 cycle three more times.
Meditation and Mindfulness
This is centered around slow, steady breathing and a nonjudgmental focus on the present moment. By reducing anxiety and rumination, it has been found to have sweeping health benefits, including an ability to help reduce insomnia. Anyone can meditate, including with mindfulness meditation, but it can take more practice to get used to. As a result, it usually works best for people who can devote at least five minutes per day to increase their comfort with it. There are many variations of mindfulness meditation for different situations. One easy to use style is the body scan meditation.
- Focus on slowly inhaling and exhaling at a comfortable pace.
- Notice the position of your body on the bed.
- Notice any sensations, good or bad, in your legs and feet. Let your legs be soft.
- Continue the “body scan,” observing, from your legs up to your head, each region of your body and its sensations. The goal is to stay present and observe your body without judging or reacting and then letting each part of your body relax.
- After scanning each part of your body, reflect on your body as a whole and allow it to relax. Progressive Muscle Relaxation — Progressive muscle relaxation1 (PMR) creates a calming effect by gradually tightening and releasing muscles throughout the body in conjunction with controlled breathing. Studies have found that PMR can help people with insomnia, and when done carefully, may be beneficial for people who are bothered by arthritis or other forms of physical pain. PMR is not recommended for people with uncontrolled cardiovascular problems.
How to do it:
- With your eyes closed, slowly breathe in and out.
- Starting with your face, tense your muscles (lips, eyes, jaw) for 10 seconds, then release your muscles and breathe deeply in and out for several seconds.
- Tense your shoulders for 10 seconds and then relax and breathe.
- Continue tensing and relaxing the following body parts, skipping any area where tensing the muscles causes pain: Shoulders, Upper arms, Lower arms and hands, Back, Stomach, Buttocks, Hamstrings, Calves, and then Feet. Imagery — Visualizing a peaceful image from your past and all of its details engages your attention in order to promote relaxation. Visual thinkers who easily recall past scenes replete with details are ideally suited to using imagery as part of their bedtime relaxation.
How to do it:
- With your eyes closed and in a comfortable position, think about a place or experience in your past that feels relaxing, such as a quiet natural setting.
- While slowly breathing in and out, reflect on the details of this setting and how it looks.
- Continue focusing on this image by adding details relating to your other senses (smell, sound, taste, touch) and experiencing the calmness of this mental imagery. What If I Still Can’t Fall Asleep? 73 If you get into bed and cannot fall asleep after 20 minutes, get up, go to another part of your house, and do something soothing, such as reading or listening to quiet music. Lying awake in bed for too long can create an unhealthy mental connection between your sleeping environment and wakefulness. Instead, you want your bed to conjure thoughts and feelings conducive to sleep. Before you actually get into bed, a few simple tips can help make sure your mind and body are prepared to fall asleep easily:
- Wind down for at least half an hour before bedtime. Reading, light stretching, and other relaxing activities are ideal during this time.
- Disconnect from close-range electronic devices like laptops, phones, and tablets because they can stimulate the brain and make it harder to fall asleep.
- Dim the lights to help your eyes relax, and make sure you’re in comfortable clothing.
- Make sure your bedroom is set to a pleasant temperature. The cooler the better.
- Consider a calming scent, like lavender essential oils, that can generate a calming effect.
- Avoid big meals, spicy foods, caffeine, and alcohol in the lead-up to bedtime. Big-Picture Tips to Fall Asleep Easily Beyond the immediate run-up to bedtime, incorporating fundamental sleep tips can aid in falling asleep and prevent serious sleeping problems.
- Follow a consistent sleep schedule with the same wake-up time every day, including on weekends. This helps fine-tune and entrain your internal clock for more regular sleep.
- Make time for physical activity. Regular exercise benefits the body in many ways, and facilitating better sleep is one of them.
- If you have a hard time sleeping, start keeping a sleep diary to identify trends that could be throwing off your nightly rest.
- See a doctor. If your sleeping problems are severe, long-term, or worsening, it’s important to see a doctor who can work with you to try to identify a cause and recommend optimal treatment
[Source: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/treatment/what-do-when-you-cant-sleep
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Geriatrics & Extended Care Update 03: Advance Care Planning | Making Health Care Decisions
There is no one way to get started with Advance Care Planning, which is a process of making decisions about:
- What treatments you would or would not want if you were ill or injured and were not able to make those decisions for yourself
- Who you want to make those decisions for you. In any case, the information you need to get started can be found at www.va.gov/Geriatrics:
- What are Advance Directives?
- How do I go about Choosing a Person to Make Decisions?
- How do I begin Talking with Loved Ones?
- Where can I get Help Setting Health Care Goals?
- Can I do this with other Veterans and caregivers through Group Visits?
- Are there Other Types of Advance Care Planning I should think about?
- Where can I find More Resources?
Veterans and their caregivers must think about many factors when making care and treatment decisions – choices that meet needs and honor Veteran preferences. These resources can help you identify your priorities. They can also help you prepare to talk with your providers or loved ones about your preferences and make decisions about health care or planning for long term care.
- Conversation Guide for Patients and Caregivers for Identifying their Health Priorities
- Tips for Patients to Communicate with Clinicians
- Veteran Decision Aid for Care at Home or in the Community– Helps Veterans think about what matters most when considering long term care choices
- Caregiver Self-Assessment– Helps caregivers review their roles and responsibilities and evaluate their stress Visit www.va.gov/Geriatrics to learn more about services and resources for Veterans and their caregivers.
Visit www.va.gov/Geriatrics to learn more about services and resources for Veterans and their caregivers.
[Source: Military Times | Leo Shane III | March 23, 2021 ++]
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VA Secretary Q & A Update 01 ► Community Town Hall Event | SEP 2018 In late September 2018, Secretary Wilkie hosted a State of VA community town hall event which allowed Veterans to ask questions. VA reviewed those questions and found several consistent themes which are listed and answered below.
A video of Wilke’s State of the VA Community Town Hall can be viewed at https://youtu.be/TewZj4gYWZY: -o-o-O-o-o
Q: Why can’t I get Dental?
A: All Veterans are not eligible for dental services per Title 38 United States Code (U.S.C.) §§1710(c), 1712 and Title 38 Code of Federal Regulation (C.F.R.) 17.160 – 17.166. Eligibility includes, Prisoners of War, Veterans rated 100% service-connected disability, or Veterans who received dental injuries due combat or service trauma. To see the full list of eligibility factors, take a look at Dental Benefits for Veterans. The good news is if you are not eligible, Veterans enrolled in VA health care can purchase dental insurance at a reduced cost through the VA Dental Insurance Program (VADIP).
Q: What is the status of granting benefits to Blue Water Navy Veterans?
A: With the HR 299 passing the House of Representatives and the Senate hearings on the same bill there have been a lot of questions regarding the VA’s position about securing benefits for Blue Water Navy Veterans. Dr. Paul Lawrence, Undersecretary of Benefits for the Department of Veterans Affairs, testified that “no credible scientific evidence supports extending Agent Orange-related benefits to shipboard personnel who never went ashore in Vietnam or patrolled its rivers.” Without such evidence, he said, “it would be wrong, and would create a disastrous precedent, to award VA benefits.” Currently, Blue Water Veterans are not presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides. The Department of Veterans Affairs can only provide benefits as approved by law. However, certain Veterans who stepped foot in Vietnam or served on its inland waterways anytime between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, are presumed to have been exposed to herbicides when claiming service- 22 connection for diseases related to Agent Orange exposure. Veterans in these circumstances can find the ship(s) on which they served in the list as well.
Q: Will the VA expand its list of Agent Orange presumptive conditions?
A: Currently, VA recognizes 14 presumptive conditions associated with exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides. VA has recognized certain cancers and other health problems as presumptive diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service. The Department of Veterans Affairs can only provide benefits as approved by federal law or regulatory guidance and presumes that certain diseases are a result of exposure to these herbicides. This “presumptive policy” simplifies the process for receiving compensation for these diseases since VA foregoes the normal requirements of proving that an illness began during or was worsened by your military service. However, in November 2017 the Department of Veterans Affairs started to review the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)’s latest report regarding Veterans and Agent Orange and is conducting a legal and regulatory review of these potential presumptive conditions for awarding disability compensation to eligible veterans. A Veteran who believes he or she has a disease caused by Agent Orange exposure that is not one of the conditions listed below must show an actual connection between the disease and herbicide exposure during military service.
Q: When will the VA allow promote the use of Marijuana for pain and PTSD. How can I get into a Marijuana study?
A: Several states in the U.S. have approved the use of marijuana for medical and/or recreational use. Veterans should know that federal law classifies marijuana – including all derivative products – as a Schedule One controlled substance. This makes it illegal in the eyes of the federal government. The Department of Veterans Affairs is required to follow all federal laws including those regarding marijuana. As long as the Food and Drug Administration classifies marijuana as Schedule One, VA health care providers may not recommend it or assist Veterans to obtain it. To comply with laws, such as the Controlled Substances Act (Title 21 United States Code (U.S.C.) 801 et. al.), VA health care providers are prohibited from completing forms or registering Veterans for participation in a State approved marijuana program. However, Veterans that are in state medical marijuana studies should consult their VA provider to discuss how marijuana may impact other aspects of their overall care, such as how marijuana may interact with other medications. View the full directive: Access to VHA Clinical Programs for Veterans Participating in State Approved Marijuana Programs.
Q: How can I find out which (outside) providers can provide me healthcare though VA Community Care programs (Choice)?
A: If you are requesting Care in the Community (formerly known as the Choice Program), please contact your local VA medical facility to coordinate your care. They will be able to provide you help with your healthcare needs and offer community care options. If you are unaware of whom you should contact, visit the VA Facility Locator to find your closest VA site of care at: https://www.va.gov/directory/guide/home.asp.
Q: How do I know if I am eligible for Community Care Programs through the VA?
A: Veterans may be eligible to receive care through the VA Community Care Program (formally known as the Choice Program), if a Veteran faces an excessive burden in traveling to the nearest VA medical facility (such as geographic challenges, environmental factors, or a health problem that makes it hard for you to travel), lives more than 40 miles (driving distance) from the nearest VA medical facility, or can’t make an appointment for the Veteran at the nearest VA medical facility within 30 days of the clinically indicated date.
f you are having issues please visit https://www.va.gov/COMMUNITYCARE/programs/veterans/VCP/index.asp#new
Or call the Choice Program Support Line: 866-606-8198. 23
Q: My provider has not been paid by the VA for Community (Choice) Care and it is impacting my credit score; who can I reach out to?
A: VA Adverse Credit Helpline: 877-881-7618 VA will help you resolve adverse credit reporting and debt collection issues as a result of using the Veterans Choice Program.
[Source: Vantage Point | Beth Lamb| November 30, 2018 ++]
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Vet Weight ► Study Shows Only One in Seven are Not Overweight or Obese
The number of disabled veterans is rising. And so, too, is their weight.
A new study, based on a survey of more than 33,000 post-9/11 service members and veterans, found that 51.7 percent of wounded warriors have a body mass index that qualifies them as obese — up from 48.6 percent two years ago. Of those, 6.2 percent are morbidly obese. Even more grim? The percentage of vets who are overweight in 2018 is nearly seven times greater than the percentage of those who are not, according to the study released 4 DEC by Wounded Warrior Project and the nonprofit’s research partner, Westat. 35
Fewer than half of survey participants, 42 percent, said they exercised at least three times a week, and those who maintained healthy eating habits were also in the minority. Many listed lack of time, fear of injury and discomfort in social situations as reasons for not working out more. But the report’s authors also link struggles with depression, sleep, stress and the military-to-civilian transition as factors that could be impacting weight gain in the wounded warrior population. “I think with any type of uncertainty and/or change, there is a heightened sense of stress,” said Melanie Mousseau, metrics director for Wounded Warrior Project. “With stress comes a myriad of other challenges.”
In the study, veterans said the most challenging parts of transitioning out included missing the camaraderie of the military, problems adapting to the civilian workforce and difficulty navigating the red tape at the Defense and Veterans Affairs Departments during the transition process. “I only feel comfortable in combat,” one veteran wrote. “I do not feel comfortable in civilian life or trust it.” And another put it this way: “After leaving a structured environment like the military, it’s difficult to be around people without a standard.” More than 90 percent of the veterans and service members who responded to the Wounded Warrior Project survey between March and May 2018 were enlisted, and 45 percent deployed three or more times during their career. Sixty-two percent had received a disability rating of 80 percent or higher, and the vast majority of respondents reported that they suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder, trouble sleeping, and back, neck or shoulder pain.
While the rate of obesity reported in the study is notably higher than that of the general adult population in the U.S., according to the National Center for Health Statistics, obesity among this group is “compounded by a unique set of issues and circumstances,” Mousseau said. Diana Thomas, a professor at West Point, said contributing factors to obesity are complex. She pointed to research that has shown a relationship between stress and weight gain, as well as a study which found higher weight gain in people who were once fit. “Transition to civilian life will no longer have weigh-ins or structured PT. So it is possible that a change in lifestyle leads to a change in structured habits,” she said in an email. “One thing we know is that during physical activity, there is a phenomena called compensation. Basically, we eat more. If this is not reversed when PT stops, then it will lead to weight gain.”
When asked about strategies for combating obesity, especially for a population of veterans dealing with physical and mental limitations, Thomas suggested walking and swimming, which are “low impact exercises.” And for veterans who struggle to work out because of uneasiness in social situations, she recommends finding a structured workout time with a personal trainer. [Source: MilitaryTimes | Natalie Gross | December 4, 2018 ++]
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Vet Eating Habits ► Study Shows Vets Not Eating Veggies
An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but veterans don’t seem to be buying the advice. A comprehensive Wounded Warrior Project survey of more than 33,000 veterans and service members, released 4 DEC, shows a vast majority of vets aren’t eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables each day — and could be missing out on key health benefits as a result. “It’s widely recognized that a healthy eating plan is critical for good health and 36 for mitigating the effects of chronic disease,” said Melanie Mousseau, metrics director for the Wounded Warrior Project.
The Department of Agriculture puts the recommended daily fruit intake at 2 cups for men over age 19 and women between 19 and 30. Women who are 31 or older only need 1.5 cups per day to maintain a healthy diet. Men between 19 and 50 should also be eating 3 cups of vegetables each day. Older men and women between 19 and 50 should eat 2.5 cups, and the recommended amount for women over 50 is 2 cups daily.
Among veterans who responded to the Wounded Warrior Project survey between March and May 2018 — 90 percent of whom reported having more than three service-connected injuries or health problems — more than 28 percent said they ate no fruit in a typical day. Around 44 percent said they had only one serving, which is still under the recommended amount for all adult age groups. Vegetable counts were slightly better; only about 61 percent of survey respondents were under the USDA’s suggested daily intake, compared to nearly 73 percent of delinquent fruit eaters. According to the USDA, its recommended portions are appropriate for individuals who get less than 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity, which includes many of the veterans surveyed who expressed difficulty exercising because of physical or other limitations.
The study also showed that when given the choice between a carrot stick or a bag of chips, veterans are more likely to go for the chips. For example, 8.3 percent reported eating four or more snacks per day, compared to 2.5 and 3.9 percent who said they ate the same amount of servings in fruits and vegetables, respectively. Though the survey did not ask participants to specify what types of snacks they are eating, Mousseau said it’s safe to assume many are processed foods or higher in calories than broccoli or a banana.
In fairness to veterans, many American adults aren’t eating enough fruits and veggies either. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that just 1 in 10 adults are eating the recommended amount. But healthy eating is an “important,” yet “overlooked,” component of maintaining good physical and mental health, and should be even more of a priority for veterans who struggle with pain and chronic conditions, Mousseau said. “(It’s) more important than (for) the average person to make sure they are filling their body with the proper nutrition,” she said.
The 2018 Wounded Warrior Project report is based on the organization’s ninth annual survey — the first to include questions about respondents’ eating habits. About six percent of respondents were still serving on active duty at the time of the survey, though the overwhelming majority had transitioned out of the military. [Source: MilitaryTimes | Natalie Gross | December 4, 2018 ++]
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