Category Archives: Body

Most of us have a love hate relationship with exercise. We love the way it makes us look and feel, but we hate to do it. However as humans, we were created by God to be mobile creatures with ability to use all of the 640 muscles in our bodies. Our bodies were designed to move and MUST move in order to work properly. We have to devote the time necessary to ensure our bodies are performing at its peak levels. After all, if we are good to our bodies, our bodies will be good to us.

Although, you would want to start good exercise habits earlier in life, it’s truly never too late to get moving, and still reap the benefits. Many seniors in our Dogwood Forest communities find a way to exercise each day. We have walking … Read more...

January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month. Although, many consider glaucoma an eye disease that effects seniors like those in our Dogwood Forest Communities, this theory is flawed and is not always the case especially for certain ethnic groups. With regular complete eye exams, the detection of preliminary signs can be found earlier. That’s why its important that we begin looking toward the future and getting an eye exam for glaucoma. Did you know that according to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, over 2.2 million people in the United States have glaucoma, but only half of them know they have it? First, let’s understand more about glaucoma.

What is Glaucoma? Glaucoma is nicknamed “the sneak thief of sight.” Often there aren’t any symptoms of the disease, and if it’s left untreated, can cause permanent loss of vision.  According to the Glaucoma … Read more...

Want to offset the ravages of time? “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!” Okay, I couldn’t resist a little Finding Nemo humor.

The longer we remain active, the better we feel and perhaps longer we live. We certainly get our share of activity here at Dogwood Forest Assisted Living in Alpharetta. Just because we grow older does not mean we should stop being physically active and strive for optimal fitness. Older adults have been staying active a number of ways including fun aerobics and less strenuous exercises such as walking. Walking is certainly affective, but can become redundant after a while. One great way to exercise, even beyond the the summer month, is swimming. The benefits of swimming are numerous and many seniors have taken up this refreshing form of exercise.

Benefits of Swimming

Water exercise is an excellent … Read more...

Many of us remember the itchy discomfort experienced in our youth from chicken pox, a virus associated with the herpes virus family. Mom would soak you in oatmeal or throw you in the bath with your affected sibling so you both would be exposed together. At the time, most thought of chickenpox as deadly if infected in adulthood, so was imperative that it was contracted as a child. But chicken pox, known as a childhood illness, can also bring about another illness much later in life as a senior adult. This illness is called Shingles and is more prevalent in people over the age of 65. Some of our residents at Dogwood Forest of Assisted Living in Gaineville, Ga. have been affected with shingles. And it is no fun.

Like its itchy cousin chicken pox, shingles is also a virus … Read more...

Working in the senior living industry and with residents with memory impairments at Dogwood Forest Assisted Living in Fayetteville, I know there are great challenges for those with Alzheimer’s.  The loss of memory is just one side affect of this disease. Many Alzheimer residents experience problems such as extreme confusion, mood swings, loss of appetite and tactility. However, Alzheimer’s is exacerbated by vision problems specifically with depth of perception and visual spatial coordination. Mistakenly,  some may attribute some of the issues seen in Alzheimer’s patients to the loss of memory.  However, problems such as bumping into furniture and the inability to contrast between colors and objects can be contributed to changes in their vision. Many researchers believe the changes in vision are a result of the deterioration of the side of the brain responsible for processing visual information, … Read more...

It is the first week of summer and who doesn’t enjoy the summer? Beautiful weather, vacation, relaxation, long days, moderate warm nights, pools, and nice tall glasses of  lemonade on sunny Sundays as you rock the day away on the porch. What is not to love? We certainly enjoy our summers here at Dogwood Forest of Assisted Living in Alpharetta. However, the summer months can bring about  great concerns for seniors. The heat from the summer sun can be extremely dangerous for elder adults.  This can be even more of a challenge for seniors in urban cities because unlike suburban areas, the temperature often remains as high as day temperatures throughout the night. If we consider that some seniors do not have central air units this could be disastrous. In cities like Atlanta, the temperature can sore above 90 … Read more...

Vitamins frequently come from our food. Bananas are a great source for potassium. Spinach is an excellent source iron. Oranges are a good source for vitamin C.  However, as we age our bodies do not absorb as much nutritional content through our food. Further, restricted diets or changes in appetite can also make getting the necessary “good stuff” more of a challenge for the older population.  To add to this challenge, as we age free radicals become more rampant in our body.  Fortunately, high volumes of  antioxidants can render free radicals harmless and  stop them from causing diseases such as cancer or heart disease. A way to get extra antioxidants to fight these cancer causing agents is to take in more fruits and vegetables as they are packed with tons of antioxidants.

Although not ideal, it may be necessary for … Read more...

Many of our residents at Dogwood Forest Assisted Living in Gainesville have been affected by arthritis.  As we grow older, we may feel aches and pain. After all, our bodies have worked hard for us. However, osteoarthritis that many of our residents experience is completely different from it’s more complex cousin, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

RA can be debilitating and more people than you know are affected by it.  As a matter of fact, according the CDC (Center for Disease Control) there are over 1.3 Americans with RA. The disease can affect anyone. However, there are 3 times as many women with the disease than men. Many often mistake RA with osteoarthritis however,  there are significant differences between RA (rheumatoid arthritis) and osteoarthritis.

Differences Between Osteoarthritis and RA

RA and osteoarthritis have some similar characteristics. However, osteoarthritis is far more common … Read more...

Walking through the halls of any Dogwood Forest community, you will probably come in contact with one of our friendly residents who walks on all fours. Okay, that seems a little strange, but what I’m referring to are our canine and feline friends. We have pets in all of our Dogwood Forest communities including Dogwood Forest Assisted Living in Dunwoody, Ga. because we know that over the years scientific evidence has supported pet therapy. Plus, they just make us feel good!

Health Benefits Associated with Pet’s

Pets can be helpful, loving companions and can uplift our spirits when we are down. Pets are known to aid in the healing process. They are also related to other positive outcome in the following areas:

Improved mood: For those of us who have pets, we know how good it feels for your … Read more...

Did you know that tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world? Tea has been embedded in Eastern culture for hundreds of years because it was thought to bring good health, wellness and wisdom. Now, researchers in the West are starting to take notice of the health benefits and are now researching the benefits of tea consumption as well. In the United States, more people in recent years have changed from drinking their morning brew of coffee to enjoying tea because of its known health qualities. Although, over 80% of tea in the U.S  is consumed cold unlike the rest of the world, more and more Americans are starting to catch on to hot tea.  Although, in the southern United States sweet iced tea is the reigning king, more Southerners in the senior age group are starting to … Read more...