Comfort Keepers Home Care

Adequate water is important for daily life functions. Just how much water do we need, and what is it doing inside our bodies?

Humans are made up of about two thirds water. Without enough in our diets, we would die in a matter of days. There are couple different recommendations as far as how much water we should drink daily. The National Institute of Medicine recommends 101 ounces for men and 74 ounces for women. Remember, this total includes water from beverages other than water. More water should be consumed if you’ve been exercising, been out in the summer heat, have a medical condition that requires more water, or if you’re pregnant.

What does water do for our bodies?

Temperature Regulation
When we get too hot, we make sweat. Without enough water in our diet, we can’t make enough sweat. Temperature regulation, and prevention of over heating, can be accomplished by drinking adequate water. The more you sweat, the more you need. If you weight yourself prior to exercise, or gardening on a hot day, and weigh yourself after you can determine how much water you lost by sweating. Each pound lost is about 16 oz of water that needs replacing.

Kidney Function

Kidneys are one of the most hard working organs in our bodies. They regulate electrolytes, filter blood for toxins and regulate blood pressure. All functions of the kidney involve filtering blood through tiny tubes. Filtering can be made easier by drinking adequate water. Try this analogy: picture yourself making coffee. Put one cup of coffee grounds and one cup water into the machine. Try to make the coffee. It might take a while right? The result may be thick coffee, or none at all. Now picture making coffee with one tablespoon of coffee grounds and 6 cups of water. It filters much easier correct. Your kidney works in the same way. Do your kidneys a favor and drink enough water.

Regular Digestion

We always hear that fiber helps maintain proper digestion. This is very true! The important fact that gets left out is with increased fiber in the diet, we need increased water. Fiber is like exercise for your gut. It is indigestible and, for the most part, passes straight through your body. Water helps the intestine with a medium to work with. Picture fiber as cardboard (some people think of fiber foods that way anyway!) Would you eat cardboard without washing it down with some water? Probably not. The same goes for high fiber foods, no matter how juicy you may make them. Fiber without sufficient water can actually create constipation (the opposite of what most are trying to achieve with high fiber.)

Water is an extremely important part of our daily diets. Drinking enough water daily helps maintain healthy bodies inside and out.

Information provided by eatdrinkbetter.com

From Comfort Keepers of CT Shoreline 

In today’s digital age, con artists feel right at home online, trying to get us to click on their latest schemes.

But they also are still practicing their trade the time-tested way: Knocking on doors.

Comfort Keepers offers some advice to share with seniors on how to defend against door-to-door scams:

• Don’t let door-to-door salespeople in the house. Some con artists pose as salespeople as they look for burglary targets.
• Refuse to do business with door-to-door salespeople unless confident they are locally-based. Ask contractors to present their license.
• Never sign or buy anything on the spot. At least think about it overnight.  If a door-to-door salesperson says it’s a one-time offer, and can’t wait, it’s time to say, “No thanks.”
• If visited by a home improvement contractor, be sure to get written estimates from other contractors. If the salesperson continues to push, say, “Goodbye.”
• Ask for the salesperson’s credentials. Many communities require door-to-door sales permits. To double check, call the local business permit office to make sure it’s legitimate.
• Insist on references. Check them out on your own time, after the salesperson has left, because scammers often use partners who stand by for “reference” calls.
• Never pay in cash. A check can buy a little time to stop payment if needed. Write checks to businesses, not individuals. Again, don’t buy on the spot.
• If you have any doubts, call the Better Business Bureau (check www.bbb.org for the nearest office) or police department to see if they’ve received any complaints or have any information about the business in question. (But just because they haven’t received complaints doesn’t mean the salesperson is legitimate.)
• Get everything in writing.

Con artists pour on the charm and take advantage of senior citizens’ polite, trusting nature. Advise seniors not to allow a salesperson to make them feel guilty when he appears offended by their cautious approach.  After all, legitimate businesspeople understand they have to earn their customers’ trust. They take caution and skepticism in stride.

Also take note: Under the Federal Trade Commission’s Cooling-Off Rule (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/pro03.shtm) , customers can get out of a door-to-door contract of $25 or more within three days of the sale. For details and other consumer protection information, visit the FTC’s Web site, www.ftc.gov.

Comfort Keepers of CT Shoreline welcomes you to Spring!

We are thrilled to announce that our STOP.SENIOR.HUNGER March Event, "Hoops for Hunger", a food drive to benefit the Guilford Food Bank and held on Saturday, March 26, 2011, was a big success. We collected over 150 lbs. of food plus cash donations. This will be an annual event conducted each March. Special thanks to Guilford Sporting Goods for donation a $25 gift certificate to the raffle and The Guilford Mooring for donating their restaurant and offering a discount of 20% to anyone donating to the Food Bank. Extra special thanks to Heather Colby of Colby Strategic Marketing for organizing this event.