84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 26, 2002
Family Living
Focus
by
Robin Rex
Columbia
County Extension
When Lifestyles Change
Lifestyle changes accompany
each stage in life. Think about
the independence that comes
with becoming an adult, the re
sponsibility that comes with par
enthood, or the freedom of hav
ing kids finally leave the ‘‘nest.”
The older years may bring new
lifestyles and health conditions
that impact what, where, and
when you eat.
• Eating Alone
Special, Too!
For many people, eating is a
time to enjoy the company of
others, especially for those who
cook for a family or share meals
with someone else.
When older adults lose a
spouse or live-in companion, eat
ing alone can feel boring or de
pressing. And some people don’t
feel much like preparing food, or
even eating. If you’re in that po
sition, or know someone who is,
you can help spark a tired appe
tite.
You don’t need to dine alone
all the time. Eat with friends oc
casionally.
Get together with other seniors
for weeldy or monthly potluck
suppers. Cut down on the work
by taking turns acting as host.
Encourage everyone to bring a
favorite dish.
Visit the local senior citizens’
center. They typically serve a full
midday meal on weekdays.
Usually the price is right. In
some communities, meals for sen
iors are served in other local
building, including churches or
schools.
Added benefits: Senior citizen
meals offer a place to meet old
and new friends. And you can
enjoy a meal that takes more to
prepare than you’d likely do for
yourself.
When eating out, take advan
tage of early bird specials when
the portions are usually smaller
and the prices are right. Consider
splitting an order or take home
half for another meal if the res
taurant portions seem too large.
Some restaurants also have sen
ior citizen prices be
sure to ask.
Have a standing
date with a friend or
NOTICE: FARM
OWNERS
Goodville Mutual Is
One of the Top 5 Farm
Insurance Companies
in Pennsylvania
WANT TO KNOW
WHY?
Liz Martin
Martin Insurance
Agency
459 C N. George St.
Millersvtlle, PA 17551
(717) 872-7756
Toll Free
1-877-791-5235
www marlininsurance com
Affordable insurance for
farm, home, vehicle,
and small business
Agent for Goodville Mutual
relative for lunch or dinner at
your home.
If you’re still “into cooking,”
but need someone to cook for, or
ganize a gourmet club of like
minded friends.
When you do dine solo, make
eating a special event. Looking
forward to mealtime can offer a
boost to both your appetite and
your morale!
Set your place at the table, per
haps with a placemat, napkin,
candles, and a centerpiece. You’ll
feel more like you’ve had a meal
and with more enjoyment
than if you had eaten right from
the cooking pot.
For a change of pace, enjoy
eating in different places. The
kitchen, patio or deck, dining
room or perhaps on a tray by the
fireplace.
Create some atmosphere or in
terest. Turn on the radio. Play a
favorite music tape or compact
disk. Or watch your favorite tele
vision show as you eat.
Make food preparation easy,
especially when you cook for one.
• Meals
Fast, Simple, Nutritious
Some older folks say they have
no time to cook. They’re too busy
living life to its fullest. For others,
lack of inclination or energy or
perhaps a little less mobility, is
the reason for quick and easy so
lutions to nutritious eating.
Try these tasty meals in min
utes for starters;
For a quick breakfast, add hot
water or hot milk to instant hot
cereal. It’s just as fast as many
ready-to-eat cereals.
Keep a few frozen dinners and
entrees on hand for quick cook
ing and easy cleanup. For the
most nutrition, look for frozen
meals with meat, poultry or fish;
a starchy food (such as rice, pasta
or potato); and a vegetable. Team
them up with a salad, roll, piece
of fruit and milk for a hearty
meal that takes little effort.
Trying to lose weight? Choose
from one of the many lower-cal
orie frozen dinners available.
If you’re watching your salt in-
Cl* SUSQUEHANNA
Q3»a PRINTING
• Wedding Inv;
• Brochures
• Business Car
• Sale Cards
• Catalogs
• Newsletters
• Newspapers
Arl Haas
One East Main Street
P.O. Box 527, Ephrata, PA 17522
717-733-6397 • Fax 717-733-6058
Understanding Osteoporosis In Men
LEBANON (Lebanon Co.)
Although osteoporosis is often
thought of as a “woman’s dis
ease,” 20 percent of the 25 mil
lion Americans who have os
teoporosis are men.
take, check the sodium on frozen
meals and canned ones (stews,
soups and chili). Many have
more sodium; look for those with
less.
Prepare foods ahead for later
in the week, or to freeze as leftov
ers. For instance, make lower fat
meatballs with lean ground tur
key or beef. Brown the meatballs,
drain any grease, then combine
with tomato sauce. Serve over
pasta on one day, over rice the
next and freeze the rest for later.
Freeze homemade soups,
stews, lasagna and other casse
role dishes in small containers.
Then thaw enough for one or two
meals at a time. Label and date
your packages to keep track of
what you have in the freezer.
For easy-to-prepare salads,
wash, tear and dry salad greens.
Then store them in a plastic con
tainer for three or four days. Or
you can even purchase washed,
cut salad greens in a bag. So
when you want a salad, put a
handful of greens in a bowl and
add your favorite toppings, per
haps sliced tomatoes, grated car
rots or canned kidney beans.
The American Dietetic Associ
ation’s Complete Food and Nu
trition Guide. Larson, Duyff, Ro
berta. 1998.
4-H Babysitting Course For Montgomery Teens
COLLEGEVILLE (Montgom
ery Co.) The 4-H Babysitting
Course For Teens will be offered
at four different locations in
Montgomery County this winter.
Call the number that follows
each listing to register.
• Montgomery County 4-H
Center located on Route 113, one
mile south of Route 73 near
Skippack: five Thursdays, Jan.
31 through Feb. 28 (save March 7
for snow date); 6:30-8:30 p.m.
(610) 489-4315).
• St. Michael’s Church, Land
is and Jacob streets, Mont
Clare (actually in annex
across the street from _
church looks like old W
school building at 203
Jacob St.): five Tuesdays, I
Jan. 22 through Feb. 19 r For Value-Added Sales or for Personal Use 1
(save Feb. 26 for snow date); g I
6:30-8:30 p.m. Call the 4-H R Process meat easily and affordably with Chop* ■
■ Rite Two Meat Processors. Make sausage for your 1
J own use or to sell. Save time and money and have ■
r the freshest ground meat ever.
oAf i . AsLowAB j
In fact, osteoporosis affects
nearly half of all people
women and men over the age
of 75.
Even though this disease has
been studied more often in
women than it has in men, there
is basic information that can be
useful in preventing the develop
ment of osteoporosis in men.
Normal Bone Development
Bones are living tissue that
change constantly, with bits of
old bone being removed and new
bone laid down. Think of bone as
a bank account, where you make
“deposits” and “withdrawals” of
bone tissue.
During normal childhood and
adolescence, much more bone is
added than removed, so that the
skeleton grows both in size and
density. The amount of tissue or
bone mass in the skeleton reaches
its maximum by the mid-30s. At
this point, the amount of bone in
the skeleton typically begins to
decline slowly, as more bone is
removed than added.
Because of their lighter, thin
ner frames, women have less
bone mass to draw from as they
age. In addition, women lose
bone mass rapidly in the years
after menopause. But by age 65
or 70, women and men lose bone
mass at the same rate, and calci
um absorption decreases in both
sexes.
Center at (610) 489-4315 to regis
ter.
• Lower Providence Library,
Park Lane Drive, Eagleville, five
Wednesdays, Jan. 23 through
Feb. 27 (skip Feb. 6, but save
March 6 for snow date); 6-8 p.m.
• Lansdale Public Library,
Susquehanna and Vine Sts., Lan
sdale, five Tuesdays, March 5
through April 2; (save April 9 for
snow date); 6:30-8:30 p.m. (215)
855-3228.
A $l5 fee for the babysitting
course is payable at the first ses
sion. Partial scholarships are al-
Call 1-800-683-5858
531 Old Skippack Rd.
I rye A I Harleysville, PA 19438
on the Web:
www.chop-rite.com
Adequate calcium intake,
proper exercise, and good health
habits are essential throughout
life to ensure that the body has
enough bone tissue to draw from
in the later years.
Risk Factors
Osteoporosis is an exaggerated
loss of bone tissue, a painful and
disfiguring disease that weakens
bones and makes them more like
ly to fracture. Fractures resulting
from osteoporosis often occur in
the wrist, spine, and hip.
These risk factors have been
linked to osteoporosis in men:
• Decreases in male hor
mones, or hypogonadism, can
cause reduced bone mass and
lead to fractures. Although men
do not undergo the equivalent of
menopause, gonadal function
does decline in some elderly men
and, when fractures occur, they
are often associated with male
hypogonadism.
• Use of steroid hormones,
which are sometimes used to
treat certain diseases, can lead to
breakdown of bone.
• Abuse of alcohol plays an
important role in weakening
bones, even in relatively young or
middle-aged men. For example,
alcohol has been found to reduce
circulating levels of the male hor
mone, testosterone. Studies have
also found higher alcohol and
cigarette consumption in men
with osteoporosis.
ways available with no questions
asked. The 4-H program will pro
vide all course materials and par
ticipants will become 4-H mem
bers as a result of taking the
course.
Class size is limited for maxi
mum educational value. Partici
pants must be at least
11-years-old before the course be
gins to participate. For any addi
tional information, call Helaine
Brown, 4-H Agent, at (610)
489-4315, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday.