Cucumbers

My thanks to my cousin Terry for the following

Cucumbers... I didn't know this...& to think all these years I've only been making salads with the cucumbers...

1.Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache-free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explore for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10.Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of a cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemicals will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of a cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it removes years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Pass this along to everybody you know who is looking for better and safer ways to solve life's everyday problems

Canadians’ retirement perceptions and behaviours 2

 The following is from a Morneau Shepell, newsletter. Morneau Shepell is the only human resources consulting and technology company that takes an integrated approach to employee well-being to meet health, benefits and retirement needs.

On July 27, 2018, a research study entitled Encouraging Retirement Planning through Behavioural Insights. The study identifies and presents thirty different initiatives and tactics in which pension and savings plan sponsors can apply behavioural insights to promote retirement planning and help their plan members overcome challenges people experience in creating personal financial plans for their retirement. The initiatives presented are organized around four primary challenges people face in their retirement planning:

•        Difficulty in starting.

•        Procrastination.

•        People can feel overwhelmed and quit the process.

•        Difficulty in obtaining good advice.

Some examples of the thirty initiatives recommended to deal with these challenges include:

•                   Integrating retirement planning into the onboarding process for new employees.

•                   Prompting people to make a retirement plan at times when they are likely to feel positive about their financial situation (e.g. after a raise, bonus or tax refund).

•                   Capitalizing on moments that people tend to think about the future (e.g. birthdays, when drawing from children’s registered education savings plans).

•                   Emphasizing the short-term benefits of retirement planning by creating a near-term incentive.

•                   Combating optimism bias by providing relevant benchmarks.

•                   Helping people build confidence and comfort talking about their finances by providing a structure for conversations.

Three of the thirty recommended initiatives were tested using a randomized control trial experiment, in which over 70,000 Ontario Public Service employees were provided with different newsletter messages prompting them to use an employer-sponsored online retirement income calculator.

The experiment found that messages that help people to imagine their social selves in retirement by evoking thoughts of time spent with friends and family can be highly effective in getting people to engage in retirement planning. The experiment also found that messages expressing that retirement planning can be simple and easy the process can be quite effective in moving people from an initial spark of interest into more concrete action.

Canadians’ retirement perceptions and behaviours 1

 The following is from a Morneau Shepell, newsletter. Morneau Shepell is the only human resources consulting and technology company that takes an integrated approach to employee well-being to meet health, benefits and retirement needs

The Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) recently released studies regarding perceptions and behaviours of Canadians when it comes to the financial aspects of planning for retirement. The key findings of the CIA study indicate that many Canadians misunderstand certain aspects of retirement planning, potentially leading to a damaging impact on their financial well-being for the later parts of their lives.

These studies present the results of a survey by Canadians, aged 50 to 80, who are either close to retirement or already retired, examining their anticipated concerns and risk preferences with respect to retirement.

Key findings presented in the report include:

•                   Pre-retirees expect to retire at a later age than retirees have experienced. The expected median retirement age is 65 for pre-retirees versus the actual median retirement age of 60 experienced by current retirees who responded to the survey.

•                   Sixty-one percent of survey respondents have or expect to have relatively low liquid retirement assets. Ten percent have or expect to have less than $25,000 of liquid retirement assets and do not own their home or other properties.

•                   Respondents profoundly undervalue life annuities. Eighty-four percent of respondents estimated the price of an annuity at less than half of the actual market price. Furthermore, respondents showed low interest in purchasing annuities at any price due primarily to their views of the associated credit risk and the loss of flexibility, control and financial security.

•                   In general, respondents lack the understanding of the long-term cumulative impact of inflation on the cost of living. However, there is a dramatic change in their preferences when the cumulative inflation impact is depicted, and they become willing to “pay” more in exchange for inflation protection.

•                   Bequest (i.e., providing an inheritance) is generally viewed as fairly unimportant.

•                   The overall attitude towards seeking professional financial advice is positive. Behaviour, however, is found to be strongly related to liquid retirement assets: respondents with low liquid assets show little interest in seeking advice, mainly due to affordability. In general, respondents show high concerns over potential issues such as accessing quality service, conflicts of interest, and fraud.

The findings of the CIA study suggest that Canadians would benefit from plan sponsors implementing interventions or behavioural “nudges” to encourage plan members to engage in retirement education and planning. The study also demonstrates that there are a number of prevalent misperceptions that can lead to damaging results for imminent retirees.

The Concept of Healthy Aging

According to the Canadian Institute of Health Research in a report on Healthy Ageing, healthy ageing is about creating the environments and opportunities that enable people to be and do what they value throughout their lives.

Being free of disease or infirmity is not a requirement for Healthy Ageing as many older adults have one or more health conditions that, when well-controlled, have little influence on their wellbeing

Canada is ageing and by 2035, there will be more than 30% of the population will be 60 years and over. Are we ready?

The ageing of the Canadian population is characterized by:

•                   A decrease in the number of younger people, as a result of a lower birth rate.

•                   An increase in the number of people who are reaching old age due to the fact that more people engage in healthy lifestyles.

•                   A drastic increase in the number and proportion of the oldest old (i.e. individuals who are aged 85 and over), including an explosion of centenarians.

•                   An increase in the difference between the relative numbers of men and women, the latter representing the vast majority of the oldest.

The ageing landscape in Canada is increasingly characterized by diversity in individual trajectories, including a higher number of people working later in life, either by choice or by financial obligation.

Genetic makeup, epigenetic exposures, and, mostly, lifestyle choices, such as nutrition, physical exercise and cognitive stimulation, are known to be drivers of vitality in late life. Despite the diversity in the trajectories of ageing and in particular between women and men, the late years do allow for multiple opportunities, whether in relation to work, family time, further education, travel, entrepreneurship and community engagement.

As a result of lifelong adaptation and resilience, older individuals represent a source of invaluable wisdom that should be better integrated in all aspects of society. Older adults contribute massively to families and their communities through caregiving as well as volunteer activities. Health and wellness throughout our life trajectory and in the late years represent a central tenant of our Canadian values of happiness and fulfilment.

At the same time, multiple chronic conditions still characterize the health of older individuals and more than half (57%) of individuals aged 80 and over live with three or more chronic conditions, many of which are controlled by medication and/ or lifestyle. Moreover, frailty is a prevalent condition that affects up to 35% of older Canadians placing them at higher risk of disability, institutionalization and even mortality.

Frailty is particularly onerous in those aged 85 and older, reaching a prevalence of close to 50%. Frailty is associated with an increased risk of injuries due to falls, mobility disability, depression, and cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment resulting in dementia is one of the most prominent and debilitating conditions for all older people and their caregivers, particularly among those in the oldest-old age group (more than 40% of individuals aged 85 and over are living with some form of dementia).

Despite these challenges, the vast majority of people aged 65 and over still live in private dwellings (92% for those aged 65 and over, and 68% for those aged 85 and over), while only a fraction (8% for those aged 65 and over, and 32% for those aged 85 and over) live in protected and /or long- term care facilities.

Nevertheless, the environment in which older Canadians live is not always supportive of health and wellness. There is a clear need for more age-friendly housing and communities in both urban and rural environments, as well as for more knowledge to address the issues of stigma and elder abuse, regardless of the form they may take (i.e. physical, emotional, psychological, or financial). Loneliness also represents a major challenge for many older individuals, especially within the oldest old age group.

Older people with health challenges represent an important proportion of health system users and associated costs. Unfortunately, the system is not equipped to deal with older individuals who have multiple chronic conditions, in particular as it relates to ensure a coherent transition between the different components of the health system, especially in the last years of life.

Canada’s demographic landscape and ageing trajectory is characterized by an ongoing increase in the numbers of older people, and even more of the oldest old. In order to optimize health and wellness in ageing, as well as adapted health and social interventions and health services that will support older individuals in their needs and diversity we will need will, determination and luck.