Plus, working into your retirement years can help you to eat better, support optimal mobility and just feel better in general. It can even help keep support cognitive health during aging. In the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, a British study showed that you can delay memory loss by six weeks for every extra year you hold down a job. And working can even lessen your chances of “the blues” and other health issues according to University of Michigan sociologist, Amy Pienta.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates more than 16 percent of America’s seniors are currently in the workforce and close to 70 percent of the baby-boomer generation express their intention of extending their working years into their retirement years.

This commonly used spice comes from pepper vines of the Piperaceae family native to tropical areas with stifling climates such as found in the southern part of India. These vines produce small white flowers that turn into berries called peppercorns, and are collected as berries or ground into black pepper.

Its spiciness comes from the chemical piperine, and not only does it add flavor to your favorite foods, but it also provides your body with a multitude of benefits such as helping improve digestion by supporting secretion of hydrochloric acid (HCl). HCl promotes good digestion which helps prevent intestinal gas and bloating, diarrhea and occasional constipation. But that’s only the beginning because black pepper is also said to help…

• Enhance joint comfort, flexibility, relieve muscle aches and sprains from exercise
• Support respiratory function
• Keep your teeth and gums healthy
• Promote weight control by supporting a healthy turnover of fat cells
• Provide manganese, iron, potassium, fiber and vitamins C and K
• Provide immune-supportive compounds

Plus, black pepper has antioxidant properties that help buffer the effects of oxidative free radicals which in turn, promotes optimal liver and cardiovascular health.

But you can make positive changes by starting with these guidelines…

• Be honest about how you really feel, recognize it and own it. Then you can be a conscious creator of your feeling rather than a helpless victim to your surroundings and circumstances.
• Create feelings of happiness in your body through physical touch. For some people it’s taking a warm bath, sitting near a heat vent with a blanket, getting a foot or full-body massage, eating comfort foods or best of all, exchanging affectionate touching with your lover or spouse.
• Experience music that lifts your soul or makes your heart sing. And music can be very effective when combined with physical touch.
• Enjoy great companionship where there is an easy flow of communication, a feeling of respect and a chemistry of happiness when you’re together.
• Try deep breathing and meditation, both of which are powerful techniques. Pause your thoughts and breathe in, then think about something for which you’re thankful as you breathe out. Or allow your mind to travel in thought while blissful feelings heal your body, which is especially effective when combined with music therapy.
• Experience a sunrise or sunset. Allow the sun’s light and warmth to penetrate your mind and body to boost happy feelings.

The following food list published in Eat This, Not That can provide you with a great start to ensure that your body gets the magnesium it needs to function properly…

• Cooked salmon—4 ounces—35 percent daily value
• Raw sunflower seeds—1/4 cup—32 percent daily value
• Sesame seeds—1/4 cup—32 percent daily value
• Prickly pear—1 cup—32 percent daily value
• Cooked black beans—1 cup—30 percent daily value
• Roasted almonds—1/4 cup—25 percent daily value
• Cooked pinto beans—1 cup—24 percent daily value
• Cooked brown rice—1 cup—21 percent daily value
• Cooked scallops—4 ounces—19 percent daily value
• Cooked summer squash—1 cup—11 percent daily value

According to a report in USA Today, a new study funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine indicates that two types of massage may ease chronic lower back pain in the short-term better than any of the traditional methods including painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants or physical therapy. The two types of massage techniques examined include: structural massage, which focuses on soft-tissue abnormalities and manipulates specific pain-related back muscles and ligaments… and Swedish massage, which aims to promote a body-wide feeling of relaxation.

Those in the study who received a series of massages experienced less pain, continued to work and remained active for more than six months afterwards, compared to those who received the usual care. The massage groups also reported fewer sick days and a lesser need for prescription drugs to help manage pain. Researchers noted that another benefit of massage therapy is that it’s also relatively safe.

• Black cohosh for hot flashes—This herb is commonly known as bugwort or rattle root and seems to exhibit anti-inflammatory properties. Be sure to get black, not blue, cohosh.
• Calcium pills for premenstrual syndrome (PMS) cramps—Scientific evidence shows that those who suffer from common PMS symptoms have lower calcium levels in their blood. Try consuming calcium-rich dairy foods and you might manage to keep the symptoms at bay completely.
• Tea tree oil can help with skin outbreaks—A study in the British Journal of Dermatology found that applying tea tree oil extract to skin outbreaks may reduce inflammation. It’s also antiseptic and can be quite effective.
• Steam therapy for sinus headaches—Inhaling steam may relieve sinus discomfort and pressure by flushing out your nasal passages. You can make it even more potent by adding a few drops of eucalyptus or peppermint oil which can have a decongestant effect.
• Cranberry juice can help promote urinary tract health—Medical institutions such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) agree that drinking cranberry juice can help maintain a healthy urinary tract because cranberries contain proanthocyanidins that help keep certain bacteria from adhering to the inside of your bladder, resulting in them being eliminated through your urine.

• Aid in the proper functioning of vitamin C
• Produce optimal capillary strength
• Protect against edema
• Prevent skin disorders

To ensure that your body has plenty of vitamin P to function properly, include in your diet vitamin P-rich food sources such as citrus fruit with the peel or white pulp, apricots, blackberries, cantaloupe, cherries, grapes, papaya, plums, prunes, as well as broccoli, cayenne pepper, paprika, rosehips, tomatoes and spinach.

• Caffeine—Try sipping a caffeinated beverage such as coffee at the first sign of a headache. To be effective against the pain, you should generally consume less than 150 milligrams (mg) per day. Caffeine has been shown to constrict blood vessels that are dilated and creating pressure.
• Deep breathing and stretching—Try taking simple deep breaths while you stretch your neck and shoulders, for example. These techniques can relax tense muscles that can cause headaches, as well as helping with poor posture which is another possible headache trigger.
• Hot or cold therapy—Apply a cold compress or a heating pad where you hurt for no more than 15 minutes at a time. Or start with cold and switch to heat, alternating the two in five-minute increments. Both may help relieve the pain although cold slows blood flow and reduces inflammation while heat increases blood flow.
• Peppermint Tea—May help relieve headaches by decreasing gastrointestinal spasms, as well as helping soothe the queasy stomach that sometimes accompanies headache pain.

But with the fiber content of fruits and veggies, any impurities, toxins or metals that may affect the prostate are more easily carried out with digestive waste rather than being absorbed into the blood stream. And fruits and vegetables also provide key vitamins and antioxidants naturally into the system.

You should eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables rich in color such as…

• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Salads with romaine lettuce (not iceberg lettuce)
• Squash

And don’t forget to eat berries, chickpeas, grapes, lentils, plums and red beans, as well as other whole foods including bran, oats, raw nuts, seeds, wheat and whole grains.

According to Men’s Health you can easily boost your zinc intake by including some of the following foods in your diet regimen…

• Broiled beef tenderloin—4 ounces (oz)
• Roasted lamb loin—4 oz
• General Mills Cheerios—1 cup (c) cereal with ½ c skim milk
• Wheat germ—1 oz
• Venison—4 oz
• Sesame seeds—1/4 c
• Cooked green peas—1 c
• Steamed shrimp—4 oz