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Southgate at Shrewsbury

Retirement community near Shrewsbury and Worcester, MA

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The Best Fall Produce & Their Health Benefits

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This time of year is when things begin to change, starting with the weather. As the temperatures outside begin to drop, it’s important to keep your health at the forefront of your mind and focus on feeding your body the rich nutrients it desires.

Luckily, with changing seasons comes new fall produce, allowing us to cook up delicious recipes and eat something different every day. There is a lot to choose from when it comes to produce in the fall, and the health benefits of the in-season fruits and vegetables can do wonders for your mind and your body.

These Fruits & Veggies Are Delicious AND Good For You!

Apples
It may seem like apples are always around, but apple harvest season is actually from August until November. The reason we’re able to get access to this popular fruit is because of cold food storage, but the best time of year to pick apples is in the fall.

Apples are rich with fiber and antioxidants, and are low in sodium, fat, and cholesterol. They’re an all-around healthy snack, which is why it is important to incorporate it into your daily diet during the next few months.

The healthiest kind of apple is the Granny Smith, due to its low sugar content and high amounts of fiber. Apples are great fruits to eat on their own or bake into treats like pie, bread, or even cookies. It’s easy to get your daily dose of fiber through an apple or two.

Pears
Pears are another fruit that we commonly take for granted, despite it being one of the healthiest fruits you can consume. Pear season begins in August and runs through October, and are commonly picked from the west side of the country and New England.

Pears help fight inflammation, good for your gut health and heart health, and are instrumental in protecting against diseases. They’re also a great aid for weight loss because of the high amount of fiber and water inside of them. That combination keeps you feeling full between meals, which can stop you from overeating.

Squash
Squash is a vegetable that is technically in season all year long, but there are so many different types of squash that they each get their own season. Winter squash is a popular fall produce, even though the name for it suggests it shouldn’t be in season until the coldest months of the year.

The most sought after winter squash types are butternut, spaghetti, and buttercup. These vegetables are a good source of vitamins (A, B, and C) and are high in antioxidants, helping your body fight diseases. Squash is also rich in potassium and magnesium, and is filled with water and fiber to keep you hydrated and your gut healthy.

Pumpkin
Once fall begins, pumpkins are everywhere! From being used as Halloween decorations to showing up in bins at the grocery store, pumpkin is popularly used to symbolize the changing of seasons.

Though most people would rather use their pumpkins for carving, there are actually several health benefits to cooking and baking with pumpkin. It’s rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, helping to boost your immune system and lowering the risk of certain cancers. Pumpkin is low in calories, making it a good aid for weight loss. Additionally, it can help your heart health, eyesight, and contains low amounts of sugar.

Pumpkin can be baked into nearly any recipe, but the most popular use of pumpkin is in pumpkin pie. Other healthy pumpkin-themed meals and treats include pumpkin vegetable soup, pumpkin oats, and pumpkin bread. Nearly every use of pumpkin is a good one, since the fruit itself is so good for your health and your heart!

Here at Southgate, our living spaces have full kitchens so you can cook up a special fall treat with the best seasonal produce!

The Best Stress Relief Methods for Seniors

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There are great benefits to maintaining good physical health, but it is also important to take care of your mental health. Staying relaxed and centered can be a great way to keep stress at a distance, all the while improving your overall well-being.

The best part of stress relief techniques is that they not only benefit our mental health but our physical health as well. A well-rested mind and body is a recipe for a happy, healthy lifestyle. Here at Southgate, we want nothing more than for you to feel at home and stress-free.

Southgate offers many amenities and activities within the community that are perfect for taking care of your mental health and getting some much-needed rest and relaxation.

Go to the theater – Our very own Southgate theater has 200 seats and a beautiful balcony. Not only do we offer lectures, seminars, and musical performances, but in the summer we have a Tuesday concert series for everyone to enjoy. Getting out and seeing a performance can stimulate the brain and create bonding experiences among seniors.

Take a walk – Nothing clears your mind like a nice long walk, and our campus has a 3-acre park to stroll through on a sunny or cloudy day. Health experts maintain that getting exercise for just 30 minutes a day can lead to drastic health improvements, and it’s an activity that can be done alone or with a friend.

Meet up with friends – One of the best ways to relieve stress and increase mindfulness is to socialize. Maintaining social relationships and friendships can do wonders for your happiness, and there are plenty of activities around Southgate’s campus that allow you to catch up with friends. From hitting the arts and crafts studio to talking over drinks at the cocktail lounge, there’s no shortage of things to do alongside friends.

Grab a book from the library – Sometimes the best way to relieve stress is to take a break. Luckily, Southgate has a library with a fireplace and books that will allow you to escape for a bit into the world of fiction (and non-fiction too, of course!). Reading not only stimulates the brain, but is also a quiet and peaceful activity for all to enjoy.

Get some light exercise – Southgate offers many different physical activities that are both fun and count as daily exercise. The health club offers machines to get your body moving, and the indoor pool is a great place to practice different strokes while clearing your head.

It’s important to take care of your mind and body every day, and to do things that will make you feel as relaxed as possible. Southgate’s goal is to promote happy and healthy living in a stress-free environment and we hope that all of our amenities will make you feel more at ease than ever before!

The Health Benefits of Low-Impact Activities

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It’s safe to say that people are more health conscious than ever before. Seemingly every day, medical research reveals additional evidence confirming the critical roles that diet, lifestyle and exercise play in maintaining our mental and physical well-being.

Significantly, health experts constantly reinforce that physical activity need not be strenuous—or inordinately lengthy in duration—to be beneficial. The key is to adopt an exercise regimen that is within your range of capability and participate in it on a consistent basis. (As always, your safety is the number one priority, so you should consult your healthcare provider before beginning any exercise regimen.)

At Southgate, we emphasize fitness in both mind and body. (Remember: Even activities that have few physical requirements can do wonders in helping enhance your concentration and cognitive abilities.) That’s why we offer a wide range of activities—from more strenuous (e.g., bowling and swimming) to less strenuous (e.g., card playing, woodworking and arts & crafts), with low-impact activities like Tai Chi, yoga and Pilates falling somewhere in the middle.

In our on-site health club and spa, we offer periodic sessions for all three of these low-impact activities. In fact, each resident can get a customized exercise plan developed specifically for them to accommodate their current fitness level and goals.

Since there is generally less familiarity with these types of activities, this blog provides a brief overview of each one.

Tai Chi –  Originating in 12th-Century China, Tai Chi is a discipline devoted to achieving unity and harmony between mind and body. Tai Chi is highly influenced by Taoist and Buddhist traditions and recognizes maintenance of one’s health as a basic tenet (further defined as comprising the three modules of health, meditation and martial arts).

Principally involving the practice of slow movements, Tai Chi helps improve a person’s ability to balance under a variety of conditions, while simultaneously helping enhance their stability.

Pilates – Named after an early 20th-Century German physical-culturist, Pilates is a combination of exercises that promote flexibility, muscle strength, fat loss and endurance. Specifically, Pilates tends to focus on spinal and pelvic alignment, development of core strength and improvement of physical coordination and balance.

Yoga – With its roots in Northern India dating back 5,000 years, yoga is a mind and body practice that combines physical postures, stretching exercises, breathing techniques and meditation. Yoga can improve flexibility, muscle strength and range of motion. Yoga styles vary from slow and gentle to athletic and vigorous.

Many people find it easy to engage in low-impact activities, since they do not put stress on the body’s joints. In general, the benefits of Tai Chi, Pilates and yoga often include:

  • Lower blood pressure
  • Improved balance and flexibility
  • Improved sleep
  • Reduced anxiety and stress levels
  • Reduced back pain

Here at Southgate, we encourage exploring, growing and learning as the means to expand your horizons—and thereby enrich your day-to-day life. So who knows? You just may discover that one (or all!) of these low-impact activities works for you like no other you’ve tried!

History of Bocce

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The next time you visit Southgate, you just may happen to see a friendly—but sometimes competitive,
nonetheless—game of bocce (or horseshoes … or even someone using our putting green to perfect their stroke). It’s just one of the many outdoor activities available on our sprawling 30-acre campus. (But watch the forecast; you know what they say about the changeability of New England weather!)

Our grounds are perfect for playing, since there are very few hilly spots. Of course, it’s all too easy to get distracted by our beautifully landscaped park, complete with gazebo and fountain. (Then again, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing!) By the way, spectators are gladly welcome, since our campus also includes lots of benches and leisure walkways quite conducive to pausing to allow for event viewing!

While we’re not sure what existed in our current location approximately 7,200 years ago, we can say with some degree of certainty that, far away somewhere in Egypt, a game similar to today’s bocce was being played. (Archeologists have discovered a painting on an ancient tomb showing two boys who are apparently playing.)

From that point onward, the history of bocce is fairly well documented. The game—or some variation thereof—made its way to Greece and then to Rome (seems like everything happened in Rome in those days, doesn’t it?). Roman soldiers played during the Punic Wars in the Third Century B.C. and, later, Emperor Augustus was a diehard fan.

During the Middle Ages, bocce was banned in Rome (and in Spain, too) for being a distraction from military matters. (Interestingly enough, fate may have proven those edicts extremely practical and wise, since, according to legend, English Admiral Sir Francis Drake—when told while playing bocce that an attack by the Spanish Armada was imminent—reportedly quipped: “First, we finish the game; then we have time for invincible Armada.”

Score one for Sir Francis!

The rest, as they say, is history. While bocce was once banned for instigating gambling, over the years it developed a strong following—first in the streets, alleyways, parks and town squares of Europe, and then across the pond here in America … and, eventually, here at Southgate!

We encourage all our residents to enjoy our varied outdoor activities—whether it be bocce, horseshoes or our putting green. They’re all fun ways to stay in shape, socialize and soak up the sunshine … while, in a sense, taking a step backward in time!