Author: admin

2024-11-13T10:01:01

(BPT) – The holiday season is full of joy, gatherings, food and merriment. It’s also full of parents and grandparents trying to maintain a budget as they shop, plan and execute those gatherings. AARP members can unwrap a myriad of deals on products and services that help ease the burden of spending and planning as you celebrate during this festive time of year.

“The holiday shopping season kicked off in early October this year with a slew of retailer sales, and sales will continue to roll throughout the season,” said Trae Bodge, Smart Shopping Expert at truetrae.com. “Whether you’ve made headway in your holiday shopping or are just getting started, take a measured approach and capitalize on additional discounts for gifts, travel and more, available through memberships like AARP.”

Here are just a few ways you can keep the “Happy” in Happy Holidays without going over budget.

Affordable Tech

With many companies showing off their latest technology over the past few months, it’s a safe bet that you’ll see plenty of devices on wish lists. AARP members don’t have to throw budgets out the window to cover any additional expenses that can come with tech gadgets. For example, if someone in your family receives a new smartwatch, AARP members save 5% on monthly smartwatch cellular data services with an active Consumer Cellular plan. Or pair that new cell phone with an AT&T Unlimited Premium^® PL plan and save $10 per line per month. Plus, receive up to $50 in waived activation and upgrade fees. For a limited time, AARP members get $100 in credits per line when you switch to AT&T (offer ends December 7, 2024). Don’t forget to take advantage of any new stunning screen displays by streaming over 40,000 episodes and blockbuster movies, live sports, news and exclusive originals all in one place with Paramount+ while saving 10% with an AARP membership.

Taking a Holiday

The holiday season can be a tricky time to travel thanks to bigger crowds, weather delays, and more expensive tickets and hotel bookings for certain destinations. However, AARP members get exclusive deals, seasonal offers, and special savings when they book through the AARP Travel Center Powered by Expedia — which can also help you find those off-season deals for destinations like Europe which may be seeing lower prices versus the summer. AARP members also receive a $50 gift card when booking a vacation package for extra savings when you bundle your flight and hotel. Plus for a limited time, take advantage of 20% off stays and plan your next family escape for all ages ahead of the holidays. Whether that’s sea, snow or a new city, book that family vacation and create memories that last a lifetime (offer ends December 31, 2024).

If you’re hosting guests this year but need extra space for lodging, AARP members save 10% off the best available rate at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which includes iconic hotel brands La Quinta^®, Super 8^®, and Baymont^®. With more than 6,000 properties throughout the U.S., your visitors can enjoy their stay in a comfortable room nearby. Show off your hometown to out-of-town guests worry-free by being prepared in case something goes wrong while you’re out exploring. AARP members save up to 20% on annual membership fees for Allstate Roadside plans, including Roadside Assist and Roadside Elite. Upon enrollment, you’ll have access to assistance for towing, jump-starts, tire changes, lockout assistance, fuel delivery and more. Allstate Roadside plan benefits can be used 24/7 in any car you drive, including rented and borrowed ones.

Lastly, consider renting a car — whether you just touched down in a city away from home or are hosting for the holidays. A rental vehicle can be a more efficient and affordable option than public transportation and helpful to transport multiple guests who may arrive at different times. As an AARP member, save up to 35% off base rates with Budget with the Pay Now option or up to 30% off when you choose to Pay Later. Plus, members receive a 3% credit to apply to future rentals, a free upgrade on compact through full-size car class bookings (subject to availability) and an additional driver at no extra cost.

Home is Where the Heart Is

Sometimes the best holiday vacation is a staycation. If you won’t be physically visiting family or friends for the holidays, you can still share festive wishes and gifts with everyone on your list. AARP members can save 5% off domestic and international UPS^® shipping services at The UPS Store^®, plus 15% off other eligible products and services.

The holiday season can be a difficult balancing act between your normal responsibilities and juggling more gatherings and expenses. AARP members can use their benefits to help lessen the burden so all they have to worry about is enjoying the festive season wrapped in love and topped with savings.

To learn more about the benefits and discounts for AARP members to help you plan and save this holiday season, please visit aarp.org/save.

2024-11-13T10:51:00

(BPT) – In case you’ve never heard of it, “Brown Friday” is as famous as Black Friday — at least in plumbing circles. The name refers to the brown sludge that builds up in kitchen sinks following major holidays like Thanksgiving. Large gatherings mean more cooking and cleanup, which causes grease and food waste to accumulate inside your pipes and clog your garbage disposal, leading to slow drainage or blockages that put a damper on your festivities — making Brown Friday the busiest day of the year for professional plumbers.

To help you prevent or cope with common plumbing problems over the holidays, the experts from Mr. Rooter^® Plumbing, a Neighborly company, offer tips and tricks for keeping your plumbing in good working order.

Careful cleanup

Whether you’re prepping vegetables for the big meal or cleaning plates afterward, be mindful of what you’re putting down the drain. Even the best-working garbage disposal is no match for the food and grease a typical Thanksgiving dinner can dish up.

Try these tactics:

• Peel and scrape veggies into the trash instead of your sink to keep your pipes and disposal from getting clogged.
• Let grease cool, then wipe out with paper towels and discard instead of pouring it down the drain. Fats congeal when cold, combining with debris to create clogs.
• Scrape dirty plates into the trash to keep bones, food scraps and fatty deposits out of your plumbing.

Coping with a clog

If you end up with a clogged sink, take these steps first:

• Use hot water, then soap and a plunger: Sometimes clogs soften with hot water enough to be dislodged with a little dish soap and a plunger.
• Reset your garbage disposal: A button or switch on the side or bottom of your disposal can reset it.
• Baking soda and vinegar: Pour one cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by one cup of distilled vinegar, and cover the drain with a stopper. Cover for 30 minutes, and then run hot water to see if the clog clears.

If these efforts don’t work, the issue may best be handled by a professional plumber, like those at Mr. Rooter Plumbing, to avoid damage to your pipes.

Be proactive when hosting an event

To keep your system from overloading, ask houseguests to give your shower or bath a rest for 10 minutes or so between uses.

It’s also best to remind guests that some things — like wipes (even those that may claim to be “flushable”) — shouldn’t be flushed down a toilet, as they can create clogs.

If your home’s plumbing is on a septic system, ensure everyone is fully informed about what’s acceptable to put into the system and what is not. A quick reminder: Wipes, just like with regular toilets, don’t go in a septic system; neither do cigarette butts, diapers, feminine hygiene products, food scraps, pet feces or litter, latex products, paper towels and tissues.

Be prepared for freezing temperatures

Another issue that crops up this time of year is when temperatures plummet, leaving pipes vulnerable to freezing. Frozen pipes can create inconvenient and costly problems, especially when they burst and cause water damage in your home.

To protect your pipes:

• Insulate your home: Insulating your entire home means better insulation for your pipes. While not as effective as pipe-specific insulation methods, a warmer home can keep pipes freeze-free most months.
• Run the heat: Hopefully you’re already running the heat when temperatures drop below freezing, but if you aren’t, you should — even while you’re away from home.
• Insulate your pipes: Pipe insulation prevents frozen pipes and improves the efficiency of your hot water heater, saving energy. Good insulation helps regulate your pipes’ temperature in colder months, making it virtually impossible for them to freeze.
• Consider air sealing: This form of insulation wraps around pipes, is easier to install than other forms of insulation, and helps stabilize pipe temperatures.
• Leave taps dripping: If you leave taps dripping when temperatures are below freezing, the water won’t stay still, preventing the likelihood of a freeze.
• Increase airflow to pipes: When temperatures plummet, consider opening cabinets and cupboards to increase airflow to pipes. This allows warm air to help keep pipes from freezing, and it also works for thawing frozen pipes.

If you live in an area that commonly experiences extremely cold temperatures over the winter, you may want to consider pipe insulation as your first defense against frozen pipes.

Whether you have a plumbing problem right after the holidays or want to ensure your pipes are ready ahead of time, the experienced plumbers at Mr. Rooter Plumbing can help! For drain cleaning services, pipe insulation or repairs, their courteous plumbers have the skills and tools to tackle whatever problem you have — or to ensure your plumbing is in top shape before your guests arrive.

Learn more at MrRooter.com/BrownFriday.

2024-11-13T08:15:00

(BPT) – As a professional contractor, you know firsthand how challenging it can be to balance speed and quality when it comes to painting. You want to complete more jobs in less time for the sake of your bottom line, while still providing long-lasting, quality results for your customers.

The key to working quickly and delivering excellent work is to focus on efficiency to ensure customer satisfaction while benefiting your business by saving time and energy on every job.

Partnering with the right supplier and using the right products and tools are key to successfully building your business. Discover these three pro tips to help you complete the job accurately and on time.

1. Choose the right paint products

When it comes to choosing paint, quality comes first. Selecting quality products that are durable, easy to apply and provide maximum coverage are key to helping boost painting efficiency and reduce callbacks.

Dutch Boy^® Professional Series has the paint products needed for every project — from residential to construction and commercial jobs, offering top-quality performance with easy application and unmatched durability. Paints from Dutch Boy Professional Series DuraHide™ line can tackle any indoor paint job, providing outstanding hide, a smooth, washable finish and a mold- and mildew-resistant coating.

For exterior jobs, your paint will need to stand up to the elements. Opt for products from Dutch Boy Professional Series DuraWeather™ line. These professional paints are geared to be used on multiple exterior surfaces like wood, stucco and masonry that often require tough, four-season protection and mildew-resistant finish that resists cracking and peeling, even in low temperatures.

Best of all, with Dutch Boy Professional Series, you can get the best price for professional-grade paint from the very first gallon purchased and choose from over 1,300 Dutch Boy Paints colors, as well as custom color matching. No matter what you need, you can find the perfect solution for every project and application.

2. Find a supplier that has it all

When you’re on the job, you don’t want to waste time, gas and energy going to multiple stores for your supplies. To double down on efficiency, find a supplier that offers paint, tools and materials you need to quickly finish a high-quality project.

As a contractor, a home improvement store like Menards^® is your best bet for finding supplies for all your project needs in one place. This one-stop shop for all painting and home improvement supplies places you at the center of their business while saving you money.

3. Have help on-call

Even pros need help. With the Dutch Boy Professional Series paint program you get access to some of the most experienced and dedicated field sales representatives who can provide:

• A comprehensive line of top quality, durable paints and stains
• The best price from the first gallon purchased
• Flexible job site delivery options
• File history management, inclusive of maintaining records of products and quantities utilized, along with color specifications for projects
• Tint and ship options
• Special order programs for participating Dutch Boy Professional Series products
• Menards contractor credit card program that offers additional savings on select products based on program approval criteria

All of these services from Dutch Boy Paints and Menards, work together seamlessly to ensure you can increase job efficiency and create positive results for your business.

To learn more about the Dutch Boy Professional Series, visit Dutchboy.com/en/Pros/Pro-Resources. And don’t forget to visit Menards.com to find your closest one-stop shop for paint and more.

2024-11-13T02:01:00

(BPT) – In an increasingly intelligent, cloud native, edge-network-driven world, how do we properly harness the power of open-source software? Developers and CTOs know Linux has always been open-source, freely available and one of the world’s most reliable and secure operating systems. Yet as the Linux market has expanded, so have the challenges of finding and implementing the right Linux base and fundamentals for the next generation of server and edge use cases.

It’s about, in part, the sheer volume of Linux options available — hundreds of variations, with many more under development. But the variety and requirements of use cases are also adding to the complexity, making it difficult to find and implement off-the-shelf reference platforms that can meet such a broad range of requirements today. There’s also the pressure to innovate rapidly. In this complex environment, one size doesn’t fit all and utilizing the old enterprise IT Linux distributions is not an optimized solution for the edge-to-cloud use scenarios.

In the face of all this complexity, Linux fundamentals remain: open, innovative, customizable, and offers flexibility with assisting services for more specific requirements such as production assistance, security monitoring, remediation and training.

But, it’s getting more difficult to find and latch onto those fundamentals when the commercial Linux distribution trend is to become the basis of vast ecosystems and higher order solutions.

What’s the best way forward from here?

The recent case of CentOS

CentOS was offered as a free, open-source, downstream distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Millions of virtual machines, computers, systems and platforms worldwide started consuming CentOS Linux.

However, shortly after the acquisition of Red Hat by IBM in 2019, Red Hat announced that it would shift full investment to CentOS Stream, the upstream development platform for upcoming RHEL releases. Support for CentOS came to an end in June 2024.

CentOS users faced a range of options, each of which introduced new sources of cost, risk and complexity:

• Move to a paid version of RHEL. With this option, companies that didn’t want to pay Red Hat for support had to switch their OS image from the CentOS image to something else, which was difficult and expensive.
• Adopt another free Red Hat downstream distribution such as Rocky or Alma.
• Go with a different commercial option such as Canonical or SUSE, which offered free distribution. However, these commercial solutions came with complications, such as scale issues and ownership risks. Getting features to support your innovation can be an uphill battle.
• Move to a truly community-sourced platform such as Debian. Debian is open, freely available, and not beholden to upstream commercial vendors or to any commercial interest. However, there are multitudes of Debian options, all with different target use cases and in various stages of development and maturity. Without enterprise-level commercial support options, companies had to find, recruit, hire, pay and retain additional employees to provide these capabilities, adding to overhead and reducing the ROI of innovation.

What would a better fit look like?

There is a pressing need to get back to the spirit of open source and harness Linux packages that are the right fit for enterprise and embedded use cases — from the enterprise to far-edge embedded systems and devices.

Such a solution would combine freely available, open-source Debian Linux with robust community-hardened packages tuned for performance, security and ease of use. These packages would be tailored to mission-critical sector-specific use cases and their unique requirements. And they would be backed by enterprise commercial support, professional services and consultancy, and unified software tools from vendors with proven experience in the Linux market.

Specifically, the core attributes of this enterprise-to-edge solution would include:

• Commitment to upstream innovation
• Real-time and low-latency processing
• Hardware enablement for the latest silicon processors and accelerators
• Optimized, minimal user space footprint
• Support for varying/restrictive operational conditions
• Lifecycles aligned with far-edge requirements
• Compatibility with far-edge endpoints and data centers
• Cost sensitivity
• Ability to handle the emerging threat-vector security burden
• Multi-format data sensitivity
• Compliance for mission critical deployments
• Tune performance and optimizations for demanding AI workloads

Wind River, as an open-source proponent for more than 20 years, is fully committed to reclaiming the true spirit of open source and bringing the vision of a simplified, reliable and flexible Linux for servers and the edge into reality. To learn more about Wind River’s current Linux-based open-source offerings, including eLxr Pro, visit their website.

2024-11-12T09:01:00

(BPT) – A warmer planet means more mosquitoes. These insects are more than an itchy nuisance. A bite from an infected mosquito can lead to diseases. If planning a trip this holiday season to where the mosquitoes are, here are five ways you can protect yourself before you travel:

• Know the destinations where mosquitoes are thriving. You may be surprised. Mosquitoes carrying diseases are now found in European countries such as France, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Spain, in addition to other popular travel destinations including Brazil, Argentina, Central America, India, Asia, Mexico, and the Caribbean.¹

• Get a travel health consult up to a month before you leave home: There are many resources such as specialty travel clinics, pharmacies in many states, and healthcare professionals with travel health expertise. You can also check out the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Travelers’ Health portal. The good news is several mosquito-borne diseases can be prevented with vaccines.

• Pack mosquito repellant, wear long-sleeved, light-colored clothing, and, when possible, ask for windows covered with mosquito screens in your accommodation.

• Learn more about what attracts mosquitoes. For example, what blood type are you? Published data show mosquitoes are more likely to bite Type O over A, B, or AB.²

• Plan activities with mosquito-awareness: The peak biting activity of the breed of mosquito known for carrying diseases including Chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever, and Zika is after sunrise and at sunset.³

Mosquito-borne diseases can be very serious. The symptoms of Chikungunya, for example, include joint pain, arthritis-like symptoms, fatigue and potentially debilitating effects which can last for months or even years. Many who experience severe infection never fully recover.^4,5 Incidence of Chikungunya has now been reported in more than 110 countries.⁶ Visit www.chik-a-what.com to learn more.

More mosquitoes and higher incidence of mosquito-borne diseases are becoming the new normal. More awareness and preparation should be, too.

Sources

1. https://www.trade.gov/us-international-air-travel-statistics-i-92-data
2. https://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/article/10.11648/j.aje.20190302.13?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0QBSGtK43QGfr5_c3zbRQIZN2vM8AbsfcEVR9Kd_zgF_LfgDJLkyvbDys_aem_DxSCR1lPAp1qlHUHFYwD7Q
3. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2024/environmental-hazards-risks/mosquitoes-ticks-and-other-arthropods#:~:text=Mosquitoes%20bite%20throughout%20the%20day,and%20at%20sunset%20(dusk)
4. Puntasecca CJ, King CH, LaBeaud AD. “Measuring the global burden of chikungunya and Zika viruses: A systematic review.” PLOS Negl Trop Dis 15, no. 3 (2021): e0009055.
5. Paixão, E. S., Rodrigues, L. C., Costa, M., Itaparica, M., Barreto, F., Gérardin, P., & Teixeira, M. G. “Chikungunya chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
6. Chikungunya. World Health Organization. Published December 8, 2022. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chikungunya

2024-11-12T08:01:00

(BPT) – Do you love everything about the natural world, from the colors and textures to the smells and sounds? Have you considered incorporating your love of nature more in your home design, especially around the holidays? If so, you’re right on trend with biophilic design, a popular approach to home decor that celebrates elements like earth tones, natural materials and plants.

This holiday season, you can embrace both biophilic design and the joy of the holiday season through thoughtful choices in decor, accessories and appliances.

Bring the outdoors inside

One of the easiest ways to blend biophilic design with holiday cheer is through traditional decorations derived from nature like wreaths, tree decorations and wall hangings made from spruce and fir boughs or holly branches.

Consider using homemade and handcrafted tree decorations made from wood, straw, pinecones and other natural materials for an authentically outdoor look that also evokes the nostalgic feeling of holidays from years gone by.

Embrace biophilic design in your kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of your home and the heartbeat of holiday traditions, so consider bringing your love of nature into this all-important space over the holidays. The KitchenAid® 2024 Design Series Stand Mixer: Evergreen provides a beautiful and practical appliance that’s a trusted partner for all your holiday baking while also offering a stunning countertop statement for your seasonal entertaining.

The Evergreen stand mixer combines the best of culinary, design and nature through its deep forest green body with lush matte finish, along with a gorgeous true walnut wood bowl, plus accents like a unique debossed leaf design on its brass-plated hub cover and more.

“The Evergreen design marks a first for the brand, as it introduces outdoor elements to the iconic Stand Mixer like never before,” said Chad Ries, global brand director for KitchenAid® small appliances at Whirlpool Corporation. “KitchenAid appliances are designed to engage all your senses and rekindle the excitement, connection and inspiration found all around us. Evergreen was inspired by the natural elements that make us feel connected to the outdoors. By bringing those powerful emotions into the home, Evergreen inspires makers to come alive every time they set foot in the kitchen.”

Adding an Evergreen stand mixer to your home provides an easy way to incorporate biophilic design into your home and can enhance your holiday entertaining.

Think natural colors

You can embrace biophilic design in your holiday décor by drawing colors from nature. Whether you’re decorating your tree, hanging holiday pictures, adding throw pillows or blankets or choosing festive tabletop decorations, consider colors that draw on elements of the natural world: wood and earth tones like browns, beige, taupe, gray and greens. For colorful accents, choose shades of blues, reds or yellows that you’re likely to see in nature.

Celebrate light during the darker months

Wintertime brings shorter days and longer evenings, which can fuel a need to bring brighter touches into your home celebration. There are plenty of options to brighten your ambiance, such as using candles for your table setting or having crystal glassware and shiny tableware to reflect light in the room and bring more sparkle to any event you’re hosting.

Need even more brightness? Have fun by decorating with string lights in any room of your home — not just on your tree — to lighten up your next occasion.

Come to your senses

And don’t forget scents: Natural potpourri, evergreen boughs, eucalyptus and other natural sources can bring the best aromas of the outdoors inside, without using artificial ingredients. Need an easy DIY option for scent? Consider creating a simmer pot on your stove by adding spices like nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon to water and boil for a while. Before you know it, your house will feel cozy and warm, and smell like you’ve been baking up a storm — and may just inspire you to conjure up some holiday goodies.

With these tips, you can make the most of the holidays this year by celebrating everything you love about the season and the natural world, combined. Let your imagination be your guide, and your home will become a haven of beauty and joy this special time of year.

2024-11-12T08:03:00

(BPT) – Most parents agree that it’s important for children to establish healthy habits before they turn 18 years old. Building a strong foundation and taking a preventive approach to health early on will help people avoid illness and improve our healthspan, or the number of years spent in good health.

Simple, right?

Well, findings from Amway’s 2024 “Habits and Healthspan” survey of U.S. adults reveal that different generations have varying success in long-term habit formation.

Overall, only 29% of adults carried over healthy habits learned from their childhood.

• Within this group, 46% of 18- to 34-year-olds started healthy habits because they learned to do so at a young age, compared to only 31% of those ages 35 to 70.
• A shocking 57% of adults admit they only started healthy habits because their doctor advised them, or because they had health issues already that had to be addressed.

Amway scientists are delving into why different generations have varying degrees of success maintaining healthy habits and are using this survey data to identify the three factors that impact different generations’ ability to maintain these behaviors for the long term.

1. The internet and social media are helping you get healthy.

Between the internet and social media, younger generations have access to more health and wellness information from a young age than any generation before them. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X. Between these platforms and more, social media hosts a wealth of health and fitness influencers who promote a healthy lifestyle and make information more engaging and relatable.

• 24% of 18- to 24-year-olds were influenced to engage in healthy habits from social media compared to only 9% of 35- to 70-year-olds. There is an even larger drop in older generations (55- to 70-year-olds) where a mere 3% were influenced by social media.

2. Getting by with a little help from your friends.

Having a community of like-minded friends focused on achieving a healthier lifestyle and improving healthspan creates a sense of support and accountability. These communities exist both online and in the real world.

• 33% of Americans aged 18 to 24 engaged in healthy habits thanks to the encouragement of a friend, compared to only 25% of 35- to 70-year-olds.

Together, you can share your goals, experiences and expertise in a collective knowledge pool and encourage long-term habit formation.

3. Financial disparities play a role.

Lower-income households can encounter barriers when it comes to instilling healthy habits in their children.

• 31% of Americans with a household income under $50k learned their healthy habits at a young age compared to 40% of those with a household income over $100k.

There are many reasons why income can impact your ability to teach your family healthy habits early on in life. Healthy food is often more expensive than processed or fast foods, leaving many to opt for the cheaper option as opposed to the healthier choice. These households also may not have access to affordable fitness resources such as organized sports, gym memberships or fitness programs, making it harder for them to afford structured physical activities for their kids.

Putting findings into action

These findings from the Habits and Healthspan survey reflect a generational shift, with younger individuals more likely to have been taught healthy habits. By understanding what factors influence your ability to create and maintain healthy lifestyle behaviors over the course of your life, you can instill these practices in future generations and prevent health issues before they arise.

2024-11-12T08:03:00

(BPT) – Have you ever felt uncomfortable after a meal? Maybe you know that certain foods upset your stomach, so you avoid them altogether. Gut issues are more common than you think with more than half (62%) of Americans having experience with occasional gut issues, according to the 2024 Habits and Healthspan Survey sponsored by Amway. In fact, one in three adults is experiencing a common gut issue right now!

1. Gut health is a significant issue in the U.S.

Your gut does more than just digestion. Did you know it’s foundational to overall health and wellbeing? That’s because there are trillions of bacteria in your gut that make up your microbiome. About 70% of your immune system is located in the gut and a balanced gut microbiome helps support not just digestive health, but also your immune system.

You might be surprised to know that emerging science indicates your mood might even be linked to your gut microbiome. Neurotransmitters like serotonin are produced in the gut, which can affect our mood.

• 42% of survey respondents say they or someone close to them have experienced a gut issue that a doctor was unable to properly diagnose.
• Common gut issues seem to be more prevalent among younger Americans with 54% of respondents ages 18 to 34 years reporting that they or someone they know had undiagnosed gut issues, compared to 38% of those over age 35.

2. A lack of education is a major factor in America’s gut gap.

Stress, pollution, poor diet and lack of sleep all can negatively impact your gut’s good bacteria causing an imbalance.

However, the gut microbiome is still not well understood.

• Less than half (41%) of Americans feel they understand what constitutes a healthy gut biome.
• This gap is even wider among older adults aged 55 to 70, with only 28% feeling confident about their gut health knowledge.

Maintaining a balanced diet, exercising and staying hydrated can support gut health and a balanced gut microbiome. However, studies show supporting gut health takes consistent effort over several weeks to several months.

As research progresses, scientists are learning more about how to support the gut. Here’s what you can do. In addition to your diet, probiotics — good bacteria — can support your microbiome. You can also use other supplements designed for daily use and that provide plant-based ingredients, fiber and prebiotics to help support your gut health and your gut microbiome.

3. Overarching healthy habits build a foundation for gut health.

By establishing healthy habits early in life, we can proactively help support our gut and ultimately support our healthspan. Just like any resolution, the key is to be consistent over the long term.

Establishing healthy habits from a young age is a great approach to health & wellness. Of course, maintaining these habits for the long term can be hard to do, but that’s why community is so important.

• Only 36% of adults ages 18 to 70 who had engaged in healthy lifestyle behavior within the past 12 months say they started their healthy lifestyle behaviors because they learned it at a young age from a parent or loved one — and not in response to a pressing health issue.

Surrounding yourself with family, friends and like-minded individuals creates an environment where knowledge is exchanged, accountability is encouraged and a supportive network is woven into the fabric of daily life.

Taking control of supporting your gut.

The findings from this year’s Habits and Healthspan Survey highlight two critical areas of concern: the prevalence of gut health as an important issue for consumers and the knowledge gaps. Education and long-term habit formation are the keys to supporting overall gut health. By addressing these gaps and building healthy lifestyle behaviors — with the support of those around us — we can promote health and wellbeing for all. For more information, visit AmwayGlobal.com.