Traditional Chinese medicine might be effective as a complement or alternative to traditional Western medicine for primary and secondary prevention of heart disease, according to a state of the art review paper published June 12th 2017 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. A release from the publisher notes that heart disease is… Continue reading Traditional Chinese Medicine May Benefit Some Heart Disease Patients
Author: Sondra Forsyth
Sondra Forsyth is Co-Editor-in-Chief of ThirdAge.com. She is a National Magazine Award winner with scores of major magazine bylines and twelve books to her credit. Her most recent book is “Candida Cleanse: The 21-Day Diet to Beat Yeast and Feel Your Best”. Sondra was Executive Editor at “Ladies’ Home Journal,” Features Editor at “Cosmopolitan,” and Articles Editor at “Bride’s”. A former ballerina, she founded Ballet Ambassadors, an arts-in-education company in New York City, and served as Artistic Director for 16 years.
The Case Against Retirement That Has Nothing to Do with Finances
Peer Pressure in your 50’s?! Really? My friends and I were sitting around a table at a restaurant in Scottsdale. The table was outside. Because there are no bugs, no wind, no humidity, it was 75 degrees and perfect. People who retire to Florida have simply never been to the west coast. The conversation had… Continue reading The Case Against Retirement That Has Nothing to Do with Finances
People Who Have Painful Conditions Fare Better Over Time When Spouses Are Empathetic
The dynamics of spouses’ daily interactions may influence whether an ill partner’s physical functioning improves over time, according to findings published June 12TH 2017 in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. A release from the association quotes Ohio State researcher Stephanie J. Wilson, lead author on the study who completed the… Continue reading People Who Have Painful Conditions Fare Better Over Time When Spouses Are Empathetic
We Become More Generous as We Age
People tend to become more generous as they age, especially when it comes to helping strangers. Greater generosity in late life may be an avenue for emotional gratification and sense of purpose for the elderly. That is the finding of a study done at the National University of Singapore and reported online in Journals of… Continue reading We Become More Generous as We Age
Shorter, More Intense Workouts for Summer
I’m not a fan of spending hours in the gym especially when it is summertime. I have other things I need to get done and more importantly, there really is no reason for it. But I don’t like to entirely skip a workout either. In the heat of summer and quite literally some dog days, I… Continue reading Shorter, More Intense Workouts for Summer
Maintaining Brain Flexibility Over a Lifetime
A study by University of Miami psychologists published in June 2017 in The Journal of Neuroscience revealed that brain signals in specific regions change over a lifespan in ways that might be important for maintaining flexibility. A release from the university notes that the brain is a complex organ–a network of nerve cells, or neurons,… Continue reading Maintaining Brain Flexibility Over a Lifetime
Add Some Extra Appeal to Your Landscape with Garden Art
Adding excitement to your garden is easy. You can create instant, year-round color, structure, motion and fun to your landscape with a bit of garden art. Just like shopping for plants, look for pieces that complement your gardening style. And consider all the benefits each piece of art provides. Many pieces are functional as well… Continue reading Add Some Extra Appeal to Your Landscape with Garden Art
Are You Totally Stressed Out? This Is What It Could Be Doing to Your Body!
You’re trying to get the kids off to school, you can’t find your cell phone, and you’re sitting in traffic. Your hypothalamus, a tiny control tower in your brain, decides to send out the order: Send in the stress hormones! These stress hormones are the same ones that trigger your body’s “fight or flight” response. Your… Continue reading Are You Totally Stressed Out? This Is What It Could Be Doing to Your Body!
Slowing Muscle Stem Cell Loss May Be the Key to Staying Strong as We Age
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York have discovered that loss of muscle stem cells is the main driving force behind muscle decline in old age in mice. Their finding, published June 6th 2017 in eLife, challenges the current prevailing theory that age-related muscle decline is primarily caused by loss of… Continue reading Slowing Muscle Stem Cell Loss May Be the Key to Staying Strong as We Age
thirdAGE Health Close-Up: Alzheimer’s Caregiving is a “Living Bereavement”
Having your spouse develop Alzheimer’s is a tragedy for anyone, but for Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, Ronald Glaser’s illness is laced with heartbreaking irony. In the early 1990s the couple published a landmark study proving that the caregiving of those suffering with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease experience stress that dramatically impacts their own health. Recalls Janice, 65,… Continue reading thirdAGE Health Close-Up: Alzheimer’s Caregiving is a “Living Bereavement”
Are Friends Better for Us Than Family as We Age?
The power of friendship gets stronger with age and may even be more important than family relationships, according to research published online in June2017 by a Michigan State University scholar. A release from the university explains that In a pair of studies involving nearly 280,000 people, William Chopik found that friendships become increasingly important to… Continue reading Are Friends Better for Us Than Family as We Age?
Living Long and Living Well: Is It Possible to Do Both?
Exactly when does old age begin? Which health markers best predict who will live a long and healthy life versus a life spent in poor health? Developing metrics to help answer these questions and to understand the tradeoffs between lifespan and health span is the subject of a June 2017 paper by MDI Biological Laboratory… Continue reading Living Long and Living Well: Is It Possible to Do Both?
The Top Six Items from Your Home That Your Kids Don’t Want
A generational and cultural shift is happening across America. Baby Boomers and older seniors have discovered that their children under 50 or grandchildren have no desire to accept family treasures and lifetime collections that have passed through generations. Elizabeth Stewart, a certified appraiser and author of COLLECT VALUE DIVEST: The Savvy Appraiser, confronts this situation… Continue reading The Top Six Items from Your Home That Your Kids Don’t Want
Older Married Couples and Advance Directives
A study published in June 2017 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society examined the effects spouses had on the decision of older adults to have Advance directives (ADs), the legal documents you can use to state in advance what medical treatments you do or do not wish to have under certain circumstances. You… Continue reading Older Married Couples and Advance Directives
12 Ways to Help Prevent Falls in The Elderly
Whether it’s from dizziness, medication side effects, certain health conditions like arrhythmias or just tripping over an uneven surface, the fact is the older we get the more likely we are to fall. For some seniors, it’s a serious and recurring problem. How can you best prevent falls in the elderly? In the bathroom: Put… Continue reading 12 Ways to Help Prevent Falls in The Elderly
Unexpected Strategies For Fighting Allergies
Wheezing and sneezing definitely isn’t the most invigorating way of getting through the day. But runny noses, congestion and itchy throats are an unfortunate fact of life for the more than 50 million Americans who suffer from nasal allergies that can be triggered by tree pollen, grass pollen, dust mites, pet dander, mold and other… Continue reading Unexpected Strategies For Fighting Allergies
Why Antibiotics Fail
When a patient is prescribed the wrong antibiotic to treat a bacterial infection, it’s not necessarily the physician who is at fault. The current antibiotic assay — standardized in 1961 by the World Health Organization and used worldwide — is potentially flawed. So says University of California-Santa Barbara biologist Michael Mahan, whose lab has developed… Continue reading Why Antibiotics Fail
The Part of Rice We Don’t Eat is Highly Nutritious
Rice bran, the outer covering of the rice grain, has high nutritional value and is a rich source of proteins, fats, minerals and micronutrients such as B vitamins, according to a study published in June 2017 the open access journal Rice. Researchers at Colorado State University suggest that rice bran, which is removed from whole… Continue reading The Part of Rice We Don’t Eat is Highly Nutritious