_ Widowhood Mourning the Death Of A Spouse By Jane Farrell article Losing a spouse is one of life’s most heartbreaking events. You may react in a number of different ways: sorrow, fear, even anger (that your husband didn’t look after his health, for example). You can also feel guilty that you have survived, while he hasn’t. You may even feel a certain sense of relief, especially if you have been an in–home caregiver or your spouse has been in a nursing home.
Caring for Horses Can Help Dementia Symptoms By Jane Farrell article Spending time with horses eases dementia symptoms for Alzheimer’s patients, according to the first study of its kind. The research, a collaboration between The Ohio State University and an adult daycare center, revealed that patients could groom, feed and walk horses under supervision. That experience improved patients’ mood and made them less likely to resist care or become upset later in the day.
_ Women's Health and Wellness Women & Peripheral Artery Disease By Sondra Forsyth article Women, especially older women, face greater limits on their lifestyle and have more severe symptoms as a result of peripheral artery disease (PAD) than men do. The condition happens when fatty deposits build up in arteries outside the heart, usually the arteries supplying fresh oxygen and blood to the arms, legs and feet. About 8 million Americans have peripheral artery disease.
_ Challenging the Notion of ΓÇ£Healthy ObesityΓÇ¥ By Jane Farrell article Back in October of 2013, the concept of “healthy obesity” made news because of a study published in the journal Diabetologia about overweight people with no metabolic problems. Now a study published on April 30th 2014 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology challenges that assertion. A release from the publisher explains that obese people who have no signs of cardiovascular disease show a much higher prevalence of early plaque buildup in the arteries compared to healthy normal weight individuals, according to a study.
_ Even a Little Activity Helps Prevent Knee OA By article Here’s some good news if you aren’t all that eager to engage in high intensity workouts. All you need to do to stave of the pain and disability of knee osteoarthritis as you age is to get up out your chair and do ordinary tasks such as running the vacuum or pushing a shopping cart. That’s the finding of research y done at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago and published on April 29th 2014 on the British Medical Journal.
_ Exercise How to Stick With Your Fitness Program By Jane Farrell article By Ken Blanchard and Tim Kearin
_ Heart Health Six Tips to Turn Back the Clock on Your Heart By article By Steven Masley, MD, CNS The first step to avoiding cardiovascular disease, which is the #1 killer of Americans, including women—is understanding how your heart and arteries age. The traditional approach to evaluating heart disease does not address what’s actually happening within your arteries. The single factor that causes most heart problems is not cholesterol per se, but the growth of plaque in your arteries. This is what determine your heart’s true age.
_ Eating And Exercising: 5 Top Tips By Jane Farrell article Anyone who’s ever had a high-fat meal knows how sluggish it can make you feel. (Thanksgiving dinner, anyone?) To get the most from your exercise routine, you need to eat healthy and nourishing foods. Here, from the Mayo Clinic, are some suggestions: 1. Eat a healthy breakfast
_ Take a Walk to Spark Your Creativity By article When the task at hand requires some imagination, taking a walk may lead to more creative thinking than sitting, according to research published in April 2014 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, a publication of the American Psychological Association. A release from the association quotes researcher Marily Oppezzo PhD of Santa Clara University, as saying, "Many people anecdotally claim they do their best thinking when walking, "With this study, we finally may be taking a step or two toward discovering why."
_ The Right Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome By Jane Farrell article Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects an estimated 3 to 20 percent of the population, according to the federal National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC). According to the NDDIC, IBS is a collection of symptoms, not a condition. It’s been known by a number of other names in the past, including colitis and spastic colon.
Aging Well We Feel Younger Than Our Years! By Sondra Forsyth article Good news about Boomers and Beyond! The ninth annual 100@100 survey by UnitedHealthcare reported that Americans at age 65 say they feel 55 on average. Not only that, but our hardy centenarians say they feel as though they are 83 “years young” on average, and more than half live independently without the support of a caregiver to help them with their daily activities.
The "A-to-F" Guide To Self-Acceptance By blog Aging gracefully is difficult when it comes to our changing bodies. It is almost like some alien force takes over and brings with it extra weight, a slower metabolism and “curves” where they never existed before. Here‘s my “A-to-F” guide to accepting your body, and your value, in life after 50.
_ Avoiding Complications After Hip Replacement Surgery By article If you’re scheduled for hip replacement surgery, you’re in good company. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, 120,000 people have total hip arthroplasties annually in the United States. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons reports that most patients who undergo the operation are 50 to 80 years old. Here, from the National Institutes for Health’s Senior Health portal, is advice about how to remain complication-free following a hip replacement:
_ Massage Really Does Do a Body Good By Sondra Forsyth article Improved circulation and relief of muscle soreness are common claims made for massage therapy but no studies had ever been done to substantiate these assertions even though massage therapy is increasingly used as an adjunct to traditional medical interventions. Now researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago have shown that massage therapy not only improves general blood flow and alleviates muscle soreness after exercise but also helps people who have not worked out such as those who are bedridden.
_ The Screen-Time Diet By Jane Farrell article To help manage your body weight, you need to reduce the amount of time you spend being sedentary. For many of us, that includes time (lots of it) spent in front of a screen, whether you’re watching TV, playing video games or using the computer. A sedentary lifestyle can easily lead to excess weight and even obesity, with its myriad health risks.
_ Creative Activities Boost Job Performance By article When the workday ends, do you turn to a favorite creative activity such as painting with water colors, writing poetry, making up new recipes, or planting and tending a beautiful flower garden? If so, you’re probably boosting your performance on the job. That’s the finding of a study done by San Francisco State University organizational psychologist Kevin Eschleman and colleagues that was reported in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology in April 2014.
The Littlest Word By blog FOR - The three letters look simple, but sometimes they’re part of a painful question: What am I doing this for? My husband and I are going through an emotional and sad time with close family members. It has been ongoing, and we’ve tried to reach out a number of times by leaving phone messages. On our last attempt, we got a message that the number was disconnected. I asked my husband, what am I doing this for? I quit!!!
_ Heart Health Irrational Health Beliefs & Skipped Cardiac Rehab By article Heart patients with beliefs about health that aren’t based on medical evidence are more likely to skip sessions of cardiac rehabilitation, according to a study done at Ohio State Univeristy and available online in April 2014 in the journal Health Psychology and slated to be published in a future print edition. Among the irrational beliefs assessed were the following: *Doubting the preventive power of the flu vaccine