25 Tips to Stretch Your Mind At Any Age By blog The good news is your brain has plasticity. This means that the brain has a natural ability to remodel itself throughout life so that the phrase “stretch your mind at any age” resonates. The brain is always changing, sometimes for better, and sometimes for worse. This neuroplasticity gives the brain the ability to change its neural pathways and synapses, which in turn affects changes in behavior, environment and neural processes.
_ Weight Loss Weight Loss Program in Sign Language Helps the Deaf By article A group of deaf adults using American Sign Language in a healthy lifestyle program successfully lost weight, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology & Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity & Metabolism Scientific Sessions in March 2014 in San Francsico.
_ Exercise Get Fit For Free By Jane Farrell article Getting and staying fit can be intimidating, especially if you don’t want to go to gyms that might make you self-conscious and cost a lot of money. Even at-home equipment can be costly. But you can have an enjoyable fitness routine without spending anything. Experts from the Go4Life fitness program of the National Institutes of Health have some great suggestions:
Five Questions to Ask Your Surgeon Before An Operation By Jane Farrell article From the Mayo Clinic The news that you will need surgery can prompt many questions and a lot of anxiety. Beyond details about your medical condition and treatment options, what should you ask your surgeon before the operation? Whatever you need to ask to be comfortable with the decisions you make about your care, says Robert Cima, M.D., a colon and rectal surgeon and chair of Mayo’s surgical quality subcommittee.
_ Keeping Your Kidneys Healthy By Jane Farrell article According to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), 26 million Americans have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and millions more are at risk. Kidney disease, in which the kidney fails to eliminate wastes from the body, is extremely serious, since it can lead to failure of this vital organ.
Heart Health 5 Common Questions About Sex and Your Heart By Jane Farrell article By Steven Nissen, MD Cleveland Clinic Patients often ask me: Is sex good for your heart? The question seems simple. The answer is complicated, in part because of the limits of what research can tell us. But we do have a strong sense that sex fits in with a heart-healthy lifestyle. Below are answers to five common questions. 1. Is sex exercise?
_ Safer Driving With ΓÇ£Emotion DetectorsΓÇ¥ By Jane Farrell article Technology that identifies the seven universal emotions -- fear, anger, joy, sadness, disgust, surprise, and suspicion – can help make driving safer, according to a study done at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
_ Why Food Is Your "Frenemy" By Jane Farrell article By Sherrie Campbell Is food your “frenemy?” Food can be the best friend and comfort you have when you are down or just want to feel something because you are bored. Yet after you eat, you’re consumed with self-loathing. Suddenly, food is the enemy. This is no way to live or to let something outside of you have this much control over how you feel about yourself. It’s not a simple issue, but you can start having a better relationship with food – and yourself – if you understand all the complexities involved:
Aging Well Beauty & Style Exercise The Secrets to Banishing Back Fat By article By Soriyya Bawa When it comes to anti-aging fitness, the back area can sometimes be one of the hardest areas to tone. According to anti-aging fitness gurus, a lot of women forget to include the muscles in their upper and middle back in their total body workouts, resulting in poor posture and the visible appearance of back fat. Poor lifestyle habits and ill-fitting clothing often contribute further to the problem.
_ Waist Circumference Trumps BMI By article Having a big belly has consequences beyond trouble squeezing into your jeans, published in the March 2014 edition of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The researchers say that a large waist is detrimental to your health, even if you have a healthy body mass index (BMI). The finding come form a new international collaborative study led by a Mayo Clinic researcher found.
Best Practices for Successful Online Dating at Midlife and Beyond By blog Online dating can be intimidating, especially for those of you who have been out of the dating game for a while. You may wonder if it’s safe, how comfortable you feel competing in such an open forum, how you will handle potential rejection, or how you will feel if you don’t any attention at all. All these concerns are valid. You no doubt feel more vulnerable than you did at 16. Here are my best practices for successful online dating. 1) Do keep it light
_ Osteoporosis Osteoporosis and Strength Training By Jane Farrell article By Neil Short, Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach Osteoporosis is called the “silent disease” and for good reason. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), more than 50% of women over the age of 50 have it, and few will know until they fall and break a bone. And it doesn’t stop there. The NOF estimates that a full 20% of seniors who break their hip will die within one year from complications due to surgery or recovery, and most end up in nursing homes well before their time.
_ 10 Things Docs & Older Patients Should Question By article “Choosing Wisely”, and initiative of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation, has released a 2014 update from the American Geriatrics Society listing 10 procedures and tests that should not be routinely performed or prescribed for older patients:
Women's Health and Wellness Post-Menopausal WomenΓÇÖs Fall Risk By article A study published in the March 2014 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) showed that women with distal radius (wrist) fractures had decreased strength compared to similar patients without fractures. The authors suggest that this fact could explain why these women were more likely to fall and might sustain future fractures.
_ Protect Yourself Against Colon Cancer By Jane Farrell article Colon cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, is often preventable and highly curable. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and it’s important to find out all about the illness that overwhelmingly affects people 50 and older. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 90 percent of people with the illness fall into that age category.
_ Pain Management Minimally Invasive Back Surgery By article Research done at the Beaumont Health Systems in Royal Oak, Michigan and published in the February 2014 online issue of the journal Spine has shown that patients who have a low back surgery called minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion end up better off in many ways than patients who have more invasive surgery to alleviate debilitating pain.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Can Skype Make You Happier? By article By Hilary Young Loneliness and depression are not uncommon within the senior community. While the Centers for Disease Control reports that “depression is a true and treatable medical condition, not a normal part of aging,” the CDC also acknowledges that older adults do face a higher risk than other age groups of experiencing depression and anxiety. According to the CDC, about 80 percent of older adults are living with at least one chronic health problem, which could play a major role in the development of depression.
_ Ten Ways To Control High Blood Pressure Without Medication By Jane Farrell article Editor's note: Hypertension is one of the most common, and most serious, health problems. It has the potential to damage vital organs like the brain, heart and kidneys. Millions of people take medications to control their high blood presure, but lifestyle changes are often just as important and can make it possible to handle hypertension without any medicine. Here, experts from the Mayo Clinic offer some non-medicinal ways to control hypertension.