Coming Next Week! August 18th to August 22nd 2014 By Sondra Forsyth article HereΓÇÖs a sneak preview of the articles, slideshows, and blogs weΓÇÖll be posting during the coming week on ThirdAge, the biggest and best site for ΓÇ£boomer and beyondΓÇ¥ women since 1997. As always, weΓÇÖll bring you the latest information from top experts about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit as you navigate both the challenges and the joys of being a ThirdAger.
_ Vision Health ΓÇ£Seeing'ΓÇ¥ Through Virtual Touch By Sondra Forsyth article Surprising results from University of Cincinnati research could lead to new ways to help the visually impaired better navigate everyday life. Visual impairment comes in many forms, and it's on the rise in America. The University of Cincinnati experiment aimed at this diverse and growing population could spark development of advanced tools to help all the aging baby boomers, injured veterans, diabetics, and white-cane-wielding pedestrians navigate the blurred edges of everyday life.
_ Colon-Cancer Screenings: Weighing the Options By Jane Farrell article Editor's note: If you ever thought getting a colonoscopy was the only way to screen for colon cancer, you're wrong. Here, the experts from the Mayo Clinic explain what the choices are: WHAT IS YOUR DOCTORΓÇÖS APPROACH TO COLON-CANCER SCREENING? Make sure that you're comfortable with the colon cancer screening test your doctor recommends. If your doctor specializes in a particular test but you'd rather have another test, express your wishes. If necessary, your doctor might offer a referral to someone trained in the test with which you feel most comfortable.
_ Aging Well Genes That Protect Against Frailty By Sondra Forsyth article Frailty is a common condition associated with old age, characterized by weight loss, weakness, decreased activity level and reduced mobility, which together increase the risk of injury and death. Yet, not all elderly people become frail. Some remain vigorous and robust well into old age. The question remains: Why?
_ 5 Emotions to Watch Out for In Your Relationship with Money By Jane Farrell article By Meriflor Toneatto Everyone has a relationship with money, but for women, itΓÇÖs much more fraught with emotion. When we avoid and ignore those emotions, we allow them to quietly guide our decision-making ΓÇô which inevitably holds us back. Understanding our emotions, fears and doubts about money and how they affect our behavior can help us heal them so we can experience financial and personal freedom. For women, money is an emotional currency. ItΓÇÖs tied to our sense of self-worth and self-confidence, and our feelings of safety and security.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Say Yes to NO! By Sondra Forsyth article By Jaime Kulaga, Ph.D., LMHC No has gotten this bad reputation. “No, you can’t do that.” “No, it’s too hard.” “No, I don’t have time.” “No, I’m too old.” “No, I’ll do it some other time.” I am sure that you have said some of these statements before. And, yes, when it comes to stopping a life dream, skipping out on a risk, or self-sabotaging with the word “No,” ….YES that IS negative. In fact, saying “No” all the time could skew people’s opinions of you, making them think you are a pessimist or have a negative attitude. I get it.
_ Pain Management If You've Been Diagnosed with Shingles By Jane Farrell article Shingles is a disease that affects nerves and causes pain and blisters in adults. ItΓÇÖs caused by the same varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox in children. After you recover from chickenpox, the virus doesnΓÇÖt leave your body, but continues to live in some nerve cells. For reasons that aren't totally understood, the virus can become active instead of remaining inactive. When it's activated in adults, it produces shingles. Most adults live with the varicella-zoster virus in their body and never get shingles.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Fast Food Redeemed: Beyond Burgers and Fries By Sondra Forsyth article By Dr. Kevin J. McLaughlin Across the United States, North America and throughout the world, the impact of the fast food industry has really overtaken our collective culinary culture. It has driven demand, competitive pricing for fast meals and disease rates right through the roof in the U.S. To put it bluntly, fast food is one of the main reasons why Americans are getting fatter, sicker, and living with high morbidity as they age. This trend is also occurring within a much younger demographic than ever before.
_ Protecting Yourself Against Rabies By Jane Farrell article Most of us love looking at wild animals in their natural habitat. But unfortunately, some animals are carrying rabies, a dangerous virus that you can get if you handle or are bitten by the critters. Here, from the experts at the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), are some tips on what you should know about rabies so you can protect yourself, your family and your pets: Each year 30,000 to 40,000 people in the U.S. require a series of post-bite shots because of potential exposure to rabies.
_ How Safe Are Your Dietary Supplements? By Jane Farrell article WeΓÇÖre bombarded daily by commercials that promise everything from weight loss to sexual fulfillment if we just buy the dietary supplement theyΓÇÖre advertising. But how do we know whether the substance is safe, let alone effective? Here, experts from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outline what you should know about these supposed curatives:
Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys By blog This is the ninth blog in a series. To read the earlier entries, click here: Archive: The ThirdAge Romance Saga of Sally Franz. I just heard this phrase: ΓÇ£Not My Circus, Not my MonkeysΓÇ¥. It is purportedly translated from an old Polish saying. And it has become so popular you can buy T-shirts with the saying plastered across the front. I wish I could buy one for every stepparent alive.
5 Surprising Reasons a Good Relationship Is the Best Stress Reliever in the World By blog The stress response was our secret weapon for success through most of human history. It saved our lives, making us run from predators and enabling us to take down prey. The problem is that we are no longer responding to a wild animal attack that might occur once every six months, but instead we are dealing with hundreds of stresses every day. Human beings are turning on the same life-saving physical reaction to cope with aging parents, unhappy teenagers, costly gasoline, increasing food prices, traffic jams, and job insecurity.
_ Stress-Free Living Not Wild about Your Backyard Wildlife? By Sondra Forsyth article By Diane Blum A variety of wildlife routinely exists in many neighborhood backyards. Homes that are near open space, hills, natural water sources, meadows and the like are known as an urban or suburban interface. In these areas in particular, people not only will see deer and other small animals, but sometimes more dangerous wildlife may move in. Hillside development may destroy previously wild habitat. Drought can also cause bears, mountain lions, and other predators to move in to residential areas.
_ Pain Management 9 Ways to Tame Your Chronic Pain By Jane Farrell article When it comes to chronic pain, thereΓÇÖs usually a limit to how much relief medications and procedures can bring. ThatΓÇÖs where changes to your daily life can help bridge the gap. Cleveland Clinic pain and wellness specialists Daniel Leizman, MD, and Mladen Golubi─ç, MD, PhD, offer nine ΓÇ£pain wellnessΓÇ¥ tips to make sure youΓÇÖre following for maximum pain management. Take deep breaths. The average adult takes eight to 16 breaths per minute. Slowing that down to five or six deep breaths that really fill your lungs will help you relax, which can lessen your discomfort.
_ Medical Care $15 Billion Physician Training System Needs Overhaul By Sondra Forsyth article The U.S. should significantly reform the federal system for financing physician training and residency programs to ensure that the publicΓÇÖs $15 billion annual investment is producing the doctors that the nation needs, says a new report release in July 2014 by the Institute of Medicine. Current financing -- provided largely through Medicare -- requires little accountability, allocates funds independent of workforce needs or educational outcomes, and offers insufficient opportunities to train physicians in the health care settings used by most Americans, the report says.
How To Live Your Life: 10 Tips from My Mother By blog I call my mom at least once a day. Today we talked about buying a scrabble app for her computer. Ninety- two years old and my mother is going to play scrabble on her Mac! How fabulous is this mother of mine! I would normally go on to my next activity, but with a broken ankle I have time to reflect about this mother of mine and her sage advice dripping with wisdom and values for women of all ages. Grandmothers, mothers, and daughters will gain from reading this. My motherΓÇÖs 10 tips on how to live your life:
_ Mental & Emotional Health When It's More Than Just Anxiety By Jane Farrell article Although thereΓÇÖs a lot of talk about depression, another condition ΓÇô Generalized Anxiety Disorder ΓÇô doesnΓÇÖt get nearly as much attention. And that can make it harder for friends and family to understand whatΓÇÖs happening when someone they love has GAD. Here, from the National Institute of Mental Health, are some things you should know: What Is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
6 Steps To Creating Your Legacy By blog I was speaking at a ladies’ brunch last week, and my topic was “Creating Your Legacy,” which resonates with so many midlife women. It seems that, once we reach the empty-nest, career-burnout, suddenly-single stage in life, we begin to question how we can continue to leave our mark on the world aside from our legacies as moms, wives, career women and community volunteers. Too many believe that it’s all over, and their legacy is complete….to which I say “Not so!”