_ Exercise Exercise and Menopause By Jane Farrell article Along with managing weight and avoiding smoking or excess alcohol use, exercising regularly is one of the most important health habits women can practice throughout their lives. And working out becomes especially important during menopause, because it helps prevent osteoporosis as well as illness such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. It may also improve mood disorders that some women go through and help avoid middle-aged weight gain.
_ The 7 Hidden Causes of Fatigue By Jane Farrell article From the Cleveland Clinic Fatigue can signal anemia, diabetes, hypothyroidism or hepatitis C. But once your doctor rules out major medical causes of fatigue, it’s time to consider hidden ones. "We look for the less obvious roots of fatigue — that’s our job,” says Tanya Edwards, MD, Medical Director of Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Integrative Medicine. Hidden causes include: 1. A junk food diet
_ Restoring Insulin-Producing Cells for Diabetics By article Two recent studies led by University of California-San Francisco scientists have shed new light on the nature of beta cells, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas that are compromised in diabetes.
_ Heart Health New BP Guidelines Questioned By Sondra Forsyth article On December 19th 2013, ThirdAge.com reported on the new hypertension guidelines from The American Society of Hypertension Inc. and the International Society of Hypertension. The revised recommendation was150/90 for people 60+ before starting treatment, up from the recommendation of 140/80 that has been the standard for 30 years.
_ Exercise Safety for Senior Athletes By Jane Farrell article Aging affects multiple organ systems, from the heart and lungs to your bones and metabolism. Of all the changes, musculoskeletal issues have the most impact on the aging senior’s sport. These changes include:an overall decrease in muscle and bone mass; stiffening of muscles; weakening of tendons and cartilage.
_ ICE Your Cell Phone for Cold Weather Safety By article As frigid temperatures continue to affect every state in the union, Visiting Angels -- one of the nation’s largest in-home senior care agencies -- has launched the ICE a Cell Phone Safety Campaign to help people in case of emergency. ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. To ICE your cell phone or the phone a loved one in your care, load emergency contacts with the word ICE in front of the names so that if you’re ever in trouble, people will know who to call.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Adults Often Under-Report Mental Health Issues By Jane Farrell article Mental disorders among adults may be substantially underestimated over the course of their lifetime.
_ Heart Health 5 Reasons Senior Heart Patients Need Exercise By Jane Farrell article Editor’s Note: You might think that the best course is to simply rest if you have heart disease. But doing the right kind of exercise can benefit you in some very substantial ways. Here, the American Council on Exercise and the Cleveland Clinic offer some suggestions to get you going. Remember, though, to talk with your doctor before beginning or resuming any exercise program, and to follow his or her recommendationis for the right exercises for you. 1. Exercise Optimizes Heart Health.
_ Refilling Prescriptions Online Can Help Your Health By Jane Farrell article Using an online service to refill medications actually helped some people with their health, according to a new study. Researchers from Kaiser Permanente and the University of California, San Francisco Medical School followed 17,760 diabetic patients who got care from Kaisesr Permanente in northern California between 2006 and 2010. The subjects used online patient portals, which allow users to order prescription refills, communicate with their health care providers, schedule appointments, access their health records and view their lab test results
Metabolic Syndrome: Patients Not Sticking with Diet By article Adherence to dietary recommendations is weak among people suffering from metabolic syndrome or having increased risk for metabolic syndrome, according to the Nordic SYSDIET study led by the University of Eastern Finland. In most cases, patients are still consuming too much salt and saturated fat and too little dietary fiber and unsaturated fat. Not only that, but many of the patients don't have a sufficient intake of vitamin D. The study was published in the journal Food & Nutrition Research.
Turning Off the ΓÇ£Aging GenesΓÇ¥ By Jane Farrell article Researchers at Tel Aviv University and Bar-Ilan University say they have found a possible way to stop the aging process. A release from the university notes that until now, restricting calorie consumption has been one of the few proven ways to combat aging. However, Keren Yizhak and colleagues have developed a computer algorithm that predicts which genes can be "turned off" to create the same anti-aging effect as calorie restriction.
_ Age-Related Obesity Explained By article If you’ve found that you’re packing on more pounds as the years go by even if your calorie intake and activity level remain about the same, you’re not alone. Now research published in the January 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal shows that as we age, the thermogenic, or heat-producing, activity of brown fat is reduced. Brown fat is a "good" fat that helps burn "bad" white belly fat. The researchers also discovered a possible metabolic on/off switch that could reactivate brown fat.
Quick and Effective Ways to Deal with Chronic Pain Without Drugs By Jane Farrell blog According to the American Academy of Pain Medicine, pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. The list below shows the number of chronic pain sufferers compared to other major health conditions. Chronic Pain 100 million Americans
Alzheimer's Disease and other Dementias ThirdAge Health Close-Up: NPH, the Curable Dementia By Sondra Forsyth article By Sondra Forsyth During 2004, when Alicia Harper was 69, her husband began to notice heartbreaking changes in the way his smart, vibrant wife was behaving. "She was becoming disconnected," Nildo, now 83, says. "She was confused and always forgetting things. And when we would visit with any of our four children and eight grandchildren, she didn't seem to feel anything for them. I just assumed she had the beginnings of Alzheimer's disease. I took her to several doctors and they thought so, too."
_ Menopause The "Silent Symptom" of Menopause By Jane Farrell article By Judy Kirkwood Editor's note: October 18th is World Menopause Day. Here, to help you celebrate, is the information you need to keep the loving alive and well as you experience "the change."
_ Sleep Health Best Treatments for Severe Sleep Disorders By Jane Farrell article Sleep is one of our most ordinary but important activities. If we don’t do it “right,” we can suffer. Snoring, the partial blockage of your airway, has been linked to some serious health issues, including heart disease, diabetes and weight. And the more serious sleep apnea – a condition in which your airway can be completely blocked from anywhere to five to 50 times an hour – can be life-threatening. And in both cases, you’ll probably be plagued by dangerous drowsiness the next day, affecting everything from driving to your job.
_ What You Might Not Know about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome By Jane Farrell article By Judy Kirkwood An estimated 12 million Americans suffer from the painful nerve disorder of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). We’ve heard the term so much that it might start to seem as if CTS is simply something you should live with. But investigators are working on new ways to prevent and cure it.
_ Senior Health Medicare Provision Helps Boomers Stay Well By Jane Farrell article By Judy Kirkwood If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as Ben Franklin noted long ago, shouldn’t our health system reward and emphasize prevention rather than the cure? In fact, just a few days ago the Obama administration hired a PR firm to conduct a public education campaign about the utilization of preventive benefits and services included in the Affordable Care Act.