SPINNING YOUR WHEELS: AT THE GYM OR AT HOME I love riding my bike. It’s a 17-year-old Motobecane steel-frame road-bike on which I’ve put tens of thousands of miles and ridden in dozens of triathlons. These days I live in Ventura, which with its mild weather, is perfect for riding nearly every day. But years ago, I lived near Lake Tahoe where in winter we at times had so much snow that street riding wasn’t possible. On those days I often attended spinning classes at my local gym. You may live in a region where because of snow or rain...
THE MAGIC OF MUSHROOMS As I’m watching more closely what I eat, I’m coming to appreciate mushrooms; They’re low in calories and fats and high in antioxidants. At our house we use them chopped up in salads and sometimes in scrambled eggs. Mushroom soup is also mighty tasty. And grilled portobello mushrooms are terrific as a replacement for meat in burgers either mixed in with beef or turkey or on their own. Most of us use mushrooms as a vegetable although—because they are fungi—they evolved hundreds of millions of years ago separately from both plants and animals. I wanted to...
EXTEND YOUR LIFE WITH OLIVE OIL We’ve heard that olive oil is the healthiest oil to use in cooking and on our salads. But now there’s evidence that if used regularly it can also help extend your life. Here are excerpts from the March 2022 issue of the online Harvard Health Letter article by Katherine D. McManus, MS, RD, LDN, Olive oil: Can it lower your risk of dying early? For many years we have heard about the benefits of olive oil to help lower the risk of heart disease, but its connection to decreasing risk of death has been...
BEST DIETS RANKINGS FOR 2022 BY U.S. NEWS It’s time again for me to post the best diet rankings for the year from U.S. News. Here’s their article and lists from January 4, 2022 titled U.S. News Reveals Best Diet Rankings for 2022 The No. 1 Best Diet Overall. The Mediterranean diet is among the most studied diets, and one of few (most of which are higher fat/lower carbohydrate diets) showing benefits on cardiovascular disease outcomes. The Mediterranean Diet also claimed the top spot in five other lists: Best Diets for Healthy Eating, Easiest Diets to Follow, Best Diets for Diabetes, Best Plant-Based Diets and Best Heart-Healthy Diets (tied...
SHOULD YOU BE TAKING A STATIN? When I visited my primary doctor for my annual checkup last year, she told me I should consider taking a statin drug. I know that the main reason people take statin is to lower cholesterol. However, (so far-so good) my cholesterol-level readings have been okay: under 200 for total, and under 100 for LDL—the “bad” cholesterol. (To learn more about cholesterol, please refer to my September 2018 post Clearing Up Cholesterol Confusion.) Since I’m over 75, my doc tells me I now have a greater chance of a heart attack or stroke; And a...
KEEP SHOULDER INJURIES AT ARM’S LENGTH You’ve probably put up with minor shoulder problems—such as sore muscles and aches and pain—which develop from everyday wear and tear or overuse. But more serious, especially for us seniors, are rotator cuff injuries or shoulder fractures. To give you more information on these particular injuries, here are excerpts from the February 1, 2022 Harvard Health Letter by Heidi Godman, Two common shoulder injuries and how to avoid them It doesn’t take much to sustain shoulder injuries once we reach our 50s. By then, shoulder muscles and tendons have become weaker, cartilage has worn...
WILD OR FARMED SALMON—WHICH TO EAT? We try to eat fish at least once a week because of all its health benefits. And often salmon is our fish choice. We usually buy it at Trader Joe’s, which offers both farmed raised and wild caught salmon. Although I put a lot of trust in Trader Joe’s, I still wondered which salmon is, in general, healthier to eat. Searching online, I found the December 2020 Cleveland Clinic article, Fish Faceoff: Wild Salmon vs. Farmed Salmon. Here are excerpts:. We know that salmon provides many health benefits and contains lots of omega-3 fatty...
NEW HOPE FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: ULTRASOUND STIMULATION If you’ve followed my posts, you know I try to share the latest news on Alzheimer’s disease. To me—and many others—it’s the most threatening thing about aging; at least one third of us will develop it by age 85. This week I read of a recent study where mice exposed to ultrasound stimulation over a period of time had not only reduced amyloid plaque and tau protein levels in their brain but also increased function. This is terrific news! If this is found to be an applicable approach for humans, it could significantly...
SEASONAL BOOSTER SHOTS—COMING SOON? We’re now entering the third year of the pandemic. The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is hard upon us. And who know what the next variant will bring? Thus, to me, it seems inevitable that we’ll keep needing annual booster shots for perhaps the rest of our lifetimes. The good news is that the Covid seasonal boosters can probably be combined with flu shots. That would mean we ‘d only need to get one all-purpose needle a year. I’m sure you’ve heard different guesses of what’s coming next. I searched for a concise summary from folks who...
SYSTOLIC VS. DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE As we age, we increase our risk of having a stroke. And high blood pressure is the leading cause of stroke. Thus, it makes sense to regularly monitor our blood pressure. Because we always read it with systolic pressure over diastolic pressure, I asked myself, which of these has more significance in preventing a stroke? Here are excerpts from a recent Harvard Heart Letter by Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., M.P.H., Which blood pressure number matters most? Top or Bottom Number—which is more important? This question comes up often, perhaps because doctors and patients alike tend...
