YOUR SENIOR MOMENTS COULD COME FROM THE DRUGS YOU TAKE I just came across a companion piece to last week’s post, Your Memory–Past & Future. It’s an October 1, 2021 online Harvard University article by Matthew Solan titled, Stuck in a brain fog? Look in your medicine cabinet. Here are excerpts: It’s an unfortunate reality of aging — those occasional periods of forgetfulness or “brain fog” where you can’t think clearly or have trouble multitasking and comprehending information. Older adults may shrug it off as “senior moments,” but don’t be too quick to blame Father Time for a faulty brain....
YOUR MEMORY—PAST & FUTURE As I grow older, I’m experiencing more and more memory “lapses.” Sometimes I can’t think of the right word or remember where I left my keys or forget why I opened the fridge. I’m not in dementia territory yet, but I do try to exercise regularly, eat (mostly) right and follow most of the other tips I gave in my July 21, 2018 post Wait…Wait…Don’t Tell Me!—Novel Ways to Improve Your Memory. Still, I also wanted to uncover what kinds of changes in our memories are normal as we gain years. I found a concise summary...
MEDICAL TOURISM PROS & CONS I recently visited my dentist for a routine cleaning and checkup. The costs of these were covered by the inexpensive dental plan I have along with my Blue Shield Medicare insurance. However, during the checkup I was told I needed to replace a crown and that I also should have what’s called a deep cleaning. My insurance would only cover a portion of the expenses and I would still have to pay $960 for the crown and $402 for the deep cleaning. I called around to other dentists in my plan and their charges were...
CAN MELATONIN GIVE YOU BETTER SLEEP? Some folks swear by melatonin supplements. They say it works as good or better than over-the-counter sleep aids like Unisom for getting a good night’s sleep. But I’m reading reports that it doesn’t help much for curing insomnia, although it might be helpful for other sleep disorders. Actually, your body already makes the melatonin hormone. Your pineal gland communicates with receptors in the retina area of your eye letting it know when it’s light or dark. When it senses dark, it releases the melatonin to prepare you for sleep. And when it senses light,...
STAYING THE COURSE If you’ve been reading my posts over the years, you know I’m a firm believer in engaging in regular exercise to help us stay fit and healthy. But I’ve been tested over these past 5 months since I fell on my head. That fall—and its resultant concussion—caused me to lose both my energy and enthusiasm. So, I’ve had to force myself to keep running and biking several times a week. Plus, to “encourage” me to stay active, I entered the Shoreline Half Marathon here in Ventura in July and the Malibu triathlon last Sunday. The outcome of...
HAVE YOU HAD YOUR TUMERIC TODAY? Turmeric has been used in India for thousands of years as both a flavor enhancer and a remedy. At our house, we use this spice to both season and add a rich color to different food dishes. We add a pinch of it in chicken, rice and seafood preparations and especially in curries. Turmeric is a great substitute for the much more expensive saffron. And now turmeric is suddenly a hot topic. Both my Consumer Reports On Health and Bottom Line Health October issues have articles suggesting that this spice and curcumin, one of...
PEP UP WITH PEPPERS Every year I grow bell peppers in my vegetable garden. If I left the peppers on the plant to mature they’d in time turn red, but I harvest them while they’re still green so I can get more of the fruit. Peppers are mighty versatile: We put them in salads, dip them in ranch dressing, grill and sauté them. I wanted to find more about the nutrition and fitness advantages of peppers in general. I found this informative article by Jordan Smith in the January 25, 2021 online article in Runner’s World, What Are the Health...
TO NAP OR NOT Oftentimes, after eating lunch, I’ll slouch back in my lounge chair for a short 15 to 20 minute snooze. I didn’t allow myself this catnap back when I had an office, but now that I work from home—and am also somewhat older—it comes easy. And from what I read, many of us older adults partake in an afternoon nap. I wanted to know if this were a particularly good or bad habit, so I searched a bit online and found an excellent Harvard article from June 1, 2021 by Kelly Bilodeau, Is your daily nap doing...
YOU CAN BEAT FATTY LIVER DISEASE Lately, I’ve been reading that a lot of our livers aren’t doing very well. In fact one out of three American adults—over 80 million people—have a “fatty” liver. Their liver cells are filled with excess fat, in the form of triglycerides. The liver is a 3+ pound organ that sits on the right side of your abdomen, below the diaphragm and above the stomach. It has a variety of functions, among which are: filtering blood, storing and regulating cellular fuel, and producing the bile that helps digest fat. Many folks with a fatty liver...
CAN EXERCISE PROVOKE A HEART ATTACK? I’ve heard that some of us seniors are fearful of exercising, thinking it might bring on a heart attack. For the great majority of us this just isn’t the case. Quite the opposite, actually—regular physical activity offers a wide range of health advantages including increased heart health. Of course, if you already have under-lying or genetic risk factors for heart disease you should avoid extreme events which might trigger a heart attack, such as competitive racquetball or basketball, heavy weight-lifting and HIIT exercise. Still, this leaves good-old walking—especially on a level surface with the...
