GOOD NEWS FOR CHOCOLATE LOVERS I love chocolate in almost every form, but from now on, I’m sticking with dark chocolate. No problem! The idea that cocoa-rich dark chocolate offers health benefits isn’t new, thanks to its polyphenols, which help reduce inflammation and lower blood pressure. But now, there’s even better news! A recent study suggests that consuming about an ounce of dark (not milk) chocolate daily may lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. If you, like me, are a chocolate lover, that’s a pretty tasty discovery! Check out these excerpts from the December 5, 2024, NPR.org article...
ARE YOU TAKING MULTIPLE MEDICATIONS? UNDERSTANDING POLYPHARMACY Polypharmacy refers to the daily use of five or more prescription medications. It’s particularly common among adults managing multiple chronic conditions, often under the care of different doctors. This trend continues to rise, fueled by an increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the influence of pharmaceutical advertising. According to the CDC, the majority of U.S. adults over 40 take at least one prescription drug, and 22% rely on five or more. If this sounds familiar, keep reading. Below are excerpts from the February 1, 2025 Harvard Health Letter (my go-to source) article by...
JOURNAVX, THE NEW NON-OPIOID PAINKILLER Ten days ago, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new type of painkiller that doesn’t carry the risk of addiction associated with opioid medications. Suzetrigine, the drug, will be sold under the brand name Journavx and is the first new class of pain medicine approved in more than 20 years. This is great news to us seniors, especially those who suffer from moderate-to-severe pain. Here are highlights from the January 30, 2025 WashingtonPost.com article by Daniel Gilbert and Rachel Roubein, FDA approves new non-opioid painkiller Journavx. The drug represents the first new class of...
HOW MUCH EXERCISE DO WE NEED TO COUNTER ALL OUR SITTING? I just received the February issue of my online Harvard Health Letter. Right off, I spotted an article spelling out the dangers of sitting all day. I, like most seniors, sit way too much—at my computer, reading, or watching shows on Apple-TV or Hulu. I’ve previously sent several posts addressing our highly sedentary lifestyle and its associated health risks: What to Do After Sitting All Day? Stretch! (March 2021); Sitting All Day May Increase Your Risk of Dementia (January 2024); Kick Your Pain from Prolonged Sitting (October 2024). This...
CAN INFECTIONS ALSO CAUSE ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE? As seniors, we understand that the risk of developing Alzheimer’s increases as we age. In fact, as many as 50% of Americans aged 80 and older will experience some form of dementia, with Alzheimer’s being the most common type. This growing risk highlights the progressive nature of age-related cognitive decline. That’s why I make it a point to search out articles on the topic and share the latest news and developments with you. This post explores the latest idea: that some cases of Alzheimer’s may be linked to infection. Researchers widely recognize that two...
BEYOND BMI: A BETTER MEASURE OF HEALTHY WEIGHT In the running events I regularly participate in, I often see men and women who appear to be significantly overweight completing courses ranging from 5K to half marathons. Although their BMI—a measurement based on height and weight—may exceed 30, which defines obesity, they clearly display good health. This is why I found an NPR article titled Move Aside, BMI: There’s a Better Way to Define Obesity, Commission Finds so intriguing. As a senior, you’re likely mindful of your weight, just as I am, and might find this fresh perspective on such an...
ALL ABOUT LUCID DREAMS Last week, I came across a captivating article on lucid dreaming in the January 2025 issue of Scientific American (“Engineering Our Dreams” by Michelle Carr, pp. 48–51). Lucid dreaming is a state in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming while still within the dream. Michelle Carr, author of the article, is Director of the Dream Engineering Lab at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine in Montreal Canada. In her “dream laboratory” she primes sleepers to have lucid dreams by waking them and then prompting them as they fall back asleep. In...
THE TOP 15 FITNESS TRENDS FOR 2025 The most popular fitness trends change every year. Compare the 2025 survey with last year’s post, The Top Fitness Trends for 2024. Here are excerpts from the 19th annual survey from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), published in its Health & Fitness Journal, 2025 ACSM Worldwide Fitness Trends: Future Directions of the Health and Fitness Industry. The editors of this Journal have developed and circulated an electronic survey sent to thousands of professionals around the world to predict trends in the health and fitness industry for the following year. This report for 2025 describes...
NEW GENE EDITING TOOL CALLED SPLICER SHOWS PROMISE IN TREATING ALZHEIMER’S Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a gene-editing tool called SPLICER that helps bypass disease-causing gene sections. In tests on mice, it reduced precursors to amyloid-beta plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. SPLICER outperformed current gene-editing methods and may have the potential for treating other diseases. To keep you informed with the latest advancements in Alzheimer’s disease research, I’m sharing excerpts from this December 23, 2024 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign online article by Liz Ahlberg Touchstone, biomedical sciences editor, titled Gene editing tool reduces Alzheimer’s plaque...
CAN YOU REALLY MANAGE MULTIPLE TASKS AT ONCE? ‘Tis the season to multitask—or so I usually believe this time of year. Between Christmas shopping, holiday gatherings, and travel plans, it feels like juggling everything is the only way to keep up. However, as I (hopefully) grow wiser with age, I’ve come to realize that trying to manage multiple tasks at once often leads to less productivity; when jobs get muddled together, mistakes happen, and I end up spending even more time fixing them. This year, I paused for a moment to explore the realities of this juggling act. If you...
