CAN WATCHING LESS TV LOWER YOUR RISK OF DEMENTIA? I try to pass on the latest research into reducing your risk of developing dementia. You already knew that time spent exercising was better than the same amount of time watching TV. But now we have a large investigation finding that even actively using a computer is better than sitting on the couch binge-watching a Netflix series. Here are excerpts from the Washington Post October 25, 2022, online article by Linda Searing, Watching TV could increase seniors’ risk of dementia, study says. How older adults spend their sedentary time — what...
DON’T LET SLEEP APNEA KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT As many as half of older adults are at risk for sleep apnea. This is a sleep disorder in which the throat collapses during sleep, causing a person to repeatedly stop breathing for periods of 10 seconds or longer throughout the night. To provide you with more information on this common ailment, here are excerpts from the May 1, 2023 online article by Julie Corliss, Executive Editor of the Harvard Heart Letter, Should you be tested for sleep apnea? This sleep-disrupting disorder is common but often unrecognized—especially in people with heart...
Please excuse me for resending you my 4 most recent Generation Fit posts. I changed web hosting for my site and in the process lost the links for these posts. I’ve resent these in case you still wished to read them. Thank you! IS OUR BEHAVIOR INFLUENCED BY OUR GUT MICROBES? I’m fascinated with the possibility that microbes in our gut can influence our brains. I’ve posted twice on this: Gut Reactions in May 2019 and Your Gut Microbiome can foretell your future in December 2015 Now, I read that gut microbes may directly influence our behavior. Here are excerpts...
WALK DAILY? TRY THESE “EXTRA STEPS” Many of us seniors get our exercise by taking a daily walk. This is excellent for your overall health. Yet, you can get even more benefits by adding a few “extra steps” to your walk. Here are excerpts from the May 1, 2023 Harvard Health Letter by Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Get more out of your daily walk. Incorporate balance exercises, weight training, and vigorous activity into your routine Regular, brisk walking helps lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, control blood pressure, strengthen muscles, burn calories, and lift mood. Walking can also help ward off...
WHY YOUR HAIR IS GRAYING Your hair eventually loses its color. This starts happening as early as your 30s or 40s. (Heck, with me it started in my 20s.) Gray hair is actually hair with reduced melanin. White hair completely lacks it. Now a study on mice has come along that is probably relevant to humans. These findings might be a step toward preventing or actually reversing the graying process. (Still, you can always dye your hair.) Here are excerpts from the April 19, 2023 New York Times article by Kate Golembiewski, Your Hair is Going Gray. This Glitch...
EYE DROP RECALLS Many of us seniors use eye drops to treat conditions such as dryness or irritation. More than likely your eye drops are harmless and you can safely keep using them. Still, you may have seen the news stories about bacterial contamination in bottles of “artificial tears.” It’s a new strain of “superbug” and caused people to fall ill with eye, respiratory and urinary tract infections that didn’t respond to antibiotics. As of March 14, 68 cases have been identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three of the infected people died, eight lost their vision,...
NEW SOLUTIONS FOR MIGRAINES Several acquaintances of mine regularly experience migraines. You or someone dear to you may also get them—these terrible headaches are more common than I imagined. Nowadays there are not only medications for relief of a migraine but also new preventative drugs. Here are excerpts from the April 1, 2023 Harvard Medical School online article by Maureen Salamon, executive editor of Harvard Women’s Health Watch, Battling a “brain storm” Fresh solutions to migraines boast fewer side effects Official statistics indicate nearly 40 million Americans cope with migraines — throbbing headaches so disruptive that those stricken often retreat...
SITTING TOO MUCH? JUST TAKE SHORT WALK BREAKS I sit at my computer for way too many hours a day. I might get up once an hour to check on the cat, take a bathroom break or grab a snack—but these are only short 1 or 2-minute intervals. It’s the same in the evening where I’ll sit reading a book or sometimes watching Netflix. I try to get in some exercise every day—jogging, biking, or swimming—but a recent study says this still isn’t enough. If you, like me, also spend long periods sitting, a short 5-minute walk break every half-hour...
SHOULD YOU TRY A NEW DIABETES DRUG FOR QUICK-FIX WEIGHT LOSS? . You’ve probably seen recent newspaper articles or TV reports about new type-2 diabetes-treatment drugs that can dramatically help people lose up to 20% of their body weight. The best-known of these drugs has the technical name semaglutide and goes by the brand name Ozempic. More people who don’t have diabetes are turning to this drug for a quick weight loss fix. However, one needs to pay for this ease; semaglutide is expensive—more than $1,000 per month. (Please also see my June 10, 2022 post about the drug tirzepatide:...
IMPROVE YOUR VASCULAR HEALTH TO REDUCE YOUR RISK OF DEMENTIA Dementia—especially Alzheimer’s disease—is a topic I often post about. I try to share the latest news on this because it’s one of the most threatening things about aging; at least one third of us will develop dementia by age 85. I hadn’t realized how much vascular disease can cause or worsen dementia until I read this Johns Hopkins Medicine online article titled, Dementia Prevention: Reduce Your Risk, Starting Now. Here are excerpts: Dementia is defined by loss of memory, problems with thinking and reasoning, and an inability to carry on...
