Health Advisor
Boomer health and fitness -- live long and prosper!
Long & Lean
Exercise. You just can't under-estimate the importance exercise plays in a healthy lifestyle. Yet many people do underestimate the foundation of a good exercise program: flexibility.
Lifting weights and running marathons aren't the only things that can help you live longer and healthier. Stretching improves your flexibility, preventing joints stiffness, promoting circulation, and lengthening muscles and tendons to reduce risk of injury. Taking the time to stretch after you workout helps remove waste products, such as lactic acid, from your muscles and improves your recovery time.
Funeral Pre-Planning
Q: A few months ago, my aunt was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She doesn't have any kids and she's like a second mom to my brothers and me, so we're very involved with her care. Although it's likely she'll be with us for quite a while, we've begun to realize that we might not have very long to find out what her wishes are for her care and funeral.
Chinese Exercises Benefit Older Adults
Healthy seniors who practice a combination of Chinese exercises three times a week for six months experience significant physical benefits after only two months, say researchers at the University of Illinois.
Sleep Apnea: What Is It? Do You Have It?
Zzzzzzs ... Sleep is vital to our health and well being. Not getting enough sleep can negatively affect our mood, performance, behavior, and overall health.
Getting Seniors Out from Behind the Wheel -- Voluntarily
Over the last six years, crashes involving drivers age 70 and older have jumped by 30 percent in Tokyo. Because it can be tough for family members to take the keys away from their older relatives, it's better for seniors to voluntarily give up driving.
Add Good Years to Your Life
A new study shows, not only that healthy behavior can add active, satisfying years to your life, but also details how specific unhealthy behaviors shorten lifespan.
Long-Term Care Insurance: Are You Covered? Really?
Long-term care insurance -- whether you have it, how much it covers, and for how long -- determines how well you'll be taken care of when you can't take care of yourself.
Take the Guesswork Out of Managing Multiple Medicines
Managing multiple medicines can be a daunting task. But, by knowing a few key things about each individual medicine your parent is taking, you can help eliminate the guesswork involved in managing many different medications and making sure these medicines work their best.
The 40/70 Rule: Talk Now Rather Than Later
The quality of communication between adult children and their senior parents leaves a lot to be desired, according to a study from the senior care company Home Instead. The findings of the study led researchers to coin the phrase "the 40/70 rule."
Get Help Monitoring Dad
Q: My dad has been in a nursing home for about 8 months and, in that time, he has lost about 15 pounds -- weight he could hardly afford to lose. I suspect his nutritional needs aren't being met, but I'm not sure what to do. He's picky, and it takes a lot of patience to get him to eat. I've spoken to the staff, and they insist he's eating. Do you think I should file a complaint?
Help Emergency Services Help You
Many of us carry a mobile phone with the phone numbers of our loved ones stored in a list of contacts, so if we were to get in an accident, the paramedics would have that information at their fingertips, right?
Foods that Fight Cancer
While there are many things you can do to detect cancer early, there are just as many ways to decrease your chances of cancer striking in the first place — through the foods and nutrients you put into your body.
Would You Like to Dance?
Like most people, I dislike exercising even though I feel better when I do it. For me, "exercise" sounds like too much work and becomes yet another demand on my time. Sooner or later, monotony dampens my enthusiasm and I find things to do that seem more important. At least that was the case until I discovered ballet.
Remodeling for Safety: The Bathroom
As Boomers age, we're helping our parents deal with livability issues. All too soon, we'll be dealing with these issues for ourselves and our spouses. Some of us — the "early aged," who have some sort of injury or debilitating condition — are already dealing with these challenges.
Alzheimer’s Portrayed on the Silver Screen
2007 cinema gave us a revealing look at Alzheimer's disease.
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If life were just, we'd be born old and achieve youth about the time we'd saved enough to enjoy it.