Wellness & Safety

7 Ways to Age Well in 2019

How to increase your chances of living longer, learn the secret to aging well or just look younger. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/well/live/7-ways-to-age-well-in-2019.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/well/live/7-ways-to-age-well-in-2019.html

Eating This Many Carbs Is Linked to a Longer Life

When it comes to carbs, your best nutrition strategy might be the oldest one in the book: moderation. That’s according to a new study published in The Lancet Public Health, which finds that people who get about half of their total calories from carbohydrates may be at a lower risk of early death than those who follow either very high- or very low-carb diets. The researchers estimated that people who ate a moderate amount of carbohydrates at

It's Skin Cancer Awareness Month, when all of us are urged to self-examine our skin and go to a doctor if we find any sign of the most malignant form of skin cancer. More people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year than all other cancers combined. One in five people will develop skin cancer by age 70. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/melanoma-monday-protecting-your-family-from-skin-cancer/

A new milestone: 1 million senior drivers on Washington state roads

The number of Washington state drivers age 65 or older has surged since 2010 by 41 percent — and at nearly three times the overall rate of increase among licensed drivers here. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/a-new-milestone-1-million-senior-drivers-on-washington-state-roads/

YOUR GUIDE TO MEDICARE’S PREVENTIVE SERVICES

Now's the time to get the most out of your Medicare. The best way to stay healthy is to live a healthy lifestyle. You can live a healthy lifestyle and prevent disease by exercising, eating well, keeping a healthy weight, and not smoking. Medicare can help. https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/10110.pdf

It’s an ongoing and vexing public health problem: People once vigilant about vaccinating their children aren’t nearly as careful about protecting themselves as they age, even though diseases like influenza, pneumonia and shingles (a.k.a. herpes zoster) are particularly dangerous for older people. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/health/shingles-vaccine.html?mabReward=CTM&recp=4&action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine

Medicare Proposal Takes Aim at Diabetes

The Obama administration plans to propose expanding Medicare to cover programs to prevent diabetes among millions of people at high risk of developing the disease, marking the sixth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act with the prospect of a new benefit, federal officials said. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/23/us/politics/medicare-proposal-takes-aim-at-diabetes.html?action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article

Pushing back retirement age to 70 would be harder on low-income workers

It sounds like a simple fix to the nation's immense problem of funding Social Security and Medicare for an aging country — just get everyone to work to 70 and the math works out a lot better. But this idea, despite being embraced by a number of politicians, has a long way to go. It's being challenged in academic circles as a new form of inequality. This one has been dubbed "longevity inequality." http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ct-marksjarvis-column-social-security-inequality-0828-20160828-column.html

Rediscovering the Kitchen, and Other Tips for Heart Health

First the bad news: After decades of major progress in reducing deaths from diseases of the heart and blood vessels, the decline in cardiovascular mortality has slowed significantly, according to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers called their findings alarming, suggesting that cardiovascular benefits from medical interventions may have reached a saturation point and that further improvements depend

The Older Americans Act Finally Clears Congress

Congress finally just passed bipartisan legislation renewing theOlder Americans Act for three years and President Obama has signed it. Passage comes almost 10 years since the Act was last reauthorized, a delay which has been a source of great consternation to older adults and their advocates. The Older Americans Act (OAA) funds critical services that keep older adults healthy and independent—services like meals, job training, senior centers, caregiver

At Washington Dental Service Foundation, the mission is to eliminate oral disease and improve overall health. With an emphasis on prevention and access to early care, the WDS Foundation supports innovative approaches and practical solutions to improve oral - and overall - health. Healthy teeth and gums are important for good overall health at every age. http://seniorsoralhealth.org/?doing_wp_cron=1456870200.2821650505065917968750

The Surprising Secret to Aging Well

As an occupational therapist and someone in my early 90s, here’s what I recommend to age well: good posture and a brisk 30-minute walk daily from early childhood on. This builds bone density and balance reflexes that reduce the impact of falls and injuries in later years. http://www.nextavenue.org/the-surprising-secret-to-aging-well/?hide_newsletter=true&utm_source=Next+Avenue+Email+Newsletter&utm_campaign=7bc7aab613-01.27.2016_NextAvenue_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_056a405b5a-7bc7aab613-165432893&mc_cid=7bc7aab613&mc_eid=0b4e32ebad

How to Live to 100: Researchers Find New Genetic Clues

In a new analysis, researchers explore whether people live longer because they avoid disease or because they possess some anti-aging secret http://time.com/4153835/live-longer-genetic-clues/?xid=emailshare

Age Is an Asset: Let’s Use It

Wake up and smell the demographics. Our society is aging. What an opportunity! We get to create the world we want to live in as we grow older. To me that’s a world in which older-adult elders can contribute their talents and ideas at work, home and in society, and not be left on the sidelines. It’s vitally important. There are 72 million boomers. Together, we represent an unprecedented increase in older human capital asset. It’s an

Cardiologist Invents Device to Help Prevent Stroke

The idea of having a stroke is terrifying. But what if your doctor had an easy and inexpensive way to screen whether you were at increased risk and needed treatment right away? This will soon be an option thanks to the palm-size device above. This cardiac rhythm monitor from Washington-based Cardiac Insight can detect atrial fibrillation—an abnormal heart rhythm that can significantly elevate stroke risk if untreated. http://www.lsdfa.org/documents/2069864.LSDF_story_linker.pdf

Dental group defends mercury fillings amid mounting evidence of risks

For decades, the American Dental Association has resolutely defended the safety of mercury fillings in the teeth of more than 100 million Americans, even muzzling dentists who dared to warn patients that such fillings might make them sick. The association has lobbied the Food and Drug Administration to ensure the fillings, which contain one of the world’s most menacing toxins, receive a government seal of safety and wouldn’t be tightly regulated.

State dentists lobby is blocking low-cost care

Dental health for the poor is a big problem in Washington state. Some see dental therapists — licensed professionals who can perform simple procedures — as a route to less expensive care. But the powerful state dentists association has thwarted efforts to allow the therapists. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/washington-dentists-lobby-is-blocking-low-cost-care/

Karma Bites Back: Hating on the elderly may put you at risk of Alzheimer’s

Next time you're stuck behind a slow-moving older person and find yourself entertaining negative stereotypes about aging, consider this: A new study finds that people who were inclined to believe that older people were slower, unhappier and less sharp than the rest of us are more likely -- when, decades later, they become older themselves -- to exhibit the brain changes seen in those with Alzheimer's disease. http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-negative-aging-alzheimers-brain-20151207-story.html

Purposeful Aging: A Model for a New Life Course

This article is part of Next Avenue’s 2015 Influencers in Aging project honoring 50 people changing how we age and think about aging. Paul H. Irving was a member of the 2015 Influencers In Aging Advisory Panel. “Thousands of baby boomers each day surge into their 60s and 70s,” he wrote in a recent article for The Wall Street Journal. “It’s time to focus on enriching lives, not just lengthening them; on providing purpose and productivity,

Medical Insurance Is Good for Financial Health, Too

People who have health insurance have less health-related financial stress. That’s a not-so surprising finding from a recent survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/upshot/medical-insurance-is-good-for-financial-health-too.html?hpw&rref=upshot&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&abt=0002&abg=1