7 Things You Should Be Doing for Your Bones Now...

Half of us over 50 will have weak bones by 2020 unless we make changes When registered dietitian Toby Smithson gave presentations on bone health, she’d bring three bags of flour, each with a different amount.One bag represented osteoporosis. Another bag represented osteopenia, or bone whose density is lower than normal but not enough to be classified as osteoporosis. The third bag represented normal bone. “You could see the flour and feel the heaviness and density,” said Smithson, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Osteoporosis was the lightest bag.” It was a powerful visual reminder of why it is so important to invest in your bone health now, before it becomes a problem. Consider this sobering thought: The U.S. Surgeon General has said that by 2020, half of Americans over 50 will have weak bones — unless we change our diets and lifestyle habits. Having weak bones puts us at risk of developing broken bones and osteoporosis. “People need to understand that this is preventable for the most part,” says Dr. Steven Hawkins, a spokesperson for the American College of Sports Medicine and a professor of exercise science at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif. “But you have to take responsibility.” Bone Health Basics Our bones give structure to our bodies. They allow us to move. They protect our heart, lungs and other organs. They anchor our muscles. “Bone from an engineering perspective is kind of a marvel,” Hawkins says. Our bodies continually break down and rebuild bone. Children and teenagers form bone faster than they lose bone, but after age 20, we start losing bone faster than we rebuild it. Over time, our bones can become less dense and more prone to breaking. Most...

Walking 20 Minutes a Day Might Save Your Life...

A brisk walk could cut your risk of early death, even if you’re obese There’s now more encouraging evidence that you don’t have to run marathons to make a difference in your health. A brisk 20-minute walk each day could be enough to cut your risk of early death – even if you are obese, according to new research published Jan. 14, 2015. The study of more than 334,000 European men and women found that twice as many deaths may be attributable to lack of physical activity than to obesity. And a modest boost in activity could make a big difference, the study concluded. Small Change = Big Reward “This is a simple message: just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive,” said Ulf Ekelund, of the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, England, who led the study. He added, however, that we should really aim for more than that. “Physical activity has many proven health benefits and should be an important part of our daily life,” noted Ekelund. The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Exercise. Deadly Effects of Inactivity Inactivity puts you at increased risk of heart disease, cancer and early death, studies show. It can contribute to increased body mass index (BMI) and obesity, though the association with early death is independent of your BMI , the researchers said. In the Cambridge study, researchers found that the greatest reduction in risk of premature death occurred in the comparison between inactive and moderately-inactive groups. Subjects were categorized based on their level of work activity (such as being a desk worker vs. a nurse) and how active they were outside of...

Why You Should Give Yourself a Hug...

Self-compassion improves health The lives of millions of boomers in their 50s and 60s have been characterized by ambition, achievement and competitiveness. Then the recession and lingering economic woes took their toll. For many, drive has given way to disappointment. Self-esteem has been eclipsed by worries about money, retirement and aging. Many of us think we should be doing better. But here’s advice worth heeding: Stop berating yourself. A growing body of research from some of the nation’s top universities is documenting the benefits of self-compassion — being as kind and accepting of your own failures as you would a friend’s. Giving yourself a break and accepting your imperfections improves overall health and well-being, boosts creativity and success and can even help people cope better with aging, studies have found. Moreover, those who score high on tests of self-compassion have less depression and anxiety. We Are All Imperfect “Treating oneself kindly leads people to understand and experience the reality that their troubles are part of the human condition,” says University of Texas at Austin educational psychology associate professor Kristin Neff , who has published a book on her research on self-compassion, Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself. Self-compassion, Neff says, is recognizing that we are all imperfect and should support ourselves, as well as others. This is especially relevant for boomers who, at this stage, tend to tally their life achievements and come up short. Even bags under the eyes and a painful joint or two can lead to a barrage of self-criticism. In fact, says Neff, people with low self-compassion mistakenly believe that being self-critical will motivate them. “But being kind to yourself does not lower standards,” she says. “With self compassion you aim and reach...

The Top 6 Healthy Foods to Put In Your Shopping Cart...

Experts pick their favorite superfoods. Are these on your list? As far as good-for-you foods go, the mind-boggling mix of advice directed to fiftysomething eaters is enough to make anyone’s head spin. Do you eat whole grains because the latest nutrition headlines say they prevent cancer? Become a vegan aromatase inhibitoror vegetarian to help the heart? Honestly, the advice changes depending on whatever research is making news. That made us wonder: Are there good-for-you food staples that make it onto the weekly grocery list of health experts regardless of headlines or hype about superfoods? From doctors to scientists to dietitians, here’s a quick look at what six of the country’s top health experts are stashing in their shopping carts. You’ll notice the short list centers on whole foods, particularly a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. Keep building them into your weekly shopping list, experts say, and you’ll stay on the road to good health. Mushrooms Dr. Dana Simpler, a primary care physician at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Md., places special focus in her practice on using diet and lifestyle to prevent and reverse medical problems. “One food I definitely eat each week is mushrooms, because mushrooms have strong anti-cancer properties and are also a great meat substitute in spaghetti sauce and soups,” Simpler says. “Mushrooms have an effect, which reduces breast cancer occurrence and recurrence.” Dried Plums “There’s some fascinating research on dried plums — prunes — and bone health,” says Leslie J. Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for Sports Medicine and a nutrition consultant to the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Dried plums are high in boron, a mineral that is important for bone structure, and high in polyphenols, plant nutrients...

Tai Chi: The Healing Art That Will Empower You...

Tai Chi can enhance your second half of life in so many ways It is an ancient Chinese martial art form, and loosely translated it means “ultimate life force”. Using a series of movements that increase flexibility, build strength, and restore balance, Tai Chi helps a person reach a heightened sense of being. Many people tend to slow down, as they get older. Exercise can become more strenuous with age, taking its toll on the body. One of the many reasons Tai Chi has a big following in the mature community is because it is gentle, requiring little strain on the body. As you enter this part of life, it can help empower you by letting you connect to the strength inside of you, balancing your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. No longer does growing older have to mean growing weaker. Doctors and other Western medicine practitioners have recommended Tai Chi for years. There are more and more studies proving the beneficial nature of its practice. We’ve listed some of the benefits Tai Chi has to offer below. Fall Prevention and Balance Building Falling is the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries. One of Tai Chi’s biggest benefits (and the one backed by the most evidence) is that it increases your balance, thus reducing the risk of falling. It strengthens leg muscles and increases flexibility in the ankles, which helps you balance on uneven surfaces. Tai Chi also builds core strength, a vital part of maintaining your balance. Connect socially What a better thing to connect over than a shared interest in an engaging, beneficial exercise such as Tai Chi. Check out your local community center or senior citizens center to find out when are where classes...

Why Are You Tired All The Time?...

The source of pervasive exhaustion and what to do about it Although she typically sleeps soundly and has good “sleep hygiene” — no coffee after 3 p.m., a quiet, darkened bedroom and a reasonable bedtime — Rose D. always feels tired. At 54, she slogs through her workday, hitting a wall in late afternoon when she closes the door to her office, lays her head on her desk and catches a 30-minute nap. When her doctor gave her a clean bill of health, he suggested that Rose consider other factors that might account for her tiredness — the stressors in her life such as financial problems and a contentious relationship with her sister. As it turns out, they were weighing heavily on her and manifesting in a deep sense of exhaustion. While the benefits of a good night’s sleep are well documented, chronic and more ambiguous tiredness afflicts millions of people over 50. Their fatigue isn’t caused by illness, medication or any clearly diagnosable condition. It’s borne instead of leading complex emotional and psychological lives in a world fraught with stressors. At a stage in life where typical concerns such as money, children, illness and loss start to move toward center stage, the first cognizance of one’s mortality and a sense of time running out fuel an out-of-control feeling that can zap your energy. “Exhaustion is the expression not just of a lack of sleep, but a much more profound underlying response to the conditions in which we live,” says New York clinical psychologist Michele Berdy, whose clientele includes many in their 50s and 60s. Running At Full Tilt Economics and technology add to the fatigue cocktail. While one’s 50s and 60s were traditionally a time to slow down...

Help Parents Avoid Unwanted Medical Treatment...

A study shows older adults aren’t getting the care they want at life’s end A new poll shows that almost one in four older Americans — approximately 25 million people — experience excessive or unwanted medical treatment. This is especially true in the last year and very last days of life. During their final 24 to 48 hours, many terminally ill patients go to the hospital and receive treatments that don’t improve quality of life, says Daniel Wilson, national and federal programs director for Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit end-of-life advocacy organization. In fact, a person’s last days in the hospital are often “more traumatic than peaceful,” he says. Why, when 70 percent of us say we want to die at home, are we so often dying in the hospital? Several factors are driving the trend. A main issue is cultural discomfort with death and dying. “In America, we avoid these conversations,” says Wilson. A Need to Start Talking A 2012 survey  conducted by the California HealthCare Foundation found that 60 percent of respondents feel it is “extremely important” that their families not be burdened by tough decisions about their end of life care. Yet, 56 percent of those surveyed had not communicated their end-of-life wishes with their families. Anxiety about death also keeps people from talking openly with their doctors, leaving patients with incomplete or false information about many palliative care and end-of-life alternatives that would keep them out of the hospital in their last days. “This is your body, your health,” says Wilson. “You need to have the comfort level with your doctor.” If you don’t feel comfortable asking questions and having these types of conversations with your healthcare practitioner, he says, it might be time to...

What Everyone 50+ Should Know About Their Thyroid...

Disorders of this small gland are common, especially in older women Catherine Horvath, 51, was feeling no symptoms five years ago when her doctor ordered a routine blood test to check, among other things, how her thyroid was doing. (Your thyroid is the butterfly-shaped gland low in your neck that influences metabolism, growth and development and body temperature.) The results showed astoundingly low levels of thyroid hormone — a sign her thyroid function was, as she puts it, “pretty close to being nonexistent.” If untreated, she was at risk not only for bothersome symptoms but for other serious diseases as well. The fix was simple: One pill a day to replace the thyroid hormone she wasn’t making. Within a year, Horvath’s levels were back to normal. “It doesn’t really affect my life,” says Horvath, who lives in Santa Cruz, Calif. “I manage it by taking a pill every day.” A Common Disease Horvath is one of the estimated 24 to 28 million Americans who likely have some form of thyroid disease, many of whom develop the disorder later in life. Yet according to American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, nearly half of those with thyroid disease don’t know they have it or are misdiagnosed. That’s because thyroid disease — particularly among older adults, when the disorders can become more common — often masquerades as other ailments. Hypothyroidism, an underperforming thyroid and the most common of thyroid diseases, may be overlooked by older people who dismiss its symptoms of fatigue, constipation, dizziness or weight gain as simply the price of getting older. An overactive thyroid, or hyperthyroidism, can look like heart rhythm problems, muscle weakness, anxiety or age-related osteoporosis. Thyroid lumps are much more common among older people, yet often can’t...