Last week, World War II veteran Andrew E. Slavonic celebrated his 101st birthday. The secret to his long and healthy life? Drinking a daily Coors Light at 4 p.m. News of the veteran’s preferred tipple soon went viral, with MillerCoors, the parent company behind Coors Light, quick to respond with a special birthday gift. According…
While exercise buffs have long used protein supplements to gain muscle, new research from McMaster University suggests one protein source in particular, whey protein, is most effective for seniors struggling to rebuild muscle lost from inactivity associated with illness or long hospital stays.
Source article here.
In the total study population, treatment with 100 mg of low-dose aspirin per day did not affect survival free of dementia or disability. Among the people randomly assigned to take aspirin, 90.3 percent remained alive at the end of the treatment without persistent physical disability or dementia, compared with 90.5 percent of those taking a placebo. Rates of physical disability were similar, and rates of dementia were almost identical in both groups.
For the full NIH news release click here.
More than 40% of the elderly experience loneliness on a regular basis, according to a 2017 study. That loneliness puts them at a higher risk of cognitive decline, depression, stroke, and multiple other problems; even the symptoms of the common cold are more severe when someone is lonely. Seniors who report feeling lonely also have a 45% increased risk of mortality.
This is one of the coolest start ups I’ve read about. Check it out here.
Happy older people live longer, according to researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. In a study published today in Age and Ageing, the scientific journal of the British Geriatrics Society, the authors found that an increase in happiness is directly proportional with a reduction in mortality.
This is one of the few Asian studies to have assessed the association between happiness and mortality among older people, while accounting for several social factors, such as loneliness and social network, therefore extending the generalisability of the findings to non-Western populations.
Stay happy my friends. Check out the entire article here.
Hip fractures had the highest excess mortality (33% higher in men and 20% higher in women) at one year post-fracture. One-year excess mortality was 20-25% after femur or pelvis, 10% following vertebral, 5-10% following humerus, rib or clavicle, and 3% following lower leg fractures.
Source article here.
For obvious reasons I loved this article.
The stereotypes of older workers persist. May you live long enough to understand the truth.
Key findings:
One in eight adults over 50 were low to deficient in vitamin B12 while one in seven were low to deficient in folate
The prevalence of low or deficient folate increased with age, from 14% among those aged 50-60 years to 23% among people over 80 years old. Low folate status was also more common in smokers, the obese, and those who lived alone
Low or deficient vitamin B12 was more common in smokers (14%), people who lived alone (14.3%) and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds (13%)
Use of both vitamin B12 and folic acid supplementation was low, with higher rates among women than men but less than 4% overall taking supplements of either vitamin
Read the source article here.
For many people, hand strength declines with age, especially if arthritis sets in, making it hard to go about daily tasks. A study published in 2017 in Arthritis & Rheumatology estimated that the overall lifetime risk of hand osteoarthritis is close to 40 percent, with twice as many women as men developing it. People who are obese are also more susceptible—possibly because obesity increases chronic low-level inflammation, which contributes to joint damage.
All of a sudden I’m paying more attention to those infomercials that are selling electric jar openers. An older friend recommended naproxen sodium. I’m thinking exercise, thus the link to this short informative article.
Read the source article at this link.
The researchers report that any amount of physical activity, including light exercise, was linked to a lower risk of dying.
Also, each extra 30 minutes a day of light intensity activity, such as gentle gardening or taking the dog for a walk, was associated with a 17% reduction in the risk of dying.
Aerobic exercise may also slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s according to a recent literature review.
“Exercise can change the brain chemistry. It can change neurotransmitters associated with depression, anxiety and stress as well as brain chemicals associated with learning,” said Carol Ewing Garber, Director of the Applied Physiology Lab at Columbia University, Teachers College, in New York City, who wasn’t involved in the study. “These changes can result in improved mood, resilience to stress and improve functions of the brain such as processing speed, attention, short term memory and cognitive flexibility among other things.”
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