Jun
16
So often the responsibility of caring for aging parents and other close family relatives falls primarily on women’s shoulders. Whether you are still working or retired or an empty nester, adding on the task of care giving for an elderly relative or chronically ill spouse or child can be overwhelming. Keeping ahead of doctors office appointments, home health visits, insurance claims and medical records can seem like a monumental task. Caregivers new to the game express surprise at the myriad of paperwork involved. Read more
Jun
2
The Story of the “Little Purple Pill” and All Its Siblings
June 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Posted by: J Montgomery
Nexium, the “Little Purple Pill” – the heartburn wonder – most commonly prescribed for acid reflux and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has finally lost its luster. Last week the FDA announced that the class of drugs known as Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) such as Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, Protonix among others, will now carry a warning label linking the drugs to a heightened risk for osteoporotic-like fractures especially in those over 50 with long term use and at higher doses.
What took them so long? The data behind the decision certainly isn’t “new”. Since 2006 studies began pointing to the increased incidence of fractures in the hip, wrist and spine. The first of these drugs appeared on the market in 1989 and from the very beginning some researchers hypothesized about the possibility of the drugs causing nutrient absorption problems with long term use. Stomach acid has a purpose - among other things it helps break down food so that nutrients can be better absorbed. So logically if stomach acid is suppressed so is the absorption of some nutrients. Calcium is particularly sensitive to stomach acid. Without it, absorption is much less. Hmmm— and now we have incidence of increased fractures with the long term use of these drugs – golly how could that happen? Read more
Apr
20
What Does Bone Density Have to Do with Getting a Face Lift?
April 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Posted by: Kathleen Daniel
I bet you are curious what ghoulish story lies behind this photo. Frankly it hit me between the eyes, and you’ll see why. What do I want you to see? Why a face lift can’t recreate the youthful contours you want. An appeal to your vanity to put the care and feeding of your bones front and center on your agenda. And why osteoporosis isn’t just about bones at risk for breaking. Why not? Because loss of bone density occurs not just in hip bones, the spine, and arms, etc, but all over the body. Yep – including your face. These skulls show our bone structure at youth, middle age, and old age. Small wonder plastic surgeons’ just keep stretching your skin until you look like no one you know – there is no bone mass to gently fold and contour it around. Read more
Apr
16
Soft Drinks and Midlife Bones Are Not a Good Mix
April 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Posted by: Kathleen Daniel
Of the many things I can thank my mother for is that she never let her girls develop a taste for (read: addiction to) soft drinks. Back in the 60s when Coca Cola began coming out in 6 oz bottles, two was our weekly limit. Raised on a large farm in northern Hungary, she didn’t need a health department to tell her that sodas aren’t real food, low in nutrients and high in empty calories. Or, as a naturally thrifty immigrant, that they were a colossal waste of food dollars – especially when the best thirst quencher was as close as the kitchen sink. (Note: only filtered water please!) I like to think she would be pleased today to see this poster of soda being poured from a plastic bottle into a tumbler … and transformed into globby, yellow-orange human fat on the way – especially if it’s a first strike in stigmatizing soda as the next cigarettes. While the New York Health Department wants to show how easy it is for 16 tbsp sugar per 20 oz to sneak up into obesity, midlife women need to be aware of the tomes of evidence linking soft drink consumption to osteoporosis and bone fractures. And for you ladies thinking you are safe with diet drinks – this is not about the sugar. Read more
Apr
13
Build Strong Bones Prevent Osteoporosis: New Program Begins April 22
April 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Posted by: Kathleen Daniel
Women Doing It for Themselves: 8 Steps to Building Strong Bones for Lifelong Vitality
Master the essentials and become your own most powerful ally in safeguarding and building your bone vitality for life
A drug-free and natural way to reverse or prevent osteoporosis and osteopenia without side effects
If you are one of the millions of women diagnosed every year with low bone mass – osteoporosis or osteopenia – please know that losing some bone mass with age is normal. However – while you want to be informed and proactive in protecting your bone health – you don’t have to rely on risky drugs for the rest of your life. They are not your only option. You are not powerless, but – like many women – you may not have all the facts about what you can do to take control of your health. Find out more …
Apr
11
A Role for Yoga in Heart Disease, Breast Cancer Recovery and Diseases of Aging
April 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Posted by: Kathleen Daniel
“We know that inflammation plays a major role in many diseases …and yoga appears to be a simple and enjoyable way to add an intervention that might reduce risks for developing heart disease, diabetes and other age-related diseases … [it's] an easy thing people can do to help reduce their risks of illness.” This was the conclusion of the lead author of a study reported in the Journal Psychosomatic Medicine showing that women who routinely practiced yoga had lower amounts of the cytokine interleukin-6in their blood, an important indicator of the body’s inflammatory response implicated in heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, arthritis and a host of other age-related debilitating diseases. In addition to having lower levels of inflammation before they were stressed, expert practitioners in the study demonstrated lower inflammatory responses to real-time stress. Read more
Apr
7
Overlooked in the Calcium Equation in Osteoporosis: Magnesium
April 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Posted by: Kathleen Daniel
A reminder from Christiane Northrup, M.D., in our continuing series on bone health and preventing osteoporosis: Healthy bones need magnesium as much as they need calcium and vitamin D. Without enough magnesium, too much calcium gets inside cells and can cause cramping and constriction. While calcium is emphasized to mineralize bones, magnesium controls the entry of calcium into every cell, and today’s diets contain about 10 times more calcium than magnesium. And yet, living without enough magnesium, she says, is like “trying to operate a machine with the power off. And like a machine, it’s likely to malfunction.” Constriction from magnesium deficiency is also associated with conditions ranging from anxiety and panic attacks, to asthma, constipation, heart disease, hypertension, nerve problems, and general aches and pains. Dr. Northrup suggests it’s easy to become magnesium deficient,, as food processing, farming practices, and many medications – including antacids, which many women take as a source of calcium – can interfere with the body’s ability to use magnesium. Read more
Apr
3
Are you the chief cook and bottle washer of a “multi-generational boarding house”? A recent survey by VibrantNation.com shows that nearly 2/3 of boomer women report that one or more of their adult children have returned home to live – and that nearly half of them have brought one or more of their own children along. And this, by the way, is on top of the 13% of women who report that their parents or in-laws are living with them. According to Stephen Reily, founder of Vibrant Nation, the recession is making the “empty nest” a historical relic, at least for boomers.” They are footing the bill for their children, grandchildren and in some cases, parents who have moved into their homes, assuming multi-generational housing responsibilities not seen since the Great Depression. Read more
Mar
31
Uncertainty Drives Boomers to Retire at Home, in Cities, and to Keep Options Open
March 31, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Posted by: Kathleen Daniel
Early census data is confirming a trend we noted earlier, that those of us looking towards retirement are opting to age in place rather than retreating to the Sunbelt. In fact, we’re choosing to live closer to cities to keep work options open. Boomers helped fuel growth in retirement destinations, now we’re playing a role in their decline. By 2016 seniors will make up nearly 25% of the working population, holding onto jobs to offset decreased home values and stock portfolios. Yet - as if to underline uncertainty as the sign of the times – this analysis reported by the Boston Herald says that after 2018 there will be jobs shortage in key sectors because of baby boomers’ retiring. Huh? I don’t know if there’s a better case to be made for living in the ‘now’ and following your own heart to find your purpose. Information and guideposts on trends from external sources are way too risky to bank your future on.
Mar
29
The Heart in the Brain: Shift Your Perceptions, Manage Your Emotions and Reduce Stress to Prevent Heart Disease
March 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Posted by: Kathleen Daniel
Many wisdom traditions around the world speak of the heart as harboring its own Intelligence. Though I suspect many of us intuited a spark of truth in it, given the image of the mechanical pump we grew up with, it’s a notion we’ve tended to view metaphorically. Well, we were right! Over the last two decades it’s become clear that the heart is immensely more complicated – in constant communication with, and regulating the functions of the body and brain. What’s revolutionizing our view is a better understanding the role of emotions as reflected in our heart rhythms. Called “Heart Rate Variability (HRV), these rhythms respond instantly to stress – especially the stress of unmanaged emotions. A precursor to hormonal cascade of the ‘fight or flight’ response, HRV monitoring is quickly becoming a routine screening tool to predict many forms of heart disease. Here’s what we’ve learned – as well as a device that helps promote mindfulness, Read more
