Salinas, CA Tip For Diabetics : By Derek Baine

An older woman with a gray hair sitting in front of trees.


If your job requires you to do a lot of sitting, make sure you take frequent breaks especially if you are diabetic.  The ADA’s 2020 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes recommends doing a light activity for every 30 minutes of uninterrupted sitting.  Sitting increases insulin resistance, and it also increases blood pressure and impedes blood flow.  Try taking a walk around the block!  To get more information on diabetes, visit Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, CHOMP’s, Diabetes and Nutrition website.  You will find useful information about support groups, classes and more.

https://www.chomp.org/locations/location-profile/diabetes-and-nutrition-therapy/#.X9F3p9hKjcs

Another useful resource is Community Health Innovations.  A full 45% of Monterey County residents have Diabetes or pre-Diabetes!

Pacific Grove, CA Keep Your Immune System Strong With A Mediterranean Diet

A farmers market with fresh vegetables and fruits.


With coronavirus keeping many people from being active, keeping your immune system healthy is critical.  There are a number of things you can do such as getting enough exercise, not smoking, staying hydrated, having quality sleep time and eating a healthy diet.  Sticking to a Mediterranean diet is a good way of keeping your good health, and it’s delicious.  A study published in the journal Frontiers of Physiology found that healthy people aged 65-79 who ate a Mediterranean diet and took 10 micrograms of Vitamin D daily for a year were able to help offset age-related declines in immunity.  The Mediterranean diet involves eating a lot of vegetables, fruit, nuts, whole grains and one ounce of food daily.  Stay away from red meats and instead eat salmon and other fish, with modest portions of egg.  Olive oil is the fat of choice, and a glass or two of red wine each night tops of the meal.  Check out the local farmers market here in Monterey—they will even deliver!

https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/boosting-your-immune-system.html

Pebble Beach, CA Elder Abuse Alert : Fed Ex And UPS Tracking Alerts Could Be Fake

A woman with grey hair sitting in a chair.


Unfortunately, elder abuse scams continue to abound.  The latest; fake package notifications from Amazon.com, FedEx, UPS and others.  With e-commerce sales hitting an all-time high due to the coronavirus, more and more email delivery alerts are popping up but they may not all be legitimate.  Fake email messages often contain the logo of the shipping company, making them look more legitimate.  Getting you to click on a link is the main objective of these scams.  Others send an attachment with malware in it, so never click on an attachment from an unknown sender.  Most come with a call to action such as purporting there is a problem with the shipping address or the payment method, attempting to get you to click through.  Always go to where you made the purchase to check on the order status.

https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/20283-scam-alert-dont-be-fooled-by-a-fake-package-delivery-scam

Salinas, CA Artificial Intelligence Programs May Help Predict Alzheimer’s Disease : By Derek Baine

A woman helping an older person with papers


An Artificial Intelligence Program, AI, analyzed the language of study participants and found it could be able to predict whether people with no memory or thinking problems would develop Alzheimer’s disease later in life.  Funded by Pfizer and conducted by IBM, the program accurately predicted up to 74% of participants that were diagnosed with the disease later in life.  The study which was published in the journal EClinicalMedicine, analyzed 700 written samples from 27 participants in another study conducted decades ago.  Based on written samples, the study more accurately predicts Alzheimer’s disease than other research.  Experts say that tracking language over time could be done as part of routine medical exams.  For more info, contact our local Alzheimer’s Association in Ryan Ranch.  Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and grandmother had this terrible disease when they passed away.  There are great people at our local chapter of Alzheimer’s Association in Ryan’s Ranch.  They also have a 24-hour hotline if you need support at 800-272-3900.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/10/22/ibm-study-found-program-analyzing-language-predicts-alzheimers/3728608001/

A Spouse’s Death Can Take Its Toll On Your Investment Portfolio

A blue and white logo of the social security administration.


The Wall Street Journal recently posted a story about the fact that your financial portfolio might quickly start unraveling if you don’t prepare for the financial consequences of your spouse’s death in advance.  Not only will you see two Social Security checks go down to one, some people have pensions that don’t have survivorship benefits and those would expire immediately.  In addition, since you will have to file single, your tax rate may go up.  “When that plan is disrupted by the tragic death of a spouse, there isn’t a lot you can do besides cut expenses or go back to work,†Jennifer Murray, a financial advisor, told The Wall Street Journal.  The bottom line: discuss this issue with your financial planner.

Monterey, CA Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease The Greatest Risk For Your Portfolio In Your Golden Years

A doctor and patient looking at a book


There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal that talked about prudently investing your retirement funds.  However, it noted that the greatest risk was not stock prices or interest rates.  Rather, it was a slow cognitive decline.  One big mistake or a series of smaller ones can wipe out your entire life savings.  To guard against this happening, investment firms like Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Group are strengthening the ways they detect possible signs of cognitive decline.  This includes making web sites more difficult to navigate for someone with an impaired memory, and monitoring for frequent password changes.  Some are notifying a designated family member when they see these signs.  Good for them!  Many people who start slipping into dementia or Alzheimer’s disease try to hide this from friends and family as they are embarrassed.  Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and grandmother had this terrible disease when they passed away.  There are wonderful people at our local chapter of Alzheimer’s Association in Ryan’s Ranch.  They also have a 24-hour hotline if you need support at 800-272-3900.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/baby-boomers-biggest-financial-risk-cognitive-decline-11622942343

Monterey, CA Don’t Let COVID-19 Prevent You From Regular Skin Cancer Checkups : By Derek Baine

A man with his back turned on the beach.


Monterey, CA  Don’t Let COVID-19 Prevent You From Regular Skin Cancer Checkups

Coronavirus may be keeping you from going to the doctor as much as you need to.  However, telemedicine makes it easy to see a doctor.  Even dermatologists are now available via videoconference.  A company called DermTech is transforming telemedicine to detect skin cancer.  According to the American Cancer Society, melanoma has a 99% five-year survival rate if caught early.  However, this survival rate drops to 65% if it has spread locally and 25% if spread distantly.  If you are looking for a great local dermatologist, I recommend Joe Rheim.  Give him a call at 931-373-4404.  For more information, go to https://dermtech.com/

https://www.futureofpersonalhealth.com/skin-health/understanding-preventing-and-identifying-skin-cancer-this-winter/

Pacific Grove, CA Genworth Long Term Care LTC Premiums To Go Up


One of the few remaining companies in the long-term care industry, Genworth, sent out a brochure to policy holders signaling rate hikes are coming.  Said the company:

Our policies are generally held for 30-40 years, which means when they were initially priced, a lot of assumptions were made future costs for claims that would be made decades later.  Many of those assumptions were incorrect because the cost of and demand for care have both skyrocketed since.  Insurance companies, including us, have had significant losses as a result.  Many have left the business.  Despite losing $3.6 billion on our older legacy policies, we’ve decided to stay in the business and file for rate increases on these older policies and select newer ones to cover the cost of future claims.  To learn more, call 1-888-479-6889 or go to Genworth.com/LTCpremiums

Pebble Beach, CA Tip For Diabetics : Exercise Frequently : By Derek Baine

A person holding a stethoscope in their hand.


If your job requires you to do a lot of sitting, make sure you take frequent breaks especially if you are diabetic.  The ADA’s 2020 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes recommends doing a light activity for every 30 minutes of uninterrupted sitting.  Sitting increases insulin resistance, and it also increases blood pressure and impedes blood flow.  Try taking a walk around the block!  To get more information on diabetes, visit Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, CHOMP’s, Diabetes and Nutrition website.  You will find useful information about support groups, classes and more.

https://www.chomp.org/locations/location-profile/diabetes-and-nutrition-therapy/#.X9F3p9hKjcs

Another useful resource is Community Health Innovations.  A full 45% of Monterey County residents have Diabetes or pre-Diabetes!

Salinas, CA Elder Abuse Alert : Fed Ex And UPS Tracking Alerts Could Be Fake : By Derek Baine

A pile of money sitting next to stacks of cash.


Unfortunately, elder abuse scams continue to abound.  The latest; fake package notifications from Amazon.com, FedEx, UPS and others.  With e-commerce sales hitting an all-time high due to the coronavirus, more and more email delivery alerts are popping up but they may not all be legitimate.  Fake email messages often contain the logo of the shipping company, making them look more legitimate.  Getting you to click on a link is the main objective of these scams.  Others send an attachment with malware in it, so never click on an attachment from an unknown sender.  Most come with a call to action such as purporting there is a problem with the shipping address or the payment method, attempting to get you to click through.  Always go to where you made the purchase to check on the order status.

https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/20283-scam-alert-dont-be-fooled-by-a-fake-package-delivery-scam