Salinas, CA There Are Things You Can Do To Stave Off Alzheimer’s & Dementia

An old couple sitting and watching the television

A new study which was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society followed 18,000 older adults and found that those that regularly used the Internet had about half the risk of developing dementia compared with those who didn’t regularly use the web.  Other studies have shown better cognitive performance, verbal reasoning and memory among Internet users.  Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and my grandmother had Alzheimer’s disease when they passed away.  If you need support, there are a great group of people at the Ryan Ranch Alzheimer’s Association.  They also have a 24-hour hotline if you just want someone to talk to at 800-272-3900.

Homeless Senior Population Growing

caregive hugging elderly client - Monterey In Home Dementia Care

The number of homeless seniors is growing at an alarming rate, according to a report by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Officer of the Inspector General.  Americans over the age of 55 years old who are homeless were counted at 580K, 18% of the total.  “There’s been a trend over the last several years where we’re seeing many more older adults,” who are homeless, Richard Cho, HUD’s senior advisor for housing and services, told AARP Bulletin.  From 2000 through 2017, the number of people 62 years and older who are homeless has doubled, he noted.  For the full report, go to www.aarp.org/homelessafter50

Pebble Beach, CA Elder Abuse Alert, Beware Of Fraudsters Asking You To Use CashApp, Venmo Or Zelle

An old woman with an injured face

AARP has been great about tracking the latest scams tracking senior citizens, but a surprising number of people continue to fall for scams, mostly pitched over the phone.  First, I have a practice of using caller ID and won’t pick up the phone if I don’t recognize the caller.  This can screen out a lot of the potential scammers.  AARP says that historically fraud operators have tried to get your money in one of four ways—gift cards, wire transfers, cyber currency or cash.  These are all untraceable once you send them.  However, AARP says a fifth form of payment is on the rise, peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer services like CashApp, Venmo or Zelle.  Beware of anyone asking you to send money using these apps.

Few Taking Advantage Of Free Lung Cancer Screening

An old woman smoking a cigarette

According to a study by Kaiser Permanente Colorado Institute for Health Research, only 5.8% of those eligible for a free lung cancer screening are getting them.  Many people believe that because they quite smoking many years ago that they are not at risk of getting lung cancer.  However that may not be true.  Lung cancer remains the deadliest cancer in the United States, killing about 130K Americans each year.  About 60% are caught after the tumor has spread beyond the lung and is past the point of being cured.  The five year survival rate for lung cancer is only 25% so please take advantage of this free screening!

Beware Of Fake Telehealth Companies

A doctor holding a stethoscope with his hand

A flurry of start-ups have been advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Tik-Tok touting medications which are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the purpose the advertisement is pushing.  For instance, the Wall Street Journal reported that start-up Home Health ran an ad with a middle-aged man holding a dumbbell and saying testosterone “literally changed my life” restoring his energy and happiness.  The problem is, the man is an actor who has never used the drug and the ad doesn’t mention that testosterone is only approved by the FDA for treating specific disorders and carries with it the risk of heart attacks and stroke.  Beware of these ads,  they have increased significantly since the pandemic began.

Walking Significantly Reduces Chance Of Early Death

Walking just 4,000 steps per day can significantly reduce your risk of an early death, according to a new meta analysis of studies.  “The more steps you walk, the better the effects on your health, and significant mortality reductions,” author Dr. Maciej Banach, deputy editor-in-chief of the European Society of Cardiology, told a reporter.  Anything below 5,000 steps per day is considered a sedentary lifestyle.  “We showed that every increase of steps by 1000 steps/day is associated with a 15% reduction in the risk of dying from any cause, and every increase by 500 steps/day is associated with a 7% reduction in dying from cardiovascular disease,” said Banach.

Salinas, CA Seniors Should Check Out Alliance On Aging Farmer’s Market

A variety of fruits and vegetables

If you haven’t already, check out “Market Day” at Alliance on Aging’s headquarters in Salinas called “The Hub” at 236 Monterey Street which occurs the second and 4th Thursday of every month.  Get fresh and affordable quality produce.  Recent examples of deals include organic broccoli for $1, organic cauliflower for $1.25 and green onions for only $0.25 per bunch!

For more information go to www.allianceonaging.org/hub/

Monterey, CA There Are Things You Can Do To Stave Off Alzheimer’s & Dementia

An old couple sitting and watching the television

A new study which was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society followed 18,000 older adults and found that those that regularly used the Internet had about half the risk of developing dementia compared with those who didn’t regularly use the web.  Other studies have shown better cognitive performance, verbal reasoning and memory among Internet users.  Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and my grandmother had Alzheimer’s disease when they passed away.  If you need support, there are a great group of people at the Ryan Ranch Alzheimer’s Association.  They also have a 24-hour hotline if you just want someone to talk to at 800-272-3900.

More Attention Focused On The Mediterranean Diet

A variety of fruits and vegetables

For years physicians and researchers have touted the benefits of the Mediterranean diet.  People who follow it can live decades longer.  And the best thing about it is that it’s delicious.  In the 1950’s, researchers across the globe embarked on an ambitious plan to study thousands of middle-aged men who lived in Europe, Japan and the United States.  Those who lived in the Mediterranean (countries like Italy, Greece and Croatia) had lower rates of cardiovascular disease than those who lived elsewhere.  This led to the touting of the Mediterranean Diet, which is not a diet so much as focusing on fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, lean proteins and healthy fats like olive oil.   “It’s one of a small number of diets that has research to back it up,” Dr. Sean Heffron, a preventive cardiologist at NYU Langone Health, told The New York Times.  “It isn’t a diet that was cooked up in the mind of some person to generate money.  It’s something that was developed over time, by millions of people, because it actually tastes good.  And it just happens to be healthy,” he said.  So try eating more fish rich in omega-3 loke salmon, sardines and tuna and other lean animal proteins like chicken and turkey are also part of the diet.  Red meat and butter are eaten rarely but eggs and other dairy products like yogurt and cheese are OK, as is moderate alcohol consumption.

Pacific Grove, CA There Are Things You Can Do To Stave Off Alzheimer’s & Dementia

An old couple sitting and watching the television

A new study which was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society followed 18,000 older adults and found that those that regularly used the Internet had about half the risk of developing dementia compared with those who didn’t regularly use the web.  Other studies have shown better cognitive performance, verbal reasoning and memory among Internet users.  Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and my grandmother had Alzheimer’s disease when they passed away.  If you need support, there are a great group of people at the Ryan Ranch Alzheimer’s Association.  They also have a 24-hour hotline if you just want someone to talk to at 800-272-3900.