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Simple Diet Changes You Can Make to Live Healthier

Article taken from Griswold Home Care

Eating well and exercising regularly is an important priority at any age. As we get older, however, paying attention to diet and nutrition becomes even more crucial, both as a means of preventative medicine and ensuring quality of life.

According to the National Resource Center on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Aging, an estimated one in four older Americans lacks proper nutrition. This leaves many seniors in a precarious place, as poor nutrition puts them at risk for excessive weight gain or loss, can weaken muscles and bones, and leaves seniors at risk to develop illnesses such as diabetes or heart disease. It can be difficult for some seniors to maintain a proper diet, especially if they are in and out of the hospital.

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Stress Could Tax the Mind More Than You Think

Article quoted from Home Instead

There’s documented proof that stress wreaks plenty of havoc on the body. But stress can be damaging in more ways than you may think. For one, feeling stressed out increases the likelihood that seniors will develop mild cognitive impairment, often a prelude to full-blown Alzheimer’s disease, according to research.

Scientists find that highly stressed participants were more than twice as likely to become impaired than those who were not. Because stress is treatable, the results suggest that detecting and treating stress in older people might help delay or even prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s.

This study looked at the connection between chronic stress and “amnestic mild cognitive impairment” (aMCI), the most common type of MCI, which is primarily characterized by memory loss.

“Our study provides strong evidence that perceived stress increases the likelihood that an older person will develop aMCI,” said Richard Lipton, M.D., senior author of the study, vice chair of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System. “Fortunately, perceived stress is a modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairment, making it a potential target for treatment.”

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New Advances in Caring for Seniors with Diabetes

Quoted from Griswold Home Care

As Baby Boomers continue to age and head into their senior years, many of them are sicker than the generations that came before them. That means a higher percentage of seniors of this generation will have diabetes, as well as other age-related illnesses. On the positive side, there are new advances in caring for seniors with diabetes that should help manage the disease.

The United Health Foundation just released a new report that shows that seniors between the ages of 50 and 64 will have more health concerns over the next 14 years than seniors that came before them. In fact, for those in this age group, 55% more will have diabetes than those in that age group today. In addition, about 25% more will also be obese.

This higher rate of diabetes will hit this group hard in the pocketbook since people with diabetes pay 250% more in health care costs than those without the disease. Taxpayers will also be affected as most health care costs are absorbed by Medicare. To ward off health problems and higher health costs, the best thing this generation can do is to try to reduce their risk for diabetes before they are struck with the illness.

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