Elder Care Cafe

There are a number of ways to safely combat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and relieve the symptoms of depression and darkness that descend every fall for many of you who live in the Northern Hemisphere. SAD symptoms include a sadness that rests upon someone during the months from November through February, irritability, cravings for carbohydrates, [...]

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This is the time of year that anyone who struggles with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) may start to see the light, so to speak. It’s March, and the winter blahs will soon pass away until the next round of darkness strikes. In the Northern climates, around November, SAD sufferers begin to feel a weight come [...]

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Because we are in the midst of flu and cold season, I thought I would provide a reminder of what to do in case you or a family member find yourself combating the influenza virus. Although most of the points are common sense, when we are feeling under the weather we don’t always remember what we [...]

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Many caregivers fall into their role when a family member or close friend becomes ill or too old to care for themselves. Most of the time no training in how to give care has been provided, and caregivers are learning on-the-job so to speak. One area that may not come to mind for new or untrained [...]

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With the numerous studies currently going on regarding diabetes prevention, it’s no wonder information regarding how to prevent diabetes appears on the landscape as often as it does. A 10-year study followed 3,000 high-risk patients with the aim to prevent rather than control diabetes has just released their findings. This study is one of the longest [...]

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The older we get, the greater importance we must place on wearing the right shoes to help prevent falls. Increasing problems maintaining balance, and health issues such as diabetes, dictate we wear the right shoes to help keep our feet healthy and our walk steady. Shoes make a difference in whether we stay safe and [...]

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Numerous studies have shown the connection between what you eat and how you feel. Eat the right foods and you will feel happy and full of energy. Eat the wrong foods and you will feel down in the dumps, cranky, and struggle trying to get a good night’s sleep.

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Whether you are a caregiver to a loved one in your home twenty-four hours a day or you take care of someone daily or nightly in his or her home, at some point in time you will need to address the stress that comes along with being a caregiver.

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Knee pain has taken on a completely new importance in my life as I have aged. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize how important it was to take care of my body when I was younger and much more athletic. For many years I was active in sports such as softball and tennis, I jogged, bowled, and [...]

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As someone who grew up on farms, I have had a love/hate relationship with meat and vegetables. We almost always had as much beef, mutton, pork, and chicken as we wanted. For a number of years, we also had large vegetable gardens – for a long time we had one garden on one side of [...]

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Recent studies show those who use statins such as Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor, among others may experience muscle pain after long-term use. Of more concern is the possibility those who experience pain may also end up with muscle damage.
When someone does feel muscle pain, a simple blood test can usually tell whether someone is also experiencing [...]

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For several years, the Mediterranean style diet has been in the news as a way of eating that promotes better health, longevity, and less risk of chronic disease.
Although several studies have shown this diet as advantageous to seniors who might be at risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia, the most recent study published in the Journal [...]

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A growing trend in recent years is to choose natural, or green, funerals and burial sites. Many cemeteries are running out of room, people are growing more aware of the impact on the environment that the typical modern funeral yields, and as funeral and burial costs rise, natural funerals and burials are becoming more attractive [...]

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What in the world is Progressive Resistance Training (PRT) you might ask. Well, for one thing it is what us senior citizens need to consider adding to our exercise regimen.
For good physical health, PRT should be performed two or three times a week, and can be done with free weights, exercise machines, or elastic bands.

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Most of us know we should live a healthy lifestyle. After all, we are bombarded with information from a variety of directions such as print media, health-related television shows, radio advertising, in-store promos.
We are surrounded by health care information. Even my local Pharmacy provides complementary pamphlets and newsletters encouraging a healthy lifestyle.

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