Healthy Aging

Previous Columns

• Cracking the cognitive egg - 2/2/2010

  Think of your brain as "plastic." That's the word used by Dr. Kathleen Taylor, a professor at St. Mary's College in California, to describe thinking power in the aging brain.

• Home cookin' is a hot trend - 1/26/2010

  What's for dinner? Not a clue? In the recent past, you might have said, "Aw let's just go out." But with a down-turned economy, that isn't happening as often.

• Food for thought - 1/19/2010

  At almost any social occasion that involves older adults, memory challenges surface. As we age, our ability to keep an account of all we have learned and call it up "at will" is often compromised.

• Spending big time with little people - 1/12/2010

  In 2010, I encourage you to spend maximal time with small children.

• Life, death and laughing - 1/5/2010

  This fall, my 92-year-old mother-in-law spent several days in a hospital bed in a coma-like state, her entire family at her side. Last rites were given. Death seemed inevitable.

• Be who you are - 12/29/2009

  The week between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day needs better definition. Maybe we could call it "an opportunity" to reflect — and reconsider.

• Hope your holiday is full of LOL - 12/22/2009

  I attended a holiday luncheon a few days ago.

• Maybe aging isn't so bad - 12/15/2009

  "Time for what matters?" That's the headline of a brief article in a recent issue of AARP magazine (www.aarpmagazine.org). I added the question mark.

• Getting ready for the holidays - 12/8/2009

  It may not have happened yet — but I suspect it will. Here is what occurs.

• All I want for Christmas - 12/1/2009

  Before I begin — thank you to the many people who contacted and comforted me after reading my column on the death of our loving spaniel, the never-to-be-replaced, big-hearted Rose.

• The best way to stay healthy - 11/24/2009

  There's a simple, no-cost way to guarantee continuing good health. I suspect you know what it is — but even so, you probably don't do it regularly. Let's change that.

• Home remedies, Part II - 11/17/2009

  Last week I introduced my passion of the moment — home remedies. I have more information to share. Lots more.

• Learn, then teach - 11/10/2009

  Lately I've been trying to read anything I can about home remedies — especially those that help ailments common to those of us over age 60.

• Questions are the answer - 11/3/2009

  It is my absolutely favorite holiday.

• The long and short of health - 10/27/2009

  At the risk of being thought totally deranged, I'm going to suggest if you want to be healthier, you will need to get taller.

• Move it to keep it moving - 10/20/2009

  Let's consider how physically active we are — you and me — very honestly.

• Some food beckons, some hums - 10/13/2009

  I hold the belief that certain foods "beckon" while other foods "hum." This is important information if you (or people you love) are planning to eat more healthfully.

• Use more salt, but eat less of it - 10/6/2009

  Are you ready for a column devoted entirely to salt? I could write endlessly on this topic — there are so many possibilities.

• A flash of insight - 9/29/2009

  I am having an epiphany. Ever have one? They're usually described as moments of "unanticipated awareness." You see something in a whole new light.

• Weeping for Rose - 9/22/2009

  People display grief differently. When I am extremely sad about something, I weep.