Healthy aging and longevity Archive

One in three people ages 65 or older will suffer a fall. It's time to assess your balance and improve it.

Image: Jacob Ammentorp Lund/iStock

Many older adults focus on exercise and diet to stay healthy. But one of the worst offenders to health—poor balance—is often an afterthought. "I see a lot of older adults who are nonchalant about balance," says Liz Moritz, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Unfortunately, imbalance is a common cause of falls, which send millions of people in the United States to emergency departments each year with broken hips and head injuries. But there are many things you can do to improve your balance. The strategies below are some of the most effective.

Over the past decade, research has revealed that the majority of patients treated for cancer experience difficulties with memory, attention, concentration, and thinking. There are several lifestyle actions that can help improve these symptoms, as well as certain medications.

No one needs to join a gym to exercise regularly. As many of the exercises we've selected for our workouts attest, your body offers the cheapest equipment available. A small investment in additional equipment—such as hand weights, resistance tubing, and a stability ball—greatly expands your exercise options.

Gyms do have advantages, though. Monthly fees are a big incentive to exercise. Classes offer companionship, a chance to learn proper technique, and opportunities to challenge your body and sample new trends. Gyms can afford sturdy equipment that would drain your bank account and take up floor space at home. Often personal trainers are available for weekly appointments, small group training sessions, or a short-term overhaul to freshen your routine. Also, for many people, being around others who are investing time and effort in their physical fitness is motivating.

Palliative care improves comfort and quality of life for people with serious illness and their families, yet many people who could benefit from these services are not taking advantage of them

New recommendations could affect millions of people.

You may remember a time when taking a daily baby aspirin was almost a rite of passage for generally healthy older adults. The idea was that, for people with a low to moderate risk for heart disease, aspirin therapy was a simple and cost-effective way to help prevent a heart attack or stroke.

But taking aspirin increases the risk for bleeding in the stomach and brain (see "How aspirin affects the body").

Here's how to tell if you may have a drinking problem.

Alcoholic beverages are a "social lubricant." At holiday and other parties, bouts of excessive drinking can seem like part of the celebration. But here's something to think about as you raise your glass: drinking too much alcohol at a party — or at any time — can be a sign of alcohol use disorder (AUD).

What is AUD?

AUD is the umbrella term for problem drinking that stems from alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. While both are marked by problems stopping or controlling alcohol use, they're not the same.

News briefs

Last month we told you about new medications to treat migraine headaches. Now a small Harvard study published Aug. 8, 2019, in The American Journal of Medicine offers a reminder about the importance of limiting migraine triggers. For six weeks, 100 adults with frequent migraines were asked to record daily intake of caffeinated coffee, tea, soda, and energy drinks; alcohol intake; activity levels; stress; and sleep times. They also recorded their headache episodes. Researchers looked at each study participant's risk of having a headache on a given day in relation to his or her consumption of caffeinated beverages. Having three or more servings of caffeinated drinks in a day was associated with higher odds of having a migraine on that day or the following day. However, having one to two servings of caffeinated beverages was not associated with migraines. Does that mean people prone to migraines can safely enjoy up to two caffeinated drinks per day? Not quite. The study is only observational and doesn't prove that any amount of caffeine will or won't cause migraines. But if you are prone to migraines, watch your headache triggers, and perhaps keep a journal of daily activity (including caffeine intake) to help discover your trigger limits.

Image: Mike Watson Images/Getty Images

Cardio not your exercise of choice? Weight training for an hour per week might appeal to you.

Cardio (aerobic) exercise is often touted as the exercise of choice for improving heart health. After all, a body of research supports how it can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reduce plaque buildup to improve blood flow, and help maintain a healthy weight.

Guidelines recommend that older adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week. But what if you can't do regular cardio because of health reasons or limitations — or you simply don't like cardio exercise?

Your blood pressure is one of the best ways to measure overall health and possible risk factors. Do you know your numbers?

There are many important health markers: cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, weight — to name but a few. But men often fail to use one of the most important: blood pressure.

"Your blood pressure is one of the easiest and simplest measurements and can tell you so much about your current and possible future health," says Dr. Randall Zusman, director of the division of hypertension for Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital's Corrigan Minehan Heart Center. "Yet most people don't know their number or check it on a regular basis, so they may not be doing everything they need to lower their risk of a heart attack or stroke."