Sea Crest Health Care Center

No curmudgeon here, but just one harried boomer, who’s watching life’s intrusions chip, chipping away… One upside of travel used to be the “turn off your mobile phones” announcement, and now, it appears one’s conscience gets no time – off from calorie counting. Regulators’ appetite for calorie counts is about to extend beyond restaurants to include airplanes, movie theaters and convenience stores. The government wants calorie listings posted to make it easier for consumers to select healthier options…and I just want to be left alone.

Sure, I watch what I eat – but I’ll do it on my time & my watch. Though initially appreciative of the health-care overhaul enacted in March that had restaurants post calories, resentment started creeping in on the very rare occasions I was about to succumb. One chocolate chip cookie with my Dunkin Donuts coffee would certainly not wreak havoc on this body… until, I espied the 600 plus calories affixed to that slot.

I know. An airplane is the last place you want their food offerings, but I wish Big Brother would keep its elbows out of my less than roomy aisle seat!

Health advocates say the change could be a powerful tool in fighting the obesity epidemic, a top initiative in Washington since first lady Michelle Obama made childhood obesity her signature cause in February.

Come to think of it…Michelle can stay away too!

There is a definite association between “covert coping” in the face of unfair treatment in the workplace. Men who tend to walk away from conflict at work could be setting themselves up for a myocardial infarction and cardiac death.

In a prospective study of Swedish workers, those who used “covert coping” techniques when they felt they had been unfairly treated were more likely to have an MI or die of ischemic heart disease. Constanze Leineweber, PhD, of Stockholm University in Sweden, and colleagues  in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, expanded on research indicating  that covert coping – or  walking away from a conflict and dealing with the anger “indirectly and introvertly” – increases cardiovascular risk factors. They cautioned that the study didn’t pin down a causal relationship between covert coping and cardiovascular disease. Instead, they said, it raises “an interesting hypothesis, which needs to be confirmed or refuted by future studies.” The researchers analyzed data from a long-running prospective cohort study in Stockholm, the Work, Lipids, and Fibrinogen study, dubbed WOLF for short.

Covert coping was measured by questionnaire, in which the participant was asked about how he or she dealt with unfair treatment from either a boss or a fellow worker. The questionnaire did not measure whether or not the participant experienced unfair treatment at work nor how often covert coping mechanisms were used.

The participants were asked whether they sometimes, often, seldom, or never:

Let things pass without saying anything
Walk away
Feel bad — developing a headache, for instance
Get into a bad temper at home

The results yielded a covert coping score that could range from 8 to 32; the researchers stratified covert coping as low if the score was 8 through 14, medium if it was 15 through 18, and high if it was 19 or more.

They also categorized immediate responses – to the first two options – as low, medium, or high.

Compared with those who had low covert coping scores, the researchers found:

When the unfair treatment came from a boss, those who sometimes or often walked away were three times as likely to have an MI or ischemic death. (The hazard ratio was 3.05, with a 95% confidence interval from 1.23 to 7.58.).

Letting things pass showed a nonsignificant trend to more cardiovascular outcomes for those who did so more often. When the unfair treatment came from a co-worker, the pattern was similar, except that those who said they seldom walked away also had a significant risk for cardiovascular outcomes. The hazard ratio for those who seldom walked away was 4.08, compared with 4.45 for those who said they did so sometimes or often. Both ratios were statistically significant. Neither of the delayed reactions had any association with cardiovascular outcomes – feeling bad or becoming ill-tempered at home – either for unfair treatment from a boss or a co-worker.

Future research, Leineweber and colleagues said, should look at “whether interventions designed to reduce covert coping would alter risk of myocardial infarction and cardiac death.”

At the recent Alzheimer’s Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, an eye opening study demonstrated that spouses who care for a mate suffering from dementia were more likely to develop the same condition, with husband caregivers at a much greater risk than wife caregivers.

Wives who cared for husbands with dementia were nearly four times more likely to develop dementia than wives of men who didn’t have dementia, while husband caregivers in the same circumstances were almost 12 times more likely to develop the disease.

So what exactly is it that causes the risk of developing Alzheimer’s to skyrocket? You can’t catch it, can you? Researchers think the root cause is the stress that comes along with these caregiving situations.

Ralph Nixon, MD, PhD, a psychiatrist and Alzheimer’s disease expert at NYU and vice chairman of the Medical & Scientific Advisory Council at the Alzheimer’s Association feels that “the amount of stress involved in caring for a spouse with dementia is tremendous,and stress is a known risk factor for dementia.”

Healthy diet and exercise are key factors of good brain health, and both of these areas tend to falter when one is stressed out. It is critical that caregivers look after themselves properly, making sure to rest, to visit a doctor regularly and to maintain social ties.

Since men tend to rely on their wives to serve as the impetus for seeing the doctor and keeping up with friends and family, they are more apt than women caregivers to let these things slide when their spouse is cognitively impaired – thereby increasing their risk of high cholesterol, blood pressure and other conditions that can lead to dementia.

The irony is quite delicious:  Scientists believe they have indeed found the Fountain of Youth and it is found right at the entry of our mouths- as long as we seriously restrict our calorie intake while maintaining all essential nutrients?

For the first time, researchers have shown that restricting calories in primates maintains their youth and prevents age-related disease.

According to a  long-running study by  Richard Weindruch, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin Madison, and colleagues running study of rhesus macaques, suggest that a similar effect might occur in humans and open the door to drugs that would mimic so-called caloric restriction, “We now have proof of efficacy of caloric restriction in primates,” Dr. Weindruch said, and  once the mechanisms are understood, it may be possible to develop “mimetics”– drugs that would have the same effect, but without the need for altering human diets.

Our diet controlled monkeys did extraordinarily well on calorie-restricted diets:

None of the animals on caloric restriction — even those with compromised metabolic function at baseline — had impaired glucose homeostasis.

The incidence of neoplasia was reduced by 50% in the animals on caloric restriction, compared with controls.

The incidence of cardiovascular disease was reduced by half in the diet-controlled monkeys, compared with controls.

They had  significantly slower rates of age-associated brain atrophy in some regions than controls.

The researchers also monitored when age-associated diseases appeared and found that caloric restriction reduced disease onset significantly.

Monkeys on the restricted diet appeared and acted biologically younger than their counterparts in the control arm and physically looked considerably better.

“Not only do the animals stay biologically younger longer, they look younger longer,” Dr. Weindruch said.

Dr. Sierra’s institute is sponsoring a study on calorie restriction in humans — the so-called CALORIE study — but he noted that “you have to be a special type of person to subject yourself to this . . . it’s a self-selected group.” Conducting a calorie restriction study in people in general “would be difficult, let’s put it that way,” he said.

You think?

by Nechama Drillick

You’ve been given fair warning – the more socially active you are, the slower you’ll age. Research data in the June 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reveal a direct connection between social activity and physical function.

The study focused on a group of 906 adults who averaged age 66.5 and were free of stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia at the onset.

Everyone’s activity level was scored on a range from 1 to 4.17, with a mean baseline of 2.6.

Participants who volunteered, played bingo, ate out with friends, attended church and partook of other activities with greater frequency had a slower decline in motor function than those who were more socially withdrawn.

“For each point below the mean social activity score at baseline, the average rate or decline in global motor function was 33% more rapid,” they wrote. “In terms of declining motor function, a 1-point decrease on the social activity scale was equivalent to being five years older at baseline.”

And that age difference of five years translated into a 40% increase in the risk of death and more than a 65% increase in the development of a disability.

There you have it. There are significant benefits to being a social butterfly as opposed to a wallflower. Staying socially fit is an essential part of staying young.

by Ruth Folger Weiss

“Aha!” :  all those Eureka moments I’ve come to count on as a creative professional in the advertising and marketing field, were really instances of insight reflective  of an active mind with some serious neuron brain activity. And though the classically cerebral thought processes of my so analytical spouse are  more often associated with “smarts”, researchers mapping the anatomy of the brain’s breakthrough moments reveal that insight is crucial to intellect.

Epiphanies that lead to bursts of mental clarity are often so physical because of the intense activation of alternating electrical currents- that have lead to monumental breakthroughs and revelations  in the sciences. Think Einstein imagining trains and lightning when the idea of special relativity hit him like a bolt of lightning. Sir Isaac Newton, lolling in his orchard, espies universal gravitation. And perhaps the one most readily identified with: Archimedes taking his bath came upon his formula calculating density and volume- and, as legend would have us believe, emerged from the tub, exclaiming: “Eureka! I’ve got it!

Daydreaming, scientists have found, is often the brain hard at work; MRI scans indicate intense activation in problem solving areas. Patterns of high frequency neural activity in the right frontal cortex are easily manifested right before an answer to a problem dawns upon the person!

Sudden insights are the fusion of  a complex series of brain states that require more neural resources than methodical reasoning!

A  person’s frame of mind influences whether she has a Eureka moment.

Your state of mind affects your inclination to insightful thinking.

Your positive mood impacts your likelihood to experience insight.

Which leads me to my exit, as I anticipate the drawing of a luxurious bath… and some brilliant flashes of insight…

By: Nechama Drillick

Advanced dementia is something that the average healthy person has a hard time imagining unless they are the caregiver of a loved one in that condition. Researchers in Boston recently documented the ravages of this incurable state on video. After showing this heartwrenching movie to adults over age 65, many had the same reaction; if they were faced with such serious loss of cognitive function they would not want their lives aggressively prolonged. The conclusion of researchers (published in the current BMJ journal) – people should make decisions about their future care while they are fully informed and healthy, and have them legally documented.?Otherwise, once one reaches the point of incapacity, other will make those significant decisions for you, regardless of your wishes.

This footage underlines the importance of surrounding one’s self with devoted loved ones, especially in one’s old age. The knowledge that your family will sincerely and patiently see to your comfort, well-being and dignity provides one with the security to face the vulnerability of old age and its possible side effects head on.

VIDEO LINK
http://www.bmj.com/video/care_preferences_dementia.dtl

Is it a question of “Beauty OR Brains” that influences one’s success in the work force?

New research conducted by Timothy Judge, PhD, a management professor at the University of Florida, suggests replacing that “OR” with an “AND.” His research appears in the May issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association.

Attractiveness will definitely be integral to your landing jobs, but one’s intelligence quotient gives one the edge when climbing the salary ladder.

“Little is known about why there are income disparities between the good-looking and the not-so-good-looking. We’ve found that even accounting for intelligence, a person’s feeling of self-worth is enhanced by how attractive they are, and this in turn, results in higher pay.”

Judge and his team analyzed data from the Harvard Study of Health and Life Quality. 191 men and women between the ages of 25 and 75, each interviewed three times, six months apart beginning in 1995, answered queries about household income, financial strain, education, and also evaluated how happy or disappointed they were with their achievements up to that time. After completing several intelligence and cognitive tests to gauge mental ability they had their photographs taken.

Scientific researchers averaged the results of six ratings of each person’s attractiveness, relative to their age and gender.

Significantly, the researchers found that physical attractiveness had a significant impact not only on how much people got paid, but how educated they were and how they evaluated themselves. They found that people who were rated as good-looking made more money, were better educated, and more confident.

But a person’s intelligence affected their income more than their looks did.

“We can be somewhat heartened by the fact that the effects of general intelligence on income were stronger than those of facial attractiveness,” Judge and colleagues write. “It turns out that the
brainy are not necessarily at a disadvantage to the beautiful, and if one possesses intelligence and good looks, then all the better.”

It became readily apparent that good-looking people do tend to highly assess their worth and capabilities, which may lead to less financial stress and more money.

“Moreover, the effects of self-concept are particularly noteworthy. Its effects on income are stronger than those of attractiveness and nearly as strong as those of intelligence. The influence of core self-evaluations on both income and financial strain underlines the critical role it can play in both objective and subjective life success,” the researchers say.

Validation is not just a feel-good exercise, but a key ingredient to the successful life.

The staff sat expectantly around the conference table as I pressed the YouTube link to Britain’s Got Talent. “What’s Ruthy doing now?” was surely the predominant cognitive thread… Obvious emotion filled the room as they watched Susan Boyle upend the world with her other-wordly voice… And as outraged as they were at the sneers and cynicism evinced by smug audience members at the sight of the plain-Jane, ungainly elderly woman (was she really only in her forties?), they could not honestly separate their pre-conceived negative expectations, and later, amazement , upon hearing the beatific voice emerge.

We may not be proud of it, but all of us are subject to a whole host of factors influencing our responses to people and the objects we introduce to our lives. Scientists have long categorized the elements of universally perceived beauty, and libraries are filled with our less than laudable embrace of the visually pleasing over the simple and unattractive.

And what happens when a remarkable sensation explodes on the zeitgeist of millions of people around the world-probably one of the most prolific viral emails ever? Does she remain as visually unremarkable and we, as a society learn to love her- gray, frizzy hair and all?

Not a chance! Marketers got a hold of her real quickly, and cognizant that her future was linked to her marketability, launched the new and repackaged talent—new hairdo, clothes and all- to an adoring, receptive world!

View YouTube Video

It was a night out of some horror movie. A dear, beloved aunt had died very suddenly from a stroke and family and friends had just been through a grueling funeral. It was 8pm, getting dark, and the torrential rains were accompanied by sonorous thunder and insistent lightning. Most of those gathered tried their best to huddle into the little protective rain gear they had to make a run for it. One young lady,obviously deeply grieving for the very deep loss, opted to sit down next to me- not before I noticed her dependence on the cane at her side.

We both knew of the curves life had thrown her this year, and this was the first moment we were seeing each other face to face. She had come through serious surgery and brutal treatments and now was successfully winning the battle with her fierce determination in her rehabilitative process.

She looked up at me with her radiant eyes, and her exquisite face was aglow as she talked about the legions of friends who had rallied to her from the first moment on…. and whose size and commitment just kept growing. She evinced amazement as she exclaimed… “I never knew I had so many friends. They have been amazing! At first I could not believe how many people took the time to reach me on any level they could. They pulled me through. They’re sharing every moment. I couldn’t have done this without them”.
She attributes her friends’ prayers and actions for pulling her through…and now, she knows they will be accompanied by her most ardent guardian angel. She’ll discard that cane soon!

The impact of friendship on our quality of life is fairly well known, but recently there has been a flurry of scientific studies on the importance of friendship and social networks in overall health- they are undeniably powerful weapons in fighting the scourge of illness, depression, kick- start recovery, slow the aging process and prolong life.

A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends.

A 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk for obesity among people whose friends gained weight.

In a six-year study of 736 middle-age Swedish men, attachment to a single person didn’t appear to affect the risk of heart attack and fatal coronary heart disease, but having friendship did.

And though you’d think proximity of one’s friends would be a determining factor in their influence on your health, that is not the case, as the benefits reverberate well beyond physical presence or distance.

“People with stronger friendship networks feel like there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen A. Roberto, director of the center for gerontology at Virginia Tech. “Friendship is an undervalued resource. The consistent message of these studies is that friends make your life better.”