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Recent Personal HealthPosts

Friends Jump-Start Fitness (and Hotness) Together

Posted on 05/17/2013 by | Multigenerational & Family Issues | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Personal Health | Relationships | Your LifeAs National Women’s Health Week comes to a close, my thoughts turn to physical activity … or lack thereof, which has been my problem. As a working caregiver (for both of my parents), I am typical: I focus on those two necessities of my life first and taking care of myself falls to the bottom of the list. It’s a terrible conundrum — I can’t let my work or caregiving slip, but there are only so many hours in the …

Salt Shake-Up: Low-Salt Push May Be Unhealthy

Posted on 05/17/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Personal HealthFor years we’ve been told to slash our sodium consumption to protect against strokes, heart attacks and high blood pressure. But now an influential committee says there’s no scientific evidence that a very low-salt diet cuts the risk of heart disease. In fact, the new Institute of Medicine report says that cutting sodium to 1,500 milligrams (mg) daily — the current government recommendation for older adults (ages 51 and up), African Americans and those with diabetes, high blood pressure and …

How Alligators Could Keep You Out of the Dentist’s Chair

Posted on 05/16/2013 by | News, Culture, Sights and Sounds | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthYou’ve heard of royal families having “an heir and a spare” in waiting to become the next king. Well, the same is true of alligator teeth: Behind every tooth is a replacement tooth, just in case, as well as the material needed to keep more teeth coming — as many as 50 times throughout the scary reptile’s life. Why should we care, other than to know that if an alligator breaks his tooth while eating us, another will grow back? …

Is Grief a Mental Illness?

Posted on 05/16/2013 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | health care | Personal HealthBy Lindsey Tanner, Medical Writer, The Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — In the new psychiatric manual of mental disorders, grief soon after a loved one’s death can be considered major depression. Extreme childhood temper tantrums get a fancy name. And certain “senior moments” are called “mild neurocognitive disorder.” Those changes are just some of the reasons prominent critics say the American Psychiatric Association is out of control, turning common human problems into mental illnesses in a trend they say will …

Doctors Oppose Expanded Role for Nurse Practitioners

Posted on 05/16/2013 by | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthBy Alvin Tran As nurse practitioners lobby to expand their authority and scope of practice in many states, a New England Journal of Medicine study released Wednesday documents a deep chasm between how doctors and nurses regard the issue. The study found the two groups overwhelmingly agreed that nurse practitioners should be able to practice to the full extent of their schooling and training. But doctors were less likely to concur that advanced practice nurses should lead medical homes, which deliver team-based, coordinated care to patients. Only 17 percent …

Improving Care, Reducing Costs in Medicare

Posted on 05/16/2013 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

AARP Research | health care | Medicare | Personal Health | Public Policy InstituteAs a self-proclaimed sci-fi geek, I can’t help but begin this blog with a quote from one of my favorite writers: “The only constant is change, continuing change, inevitable change. That is the dominant factor in society today,” wrote author Isaac Asimov, “No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.” That was indeed the central message of last week’s AARP Solution Forum …

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