health

Eating Done Right: Oatmeal – Food of the Week

Posted on 05/14/2013 by | Fat to Fit | Comments

Food | Personal HealthFor sheer versatility, oatmeal is hard to beat. Besides serving as a hearty breakfast cereal, oatmeal can be added to meat loaf or baked in cookies, cakes, bread, muffins and scones. Oatmeal can also be ground in a blender to create oat flour that can be used as a coating for fish or chicken. Oatmeal is credited with numerous health benefits. Regularly consuming oatmeal lowers cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of heart disease. Oatmeal also enhances the immune system’s …

Caregivers: 3 Easy Tips to Remember Your Health Checkups

Posted on 05/13/2013 by | Multigenerational & Family Issues | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Personal HealthI finally did it. After more than two years with two painful teeth, I finally got my dental checkup and teeth cleaning! Unfortunately, my delay has caused the need for two new crowns. I’ve always done this regularly, but since I started intensive caregiving that has gone down the drain (as have my other regular checkups). I feel like I should be at a support group meeting saying, “My name is Amy, and I’m a caregiver who has neglected my own …

Responsible Solutions That Protect and Preserve Medicare

Posted on 05/13/2013 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Personal HealthThis is a guest post by Sean Voskuhl – State Director, AARP Oklahoma Growing up in rural Oklahoma, I saw first-hand the importance of Medicare.  Finding accessible and affordable health care was always very difficult.  Many folks had no choice but to purchase a catastrophic/high deductible plan, or they relied on a spouse to get coverage by taking a job in town, or they went without health insurance at all. Simply put, most people gambled and prayed, trying to hold …

Pay-for-Delay Agreements and Prescription Drug Costs

Posted on 05/13/2013 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Personal Health | Public Policy Institute | Your Life  Brand-name pharmaceutical companies can delay generic competition by paying a generic competitor to hold its competing product off the market for a certain period of time. These “pay-for-delay” agreements benefit both parties: the brand-name manufacturer can continue to charge monopoly prices, and the generic company is compensated for its inaction. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that pay-for-delay agreements cost American consumers $3.5 billion per year. The Justice Department has challenged these agreements as anti-competitive and the Supreme Court …

Open Letter To Mom: 12 Truths You Taught Me

Posted on 05/10/2013 by | Volunteering | Comments

Home & Family | RelationshipsDear Mom, By now, you’ve probably opened the package I sent for Mother’s Day. If not, SPOILER ALERT: I got you those leggings you wanted (like mine) and an oversized tunic to match. Cute? Yes. Thoughtful? Kinda. Special? Not really. Even the card I sent was ordinary. A few months ago, I picked out the perfect one, but then I forgot it at home on Tuesday, the day I had to USPS it all to arrive on time. #mothersdayfail Mom, …

5 Tips for Caregivers: Better Medical Relationships

Posted on 05/9/2013 by | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & FamilyOne of the lessons I learned early on in my time as a caregiver for my father was that he and I weren’t alone. I’m not talking about the support — both logistical and emotional — we received from family, neighbors and the amazing senior center in our little Cape Cod town. I’m talking about the doctors and nurses who, one by one, became a regular part of our lives. Their help was irreplaceable, but each relationship required its own …

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