Healthy Aging

As the days shorten, the sunny hours become more precious. Taking a sunny afternoon walk, I reflect on everything that happened in the last six months of light, travel and a long hiking season. Did the spring and summer seasons transform me?

As far back as I can remember, conventional wisdom has been that the higher our HDL cholesterol levels, the less we and our healthcare providers had to be concerned about our ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol levels…

Most of us think of aging as something that simply happens with the passing of time. Another birthday arrives, another candle goes on the cake, and we are one year older. But there’s an important distinction: our chronological age and our biological age are not necessarily the same thing…

We are constantly getting health advice from doctors, pharmacists, friends, family, television ads, podcasts, social media influencers and people we have only met online. In fact, I write articles giving you advice about how to think, what to eat and how to live. Perhaps just last week a friend at lunch told you the magnesium she uses fixed her sleep, a television ad…

Not long ago, a friend’s husband told me I was a very beautiful woman. He wasn’t hitting on me. It was simply a lovely compliment, sincerely given. I thanked him, but inside my head, I was thinking: You have no idea how much maintenance this takes now. I may be a little vain. I’m okay admitting that…

Are you someone who enjoys a glass or two of wine every evening? Perhaps you rarely drink during the week but look forward to a few glasses of wine at the weekend. Or maybe alcohol appears only at dinners, celebrations and social occasions. Most of us have no problem justifying our drinking habit. The daily […]

Arthritis literally means joint inflammation, and it refers to a group of more than a hundred rheumatic diseases that cause pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joints. There are two major types of arthritis: osteoarthritis…

I catch myself doing it several times a week: mouth open, breathing loud and shallow, as if my body has forgotten everything I’ve spent years teaching other people. The irony isn’t lost on me – I’m a certified Buteyko breathing trainer, and yet I have to catch myself mid-breath and correct course…

Last week I visited my eye doctor, not because something was wrong, but because at 67 I am not leaving my vision to chance. My eyes are strong and I intend to keep them that way. That appointment reminded me how many women over 60 are silently struggling with screen fatigue and assuming it is simply part of getting older…

For much of our working lives, we strive for the all-important “work-life balance.” All the while, we anticipate that once we retire or reduce our professional responsibilities, we won’t be answerable to others for our time. But life has a way of filling that newly available space. Aging parents may need our help…