Whole Truth About Whole Grains

Get ready for the next big diet trend: whole grains. Food makers are trumpeting them on everything from Triscuit crackers to Trix cereal. Just because a food has whole grains doesn't mean it's healthy, especially if it's loaded with sugar, says Dr. Dean Ornish of the University of California, San Francisco.

"It's better to eat whole grains with sugar than white flour with sugar," says Ornish. "But better still would be to eat whole grains that are low in sugar." (No more than 5-6 grams a serving.) Check the ingredients list to see if the snack is worth it. It sugar is first, there's probably too much to make a difference. Of course, you could make your own whole grain snack. Bran muffins are easy to make.

Reader's Digest P 212. October 2005, Cynthia Dermody

Contributions in Time: Americans Age 55+

A recent brief from the Urban Institute, which looked at the value of unpaid activities by Americans age 55 and older in 2002 included volunteering for an organization, helping others who do not live in the same household through informal channels and caring for family members, estimated that these American's contributed between $97.6 billion and $201 billion to society.

It is estimated that 61% or $100 billion was time spent caring for family members including spouses, grandchildren and parents, $44.3 billion volunteering through organizations, and another $17.8 billion volunteering through informal channels.

Richard Johnson and Simone Schaner
Value of Unpaid Activities by Older Americans Tops $160 billion per year
The Retirement Project: Perspective on Productive Aging
Number 4, Sept 2005
Urban Institutes

Generous Grandparents

As buyers grandparents appear to be an important untapped market for a number of reasons. Between 1980 and 2000 the median income for households headed by someone 65+ increased 22% as compared with only 6% for households in general.

Almost half of grandparents are 60+ and one-third are under 55. The average grandparent has four grandchildren and grandparents are now living longer on average than in the past. Today, without being targeted as buyers, grandparents purchase almost 25% of toys sold in the US. Grandparents also pay for travel and summer camp and purchase computers, clothes, and investments for their grandchildren.

Grandparents: The forgotten market segment
The boomer Report
News and Views About Marketing and Research Among the Baby Boomers and Mature Markets
Aug 22, 2005

Alzheimer's Association Open House

You are cordially invited!
Join us in celebrating National Alzheimer's Disease Month!
Come to our Alzheimer's Association Open House:
Come Help Us Kick Off National Alzheimer's Disease Month!

*Thursday, November 10: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Louisville Office, 3703 Taylorsville Road, Suite 102 Conference Room.
*Everyone is welcome: persons with memory loss, their families, caregivers, friends and concerned community members.
*Drop by our office for refreshments, to visit our lending library and meet the staff.
*Our new Chapter CEO, Linda Vanderhoff, will be on hand to help us celebrate!
*At 1:30 p.m. there will be a special program, including "Myths About Alzheimer's."

Who's Online?

According to a survey conducted by International Demographics, Inc., internet usage continues to grow with 61.2% of the total adult population visiting the internet regularly in 2004 as compared with 54.9% in 2000. However, while the early stages of internet usage where fueled by young people in the US, most of the new growth comes from people age 55 and over. The percentage of individuals in the 55 to 64 year-old age category who use the internet rose from 45.8% in 2000 to 56.7% in 2004 while the percentage of those between the ages of 65 and 74 who use the internet rose from 26.2% to 35.9% during this same time period.

Rob McGann
People Aged 55 and Up Drive US Web Growth
Dec 10, 2004
http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/traffic_patterns/print.php/3446641

How Doctors Find Doctors

Physician Heal Thyself isn't a true statement. When a doctor needs care, he goes to another doctor for that care. Doctors get better care than the average patient. Only part of the reason is professional courtesy, but really they get better care because they know how to find it.

Start Now. Build a great relationship with your primary care doctor. Have a doctor ready so that when you need emergency care, you can say "I'm Dr. Cooper's patient". Sometimes you can get care faster.

Look at the diplomas. See where they went to medical school. Look for state license and board certification in specialties.

Choose a hospital. Ask your doctors what hospitals they work with. Many doctors look for MDs who are affiliated with a medical school teaching hospital. It is harder to get privileges at such a facility.

Go for a pro. Ask your doctor how many of the procedures they've performed. You want one that knows what they're doing.

Pay attention to details. Does your doctor perform an exam everytime you visit? Does he listen to you or interrupt your answers? Check out his stethoscope. Does he have a pink tubing one with a drug brand on it? That means he got it for free. Tells you how serious he is about his job.

Ask to see your medical records. See what sorts of things he writes there. If you go to the hospital, they may need good information. A good doctor will have no problem with sharing YOUR information.

Bring a notepad. Don't be afraid to ask questions and write down things so you don't forget them. If things don't seem to be going well, ask for a second opinion.

Know when to schedule visits. Early appointments are more likely to be on time. Doctors are usually fresher in the morning.

Ask the nurse. The nurse works with all the doctors and knows better than anyone which ones take better care of their patients.

Medicaid woes, aging population have insurers thinking long-term

By Laura Benko
• September 19, 2005

The aging population and shrinking public coffers are prompting some health plans to go where many have traditionally feared to tread — the precarious market for long-term-care insurance.

Even after two decades on the market, long-term-care coverage has remained a tough sell. Only 10 percent of Americans over 65 own policies, with many holdouts deterred by the product’s high cost and complexity.

Most states now have provisions that prevent people from qualifying for Medicaid within three years of “voluntarily impoverishing” themselves through bequests to relatives. Florida, Massachusetts and Minnesota are moving to extend the period to five years, and other states are likely to follow suit.

In Michigan, officials are drafting a plan that would allow the state to seize the personal estates of Medicaid nursing-home residents who die with substantial assets, in an attempt to recover the cost of their care. Michigan is the only state that doesn’t yet have an estate-recovery plan, and it faces penalties under the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which requires every state to create one.

T.J. Bucholz, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Community Health, said the department needs legislation to enact an estate-recovery plan, but so far, it doesn’t have a bill sponsor. Bucholz said Community Health will continue to work with the Legislature and hopes to see the issue addressed yet this year.

Friday Funny - Senility Prayer

Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

5 Ways to Stay on your Feet

Each year, one person out of three over age 65 has a serious fall. For people over age 75, it's one person out of two. How can you keep your feet? Here are five suggestions:

1. Have your doctor check your medications. Some medicines can cause dizziness or affect balance.
2. Do balance exercises like yoga or tai chi. These can improve your strength and stability.
3. Fall-proof your home. Make sure there are no loose rugs, cords, or other things to trip you.
4. Have your eyes checked. Poor vision might cause a fall.
5. Ask your doctor to screen you. The doctor can tell if you are at risk for falling.

It's never too late to start exercising.

Want to live longer? Start exercising.

Think you're too old? Think again.

ven if you've been sedentary for some time, it's never too late to start an exercise program to increase your longevity. So says a study of about 10,000 women age 65 and older. Published in

The Journal of the American Medical Association, the study found that those women who increased their activity had lower death rates than those who stayed on the couch. Even women with a chronic disease fared better when they exercised. While there was less benefit for those 75 and older, it still appeared that exercise helped.

The message is this: It's never too late to take the exercise prescription. Ask your doctor if it's OK for you to exercise. If so, work with the doctor to find a program that will help you thrive.

Get a Flu Shot

When you were younger, the flu was just one of those things you dealt with. You felt lousy for a week or two, but you still went to work or cared for your kids as best you could. Then it passed and you moved on. Now that you're older, though, the flu is a much more serious problem.

Flu causes about 36,000 deaths and more than 100,000 trips to the hospital every year. Most of the cases involve older patients or those with a chronic medical condition. That's what makes a flu shot so important to everyone in the following high-risk groups:

* People 65 years of age and older.
* Adults and children who have chronic heart or lung diseases.
* Adults and children with diabetes, kidney disease, or severe forms of anemia.
* Health care workers in contact with people in high-risk groups.
* Caregivers or people who live with someone in a high-risk group.
* Residents of nursing homes and other long term care facilities.

Because flu usually strikes from December on, you need to get your flu shot in October to mid-November. It takes about two weeks for your immune system to develop protection from the flu vaccine.

If you haven't scheduled your flu shot, do so now. Call your doctor or ask your health plan about flu shot locations in your area.