Aging

You’re trying to drop 10 pounds or so, but you hate counting calories. So, don’t—and still lose weight. A new study suggests an alternate approach that many people find more palatable than calorie counting works just as well. It’s  called time-restricted eating—eating within a specified time window every day. After a year, the researchers found

Usted sabe que el equilibrio es importante: el equilibrio entre el trabajo y la vida, una dieta equilibrada y (con suerte) una chequera equilibrada. Pero, ¿qué pasa con su equilibrio? Equilibrio y envejecimiento El equilibrio disminuye con la edad, generalmente comenzando después de los 50 años, apuntan los expertos. La falta de equilibrio puede aumentar

Welcome back to this special series featuring the stories of the Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes as they pursue their fitness goals in 2023. You can find all of our Sponsored Athletes’ stories here.  Richard Westbrook, 70, is a competitive runner, but it wasn’t always that way. After a drastic health transformation, Richard rediscovered his love

You know balance is important: work/life balance, a balanced diet, and (hopefully) a balanced checkbook. But what about your balance? Balance and Aging Balance declines with age, usually beginning after age 50, experts say. Lack of balance can increase your risk of falling and fracturing a bone. think it won’t happen to you?  Think again:

Year Four of the Senior Planet Sponsored Athlete program is off to an exciting start! From writing insightful blog posts, to hosting live presentations on pickleball, movement, and weightlifting, it’s been a busy few months for our five amazing older adult athletes. May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, and we’ve been celebrating with

The FDA warning about contaminated eye drops, issued in February, 2023, was scary, and for good reason. Using the eye drops, potentially contaminated with a rare and drug-resistant strain of bacteria, could result in blindness or death, public health officials warned—and in some cases did. As of March 21, the CDC reports, 68 patients in

The patient was 88 and active, but his low back disc disease was progressing. “Pain was radiating down his leg and getting worse,” says Dustin Sulak, DO, an integrative medicine physician in Falmouth, ME. The man sought help from Sulak after the opioids prescribed by another doctor weren’t working.  Sulak suggested a regimen of medical

Meet Della Adams. She’s one of the 2023 Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes, and she’ll be sharing updates on her health and wellness journey through the rest of this year. 12 years ago, Della found herself at the crossroads of a medical crisis. That’s when she decided to make a commitment to fitness that altered not

If you have them, you know. Allergy season can be miserable. Seasonal  allergies—also known as hay fever or seasonal allergic rhinitis—affect about 25%, or 1 in 4 adults, overall, according to the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics. Some people are more susceptible than others, with white, non-Hispanic adults more likely to suffer

At 10:00am on July 14th, 2012, I approached the starting line for my first competitive 400-meter dash since high school, 42 years ago. It was the Tennessee Senior Olympics state championship. The temperature was in the low 80s. The sky was overcast, and a light rain started. It wasn’t windy. Everything seemed surreal… “Growing old isn’t

Meet Gerry Smith. She’s one of the 2023 Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes, and she’ll be sharing updates on her health and wellness journey through the rest of this year. Gerry, age 75, is on a mission to avoid a diagnosis of diabetes. Through a combination of walking, eating healthy, and practicing mindfulness, Gerry is improving

Many of us know that person—the older adult who has to brag that his or her vision is still perfect, without surgery, glasses or contact lenses. Well, OK, they might need readers, but they can still read that street sign way down there. Yep, 20/20, still going strong. However, that person, free of any vision

Meet Kathy Molloy. She’s one of the 2023 Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes, and she’ll be sharing updates on her health and wellness journey through the rest of this year. Kathy, age 73, considered herself to be in good physical condition for most of her life. But after receiving some shocking health news in her late

Meet Rick Clendenen. He’s one of the 2023 Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes, and he’ll be sharing updates on his health and wellness journey through the rest of this year. Rick, age 72, has always been an active athlete. After a knee issue took him off the volleyball court, Rick discovered the pickleball court and quickly

It might start with pain, stiffness, swelling, or less range of motion in a joint. As it progresses, the pain escalates. Chances are, you could have arthritis. There are more than 100 types of arthritis and related conditions.  But while patients often think of arthritis as a single disease, it’s definitely not.  Actually, there are more

The caller to the STD hotline sounded very worried. He had known for a while about his diagnosis of herpes, a sexually transmitted viral infection. But during a recent holiday gathering, he had used the bathroom at a relative’s home, full of family members of all ages.  “What if the kids used the bathroom behind

Heart health should always be top of mind, but once older adults reach 60 and up, the statistics  can make it seem all the more important. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2020, 8 of 10 heart disease deaths were in those age 65 and above. So, the natural

For the fourth year, Senior Planet from AARP put out the call for “Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes” — adults age 60 and older who are excited about fitness, have identified their wellness-related goals, and are willing to share their experiences to inspire other older adults. After reading some 50 incredible applications, a selection committee from

Physical therapy is often thought about only as a way to recover after surgery or an injury. In reality, physical therapy can help with many more health conditions and situations. Physical Therapy is not just for rehab Here are just a few, non-rehab reasons to use PT: Predicting future movement problems: Assessing a person’s strength

Year Three of the Senior Planet Sponsored Athlete program kicked off at the beginning of 2022 with five more spectacular older adult athletes. The team brought in sports and activities spanning from the ocean to the ice, and everywhere in between! As the 2022 program has now come to a close, we asked our athletes

You’re sneezing, or coughing, or blowing your nose non-stop or popping lozenges to soothe a sore throat. Or maybe all of the above. It’s a winter misery, all right. But which one? And what can you do to make it stop faster? And how can you reduce the risk of a repeat bout? For answers,

Medication errors in the U.S. are common. The FDA receives more than 100,000 reports a year about suspected medication errors—and not all of those come from drug manufacturers or healthcare professionals. Some are from consumers who had a medication issue at home. While the medication issues in hospitals get a lot of press, experts say

If the last time you thought about meditation was when the Beatles made the White Album  – you’re in for a surprise. Research shows that sometimes meditation can be almost as effective as medication. Meditation Benefits Older Adults  Research keeps growing on meditation’s benefits, from boosting the immune system to easing depression to helping mild

Welcome back to this special series featuring the stories of the Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes as they pursue their fitness goals in 2022. You can find all of our Sponsored Athletes’ stories here.  Paul “PJ” Gammarano, Sr., 69, is an ice hockey player, cancer survivor, and advocate for older adult athletes. Get to know PJ

Their ranks are huge, growing…and exhausted. Some 53 million Americans are family caregivers who provide care for an adult or a child with special needs.  Caregiving has always been difficult, but according to a 2020 joint report from the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, the challenge of caregiving has gotten even more difficult recently,

The statistics are sobering and scary – but is there reason for hope about Alzheimer’s? Right now, more than six million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.  By 2060, according to its projections, that number will more than double. One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia,

Telemedicine—‘’seeing” your doctor via video, telephone chat or phone conversation—has been around for decades, but boomed in 2020 as the pandemic kept us in lockdown. From February, 2020, right before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, to April, 2020, telemedicine use in the U.S. increased by 78 times, according to a report by McKinsey & Company.

Meet Keo Capestany. He’s one of the 2022 Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes, and he’ll be posting updates on his health & wellness journey through the rest of this year. At age 86, Keo preaches “the gospel of pumping iron.” Today, Keo is sharing a personal story to show that even an octogenarian weightlifter can use