Healthy Aging + Original Articles

10 Foods That Give You Energy

Sure, sleep counts, but so does the food you eat. Here are the foods that will put a spring in your step. Tired of being tired all the time? Skip the second (or third) cup of coffee and start noshing on food. Real food. That’s your ticket to all-day energy: "A combination of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats provides the body with the nutrients and energy it needs," says QualityHealth’s Nutrition expert Alison Massey, RD, CDE, LDN, MS, Director of Diabetes Education at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.

Can You Actually Slow Down Aging?

Seven foods, habits, and lifestyle choices that can help adults feel, look, and live their best lives. Are you wading through the flood of anti-aging ads, fads, diets, supplements, and superfoods in search of the fountain of youth? With the sheer number of products out there, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to anti-aging.

Quit Smoking at Any Age

Yes, seniors can kick the habit—and reap the health benefits of being smoke-free. It’s never too late to kick your addiction to cigarettes. But if you are a senior citizen, you may worry that after smoking for so many years, you'll find it impossible to quit. Or maybe you’ve tried to quit before, and failed, and are reluctant to try again.

Lift Weights to Improve Your Memory

Can you improve your memory in just 20 minutes a day? Exercising with weights for as little as 20 minutes a day may improve your memory by up to 10 percent, according to researchers at Atlanta’s Georgia Institute of Technology. Researchers devised a study to test a suspected link between non-aerobic physical exertion with weights and memory.

Potassium for Stroke Prevention?

A new study suggests high potassium intake can lower your risk of stroke. Here s what you should know Do you get enough potassium? You need this mineral for various functions, including the building of proteins and muscle, and, according to a new study published in Stroke, high potassium intake may lower the risk of ischemic stroke in older women. Ischemic stroke, the most common form of stoke, is the result of an obstruction, or clot, in a blood vessel that leads to the brain.

Can Exercise Reverse Skin Aging?

Is working out the secret to younger looking skin? You use special soaps, creams, and lotions, but do you give your skin a beauty treatment it really needs—a good, sweaty work out? Exercise is not only good for your health and appearance, it might even turn back the clock on aging skin, researchers say.

The Aging Mind: A New Explanation for Cognitive Decline, and a Battle Plan for Better Brain Power

Memory problems in older individuals may not necessarily be due to cognitive decline. Learn more about an intriguing new theory, and how to maximize your mental performance at any age. Older adults tend to score lower on tests of mental function, a phenomenon that was long-attributed to be a symptom of age-related cognitive decline—a serious but common problem. However, recent research proposes a new theory to explain why older adults score lower on cognitive tests: Like a computer jam-packed with photos, videos and text files, the longer we live, the more our minds fill up with information.

The 4 Stages Of Alzheimer s Disease

An in-depth look at the different stages of Alzheimer's disease, a condition that causes brain cells to malfunction and die, and affects more than 5 million people in the U.S. Alzheimer's is a heartbreaking and serious form of dementia that gradually robs a person of his or her ability to function normally. Someone with advanced Alzheimer's probably can't live on their own, may have aggressive emotions, likely suffers from confusion, and is unable to connect with others.

Taking Charge of Diabetes: How To Stay Motivated

Diabetes doesn't take a break. And when you're living with diabetes, neither can you. Learn about the mindset you need to stay motivated. Good glycemic control isn't easy. Managing diabetes—a chronic disease—requires diligently planning appropriate meals, consistently monitoring blood sugar levels, and adopting an overall healthy lifestyle. If you find yourself becoming complacent or discouraged, and convincing yourself that you don't really need to check your blood glucose levels all the time, you're certainly not alone.

What Makes an Effective To-Do List?

A single, simple strategy to make your list work for you. Because we all lead busy lives, remembering all the things we need to do can be difficult. While we can let some tasks slip with minimal impact ("Forgot to take out the trash, will do it later."), forgetting others can have major consequences (think about what would happen if you forgot to pay your mortgage).