Archive for November 2022
Never Question . . .
. . . you’re spouses choices.
After all, you’re one of them.
Fish Fight Arthritis
The omega-3 fatty acids in fish bolster your body’s ability to battle inflammation that autoimmune rheumatoid arthritis causes to its victims’ joints, heart and lungs. A couple of fish servings a week can alleviate the pain and discomfort as can a daily dose of fish supplement.
Vitamin C-rich foods, such as citrus fruit, also help. Two CCs – celery and cherries – can help alleviate the pain caused by gout, a form of arthritis that flares up without warning to attack joints. Cherry juice also alleviates the pain and discomfort.
If you’re prone to gout attacks, you should avoid carbohydrates, such as white bread, and commercially prepared baked goods as well as processed foods.
We’ve Been Told . . .
. . .by our parents, teachers and philosophers through the ages that
nothing is impossible.
They’re all wrong. I do it every day.
Misdiagnosis Can Kill
Estimates run wild, but anywhere from 40,000 to 250,000 people die each year from having their medical issues misdiagnosed by the medical profession. These errors are not limited to rare diseases but are rife among the most common maladies, ranging from fractures to high blood pressure.
Errors in three major maladies account for half of all the disabilities and deaths caused by diagnostic errors. These are cancer, infections and vascular events, ranging from blood clots to stroke.
To help avoid such mistakes, learn to take care of yourself. Write down a timeline and symptoms of your condition when you meet with your doctor. As the patient, you’re the customer, so ask questions before you buy what you’re being told. Ask for a second opinion that will either confirm or correct the original diagnosis.
One Thing You Can Say . . .
. . .about teamwork.
When things go wrong,
there’s always someone else to blame.
Heard the Latest about Hearing Aids?
Recent moves by the Food and Drug Administration have made it possible to buy hearing aids as Christmas gifts this year.
That FDA has ruled that hearing aids can be made available over the counter to the public without requiring users to have a medical hearing test first. It also means the devices don’t have to be programmed to one’s specific hearing deficiencies.
Hearing-aid users who have been paying several hundreds of dollars for doctor’s visits and hearing aids, and a few extra bucks to have them molded separately to fit comfortably into each ear, are able to stop by their nearest drug store and pick up a much-cheaper pair of devices that can magnify sound.
It also presents the possibility that you can buy a pair of hearing aids as a gift for a parent or spouse you’ve been yelling at for who-remembers-how-long.
Don’t expect this development to solve the hearing-loss problem for you and those around you. The first and best step anyone should take when considering the status of their hearing is to get tested by an audiologist. Perhaps simple sound amplifiers will work for you.
A pleasant offshoot of this development is that it may bring down the cost of more sophisticated hearing devices tailored for you by your audiologist.
Getting To Be . . .
. . . an old fart, I was told over the years,
makes you more patient,
but I’ve come to believe
I just don’t give a shit.
By Fyllis Hockman
Mature Life Features
The last 18 miles of the road leading to the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica takes more than 1½ hour to navigate because it is full of ruts and potholes by design. The locals don’t repair it because that would make it too easy for tourists to visit. But that Cloud Forest is really worth seeing.
So what exactly is a cloud forest? The non-technical explanation is plenty of clouds and rain result in every inch of the trees being covered by growing green things called epiphytes. Half of all the vegetation in this forest lives on the tops of trees, creating a sea of emerald and jade and olive and lime under an opaque canopy.
Traversing a series of hanging bridges gave us a birds-eye view of the forest very different than that from the ground. And zip-lining over the tree tops added an adrenaline rush that topped our environmental appreciation.
Martha Campbell, the daughter of one of the original Quaker settlers of Monteverde in 1951, provided some historical context to the Cloud Forest community that survived its beginning without plumbing, electricity and phone by cattle ranching. She bemoans the large influx of tourists of the past two decades that means “more job opportunities, but also more cars, maybe more crime and I just miss the simple life we used to have.”
This enormously rich ecosystem supports 7 percent of the world’s plant and animal diversity in only 0.1 percent of the earth’s surface.
You Might Not Have Noticed . . .
. . . but you never run out
of nothing to do.
Cataracts Linked to Unfiltered Sun Rays
Unfiltered peripheral sun rays that readily enter the inner eye unless wearing sunglasses with
side shields are concentrated on the lower nasal side of the eyes’ crystalline lens. This is where more than six out of 10 cataracts are located, according to a U.S. Army report.
Even when wearing 100-percent ultraviolet-proof sun lenses, your eyes are still at risk because 10 to 25
percent of the UV sun rays still reach the eyes when wearing total UV-filtering lenses if no top and side protection are provided. Sunglasses with side shields when worn with a wide-brimmed hat afford the best eye protection.
More than six out of 10 adults will develop cataracts during their lifetime. Cataracts are more
prevalent among people who work outdoors and who live in sunny areas, high altitudes and
southern latitudes where UV rays are more intense.
Think About It . . .
. . .after a few short weeks in captivity,
dolphins train people
to stand at the edge of the pool
and toss fish at them.
Heel Pain Follows Aging
As fat grams and low-fat foods consume Americans’ thinking about the cuisine they love, there’s a
part of the body that can’t function without significant fat. The heel and ball of the foot require
healthy fatty deposits for shock absorption to cushion the impact of walking and exercise. The
heel hits the ground with a force 10 to 15 percent above body weight, according to the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.
Heel pain is natural for seniors because there’s loss of muscle tone and atrophy of the foot’s fatty
deposits. This is no excuse to go out and splurge on ice cream sundaes because there’s nothing people can eat to replenish fat on the bottom of their feet. It’s just something people need to be aware of as they
age.
Thanksgiving . . .
. . . is another one of those bookmark days,
so build good memories today.
Tablemate . . .
. . . said the newly arrived lady
was a bookkeeper for a dozen years
before moving here.
She had our concierge return it to the library.
Hedonism Can Boost Longevity
Indulging in wine, chocolate and sweet snacks in moderation can actually help increase your
longevity, according to a British psychopharmacologist.
Dr. David Warburton of Reading University in Reading, England, said, “These substances have
a mild effect on the pleasure pathways of the brain, resulting in the improvement of mood. A good
mood lessens stress and helps strengthen the immune system. And research shows that people
who are happy on a regular basis are healthier and live longer.”
Warburton does not advocate giving up exercise and sound nutrition. But he does encourage
more leeway for indulging in life’s small delights. “I really worry that the health-conscious world
may be going overboard,” he says. “A too-severe, restrictive approach to pleasure produces a climate that encourages negative emotions and, ultimately, poorer health. You might say that we are advocating a life of moderate hedonism.”
Life . . .
. . .is just like money.
How you spend it
is what counts.
Sleeping Pills Hazardous
Getting a good night’s sleep may prove hazardous to your health if you use prescription sleeping pills every night, according to a recent study.
Men and women who used prescription sleeping pills daily were nearly 30 percent more likely to die within the six-year follow-up period than those who didn’t take pills, according to test results. The hazard associated with taking sleeping pills at least 30 times a month was similar to the hazard of smoking one to two packs of cigarettes per day.
Test officials said people often take sleeping pills to help them function better the next day. But research shows that people who rely on sleeping pills perform worse and have more accidents than those who don’t.
Talking With My Brother . . .
. . . on Family Sunday,
I was reminded that one of our favorite uncles
began walking a mile a day in his early 80s.
He just passed his 95th birthday
and nobody knows where the hell he is.
Some people never get my name right
While there have been several requests about how to pronounce my first name, See-sill for Cecil is easy to remember.
It’s my last name that gives them the most trouble. In English, you just pronounce every letter – Scag-lee-owe-knee. In Italian, the “gl” is swallowed and the name comes out Scal-YO-knee. It works the same as gnocci — knee-oki
Even after several attempts, most seem to prefer spelling my last name ending with an “i” – Scaglioni. My insurance company persisted for years to keep spelling it that way even though it was spelled correctly on the policy.
Many editors have had head-scratching sessions to make sure the by-line on my stories was spelled correctly. For many years, they preferred the shortened Cec Scaglione. One article in my Detroit paper appeared under the by-line of Ceg Scaglione until a sharp-eyed editor caught it and corrected it for the later editions.
Early in my career, I received a check from a Toronto magazine made out to Cec Scogbone. I managed to get it cashed at my bank so it didn’t become a problem.
I get a lot of correspondence with the “g” dropped – Scalione. One of the credit-card companies I was enlisted with a while ago persisted in sending me a monthly statement addressed to Scaslione. They even came up once with Schelione.
A welfare agency I did a story about sent me a thank-you note with the name Scageclone. A complimentary note for a story I wrote was addressed to Mr. Scheline. A Methodist bishop sent a letter to my boss lauding the effort of Mr. Ceg Scaliogre.
Mature Life Features 