The Silver Tsunami moves ahead with
full force, alarms blaring and warning whistles screeching. What will be the
plight of the aging Boomer generation? Will we pound the final nail into the
coffin of Medicare and Medicaid as we reach the age of vulnerability for
Alzheimer’s disease?
Until now, the answer to these
questions has been yes—Alzheimer’s will increase at an alarming rate. What has
changed? The cure for Alzheimer’s is still that elusive goal that motivates
researchers and advocates to keep applying pressure. The Silver Tsunami builds
momentum at the rate of 10,000 boomers turning sixty-five each day—and will
continue until 2030 when all have turned that age.
I am a boomer and quite distressed
at our future as the generation whose defining disease is Alzheimer’s. Nope.
Not what I want for my future.
Then a glimmer of real hope for
boomers comes from the Alzheimer’s Association
International Conference in Copenhagen. When comparing late 1970’s data,
the Framingham Heart study showed a forty-four percent decline in new cases of Alzheimer’s,
especially in people in their sixties.
Overall better cardiovascular health
is contributing to this new trend. Routine blood work gives us the options to make
adjustments to our health destiny. By treating high blood pressure,
cholesterol, and diabetes, we control conditions that otherwise would rob us of
good health. Other contributing factors to the good news for boomer’s health: a
decline in smoking and an increase in education. Researchers believe that
education builds up a neurocognitive “reserve” that helps compensate for brain
damage.
It seems that it is harder to avoid
helpful information about ways to decrease Alzheimer’s than it is to find it.
This morning as I was skimming through old magazines before taking them to the
recycle bin, I saw an interesting article on anti-aging that focused on
brainpower. I had seen the suggestions before, but, hey, it never hurts to
reinforce prior learning. I sped-read through the benefits of omega-3 fatty
acids (note to self: eat more fish!), eat fruits and vegetables (food, yay!),
and exercise (clears throat—trying again to get back on track).
Then, in place of the normal “exercise
your brain,” it was worded in a new way: Find a purpose in life. If nothing
else, I have a good handle on this one! I believe that a purpose in life is
where we boomers excel. And get this good news—having a purpose in life means
you are two and a half times less likely to develop Alzheimer’s as your
friends, relatives, and acquaintances who just drift aimlessly through life.
Other interesting facts I gleaned
from these old “worthless” magazines included a weight reduction program based
on the percentage of fresh fruits and vegetables you ate each week. According
to an article in First, you could
lose three pounds a week by making fifty-percent of your food raw fruits and
vegetables. The theory is that you increase fat burning enzymes. Hmmm. Not so
sure that would agree with my digestive system.
After reading the good news about
boomer’s health, I was inspired to complete a thirty-minute workout based on
exercises I found in an old Reader’s
Digest. After I gathered up my
weights, a quilt for the floor, and a kitchen chair I was ready to start. I
turned on the TV to a thirty-minute show—Joel Osteen—for a half-hour of
perspiration and inspiration. I was not disappointed! As I lifted weights and
huffed and puffed through floor exercises, I listened to Joel Osteen talk about
the life-changing value of…purpose.
Joel Osteen, the workout, and good
news from AAIC helped me face the day with optimism for my personal health
future—and for that of other aging boomers.
copyright © July 2014 by L. S.
Fisher
http://earlyonset.blogspot.com
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