Aging is in the mind
Think negative thoughts about getting old and you will age more quickly. But if you think good thoughts about aging, you’ll likely stay healthier and live longer. So says Becca Levy, associate professor of epidemiology and psychology at Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Conn.
Levy, lead author of research on stereotypes and aging, shared her study results in the March issue of Bottom Line Health. One study showed that people 70 and older who had negative thoughts or beliefs about aging had poorer memories as the years passed.
Another study, involving recovering heart attack patients 50 to 96, found that those expressing more positive stereotypes about aging had better physical recoveries than those who were negative. And a 25-year study of people questioned about how they perceived their own aging showed that those with a positive view lived a median of seven years longer, even after taking into account differences in their ages and health.
To fight stereotypes on aging, Levy suggests paying attention to older people who are more active and effective in politics, the arts and the community. Read about the accomplishments of others in their golden years at leadwithexperience.org,a Web site run by Civic Ventures, a non-profit think tank promoting the achievements of older adults.
Boosting vegetables
Having a hard time working vegetables into your daily diet? The March issue of Health magazine offers several simple ways to up your veggie intake. Here are some ideas:
* Add chopped or shredded zucchini or summer squash to the marinara on your pasta.
* Add a second slice of tomato onto your burger.
* Eat tomato-basil bruschetta or a low-fat spinach dip with carrots or celery as an appetizer.
* Add fresh or frozen vegetables to your can of low-sodium soup.
* Mix shredded carrots with peanut butter and spread it on celery sticks.
* Add shredded carrots or zucchini and chopped onions to chicken, tuna or tofu salad.
Cancer from the gut
Carry a big gut around and you may put yourself at great risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that originates in the cells of the immune system. Although this form of cancer was rare 30 years ago, it is the sixth most common malignancy in men today, according to a story in the March issue of Men’s Health.
As for the location of the body fat, “men typically carry more fat around the abdomen,” said Christine Skibola, a cancer researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, “and this may be contributing to their higher risk of lymphoma.”
Here are warning signs of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma:
* Persistent swelling in the lymph nodes in your neck, armpits or groin. They feel rubbery and firm.
* Repeated night sweats.
* Decreased appetite and unexplained weight loss.
* Itchy, red patches of skin anywhere on the body.
* Chest pain directly behind your sternum.
* Shortness of breath and coughing.
* Recurrent pain, swelling and a feeling of fullness in your abdomen.
Big, bad hospitals
Heading to the hospital for surgery can be scary for a child. And if he’s anxious, he may have a more difficult time recovering, according to a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics.
The March issue of Parenting offers the following tips for calming your child from Honey Shields, director of child life at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.
* Don’t talk about the surgery too soon. Tell 2- or 3-year-olds the day before; tell older kids a week in advance.
* Let the child know what to expect, such as a cold operating room and a doctor wearing a mask.
* Use phrases such as “the doctor is making an opening” rather than say “cutting.”
* Read a child-friendly book about the experience, such as “Franklin Goes to the Hospital” (Scholastic, $5).
* Let the child know you’ll be with her before the surgery and when she wakes up.
