In the press

In this new section each month we select some of the more interesting press releases we receive

This month we are featuring:

1. Better equality for older people
2. The magic of Reishi mushrooms
3. Old is the new young
4. Safe on line

1. BETTER EQUALITY FOR OLDER PEOPLE

An important press release dropped through our door a couple of weeks ago. it concerned the Equality Bill, which has recently had its second reading in parliament.

This bill is especially important as the population is ageing fast – by 2050 over half of the UK’s population will be over 50 years old and in the next 20 years, the number of people aged 85 and over will double.

The specific details of the bill will be consulted on this summer and it is expected that the legislation should be in force covering most areas by 2012. It covers a number of major new laws which will help to outlaw age discrimination.

On the same subject, the government is to publish its new ageing strategy later this year, which is looking at creating an age friendly society and living well in later life, as well as making sure strong protection and support is available.

2. THE MAGIC OF REISHI MUSHROOMS

More information is coming in on the benefits of using a herbal extract from reishi mushrooms, especially as a complementary cancer treatment.

With names such as the ‘Mushroom of Immortality’ and ‘God’s Herb’, the reishi mushroom was once reserved solely for the use of Chinese Emperors and was regarded as the most powerful herbal remedy in traditional Chinese medicine, said to be the secret to Oriental health, youth and beauty. Today the use of reishi mushrooms has spread around the world and it is a multi million dollar industry. Despite this the mushroom still remains relatively unknown in the UK.

Red Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), has previously been studied for its effects on leukemia, as well as on cancers of the breast, bladder, colon, and prostate, but a new study found extracts from this mushroom killed lung cancer cells. The cells responded to the herb much in the same way as they would react to chemotherapy drugs. Yet unlike chemotherapy drugs, which can also be toxic to healthy cells, herbal extracts were more deadly to cancer cells than to normal cells, indicating that they have some ability to specifically target cancer.

These details were sent to us by a marketing company who said you can now buy reishi extract here in the UK in the form of vegetable based capsules. Mikei Red Reishi Essence is available from Haeon Ltd; online at www.haeon.com or from leading health stores.

3. OLD IS THE NEW YOUNG

The Lady, England's longest established weekly magazine for women, has recently undertaken a survey of mature women.

They say the results clearly indicated that today women in the UK are rejecting “old” stereotypes.

Their report said today's grown-up women are more active, more adventurous and, frankly, more fabulous than ever.

Today's grown up women of the Helen Mirren / Twiggy generation say they never have and never will consider themselves to be 'old. Engaged and confident, they're rejecting 20th century stereotypes and enjoying active lifestyles their mothers could only have dreamed of.

One in five women say they don't - and won't - consider themselves to be old. Over two thirds of women aged between 40 and 65 say they have more self confidence than they did in their 20s and 30s, and they pay sisterly respects to over-40s icons like Dame Helen, Nigella Lawson, Joanna Lumley and Cheri Lunghi for looking so fabulous.

Over a quarter say they've travelled most between their 40s and their 60s, and nearly half reject the notion of retirement as a time to slow down, seizing on it instead as a golden opportunity to do all the things they couldn't do when they were working.

In fact, more than four in ten women make use of their spare time by travelling, over half have taken up new hobbies, and many say they've joined the gym, changed their image and embarked on new relationships.

4. SAFE ON LINE

Get Safe Online is a national government-backed initiative to help people stay safe and secure when they’re on the internet.

They have recently released some new research into the groups who tend to be the most susceptible to internet crime and those who are actually the most ‘security savvy’. This research has identified the over fifty ‘silver surfer’ community as being at the lowest risk of internet crime compared to any other adult demographic. Well done, all of us!

Get Safes Online's research showed that a combination of a more cautious approach and greater awareness of internet security software often means that ‘silver surfers’ are less likely to fall foul of internet scams, phishing or ID fraud than their fellow users. However, despite being more cautious, over half of the ‘silver surfers’ questioned were unsure about many aspects of using a computer and the internet.

The research has found that after searching for information and sending emails, ‘silver surfers’ are most likely to use the internet to arrange and book travel and holidays (70%) and for online banking and financial services (67%) Other activities such as social networking and downloading multimedia were much lower amongst this demographic than among other groups.

Evidently the most vulnerable areas for ID and credit card fraud are booking holidays and on line banking. The Get Safe Online website www.getsafeonline.org has a number of tips to help keep you safe on the net.

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laterlife interest

The above article is part of the features section of laterlife.com called laterlife interest. laterlife interest contains a variety of articles of interest for visitors to laterlife.com written by a number of experienced and new journalists.

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