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Laterlife Healthwise - 14
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Helen has specialised in writing about health and ageing and is a member of the Guild of Health Writers. She has written for a variety of newspapers and magazines including the Guardian, Times, Observer, Woman, Family Circle, Vogue and Choice. Helen has also written several books including Getting Older Slowly –Your Guide to Successful Ageing and Bone Boosters co-authored with Diana Moran of TV Green Goddess fame. For previous articles in the healthwise series visit 'more healthwise' Don't forget to take a look at Helen's separate talkback page too. |
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Please note we retain back copies of Healthwise online. If you entered this page directly via a search engine please check the Healthwise Index for the latest edition of Healthwise. |
Research conducted by doctors at the National Institute for Ageing in America has shown that post-menopausal woman using HRT have a dramatically greater blood-flow to areas in the brain connected with memory than others not on the hormone treatment. This not only enhances memory, it may protect against Alzheimer's disease too.
When given visual recall-memory tests, the women on HRT performed significantly better than those not receiving it. There are, however, negative side-effects associated with HRT, such as bloating and acne. It doesn't suit all women. There are still some question marks regarding cancer risk with long-term use. And not everyone going through the menopause wants, or feels the need, to dose up on hormones.
It is not known whether photoestrogens, the natural hormone alternatives to HRT, have the same memory enhancing effect, but that's no doubt something researchers will be investigating.
Women who suffer from vertebral fractures through osteoporosis are experiencing better quality of life through the drug alendronate. This drug is prescribed for osteoporosis to help prevent new vertebral fractures, but it is also found to reduce pain and immobility.
Women on alendronate, when compared
with a matched group on a placebo, had reduced number of bed-rest days and fewer days of
limited acitivity due to back pain, over a three-year treatment period.
Over 2000 postmenopausal women with fractures were included in the study, and those on alendronate received 5mg daily for two years and 10 mg daily for the third year.
The report in the Archives of Internal Medicine points out that the good effect was seen only in women with pre-existing fractures and not when the fracture was new.
Last month the Government made a commitment that the charity Age Concern England called 'a tremendous leap forward' in the battle against ageism in the NHS.
No more, we hope, will instructions
saying 'Not for Resuscitation' be included unquestioningly in the notes of patients over
the age of 65. No longer will older
patients be denied expensive new drugs or have low priority on waiting lists.
Gordon Lishman Director General of Age Concern England is concerned that the new rules are swiftly implemented and monitored. He points out that negative attitudes of staff and implicit ageism are often harder to root out than access to services, and calls for training of staff in hospitals, surgeries and nursing homes to deal with the specific needs and demands of older patients.
This of course means more resources and funding and it won't happen overnight. But one thing we users of the NHS can do now is report any incidences that smack of age discrimination. If you experience or learn of any ageist attitudes or practises in the NHS, let us know at www.laterlife.com and we'll pass on the information to Age Concern. Look Good, Feel Great with Diana Moran Diana Moran demonstrates how to keep fit using a series of simple routines
Living Well : Taking Care of Your Health in the Middle and Later Years
The Relate Guide to Loving in Later Life
Tapping into high levels of energy through what you eat, think, feel, how you move and relate to your life |
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Introducing the Dental Facelift
Around 47% of people in the UK aged 35-74 have eight or more teeth missing. All too often this results in a sunken jawline which adds years to their appearance and ill-fitting dentures which look and feel wrong.
Now comes Dr Nick Mohindra to the rescue. He is called a prosthodontist, which in everyday terms means an expert in the science of dentures, and he has pioneered this Dental Facelift, suitable, he says, for adults with eight or more teeth missing.
The treatment aims to restore facial bone structure and correct shrinkage by placing acrylic blocks on the biting surfaces of back teeth or dentures. These train the jaws to meet in a new position and to restore the face to its natural shape. Once the facial muscles have adjusted, a new set of dentures to fit the new face shape is made, followed by an optional second set after six months.
This extraordinary procedure is available at present only at Dr Mohindra's surgery in Wimpole Street, London. Look up their website at www.dentalfacelift.com
No surgery is involved and the procedure is said to be no more than 'slightly uncomfortable.' There's greater pain when it comes to the price. Treatment over 4-6 sessions costs from £2000, and that optional second go adds a further £1500. Dr Mohindra claims that it's still cheaper than a facelift and will take up to 20 years of the average face. Half of the population over 60, and nine out of ten of the over-80s, develop cataracts says the Royal National Institute for the Blind. The condition can be treated effectively, though at present it can take six months of waiting for a hospital appointment.
Prevention, in any case, is far
better than cure, and evidence is mounting on the value of eating certain foods to avoid
Age-Related Macular Degeneration - that's the term used to describe the progressive
disease affecting part of the retina, one form of which is cataracts.
The foods in question are spinach, broccoli, plus other green, red or yellow fruits and vegetables. They contain caretonoids, a form of antioxidants, and studies show that eating a mixture at least 5 times a week reduced risk of cataracts by 47%.
Caretonoids are not the only fruit and veg, however. Latest research points to the value of lutein and zeaxanthin in the diet. These, conveniently, are present in spinach, and eaters who take it at least twice a week have been found to lower risk of cataracts by 30-50% compared to those who eat spinach less than once a month.
If you can't take or don't want all that spinach, you can turn to a supplement available from health food stores, and this may be useful for anyone at special risk. Family history is a known risk factor for AMD, as is smoking, excessive sun exposure without good eye protection, and light-coloured eyes. But remember that there's nothing like real, fresh food for reaching places that pills don't quite get to. You may not be a carer of an elderly relative, but you might be one day or you might know someone who is. Either way, it pays to know about a charity called the Relatives and Residents Association.
If you want to find out how to
choose a residential home or keep up to date on benefits and new legislation or meet up
with other people who have relatives in care homes, it's all yours for a small annual
membership fee.
The charity says that all too often relatives approach them at crisis time, and they obligingly send out a free leaflet to non-members called 'Questions to Ask' which provides a checklist when looking at residential homes.
There are 28 groups in England,
others in Scotland and Ireland. To find out
more, write to The Administrator, The Relatives and Residents Association, 5 Tavistock
Place, London WC1H 9SN, enclosing an sae. Or
ring their information and advice service on 020 7916 6055, Monday to Friday 10-12.30 and
1.30-5pm.
If in any doubt about any of the information covered in healthwise articles and it's relevance for you, consult your GP. Edition 13
Nutritionists claim that eating a diet high in fibre improves patients with adult-onset diabetes
The average length of time that men suffer from impotence before seeking treatment is two to three years according to the Impotence Association.
A new leaflet called "Be clear about your medicines" has been produced and is free from your doctor or pharmacy.
Natural oestrogens derived from vegetables are attracting increasing interest in their ability to reduce menopausal symptoms.
Index to all previous Healthwise editions For books on Health visit the Amazon Family and Health Section. Don't forget if you buy books or videos from Amazon by linking from laterlife, you generate money for Charity. |
Visit our Product section too: Health and Beauty in laterlife where we have selected a small range of Health stores where you can buy products online. Between them they cover the spectrum of traditional and alternative health products and therapies that you might be interested in. For more information on Health and Health related matters visit our Health section
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