There are glaring inconsistencies in the national debate over health care reform and certain values many senior citizens hold dear.

Many Internet savvy seniors seem to gain satisfaction in passing around emails about the efficacies of America as a ‘Christian’ nation,’ keeping “In God We Trust” on pennies, permitting prayer in public schools and allowing a replica of the Ten Commandments to be placed in courthouses or other public buildings. These issues evoke strong feelings about belief systems and faith. Demonstrating commitment to these ideas allows others to be aware of some of our choices in patriotism

Okay, don’t laugh, it may sound like a silly question, but after you quip about it for a bit, decide to evaluate and explore for your answer.

Routines have a way of chewing up our time. Here, we are discussing free time, that time that isn’t a planned part of your day, that part that leaves you with a few hours for doing whatever you wish on your own. Excuse certain obvious consumers of time, the television, for example. Free time is not an excuse to waste time. It is an invitation to be creative or just to do what you want to do without interference, guidance or provocation on the part of others.

Many senior citizens find living in structured retirement communities very helpful. They do not wish to be met with

Illness and disability are two frightening threats of aging. Avoiding infections, doing all possible to prevent falling ,watching out for contributors to accidents and keeping healthy with diet and exercise are daily patterns wise to the senior’s behavior.

When met with someone who is carrying cold germs, avoid them, politely, but avoid them. When unsure of certain public settings, try to protect yourself, know where the rails are for assisting walking and taking steps, if you must. Be on the lookout for entry rugs beyond doors which may be askew and could trip you up. Observe, breaks and cracks in sidewalks, when walking, even if you are using a walker. Be quick to notice other assistive help, hold on to doors, other people, obvious supports to avoid a surprise fall.

Twenty-five years ago, when my mother was dying of cancer, she developed a cold and clogged sinus.  She went to a health food store because she chose not to use traditional medical treatment at that point in her life.  A clerk at the health food store told her to keep her nose and sinuses clear […]

The viral reaction to rumors, lies and distortions about health care reform has taken on a life of its own. It is perplexing to watch choices people make to believe the lies and spread them among their email contacts on the Internet, when the truth is just as easy to retrieve.  SCJ remains committed to […]

There are two parts to this article. The first part, written by Dr. Sharon Shaw Elrod, deals with the physiology of heart health. Her expertise, nothwithstanding having a father who is 94, qualify her to share insights for keeping heart healthy.

The second portion is by Dr. Jerry D. Elrod, who addresses heart health emotionally. The two share hints and ideas for a balanced and serene life.

The heart is the ‘pump’ of the body that keeps blood moving throughout the system to keep it alive. That’s the reason your annual physical exam focuses on your heart so thoroughly. Your heart, it’s four chambers and the valves that separate the

Companionship is among the most critical of essentials for healthy living. One of the slices that makes for healthy living is to strive for and develop a healthy coupling, if you are inclined to have a primary companion.

Healthy coupling, here defined, embraces the wide variety of relationships that are available in the human spectrum. When two people have chosen one another for companionship, it is to their benefit to work on the most positive formula that can contribute to their faring well with each other. The dimesnions of this “faring well” are numerous and constant.

Among ways to enter into a healthy coupling arrangement is to commit to several basic assumptions:

Everything changes. Now, that is a profound observaton! One of the interesting facets of that fact of life is how often it is refused and ignored. Particularly among older persons. If, as you age, you have observed attitudes, your own and others, of resistance to change, then you are among the “typical” older person.

Resistance to change is driven by the desire for predictability, safety, the need for presumed comfort and security. W hen change is introduced, adjustments in life style and attitudes, behaviors and expectations are required. If changes are not met with some acquiescence , the results often carry negative impacts. Lack of acceptance of change, in whatever of life’s shifts, says a great deal about one’s own refusal to be flexible and open to good change.

Today’s aricle “Motivations for Exercising ” will be followed on Friday with an emphasis on Heart Health.
Certainly the evidence suggests that many find it difficult to develop a steady discipline for exercise. It is much too easy to find a comfortable chair, to take a nap, to avoid physical demands on the body. Particularly those who have never had a regimen of exercise in their lives is it extremely challenging to get into a routine.

With all the information that suggests the imperative for exercising, there is still an abundance of reluctance, avoidance, and refusal. This writer is one of those who finds it boring to engage in regular exercise, who takes exception to all the exercise machinery advertised as quick means for getting in shape and/or losing weight. All the reminders of obesity do not seem to alter or encourage persons to choose a regular exercise program. We/they are making potentially deadly or, at

Posing the question suggests a suspicion. Many in today’s culture give strong evidence to a lack of care to their health. The most dramatic evidence is found in the growing numbers of obese persons in every generation. Much of the obesity epidemic has been created by a string of very bad cultural habits foisted upon the general public. However, the general public makes choices and often those choices are to the detriment of that public.

Numerous other factors show that there is considerable apathy among and within the public over questions of healthy habits. Too much inertia, lack of exercise, refusal to discover and live with a healthy diet, which begins with shopping habits, impulse buying, and quick to fix foods, often over the top with sodium, saturated fat and other offenders. This is the picture we draw for ourselves when we choose unhealthy eating habits.