Uncategorized

Yep, dark chocolate is on the list.

Erica Sweeney – Parade

MAR 14, 2024

About half of American adults have high blood pressure, and most people with the condition don’t have it under control, putting them at risk for a stroke, heart attack, and other health problems. Changing your diet is one way to help you manage your blood pressure. 

Your body needs certain minerals, known as electrolytes, to regulate blood pressure and other physiological functions, says Kate Patton, RD, a registered dietician at Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Human Nutrition. Sodium and potassium are two minerals that you need to control blood pressure. “The average American diet tends to be fairly high in sodium and low in potassium,” she says. “Over time, this imbalance can lead to high blood pressure.” 

Sodium is necessary for hydration, but consuming too much triggers the body to hold onto extra fluid, resulting in higher blood pressure. So, Patton says eating a low-sodium diet of 1,500 mg to 2,300 mg per day and foods rich in potassium and magnesium can keep blood pressure in check.

The Best Foods for High Blood Pressure

1. Berries

Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and other varieties of berries have been shown to have positive effects on blood pressure and HDL cholesterol. Berries are rich in antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and many other nutrients.

2. Beets

These vibrant red veggies and their juice are high in nitrates, which are converted into nitric oxide when digested. Nitric oxide relaxes and expands blood vessels, which lowers blood pressure. 

3. Spinach

Cooked spinach contains a wealth of potassium, which is great for your blood pressure levels. Research shows diets rich in spinach can help manage high blood pressure.

4. Bananas 

Bananas are rich in potassium, and some research has shown that eating fruits daily can keep your blood pressure low. Bananas also contain fiber and magnesium, which offer plenty of health benefits.

5. Kiwis

These fuzzy fruits contain 5% of your recommended daily value of potassium. Research shows that people who eat three kiwis a day had lower blood pressure than those who ate an apple a day after eight weeks.

6. Pomegranates

Pomegranates are thought to reduce levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), a protein that helps control the size of blood vessels which helps lower blood pressure. Research shows that pomegranate juice can help lower blood pressure, at least on a short-term basis. 

7. Garlic 

Research shows that garlic encourages the body’s production of nitric oxide, which helps expand and relax the blood vessels, lowering blood pressure. Garlic has also been shown to lower blood pressure for people with hypertension. 

8. Artichokes 

Artichokes are rich in the blood pressure-lowering minerals potassium and magnesium. Research shows that eating artichokes could potentially lower blood pressure for people with hypertension, and people who included them in their diets for 12 weeks saw significant improvements.

9. Other fruits and vegetables

Adding more fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables of all kinds to your diet can help lower your blood pressure, Patton says. And research shows it could help you avoid developing hypertension. The DASH diet, an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, suggests eating four to five servings each of fruits and vegetables every day. 

10. Whole grains 

Whole grains, including brown rice and quinoa, can help you maintain healthy blood pressure, Patton says. Eating more whole grains has been shown to reduce blood pressure and help you maintain a healthy weight.

11. Oats and barley 

Whole grain oats and barley, which are rich in dietary fiber, are especially good for your blood pressure. Eating these grains has specifically been shown to lower blood pressure.

12. Nuts

Nuts – especially tree nuts like almonds, walnuts, and pistachios – are rich in unsaturated fats, fiber, and minerals that help control blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Research shows replacing saturated fats with walnuts and vegetable oil can improve blood pressure. Just make sure you’re choosing unsalted nuts.

13. Seeds 

Unsalted flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, and others are great sources of antioxidants, healthy fats, protein, and other nutrients. Research shows flaxseed consumption, in particular, can help lower blood pressure. 

14. Fermented foods 

Fermented foods, like kombucha and kimchi, contain probiotics, which support healthy gut bacteria. If you have high blood pressure, research shows that adding more probiotic-rich foods to your diet may help lower your blood pressure.

15. Yogurt 

Yogurt, particularly Greek yogurt, contains an abundance of potassium and calcium. And research shows that people who eat more yogurt tend to have lower blood pressure and are less at risk for developing hypertension. 

16. Low-fat milk 

The DASH diet suggests consuming two to three servings of low-fat dairy per day. Dairy products contain a wealth of calcium, magnesium, and potassium, all of which keep your blood pressure in check. Just opt for skim or 1% milk as well as other low-fat dairy.

17. Beans and lentils

Legumes, including different kinds of beans and lentils, are healthy in so many ways. They’re fiber and protein-rich and contain potassium and magnesium. Studies show that people who consumed a cup of legumes daily for 10 weeks were able to decrease their blood pressure.

18. Spices 

Too much salt may cause your blood pressure to go up, but other seasonings can help keep it in check. Spices, like black pepper, cinnamon, and turmeric, not only flavor your favorite dishes, but they can offer health benefits, including lower blood pressure. 

19. Green tea 

Rich in antioxidants, green tea has been shown to offer other health benefits, including improved brain health and a lower risk for cardiovascular disease. Some research has shown that it can help lower your blood pressure, too.

20. Salmon 

Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which offer cardiovascular benefits. It’s also a great lean protein source and rich in potassium, which can help you manage your blood pressure and reduce your risk for stroke.

21. Mackerel 

Like salmon, other fatty fish like mackerel and sardines are rich in omega-3s, which have been shown to lower blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends eating two servings of fish a week, especially fatty fish.

22. Amaranth 

Similar to quinoa, amaranth is an ancient whole grain that’s packed with magnesium. It contains more than a third of your recommended daily value, and that’s great for your blood pressure.

23. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C, antioxidants, and vitamins and minerals like potassium. Tomatoes and tomato products also contain lycopene, a natural compound that gives them their red color. Lycopene has been shown to help lower blood pressure.

24. Lean meats 

The DASH diet recommends eating at most one six-ounce serving of lean meat, such as skinless chicken or turkey or lean beef, a day. Patton says it’s best to avoid eating too much deli and processed meat, which can be high in sodium.

25. Dark chocolate 

Rich in antioxidants and minerals, dark chocolate tends to have less sugar and fat than milk chocolate. Research suggests that chocolate containing 50% to 70% cocoa was better than a placebo in lowering blood pressure. 

Alicia Adamczyk – Apr 4, 2024

At 73, George Cavedon could be spending his days on a golf course in Florida with friends who have long been retired. But the New Hampshire resident would rather mentor younger coworkers and chat up clients than measure putts on a green.

Cavedon tried out retirement in his fifties and quickly discovered it wasn’t for him. The flexibility was nice, but he was soon bored with spending his days puttering around the house and missed the camaraderie of a workplace. He likes to ski and golf but could only spend so much time on those two hobbies. Plus, his wife and kids had their own routines, often leaving him alone. So he decided to pursue a second career, this time in marketing at a small firm. He’s been there for 18 years and has no intention of taking his foot off the gas anytime soon.

“Retirement to me is a scary thing. How much can you lay on the beach?” Cavedon tells Fortune. “For my own personal mental health and well-being, I like being active and working.”

Cavedon is part of a growing number of baby boomers, many of whom are college-educated, who continue to work well past 65 not because they can’t afford to retire, but simply because they love their work and don’t want to give it up.

In fact, the number of those who have continued to work past 65 has quadrupled since the 1980s according to the Pew Research Center. Now, almost 20% of Americans 65 and older are employed, nearly double the share of those who were working 35 years ago. In total, there are around 11 million Americans 65 or older who are working today, accounting for 7% of all wages and salaries paid by U.S. employers. In 1987, they made up 2%.

And, as Pew’s research also shows, for many of those older Americans, they work not just for the money, but, like Cavedon, for the camaraderie as well as the mental stimulation.

“I go on my vacations, I do what I want to do,” he says. “I get up in the morning, and I have a place to go, that’s what I like. I like going to work.”

A much higher portion of baby boomers have college degrees compared with generations before them and have worked less physically taxing jobs. This first generation of knowledge workers is contributing to “a huge, exponential shift” in America’s economy, says Mark Walton, a journalist and the author of Unretired, which tells the story of Americans ages 60 to 80 who have opted out of leaving the workforce. The title refers to the accelerating trend in baby boomers retiring and then returning to the workforce.

“They are transforming professional and executive career trajectories and what they may look like for generations to come,” Walton tells Fortune. In his book, Walton highlights the experiences of Americans over 60 who are still working high-stress jobs, including entrepreneurs and doctors at the renowned Mayo Clinic. Over and over, these workers told him they tried to retire, but were bored or began to feel as if they lacked purpose (a well-documented issue in retirement). Loneliness, an American epidemic, is even more common among retirees.

The anecdotes are backed up by research. Early on, Walton cites a study from two psychologists that looked at the experiences of 1,500 retirees and 400 people of the same age who were still working. The study found that only around 44% of the retirees were happy with their lives. The others, more than half of those surveyed, reported feeling some combination of loneliness, emptiness, and hopelessness.

“The more successful you’ve been, especially financially, the more likely you are to feel like a failure in retirement,” says Walton. “What kind of a person doesn’t want to have money and be retired? Turns out there’s a certain kind of person. They’ve been in careers, they’re very curious and very competitive.” As the U.S. grapples with what the future of work will look like, this group of baby boomers is claiming its stake, Walton says, and in the process reshaping workplaces and societal expectations.

At first blush, working longer might not seem like such a positive change. There is a pervasive fear among younger generations in the U.S. that they may never retire at all – not because they’re so passionate about their work, but because they won’t be able to afford it.

Their fear isn’t completely unfounded. Gen X and younger will have different financial outcomes than baby boomers, thanks to the decrease in pensions and a larger reliance on personal savings for retirement that started with Gen X and kicked into high gear with millennials and Gen Z. Articles and studies abound about the lack of savings and retirement preparedness in the U.S. Long-held perceptions of work also are changing among younger generations: While college-educated boomers may find much of their identity and purpose at their nine-to-five, that mindset is shifting.

Walton acknowledges that America’s retirement crisis is “serious and sad.” There is a significant portion of the population who can’t afford to retire, and poverty among elderly Americans has been on the rise. But there is also a growing contingent who refuses to retire, even well past the age many workers have typically been considered less productive or valuable.

To Walton, the latter trend is a refreshing change. Boomers are flipping the script on an ageist work culture that might have forced them out in the past and still does in many cases, while more companies are recognizing they can provide invaluable experience and expertise, and can mentor younger workers. That is empowering, he says, not cause for alarm.

It also, to Walton, seems like an inevitable trend. Humans are living longer than ever, and many more have enjoyed long careers in offices compared with the physically taxing work more common in the factories of previous generations. Though working longer doesn’t appeal to everyone, it may be necessary in some cases.

“The reality is, there is a labor shortage, and the labor shortage is a shortage of highly skilled, highly knowledgeable employees,” says Walton, noting that a baby bust followed the baby boom, leading to fewer younger workers to take over many jobs. “It could always be predicted that the time would come when companies would have to find experienced professionals and couldn’t find them among younger people. There simply aren’t enough of them.”

A hard-stop retirement – there today, gone tomorrow – can be especially difficult for retirees to manage. Work takes up a significant portion of many people’s lives, and after 40-plus years, making the abrupt switch to completely unstructured days without the built-in social interaction was hard on many of the people Walton interviewed for his book.

More companies are creating other options for older workers. So-called phased retirement allows workers to gradually reduce their hours, go part-time, or switch to contractor status, among other arrangements. Workers maintain an income and get to keep doing the work they love, but more on their own terms.

That’s the hope of Renee Stanton, 61, who has worked in IT-adjacent roles her entire career. While Stanton could afford to retire, she enjoys what she does and has no desire to leave the workforce completely. She just wants some flexibility to go skiing and sailing – her lifelong passions – during the on-seasons, and to spend more time with her adult children and aging parents.

Stanton says while retirement sounds nice, she learned a lesson from her father, a cabinetmaker who retired in his early sixties. Still going strong and still retired at 87, his one regret is leaving the workforce too soon, she says.

Her plan is to eventually move to a contractor role. That way, she can work throughout the shoulder seasons on her own terms, and then take time off when she’s skiing or sailing or work remotely from the mountain cabin she rents in the winter. She has decades of experience to offer, she says. She just wants to “control the spigot” of when and where she works. In an ideal world, she’ll be able to ski or “catch waves” in the morning and work a little in the afternoons, giving her that “intensity and enrichment” she also craves. “I’ve got decades ahead of me, knock on wood,” Stanton says. “I’m funding my ski addiction now.”

Amanda Lumpkin – Patch Staff – Feb 16, 2024

ATHENS, GA — The University of Georgia will soon be home to the state’s newest medical school, university officials announced this week. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved Tuesday the opening of University of Georgia School of Medicine, which will independently operate, according to a UGA news release. An official opening date is unknown.

“This is a very important decision by the Board of Regents and a historic moment for our state and university. As a land-grant and sea-grant research university, our commitment to Georgia is unwavering, and the new University of Georgia School of Medicine will expand our positive impact on Georgians in many critical ways,” UGA President Jere W. Morehead said in the release.

“The School of Medicine will significantly expand the pool of medical professionals in Georgia, attract more top-tier scientists and researchers to the state, and produce more physicians to serve underserved and rural Georgia communities.”

Funding for the new school will come from the state government, as well as money from private and public support, university officials said. University officials said Georgia, with a population of about 11 million residents, currently has a shortage of medical professionals and an existing period of longer wait times at facilities.

“The UGA School of Medicine will help address the health care needs of Georgia while also serving as a springboard for economic development that advances our state,” said S. Jack Hu, UGA senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, in the release. “The school will attract additional researchers and scientists as well as biomedical companies and startups, fueling discovery and commercialization that create new opportunities for Georgians.”

The University of Georgia School of Medicine will join the following Georgia medical schools:

• Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta
• Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta
• Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta
• Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon
• Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine – Georgia Campus, Suwanee

Medical debt in the US amounted to at least $220 billion in 2021, with certain demographics seeing a higher likelihood of struggling to cover care.

By Kelsey Waddill – February 15, 2024

One in twelve adult Americans owe medical debt, largely those who are uninsured, low-income, or disabled, according to a report from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. Research on rampant medical debt is plentiful, but this study focused on identifying the debtors. Who are the 20 million Americans who owe a total of $220 billion or more in medical debt? The study assessed Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data on individuals owing $250 or more in medical debt. The data is from December 2021.

Seven out of ten study participants who had medical debt owed more than $1,000. A quarter owed between $2,001 and $5,000. Individuals who had a poorer health status or who had a disability were more likely to have medical debt.

One out of every five individuals who reported having a poor health status in 2021 also reported having medical debt along with 14 percent of those who reported having fair health. Additionally, 13 percent of respondents with a disability had unpaid medical bills. In contrast, only 4 percent of those with excellent health and 6 percent of those without a disability had medical debt.

“People with complex health needs that require ongoing care can see medical bills pile up over time. Those in worse health or those living with disabilities may also experience unemployment or income losses, further contributing to their difficulty affording medical bills,” the researchers explained.

Many of those who were uninsured for part or all of 2021 experienced challenges paying off their medical bills. Of those who were uninsured for part of 2021, 14 percent had medical debt. And 11 percent of those who were uninsured for the whole year reported the same problem. Meanwhile, 8 percent of those who had coverage for the full duration of 2021 had medical debt.

Having a low income was another key characteristic of the population with medical debt. Among individuals whose incomes did not exceed 199 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), 11 percent had medical debt along with 10 percent of those whose incomes fell between 200 to 399 percent of the FPL. Meanwhile, only 4 percent of those with incomes 600 percent of the FPL or more had unpaid medical bills.

Individuals who were low-income (0 to 399 percent of the FPL) and in poor health had the highest likelihood of struggling with medical debt (22 percent). People with low incomes who had fair health were more likely to report having medical debt than those with poor health but high incomes (15 percent versus 14 percent, respectively).

The study also broke down its respondent pool by race, gender, and age to identify common characteristics among individuals with medical debt. The results highlighted the need for better health equity.

Non-Hispanic Black patients were most likely of the five racial categories to have medical debt, with 13 percent of this population reporting that they had unpaid medical bills. Those who identified as Non-Hispanic Other followed close behind, with one in ten people who fell into this category having medical debt. Non-Hispanic Asian people had the lowest rate of medical debt.

Women were more likely to have medical debt than men. Nine percent of women reported having unpaid medical bills, compared to 7 percent of men. The researchers attributed this to the cost of childbirth and gender wage gap.

Medical debt was most common among people ages 35 to 49 (11 percent), followed closely by those between the ages of 50 and 64 (10 percent). People who were eligible for Medicare coverage based on their age were least likely to have medical debt. Only 3 percent of individuals 80 and older owed money for medical bills.

“Medical debt can happen to almost anyone in the United States, but this debt is most pronounced among people who are already struggling with poor health, financial insecurity, or both,” the researchers concluded.

“The fact that medical debt is a struggle even among households with health insurance and middle incomes indicates that simply expanding coverage will not erase the financial burden caused by high cost-sharing amounts and high prices for medical services and prescription drugs.” When left unchecked, affordability challenges present a key barrier to access to care.

By Alisa Bowman | May 10, 2023

Your body changes as you age. So should your weight-loss strategy. Here’s what you need to know to shed belly fat.

It’s not just you with extra padding in your middle. According to Tufts Medical Center, aging slows down our basal metabolic rate, which is the biological system where our bodies burn calories at rest to keep our organs functioning. This leads to weight gain, even if we aren’t eating or exercising any differently than we did before. 

And while we may be well past the point where we care about washboard abs, extra weight in the midsection does come with some significant health risks. The most dangerous kind of belly fat (called visceral fat, which surrounds organs in your abdominal cavity) has been linked to an increased risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast cancer, according to Harvard University. 

Fortunately, you can lose belly fat with certain lifestyle changes. Here’s what you can do – and what you should not do – to slim down your middle and improve your health. No extreme diets or marathon running required.  

Do: Combine Weight Training With Cardio 

This pair is a fat-burning winner. Strength training helps you build the muscle you need to rev up your metabolism, since muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat. Cardiovascular exercise, also known as aerobic activity, helps burn off excess calories.   

According to a 2022 analysis of 114 studies published in Obesity Reviews, this combo led to more fat loss than either form of exercise alone. Aim for 150 weekly minutes of moderate intensity cardio (like brisk walking) coupled with two-weekly strength training workouts, says Logan Strollis, M.S., an exercise physiologist at LVHN Fitness in Allentown, Pennsylvania. 

If 150 weekly minutes feels like a big ask, go with what your body can handle. Any activity is better than none, after all. It’s also important to choose activities that you enjoy, because you’ll be more likely to do them, says Janet J. Boseovski, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.    

Do: More Reps With Lighter Weights

All forms of strength training can help you build lean muscle mass to support your metabolism. But high-rep sessions – ones where you complete 12 to 20 repetitions per set – offer an added bonus, says Strollis. When compared to fewer reps with heavier weights, high-rep sessions can help you get your heart rate up, he says, helping you to burn more calories.  

Do: Boost Your Protein Intake  

Oftentimes when you lose weight, the pounds lost come from muscle instead of fat tissue. Consuming enough protein every day helps make sure your weight loss mostly comes from belly fat – and not from muscle mass, according to an analysis of 24 studies published in Nutrition Reviews. 

Protein also helps dampen our hunger, so we’re less likely to reach for extra food our bodies will wind up storing as fat. And like many things, protein’s effect on the body changes as we grow older.  

“Protein intake needs go up with age, because our bodies become less efficient at synthesizing and absorbing the protein that we eat,” says Kieran McSorley, R.D., of the Brentwood Physiotherapy Clinic. Ideally, aim for at least 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, he says. 

For a 150-pound person, that means 81 daily grams of protein. To reach that number, you might consume: 

• 6 ounces of Greek yogurt at breakfast (about 18 grams)
• 6 ounces of chicken at lunch (about 56 grams)
• ½ cup of pinto beans with your dinner (about 11 grams)

Do: Prioritize Nutrient-Dense Foods  

As you grow older, your body may require fewer calories. But you still need to consume enough nutrients to stay healthy, says McSorley.  

To get you there, he recommends a daily diet consisting of:

• Colorful fruits and vegetables
• Leafy greens
• Lean protein
• Low-fat dairy products
• Whole grains 

Fueling your body properly allows you to have the energy to get the exercise that helps you burn calories and fat. 

Do: Watch Your Stress Levels 

When you feel overwhelmed, levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, rise, contributing to the storage of belly fat. To help combat this, make sure your daily activities bring you joy whenever possible, says Boseovski.  

Ask yourself: What do I find meaningful?  

That’s the stuff you want to keep doing, says Boseovski. If a joyless task can be ditched with no financial or personal consequences, just let it go.  

Do: Pay Attention to How You Feel When You Eat 

If you’re like most of us, grabbing a bag of chips or cookies when you’re feeling stressed seems like a fantastic idea. But empty calories like those aren’t good for our waistline – or our energy levels. 

To counteract stress eating, Boseovski suggests keeping a food journal. When you find yourself reaching for snacks – despite not truly being hungry – jot down some notes.  

Ask yourself: 

• What’s going on around me?  
• What am I trying to avoid or escape by eating? 

These notes will help you to come up with new coping strategies. For example, instead of eating, you might go for a walk, snuggle with your dog, or see if a friend wants to join you for a cup of coffee.  

Do: Relax Before Bed  

Quality sleep helps keep our metabolism humming. So, anything you can do to help prepare you for a good night’s sleep, the better off you’ll be.  

A few simple tricks that promote better rest: 

• Ditch glowing screens an hour before bedtime 
• Keep the temperature in your bedroom cool 
• Wind down with a book before you turn-in

Visualization techniques can also be useful, says Sriram Machineni, M.D. He’s the director of the Fleischer Institute Medical Weight Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  When his clients struggle to fall asleep, he recommends yoga nidra, a visualization strategy that can help you relax. 

“It has been extremely helpful for my patients,” says Machineni. You’ll find dozens of free 20-minute yoga nidra sessions on YouTube, he says. Sample a few of them so you can choose one that feels soothing to you. Then play it in a calm room when you are ready to turn-in.  

Don’t: Fixate on Planks or Situps. 

It may seem like working your core muscles would be a great place to start to burn belly fat. “And while core exercises like planks do offer a lot of benefits – improving posture and reducing your risk of injuries, for example – they’re not the best tool for reducing belly fat”, says Strollis.  “A lot of people think if they do hundreds of crunches or planks, it will address belly fat. But that doesn’t work,” he says. And scientific research bears this out.  

When study participants completed two sets of 10 repetitions of seven different abdominal exercises five days a week, their amounts of belly fat were relatively unchanged six weeks later.  Regular cardiovascular exercise, paired with whole-body strength training, is a more successful fat-blasting strategy, the study authors found. 

Don’t: Skip Your Warmup 

Nothing sidelines your exercise sessions faster than an injury. And when older adults get injured, it’s often because they jumped right into a strength training or cardio session without a warmup.    

Don’t: Skimp on Fiber-Rich Foods 

Because fiber is a carbohydrate – and carbs fuel the body – eating high-fiber foods can help give you the stamina to work out. Fiber also has other beneficial effects on the body that impact belly fat. 

A study from Brigham Young University examined the eating habits of 6,374 people, and it found that fiber can help improve insulin function. That’s important, says McSorley, because insulin resistance is thought to contribute to the accumulation of belly fat. Insulin resistance is also a hallmark of type 2 diabetes.  Aim for at least 25 grams of fiber per day from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.