Reports on the health benefits of coffee and wine are always popular with senior citizens and this latest on red wine is a zinger. A natural substance present in red wine, resveratrol, inhibits the formation of inflammatory factors that trigger cardiovascular diseases.
Cardiovascular disorders, such as myocardial infarction (heart attack) and strokes, frequently occur in association with chronic inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis, which is common among senior citizens. The natural substance resveratrol thus has major therapeutic potential, particularly when it comes to the treatment of inflammatory diseases that can cause serious damage to the cardiovascular system.
Book Recommendation: Being Mortal—Medicine and What Matters in the End
In Being Mortal, bestselling author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also improve the process of its ending.
Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. Gawande offers examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and he explores the varieties of hospice care to demonstrate that a person's last weeks or months may be rich and dignified.
Full of eye-opening research and riveting storytelling, Being Mortal asserts that medicine can comfort and enhance our experience even to the end, providing not only a good life but also a good end.
Jan 22 Carol delivers a presentation on Estate Planning to the Women’s Hospitality Group.
Senior of the Month: Diana Nyad
Born on August 22, 1949, Diana Nyad went on to become a world-class swimmer with a dream: she was determined to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage or fins. Many people tried to talk her out of this dangerous feat, but she remained steadfast.
At the age of 63, after four failed attempts, she finally achieved her dream on September 2, 2013 and swam 110 miles from Havana to Key West. She had tried three times in 2011 and 2012. Her first attempt was in 1978. When she reached the Florida shore, she told her supporters, "I have three messages. One is, we should never, ever give up. Two is, you're never too old to chase your dream. Three is, it looks like a solitary sport, but it is a team."
This inspirational senior swims for charity on a regular basis. One month after her record-breaking swim from Cuba to Florida, Nyad held a 48-hour continuous "Swim for Relief" charity event in New York City to raise money for people struggling after Hurricane Sandy.
