grow older better

Author: Lynn Dorman, Ph.D.

  • Ahhh December

    December came in like the rhyme about March – a lion…..a very windy wet lion. My house was being bumped around a bit and all are tying down anything that could fly off into the river…somehow though I doubt December will go out like the lamb of that same rhyme!

    I moved my chairs and plants away from the edges as we were moving a bit too much. I have always been an indoor and outdoor plant person – and here most of my plants can make it through the winter outdoors which is good as some of the indoor plants I bought when I first arrived have gotten so big that I have no room for them in the house – and besides the pots are now quite heavy….I do bring in the more “delicate” plants and the ones I know do not like to be wet all the time : – )

    Enjoy your December but do stay safe – it seems to be bringing some pretty miserable storms across the country….

    glyconutrients, healthy aging, growing older, aging, nutrition, exercise, eating properly,

  • Pre New Year

    This week I got back into doing more exercising. Admittedly, I am one who takes exercise out of my schedule when I get busy knowing that is BAD for me! It’s usually bad for everyone – but most of us stop exercising when we have other things to do.

    I started feeling more tired even tho I get sufficient sleep – so I felt too tired to get to the club and then of course the cycle continued. I was getting there for a cycling class but doing “serious” exercise only twice a week is not the best for me and it led to the tired feeling…..

    So today I added yoga back into my schedule. In the summer I do yoga at home to the tapes I have – but as soon as it gets cold – which it did on September, my floor is too cold to stand on with bare feet – and so out went the yoga.

    What finally got me back was the realization that we are entering celebratory season – and I love parties. So figured I’d beat the New Year Resolution crowd and be in great shape before January 1…besides I have a birthday coming up in January and I’d really prefer being in a whole lot better shape, and a few pounds lighter, than last year…which was not that bad a shape – but we can always improve on our health and I started on improving mine today..

    And I really want to get back to playing squash before my D.C. friend comes in late December – so I don’t look like such a dork on the squash court when we play!

    glyconutrients, healthy aging, growing older, aging, nutrition, exercise, eating properly,

  • Happy Thanksgiving

    As we grow older, we have more thanksgivings behind us to remember – but for me, each year seems to be a better thanksgiving than the one before…. maybe as I have more to be thankful for in that I have yet again added another year…..

    Enjoy your day…..

    glyconutrients, healthy aging, growing older, aging, nutrition, exercise, eating properly,

  • Here’s a question, and some variants, to ponder

    What is old age? Or – when does old age start? Or even this: Is there really such a “thing” as old age?

    I have taught life span development many times over the decades and it’s a question that came up [and comes] up in college classes and now it’s popping up among other populations – even among those who might be considered to be “in” their old age.

    I have heard many 20-somethings talk about “those poor senior citizens” who collect social security. The “seniors” are often described as infirm, unable to work and otherwise to be pitied. These same 20-somethings most likely come into contact with those over 65 – who are still working, still active and hardly pitiable…but the 20-somethings do not see those over-65ers as being over 65.

    So when are you old? Is it an age determination? or is it something else?

    When I was a “young kid” a few years removed from graduate school – many of the local psychology professors were beginning to think and write about aging but few had really started studying it. One such psychologist jokingly said that only when we all got older would psychologists start really understanding older ages. I think she was right.

    Studying older and aging populations is relatively new…and defining old age keeps changing…

    Me? I hate the term “old age.” It has no real meaning. We do not speak of childhood as “new age” or junior – so why label some as old age or senior? I much prefer “old fart” – it stops people in their tracks – annoys some and makes many laugh… I ask for my old fart discount when I go to a particular store on what I call old fart Wednesdays – when we old farts get a 10% discount.

    glyconutrients, healthy aging, growing older, aging, nutrition, exercise, eating properly,

  • Beware of your own HMO

    For those on Medicare – some worries are about the schemers who promise the moon and deliver nothing while taking your money. And for those insured through HMO’s there is an additional set of worries.

    For starters it is often difficult for an insured to get some care covered – and covered in full – as the HMO keeps looking for loop holes.

    Well it seems at least one California HMO gives it’s employees bonuses to do such things!

    From SFGate.com

    Health Net Inc., one of the state’s largest health insurers, tied rewards and savings to its employees’ ability to cancel policies based on misrepresentations in members’ applications, according to documents in a lawsuit against the company.

    The documents showed Health Net saved $35.5 million in “unnecessary” health care expenses for rescinding more than 1,000 policies between 2000 and 2006. At the same time, a Health Net analyst received about $21,000 in bonuses for her work, which included exceeding company goals for policy rescissions.

    Full article HERE.

    This does not surprise me as I had heard it before – but this came out during an arbitration hearing and was made public….widely public! As a one-time provider for an HMO, I dropped off their list of providers as decisions about people’s mental health were being made by gum chewing office workers who continued to have loud conversations with their friends while speaking to me on the phone about clients!

    glyconutrients, healthy aging, growing older, aging, nutrition, exercise, eating properly,