Practical information for aging health & family caregivers
I’m very happy to announce that the new Helping Older Parents Podcast is now live and available for you to listen, alongside the existing Better Health While Aging Podcast!
You can find all the new Helping Older Parents Podcast episodes here, and over 100 existing Better Health While Aging Podcast episodes here.
And now, let me answer some of the questions people have already asked me about the shows and about listening to podcasts.
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Dear Readers,
Welcome to our new and improved website! I’m very pleased to announce that the Geriatrics For Caregivers website has been renamed Better Health While Aging.
But don’t worry, all of our practical geriatrics health information for family caregivers is still here.
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It’s that time of the year again: first Thanksgiving, and then winter holidays. Which means this is the time of the year when families are most likely to get together with older parents.
Ideally, this means a time for families to bond and spend joyful times together. And no matter what is going on in your older relative’s life, bonding and joy are always possible. So I hope this holiday season brings you many opportunities to enjoy your aging relatives.
But there are two more challenging things that tend to happen during the holidays:
Nobody likes addressing these two situations. But they do come up a lot at this time of year.
In case any concerns or planning needs come up for you during the holidays, here’s what I’ll be sharing in this post:
Here are three online guides that can help you. They all include a printable PDF version.
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Sleep. Everybody needs it. Many of us don’t get enough of it.
These are common truths that almost everyone knows. But recently, I had the opportunity to learn quite a bit more about sleep, and how it affects health.
I came away convinced that sleep is a core pillar of health. It deserves more attention from us as doctors, and as individuals concerned about our own health or that of an aging relative.
I also know that sleep problems are very common among family caregivers, and among aging adults. So I was glad to learn more about sleep health, as this has the potential to really help people get through caregiving and aging challenges.
In this article, I’ll share some of the interesting facts I learned about sleep, including how it affects the health of the body and mind, and how it changes with aging.
You may also want to read the following related articles:
What kind of diet is best for maintaining the health of aging brains and bodies?
A common answer these days is the “Mediterranean diet,” due to a combination of recently published research studies and frequent media coverage.
In fact, a study published earlier this week found that older Spanish women who were randomly assigned to stick to a Mediterranean diet — supplemented by extra olive oil — developed fewer cases of invasive breast cancer, compared to women who were merely advised to reduce dietary fat.
This study was published by the same research team that reported earlier this year that Spaniards assigned to a Mediterranean diet — supplemented with either olive oil or nuts — experienced less cognitive decline. And a 2013 report from the same group found that the Mediterranean diet led to a 30% decrease in cardiovascular events (strokes and heart attacks).
Does this mean you should hustle to make sure your older relatives are eating a Mediterranean diet? Well, maybe. I will go into the study details later in the post, but for now, let’s say that the diet used in the study seems very sensible, provided one doesn’t suffer unduly from limited access to pork and cookies.
As is the case for many lifestyle changes that might affect cancer and dementia, a healthy diet reduces risk but is just one factor among many. Still, if we’ve learned of a good way to eat, why not consider it?
So in this post, here’s what I’ll review:
PREDIMED (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea) was a big randomized control trial conducted in Spain, from 2003 to 2009. It involved 7446 peopled aged 55-80. In the next section of the post I’ll describe the study in more detail, but let’s start with what you are probably most interested in:
Just what was the PREDIMED Mediterranean diet??
Fortunately, it is possible to find the research study’s materials online, and they describe the recommended diet in detail.
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Pop quiz: Can you define geriatrics? And did you know that it’s not just for the “old-old”?
If you hesitated with these two questions, don’t feel bad. Most people know that geriatrics has something to do with the elderly, but beyond that there’s a lot of confusion about what it is, who it can help, and how it’s different from gerontology.
To clear up the confusion and help all seniors — whether younger or older — understand how to benefit from geriatrics, I’ve written an article for NextAvenue.org:
In this article, I explain:
I wrote this article because geriatrics has wonderful things to offer when it comes to the health of older adults, just as pediatrics offers wonderful benefits to children. (Kids need healthcare that’s adapted to their growing minds and bodies. Older adults need healthcare that’s adapted to their aging bodies and minds.)
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Here’s an uncomfortable truth that every family should be aware of:
You shouldn’t assume your doctor is providing you with optimal medical advice.
By optimal, I mean advice that is:
Doctors are generally trying their best. But it’s hard for a single person to keep up with all the latest knowledge, plus doctors tend to get into practice habits that aren’t necessarily in your best interest.
Have you found yourself eyeing an older person’s medication list, wondering if you should worry?
It’s smart to be concerned, especially if your older relative takes five or more medications. Medications can provide many benefits, but they also can easily cause problems.
The CDC estimates that every year 177,000 older adults visit the emergency room due to medication-related problems. But even medications that don’t prompt ER visits may be causing more harm than good, and researchers have documented that “inappropriate prescribing” is common among seniors.
For all these reasons, a big part of what we do as geriatricians is to regularly review an older person’s medications, for safety and appropriateness.
Now, to properly review medications, you do need to work with clinically trained professionals such as doctors, pharmacists, and nurses.
But I am a big believer in the idea that well-informed patients and families are key to getting the healthcare work done better.
So I’ve written a two-part article for A Place for Mom, about how you can help an older person get the most out of his or her medication review. Here’s part one:
“How to Think Like a Geriatrician About Medications for Older Adults“
In this article, I share five medication safety truths that I always keep in mind, and that you should too! They are:
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If you’ve been wondering just how to maintain a healthy brain for yourself, or for an older relative, then I have some very good news.
In April, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a comprehensive report on this very topic. It’s called “Cognitive Aging: Progress in Understanding and Opportunities for Action.”
This report manages to be innovative, comprehensive, and also incredibly useful to regular people and practicing doctors. That’s because the IOM created a number of practical guides and resource sheets, to accompany their detailed and exhaustively researched 385 page report.
To help get the word out about the highlights of this report, I’ve written an article about it for NextAvenue.org:
“4 Myths About Brain Health and How to Stay Sharp“
In this NextAvenue article, I review:
Since we’re all part of an aging society, it’s good for all of us to learn more about how the brain tends to change with age, and how we can optimize brain health as people get older.
As the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, the IOM’s job is to provide “independent, objective, evidence-based advice to policy makers, health professionals, the private sector, and the public.”
When an IOM committee makes recommendations on a given health topic, you can rest assured that this represents the best available medical knowledge.
So before you read yet another article about “brain-boosting foods,” take a look at the NextAvenue article summarizing the highlights of the IOM report.
“4 Myths About Brain Health and How to Stay Sharp“
And then let me know which of the report highlights were most interesting to you.
“Doctor, my mom needs help but she won’t accept it and she won’t listen.”
Sound familiar? As several of you commented last fall, older relatives often seem reluctant to accept the help we think they need.
Now, I don’t have a magic formula for making this easy. But I do have a new article published on NextAvenue.org, that addresses this very issue:
“4 Things To Do When Your Parents Are Resisting Help“
In this article, I explain four approaches that I always recommend to families, when they are struggling to get older parents to make changes.
They aren’t silver bullets. But they should make it a little easier to get through difficult situations with older loved ones.
So take a look, and let me know what you think.
This work by Leslie Kernisan MD & Better Health While Aging LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at BetterHealthWhileAging.net.