During the process of normal or “healthy” aging, there are natural changes that take place if one is free of any disease. Dementia, on the other hand, is not a normal outcome of aging. Being able to recognize the difference between normal aging and dementia in you or a loved one can assist you in determining when additional help or evaluation is needed.

Normal Aging
In normal aging, you can expect a number of skills and abilities to remain intact or only slightly different. You will continue to be independent in what are often referred to as daily living activities. These activities include bathing, dressing, driving, preparing meals, managing finances and working. You may notice that sometimes you forget things, but you will be able to give details about those incidents of forgetfulness. This occasional forgetfulness may concern you, but may not be noticed by friends or family. Despite these occasional lapses of forgetfulness, your memory for recent events and your ability to hold a conversation will remain robust. Although you may notice occasional difficulty finding the specific word to use, your vocabulary will still be as extensive as it always was. It is also “normal aging” when you get lost in a familiar place, forget where you put your keys, or forget birthdays or anniversaries. You may have to give yourself a few moments to remember these things, but you WILL remember. As you age, you will also continue to learn new things, if you are open to learning.
Lifestyle factors that contribute to healthy aging include: not smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, healthy social activity, physical exercise that promotes flexibility, strength, and mood, routine medical care to maintain good health, and keeping your mind stimulated through activities such as reading, crossword puzzles, or new hobbies.

Dementia
Now, contrast the abilities and skills of normal aging stated above with what you can expect with dementia. A person with dementia depends on others for those daily activities that will keep them independent. He or she will not be able to recall incidents of memory loss and may only complain about memory problems if specifically asked. These more frequent occasions of memory loss will become most obvious to close family members. In addition, there may be a noticeable decline in memory for recent events or the ability to maintain a conversation. A person with dementia has considerable difficulty finding and using the right word. The person may use substitutions for the word he/she wants or may use a description instead of the actual word. Word finding continues to decline in dementia. The person may lose his/her way in what was very familiar territory and sometimes may take hours to find their way back. Also, a person who has even early dementia will not be able to learn new things or may take extensive repetitions to remember the sequence of new events. Factors that can lead to decline and possible dementia include: untreated high blood pressure or diabetes, poor nutrition, heart disease, stress, depression, social isolation or a family history of dementia.

If you are noting memory changes in yourself or a loved one that you think might be dementia, make an appointment with your doctor. He or she can assess your health and answer any questions you may have. If you or your doctor believes that staying at home is not an option, then independent senior living or assisted living communities may be an opportunity for you to get the care you need.

An article published in the Health Day News on March 2nd by Steven Reinberg discussed the results of a study which showed a correlation between purpose in life and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. The article that follows is an adaptation from that report.

“As the population ages and dementia becomes a more frequent diagnosis, there is increasing impetus to determine the causes of the disease, associated risk factors and how to prevent it,” explained study co-author Dr. Aron S. Buchman, an associate professor in the department of neurological sciences at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

The study looked at the positive aspects of life and their possible effect on keeping dementia at bay. In the study, 951 older people without dementia were asked to respond to statements such as: “I feel good when I think of what I have done in the past and what I hope to do in the future.” After an average of 4 years of follow-up, 16.3% of the people in the study developed Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers found that people who responded most positively to statements about their lives were the least likely to develop the condition. Also, people who said they had more purposeful lives were less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment and had a slower rate of cognitive decline.

People who scored 4.2 out of 5 on the purpose-in-life measure were about 2.4 times less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, compared with people who scored 3.0, the study found.

Dr. Buchman stated that “the importance of the study is this doesn’t prove anything, but it points researchers in the direction of a link between purpose in life and cognition in late life. He also added that “more social activity, more physical activity, higher cognitive activities, high purpose in life – all these psychosocial factors seem to be linked with longer life, decreased mortality, decreased disability and provide important clues to a public health approach to try to increase independence in older people in later life.”

William H. Theis, chief medical and scientific officer at the Alzheimer’s Association, said the new study “contributes to the literature that says there is a linkage between behavior and disease. The study begs the question whether there is more Alzheimer’s disease because more people have a lower sense of purpose, or is a lower sense of purpose an early, subtle, sign of dementia.”

The retirement communities of Retirement Unlimited, Inc. provide a wide variety of social activities to provide even more purpose in your life. In addition, some communities also provide care for persons with dementia. Take a virtual tour of our communities to find the activities that suit you best!

As we age, problems can arise that require the intervention of not only our primary care physician or family doctor, but also those of specialty physicians like cardiologists, neurologists, orthopedists, geriatricians, and many others. With all of these specialists comes the potential for prescribing multiple medications. With each additional medications, the likelihood increases that you may experience a medication-related problem which may or may not be associated with your primary diagnosis or disease. The American Society of Consulting Pharmacists defines a Medication related problem as an “event or situation involving drug therapy that actually or potentially interferes with an optimum outcome for a specific patient.” In other words, the more medications you take, the more likely it is that the medicines will begin to interfere with each other and lower the effectiveness of the medicine. In this article, we will categorize the eight ways that prescribed drugs can cause medication-related problems. Using this information, you can then have a discussion with your doctor or pharmacist to review your current medications and make some decisions to appropriately decrease the number of medicines you should take. In many instances, you may find that minimal is healthier.

The following categories for Medication-related problems were adapted from the article “Seniors at Risk: Designing the System to Protect America’s Most Vulnerable Citizens from Medication-Related Problems” as developed by the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists at www.ascp.com Visit the website for more information and to obtain a copy of the article.

• A person may experience a medication-related problem when he/she has a medical condition that requires drug therapy, but is not receiving a drug for that condition. The person either may not know that he/she has the medical condition, or may know, but may not be able to afford the medication prescribed due to insurance or financial issues.

• A person taking a medication for no medically valid condition can end up with a medication related problem by taking the drug.

• Medication-related problems can also develop from improper drug selection. This effect occurs when a person’s medical condition is being treated with the wrong drug or a drug that is not the most appropriate based on the special needs of the person.

• When a person with a medical condition is being treated with too much or too little of the correct medication, a problem is likely to occur.

• A person may have an adverse reaction to a medication. In the case of older adults, adverse drug reactions contribute to existing geriatric problems such as falls, urinary incontinence, constipation, and weight loss.

• A medication-related problem can also arise when a person has a medical condition that is the result of a drug interacting negatively with another food, drug, or laboratory test.

• A person may have a medical condition that is the result of not receiving a drug due to economic, psychological, sociological, or pharmaceutical reasons.

Your physician and pharmacist MUST be aware of all medications you are taking and all medical conditions that you have in order to optimize your drug treatment regime and avoid medication-related problems. Retirement and Assisted Living Community, like those of Retirement Unlimited, Inc., provide pharmacy and medical services to review drug treatments and help you optimize your health. Contact a Community nearest you for a tour or for more information.

Every time you interact with the world, your brain learns and grows. Active thinking and all kinds of physical activity improve brain function and can protect against cognitive decline. The human brain is a very flexible organ that can continually adapt and rewire itself based on activity, even as we age. The Franklin Institute Online suggests that though severe mental decline is usually caused by disease, most age-related losses in memory or motor skills are the result of inactivity and a lack of mental exercise and stimulation. In this article, we’ll take a look at how our brains can learn to form new connections and what simple tasks and exercises can be done to help your brain stay young.

Throughout your life, the neurons in your brain respond to each new stimulus and every learning experience. Each time this happens, the neurons in your brain reorganize or reinforce neuron pathways. A healthy, active neuron can be linked to thousands of other neurons making the potential for millions of new connections. This is why memory can be sparked not just from repeating the exact same experience, but by any aspect of a similar experience. Think about how a certain song or wonderful aroma can conjure up a memory. Your brain is literally changing each time you learn something new! So, simple tasks and exercises can stimulate your brain and build these receptors and connections keeping your brain young.

While crossword puzzles, math tasks, and even bingo are activities that can help your brain stay young, so too, can other more simple tasks. For example, try using your non-dominant hand to dial the phone, use the remote, or brush your teeth. Though at first it will be difficult to be precise and accurate with your motions, fear not, because this awkwardness is a good thing. It means that your brain is learning a new skill! Challenge yourself to try something new or different every day. Venture out of your comfort zone by driving a different route to or from work, learn a new hobby, or meet some new people. Even if you never repeat the exact same activity, you have created a new connection for your brain to use! A recent study even showed that one hour per week of doing internet searches resulted in an increase in the working memory of study participants over the age of 55.

The Franklin Institute Online suggests that we try to include one or more of our senses when doing a task. For example, get dressed with your eyes closed or in the dark (make sure you are sitting down to do this to minimize the risk of falling). Share a meal and use only visual cues to communicate. Listen to music while smelling a bouquet of flowers. Listen to the rain and tap your fingers at the same time. The point is, give your brain multiple opportunities to flex its muscle and grow. A passive life does not promote a young and vibrant brain.

Activate your life, activate your brain, be healthy and stay young.

Making good nutritional choices is one of the best things you can do to improve your health. The foods that you eat, according to the article, “Dietary Guidelines for Chronic Disease Prevention,” by J. Shikany, may delay or prevent chronic diseases in later life and may potentially provide years of health, productivity and high functioning. What a bonus! Make good nutritional choices now and reap the benefits for a long time. To do this, you need to know what nutrients are essential and how to incorporate them into your diet. At Retirement & Assisted Living Communities of Retirement Unlimited, Inc., we provide a healthy variety of foods in our dining menu or you can use this information to prepare your own meals in the apartment kitchens in some of our retirement & assisted living communities.

Eating a diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and nutrients may help reduce your risk for stroke, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. The essentials to look for include: calcium, fiber, iron, potassium, and vitamins A, C, and E. When combined, these nutrients can give you the benefits for healthy aging. Let’s take a look at each of these nutrients and what foods to find them. We’ll also give you a simple recipe for enjoying some of the nutrients.

•    Calcium is essential for bones and teeth as well as the function of muscles, nerves, and glands. Dairy products, of course, are good sources of this nutrient, but so are foods such as collard greens, soy beans, and sardines
•    Fiber comes in two forms: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber helps your cholesterol and insoluble fiber is essential for a healthy digestive tract. Good sources of fiber include beans, artichokes, pears, and wheat germ.
•    Iron provides red blood cells with what they need and helps your cells function in top form. Look for iron not only in red meat, but in lentils, lima beans.
•    Potassium helps your kidneys function in a healthy manner and regulates fluid retention. You can find potassium in bananas, potatoes, and dark leafy greens such as spinach.
•    Vitamins A, C, and E help your skin, keep fatty acids from oxidizing, keep teeth and gums healthy, aid in iron absorption and can protect against infections. You can find vitamin A in orange vegetables and fruits like sweet potatoes, carrots, mango, cantaloupe, and apricots. Vitamin E is abundant in dark leafy greens, red bell pepper, and papaya. And, of course, Vitamin C is found in all citrus fruits as well as red peppers and mangoes.

Here is a simple snack that you can prepare that is rich in many of the nutrients that we’ve described. This recipe was taken from the June 2009 issue of Cooking Light. Substitute any flavor of reduced fat yogurt in this recipe. For more healthy recipes for healthy aging, you can check out Cooking Light at www.cookinglight.com.

Blueberry-Orange Parfaits (makes 4 servings)
This snack comes together in a few minutes, if you purchase orange sections from the refrigerated part of the produce section. To make ahead, prepare parfaits and refrigerate, covered, for up to four hours; sprinkle with wheat germ just before serving. The oranges provide fiber, vitamin C, and potassium; yogurt provides protein, calcium, and potassium; blueberries provide fiber and vitamin C; and the wheat germ gives you protein, fiber, vitamin, and zinc.

1 ½ Tablespoons turbinado sugar
½ teaspoon grated orange rind
2 – 7 ounce containers reduced-fat plain Greek style yogurt
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups orange sections (about 2 large)
¼ cup wheat germ
Combine the first 3 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until blended. Spoon ¼ cup blueberries into each of 4 tall glasses. Spoon about 2 ½ tablespoons of yogurt mixture over the blueberries in each glass. Add ¼ cup orange to each serving. Repeat layers with remaining blueberries, yogurt mixture, and oranges. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon wheat germ over each serving; serve immediately

If you prefer someone else to do your cooking for you, then explore our website and see what our communities have to offer. Contact the community closest to you by phone or e-mail or stop by for a visit. Take a tour, stay for a meal, and see what healthy choices Retirement Unlimited Inc. has to offer.