Friday March 4, 2011
The trace mineral zinc, found in beef, pork, lamb and peanuts, helps the immune system and is an important part of a healthy diet. After studying the results of 15 trials, Cochrane Reviews has concluded that zinc can shorten the duration of a cold.
Too much zinc can be hazardous to your health, however, and the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) warns that denture wearers who use more than the recommended amount of denture adhesive can consume toxic levels of zinc.
"An ill-fitting denture is one reason that a patient could be overusing adhesive," according to Manuel A. Cordero, DDS, MAGD, in an AGD news release. "With age, your mouth will continue to change as the bone under your denture shrinks or recedes. If the denture doesn't fit correctly, the patient tends to use more adhesive to try to get the denture to stay in place."
To avoid using too much denture adhesive, which can irritate the mouth and cause stomach pain, nausea, and potential neurological damage, the AGD advises denture wearers to follow package instructions.
And instead of using more adhesive to hold loose-fitting dentures, see your dentist every six months to make sure your dentures fit properly.
Monday February 28, 2011
People over 50 were well represented among the Oscar winners last night at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. Particularly noteworthy was David Seidler, 73, who took home the "best original screenplay" Oscar for The King's Speech, which also won Academy Awards for best picture, best director and best actor.
"My father always said to me I would be a late bloomer," Seidler said. "I believe I am the oldest person to win this particular award. I hope that record is broken quickly . . . and often."
After thanking his son and daughter for believing in him and expressing his gratitude to the film's producers and cast, Seidler said: "I'd like to thank Her Majesty the Queen for not putting me in the Tower of London for using the Melissa Leo f-word," a joking comment that may also have been a reference to recent news that The King's Speech may be re-cut to remove a couple of words in one scene, which would lower the film's rating from R to PG-13.
Turning serious as he wrapped up his acceptance speech, Seidler said: "I accept this on behalf of all the stutterers throughout the world. We have a voice, we have been heard, thanks to you, the Academy."
Seidler wasn't the only over-50 winner of a top Oscar last night. Colin Firth, who won best actor for his stunning performance as the stuttering wartime British monarch George VI in The King's Speech, and Melissa Leo, who received the best supporting actress Oscar for her role in The Fighter, are both baby boomers who were born in 1960.
Photo of screenwriter David Seidler by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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Sunday February 27, 2011
A couple of days ago, The New York Times published a story saying that baby boomers are going to the movies again in record numbers, because Hollywood has finally started to realize that the graying audience has both money and time to spend on entertainment. It's about time.
Baby boomers never stopped loving movies--our generation has had a longstanding love affair with cinema--but filmmakers and studio executives have been so busy courting the youth market for the past couple of decades that they didn't offer much for mature audiences to get excited about.
According to The Times, that's beginning to change. In the past year, filmmakers have been rewarded handsomely for creating films that offer baby boomers more depth and less demolition, more storytelling and fewer special effects. Movies such as The King's Speech, True Grit, The Fighter and Black Swan are all Oscar contenders and box-office hits--results fueled in part by a lot of people with gray hair buying tickets.
Movie theaters are also getting into the act and starting to offer services that older audiences appreciate, such as reserved seating and made-to-order food.
Personally, I think the current surge in over-50 moviegoers is not due to a sudden renewed interest in the movies among older audiences, but simply that the vast majority movie-loving baby boomers are now over 50. Baby boomers have been going to the movies right along.
On the other hand, if Hollywood finally notices that a lot of theater seats are occupied by people over 50, and responds by making more high-quality movies that attract older audiences in even greater numbers, then everybody wins.
Photo by Getty Images
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Thursday February 24, 2011
Every year, millions of older Americans resolve to lose weight, but they often get frustrated and give up long before they reach their goals.
Fad diets don't work, at least not for long, because they don't teach eating habits that last a lifetime. Once people fall off the diet plan they tend to start eating to make up for lost time, and gain back the weight they've lost and then some.
All too often, friends, family members and coworkers offer conflicting or incorrect information about diet and exercise that leads people down the wrong path and can make things worse instead of better.
To help more people achieve and maintain a healthy weight, two diet and exercise experts agreed to "weigh in" on many of the most common diet and exercise myths that may be holding you back.
Photo by Getty Images
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