Healthy Aging: Body, Mind & Spirit

Do performers and celebrities die at a younger age?

Having a glittering career in the public eye may come at the cost of a shorter life, an analysis of obituaries in a US newspaper suggests.  It showed performers and sports stars tended to die a few years younger than people successful in other careers.

Go to the BBC for the full story.

New reviews for “Find Your Reason to Be Here”

“In 100 pages, with an intriguing bibliography, this is a quick but comprehensive overview of our generation at this moment in the 21st century.  Carter’s telling is at once realistic and optimistic—and her own story is living proof. 

‘Why did I write this book?’ she asks in her prologue, and then answers with a quote from Joan Baez:  ‘Action is the greatest antidote to despair.’ 

Carter never looks at our generation through rosy glasses.  Her even-handed reporting and clear and compassionate writing help me understand the challenges and opportunities we all face.  Thank you.”               – Carrie Tuhy

Find Your Reason to Be Here: The Search For Meaning in Midlife is where I share what I have learned from years of research into the psychological legacy of boomers, where the idea of ‘midlife’ came from, and how boomers can make the most of this unique new stage of emotional development. I feel it is the best I have ever produced.

Here I summarize most of what I have learned in studying the experience of midlife from the inside out.  I explain what happens to our hearts and minds in combination with being raised in the time of the boomers, and then show how to combat emotional challenges, and succeed in becoming your best self in spite of the many factors which may work against you.

Ten Steps to Avoid Alzheimer’s Disease

Go read this excellent article to avoid the BIG A!

Dystextia an essential new way of diagnosing stroke!

Harvard scientists are reporting that a case of “dystextia” clued them in that a 25-year-old pregnant woman had suffered a stroke, and was in need of urgent medical care.

Apparently, the inability to text correctly can be your very first sign of stroke.

Change your perspective, change your life!

Learn about the latest research on optimism and resilience!

If you are serious about losing weight…

you MUST watch this 50 minute video!

Just saw it last night: 10 Things You Need to Know to Lose Weight.

New help with midlife mental health!

My new book: “Find Your Reason to Be Here: The Search for Meaning in Midlife” is out!  This is the research project I have been working on for the past few years!  It contains life-changing information for those in their 40s and 50s.  Wondering what to expect at midlife? Perhaps you are the parent of a boomer and are seeking a better understanding of your child.  This book will explains all of this to you!

Learn what’s normal and to-be-expected, and how to make the MOST of your middle years. This book includes so much new research on what boomers share emotionally, how they compare to their parents, where the idea of “midlife” came from, and the exciting new rite of passage we are experiencing for the first time in human history!

SUPERBUGS!!!

Don’t miss this great summary of what’s happening with the superbugs these days!

Genes and colon cancer

UK researchers believe they have explained why some families are incredibly vulnerable to bowel cancer.  They have found two genes, which are passed from parent to child, that greatly increase the risk of a tumour forming.

The study, published in Nature Genetics, analysed DNA from 20 people with a strong family history.  These findings could be used to develop a test to judge someone’s risk of the disease.

Check out this BBC article for more details!

New research on cannabis and pain

Cannabis makes pain more bearable rather than actually reducing it, a study from the University of Oxford suggests.

Using brain imaging, researchers found that the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis reduced activity in a part of the brain linked to emotional aspects of pain, but the effect on the pain experienced varied greatly.  The researchers’ findings are published in the journal Pain.

The Oxford researchers recruited 12 healthy men to take part in their small study.  Participants were given either a 15mg tablet of THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) – the ingredient that is responsible for the high – or a placebo.  The volunteers then had a cream rubbed into the skin of one leg to induce pain, which was either a dummy cream or a cream that contained chilli – which caused a burning and painful sensation.

Each participant had four MRI scans which revealed how their brain activity changed when their perception of the pain reduced.

Learn more about this study over at the BBC.