Microchipping: Pets, People and Cancer

Is your pet microchipped? Have you thought about getting a chip implanted in yourself or a loved one? Then you will definitely want to have a look at this information.

A prescription for old age

By Lynne McTaggart

The over-60s make up just 8 per cent of the population, but they are prescribed more than one-third of all medicines dispensed by doctors. In fact, the average 60-plus person is prescribed at least six drugs, all of which are interacting to unknown effect.

As WDDTY has discovered, the major drugs routinely dispensed as just-in-case medicine for the over-60s—from cholesterol-lowering drugs to aspirin—cause all of the conditions that we’ve come to associate with old age: physical instability; forgetfulness; incontinence; and dementia. At least five major classes of drugs routinely prescribed to seniors cause falls, while many types of drugs cause incontinence. And virtually any drug—even those sold over the counter—is capable of bringing about some sort of cognitive impairment or ‘brain fog’, with all the hallmarks of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

I saw this close to home with our neighbour ‘Sam’, who handled all the gardening and physical labour around his daughter’s house well into his 80s. One of his party tricks was to race around the garden with his small grandson in a large wheelbarrow. When he became a bit forgetful, his doctor prescribed powerful antipsychotics. In short order, he completely lost his memory, became paranoid and difficult, landed in a nursing home, refused his food and, finally, just gave up and died.

Our neighbour’s situation begs the question of which came first: the problem, or the problem caused by the ‘solution’? If seniors given drugs present with symptoms, doctors are quick to reach for the prescription pad to hand out yet more drugs to handle what are simply side-effects from a drug that the senior probably didn’t need in the first place.

More at Link

Creative Aging With the Raging Grannies

The Raging Grannies "bared all" at the Creative Aging Symposium held in San Francisco, June 15, 2009.
Posing as the scheduled entertainment for the symposium, they took the stage and made the case for Single Payer Health Care Reform.

The Symposium was sponsored, in part, by an insurance company, and also gets funds from AARP which acts very much like a corporate insurance company and is against any health care reform that would eliminate insurance companies.

IN THE VIDEO: Some members of the crowd look suspicious, others sing along with the Grannies who croon, "We won't feed CEO's anymore!" to the tune of This Little Light of Mine.
Eight-minute QuickTime movie. 36MB at Link


Do you have the right stuff to be a Raging Granny?
Raging Grannies Net - with Song Lyrics
Some Raging Granny Songs
Raging Grannies Official Site
Raging Grannies Film Launch
Link to buy Raging Grannies CD
Link to buy Raging Grannies book

Eldercare in Canada: Dignity Denied

From the report:

"Older Canadians are not and must never be seen as a burden.
They worked hard to build Canada into the modern and compas-
sionate country that it is today. They survived the Great Depression
and many wore our country’s uniform during a world war. They
paid their fair share of taxes and they continue to do so. They are a
continuing source of wisdom, experience and talent.
In this paper we discuss the issues confronting (Long Term Care) in Canada,
including the lack of access to adequate and affordable care. We
speak to the stress endured by families that have to make diffi-
cult choices regarding their parents and grandparents. We also
consider the circumstances of the women and men who work in
LTC facilities, providing care to our nation’s seniors. Too often
those workers are undervalued, underpaid and burned out."


PDF

One result of lack of long term care for seniors can be dangerous - sometimes fatal: overmedication.
Toronto STAR: "Drugged-out seniors a prescription for disaster"
Link

Much of what is diagnosed as dementia may be the result of poor nutrition. This little guide to helping
dementia patients with some nutritional support is from the State of Wisconsin.

However, we would like to go further. We think that much dementia has roots in deficiencies in B12 and zinc, and that to restore and maintain neurological health over a lifetime, these and other nutrients - in the proper amounts and proper balance - need to be supplied.

More in-depth information on better lifelong brain health through nutrition can be seen at this PDF -
Harold Foster's writing on Alzheimer's
and at the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine here.

Even if you don't have an elderly relative or friend, please consider this information for your own sake - and keep the Reaper at bay.

Help your Aging Parent

Image: Linus Pauling

Linus Pauling lived to be 94. Here is some Micronutient information for the older adult from the Linus Pauling Institute.
And if you take good care of yourself, you won't need these checklists and resources on assessment and care for elders soon.

Do SSRI's Cause Lesions in Brains of Elderly?

"Antidepressant linked to worsening white matter in elderly
Reuters
Tue, 18 March 2008
The results of a study employing serial cranial MRI suggest that elderly adults who use tricyclic antidepressants may be at increased risk for progression of white matter lesions, which have been linked with late-life depression by previous studies."
Article here