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Travel can help to facilitate healthy aging

Lifestyles

The adage, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” may be true, but for seniors, enjoying that apple at a hotel or on a cruise may be even more healthy than having it at home. Travel can be an important component of healthy aging. Travel provides many benefits across multiple areas of life. According to The Senior List, around 70% of seniors (adults age 50 and up) travel regularly. Seniors are a target demographic for the travel industry, accounting for roughly one-third of all travelers. Seniors spend almost one month each year traveling. Here are a few of the many ...

Learn about Legionnaires’ disease and how it’s spread

Lifestyles

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’ve been hearing about Legionnaires’ disease. What is it? How’s it spread? Can it really be spread through windshield wipers? — D.G. ANSWER: Legionnaires’ disease is a pneumonia caused by Legionella pneumophilia. Legionella live in soil and water, and water remains the most important source of infections in humans — not from drinking the water but through aerosolized water. Air-conditioning cooling towers and water systems are the usual sources of large outbreaks, such as the one occurring as I write this in New York City. There’s (almost) no ...

Animals need fresh water daily

Lifestyles

DEAR HELOISE: My vet told me to make certain that my dog has fresh water every day. The big water bowl is in the kitchen, which is inside my house, so why does he need fresh water daily? — Joyce F., in Arcadia, Florida Joyce, your dog’s saliva and germs contaminate the water that he drinks. If you leave this water for three or four days, bacteria multiplies hour after hour. Then there’s also your average amount of dust and loose hair that floats into the water. And if other animals are drinking from the same bowl, then their bacteria is present as well. Before you know it, the ...

National Wellness Month and what you can do

Lifestyles

It’s National Wellness Month. While being aware of our health and staying on top of our appointments is important year-round, August is the time of year we pay a little closer attention to things that keep us healthy. August wants us to remind ourselves that self-care, managing stress, proper hydration, proper nutrition and building sustainable daily habits that improve physical and mental well-being is important and should not be ignored. We are encouraged to look closely at how we are helping ourselves and those around us. We also are reminded that we need to maintain an ...

Addressing growing distance with a friend

Lifestyles

DEAR ANNIE: I have a friend, “Rosie,” who kicked me out to the curb (metaphorically speaking) when her sister moved into her mobile home park. Prior to her sister’s moving into the neighborhood, Rosie and I saw a lot of each other. I was always sewing for Rosie, her husband and her mother-in-law at little or no cost. I sent food to her after her surgery. I helped Rosie’s sister with planning Rosie’s 60th birthday party. Meanwhile, when I had health issues and told her, she didn’t contact me afterward to see how I was. When I had a baby shower for my daughter, she did not ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

Lifestyles

1. Double. The best way to show the strength of this hand is to start with a double. A simple overcall of two clubs would not adequately address the game possibilities and might lead to missing a good game contract in spades, diamonds, clubs or even notrump. It is true that a takeout double of one major suit tends to imply good support for the other, but this does not mean that such support is absolutely guaranteed. The more important consideration is to show the general strength of a hand, and the double in this case serves that purpose best. You plan to bid two clubs over ...