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a woman meditates on her bed

PUMPING IRONY: Medicate or Meditate?

By Craig Cox

While Alzheimer’s patients wait to see if Biogen’s new drug will someday prove effective — and affordable — researchers continue to make a case for the healing powers of meditation.

a doctor buts a bandaid on an arm

PUMPING IRONY: A Kind of Reckoning

By Craig Cox

Age, the pandemic, and the looming flu season have persuaded me to engage with our broken healthcare system after ignoring its offerings for the past 20 years. First impressions have not been favorable.

a senior aged couple shops for produce at a farmers market

For the Aging Gut, Change is Good

By Craig Cox

As we age, our microbiomes change — and that might be a good thing. Here’s why.

bags of processed chips and puffs

Consumers, Unite . . . in the Snack Aisle

By Craig Cox

A half-century since boomer activists loudly proclaimed a whole-foods revolution, a new study suggests Americans are eating more ultraprocessed foods than they were 18 years ago — despite the known health risks. And guess who’s leading the trend?

a man walks up a set of stone stairs with a cane

PUMPING IRONY: Headed for a Fall

By Craig Cox

Millions of elderly Americans land in the hospital each year after taking a tumble. So why are doctors continuing to prescribe drugs that increase that risk?

a cashier smiles and hands a customer their credit card back

PUMPING IRONY: Small Talk, Large Rewards

By Craig Cox

While the benefits of cultivating strong relationships are well known, we often overlook the value of the brief random social interactions that really make our day.

A calculator is shown on top of a social-security card and paperwork.

PUMPING IRONY: From Bonus to Busted?

By Craig Cox

Social Security beneficiaries will be getting a hefty cost-of-living raise next year, which may temporarily ease their anxiety over a new report warning of the program’s fast-approaching insolvency.

A 100-dollar bill covered in pills

PUMPING IRONY: The Honeymoon’s Over

By Craig Cox

With the White House pushing Congress to allow the government to negotiate drug pricing, Big Pharma wonders, Where’s the love?

a woman holds a hearing aid

Why Are Hearing Aids So Expensive?

By Craig Cox

FDA’s inaction hinders development of affordable hearing aids.

A person works at an office.

PUMPING IRONY: A Smart Choice?

By Craig Cox

Recent research suggests that postponing my retirement might be good for my aging brain.

a woman pulls a face mask away and smells flowers

Can Smell Training Help COVID-19 Survivors Restore Their Sense of Smell?

By Craig Cox

Many people who’ve recovered from COVID-19 lose their sense of smell or suffer from a condition called parosmia, which is a distorted sense of smell. Smell training would help.

A kid holds an iPad.

PUMPING IRONY: Growing Pains

By Craig Cox

A fraught battle with our 4-year-old grandson over screen time has forced Grandma and Grandpa to admit that his customary weekly visits may now hold less allure for him — and us — than they once did.

A Medicare enrollment form with a stethoscope on it

PUMPING IRONY: Meddling With Medicare

By Craig Cox

For reasons both political and pecuniary, attempts to expand Medicare benefits have always been a tough sell, despite the rising demands of an aging population. As Congress prepares to give it another shot, I’m hedging my bets.

A pair of black glasses with a vision chart in the background

PUMPING IRONY: Vision Quest

By Craig Cox

At a time when impaired vision among the senior set is beginning to alarm some public-health experts, a surprising change in my own eyesight has me scrambling to get a better view of things.

a cup of hot green tea

Green-Tea Lovers May Live Longer

By Craig Cox

Drinking green tea at least three times a week is associated with a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, according to recent research.

two bikes sit alongside a biking trail with smoke and haze in the distance

PUMPING IRONY: Foul Air, Faulty Brain

By Craig Cox

Raging wildfires and other sources of airborne pollution are threatening more than our respiratory and circulatory systems. New research is strengthening the link between air quality and dementia.

Two wooden houses

PUMPING IRONY: Your Place or Mine?

By Craig Cox

Concerned that they may be called upon to provide full-time caregiving someday if a late-life romance leads to cohabitating, many older couples are choosing to follow their hearts — while maintaining separate residences.

A person shows his ears.

PUMPING IRONY: I’m All Ears

By Craig Cox

With my hearing aids on the fritz, I suddenly find myself rooting for scientists seeking a way to genetically manipulate the malfunctioning human ear.

a woman sleeps in bed

The Sleep-Memory Connection

By Craig Cox

Quality sleep may help prevent Alzheimer’s, according to recent research.

Prescriptions around some drugs

A Prescription for Action

By Craig Cox

The “deprescribing” movement faces various obstacles as advocates seek to gain some influence amid our drug-happy healthcare system, not the least of which is simply getting your doctor’s attention.

A person on a boat looks at the water.

PUMPING IRONY: The Color of Worry, the Color of Calm

By Craig Cox

If stress can lead to graying hair, can periods of calm reverse the process? Recent research suggests it may have that effect, though my graying locks are probably beyond help.

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