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Home Sweet Home Care Newsletter - March 2011
Our Condolences to the People of Japan
 Usually the advent of spring is a joyous occasion, but this year many of us feel subdued and heavy-hearted, as I do, by the great tragedy in Japan in which monster tsunami waves from the sea washed away large towns and cities and caused the deaths of many thousands of people and the disappearance of at least 10,000 others. We at Home Sweet Home Care would like to join many millions of people worldwide in extending our sincerest sympathies to all the people of Japan during this time of great sadness, upheaval and uncertainty. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this solemn occasion and in the years ahead as you recover and rebuild your great nation.
Americans Lag Behind The English Health-Wise & What We Can Do About It
 Last week an important study was released which compared the health, from birth to old age, of the American people with the British. It was a large study and used data from 40,000 Americans and 70,000 residents of England. You'll find the article, which was published in Health Day News, featured below. I was surprised to learn that, despite our world-class health care system, Americans fared far worse across the board than our English counterparts.
"Taken together, the worse health of Americans by nearly every measure should be a wake-up call for the public and policy makers," said study author Melissa Martinson, a postdoctoral research associate in the Office of Population Research at Princeton. Old or young, rich or poor, Americans still fared worse than the English across a wide range of commonly-used markers which determine health: obesity, low HDL (good) cholesterol and high overall cholesterol, high C-reactive protein (a sign of inflammation), diabetes, asthma and heart disease.
Even though we are the home of Whole Foods, the premiere organic and health food supermarket chain and the organic food movement, and we are a fitness and sports loving culture, known for hiking and biking, football, basketball and baseball, and we have access to the world's knowledge about health at our fingertips through computers, not to mention access to the greatest health care system known to man, we still manage to sabotage our own best interests and do things that are not helping us to thrive and lead full healthy lives. Read more
Shirley Cohen ............................................................... Shirley Cohen is the Executive Director of Home Sweet Home Care, a full-service home care aide agency serving the San Francisco Bay Area since 1990.
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Americans Have Worse Health Than English Peers, Study Finds
A new study released this month shows that old or young, rich or poor, Americans still fared worse than the English across a wide range of commonly-used markers which determine health: obesity, low HDL (good) cholesterol and high overall cholesterol, high C-reactive protein (a sign of inflammation), diabetes, asthma and heart disease.
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A Few Tax Tips for Seniors
 With the tax-filing deadline bearing down, many of us are wrestling with financial issues particular to elder care. Opportunities to lower tax bills abound, thank goodness, but the details are often complicated or confusing - and most seniors can't afford to leave money on the table. Here are a few details to keep in mind.
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Ask an Elder Law Attorney: Claiming a Parent as a Dependent  Our tax laws can change from year to year. Use this test to determine if you can claim your parent as a dependent.
There's a five-step test to determine whether a child can claim a parent as a dependent, and you definitely meet the first condition: the person you claim must be related to you. Read More
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The cure for the common cold?
 By this time of year, an estimated 1 billion people catch a cold. As weary cold sufferers line up at local pharmacies, it may not sound surprising that Americans spend at least $4.2 billion annually on over-the-counter cough and cold medications - and even more on alternative therapies. Read More
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Is Happiness Overrated?
Happiness research, a field known as "positive psychology," is exploding. Some of the newest evidence suggests that people who focus on living with a sense of purpose as they age are more likely to remain cognitively intact, have better mental health and even live longer than people who focus on achieving feelings of happiness.
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Almost 15 Million Americans Now Caring for Loved One With Alzheimer's  Nearly 15 million Americans are caring for someone with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, and the number is rising, according to a report released this month.
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Should Fried Fish Be Part of a Seniors Diet?  "A study published in today's Neurology shows people living in the stroke belt - which comprises North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana - eat more fried fish and less non-fried fish than people living in the rest of the country, and African-Americans eat more fried fish than Caucasians."
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 Americans Lag Behind The English...(continued from top)
Some of the things which I think probably accounts for this disparity are: We consume too much fast food, fried food, meat, sugar, carbohydrates, salt, soda pop, and processed foods with too many preservatives. Plus most of us are not getting the exercise we need. Our advanced technology has made us into couch potatoes. All these conveniences are making us lazy. We take our cars everywhere, even short distances. We stare at computers, IPad and IPods too much. And gradually we've become too passive, too content to watch an elite few exercise and compete in sports instead of doing any physical activity ourselves, and, yes, most of us watch way too much TV. Others of us take too many pills, smoke too many cigarettes, drink too much alcohol, etc. This self-destructive behavior has got to stop. Don't you agree?
We need to re-commit ourselves to being the best we can be-just like our military service people do. The more we get into this habit, the better we'll feel and the better we feel, the more we'll want to support others to do so as well. I believe in us. We can do it. We have to decide to live life to the fullest by living our lives in moderation and with good common sense. Let's start today!
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Home Sweet Home Care is a full-service home care aide agency which has been providing bonded and insured home care aide services in the San Francisco Bay area since 1990. We have a large pool of qualified and professional home care aides available to provide warm and caring services to seniors on a part-time, full-time, temporary or long-term basis. Our care providers are ready to assist seniors living with a wide range of conditions, including Alzheimer's, hip replacement recovery, post-op recovery, cardiac, cancer, stroke, Parkinson's, Hospice, to name a few. We also have live-ins. Call us today to find out how we can help at 1-800-286-2774 or visit our website at:homesweethomecare.com
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