Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2017 i Zoomer Magazine

AS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIST Adam Alter told the New York Times in an interview aptly headlined “Why We Can’t Look Away From Our Screens,” which I discovered on, you guessed it, social media, “If you are on the phone for three hours daily, that’s time you’re not spending on face-to-face interactions with people.” He regards “newer more addictive social networking platforms, tablets and smartphones” as the reason for the rise in behavioural addictions at all ages, which he considers as real a threat as chemical addictions. Alter shared some stunning information with the Times, like the nugget that a Bay Area private school in San Francisco, where 75 per cent of the parents work in Silicon Valley, forbids the use of iPhones and iPads, a fact that inspired Alter to write…

The Endocannabinoid System Medical cannabis harnesses the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). This system helps to achieve balance in the body and is involved in many functions, including pain sensation, inflammation, mood and appetite. Natural Cannabinoids Our ECS naturally produces chemicals called cannabinoids, which pass messages between the brain and body parts through cannabinoid receptors. They act like a key opening a lock on our cells. When the cannabinoids deliver messages like pain or nausea to the receptors, the locks open and trigger a response— such as pain relief. The Active Ingredients The active ingredients in the cannabis plant are called phytocannabinoids. The two most researched are THC (delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol). They’re similar to the cannabinoids our bodies naturally produce. Supplementing the System Aging and certain medical conditions affect…

IUSED TO BE AGEIST. After 15 years working as a chartered accountant, I began to seek more meaning in life. I wanted to do something that would make the world a better place, not just help corporations increase their earnings or lower their taxes. After much thought and reflection, I made the decision to become a minister. I began studying for my Masters of Divinity degree and plunged into volunteer work at my church. It didn’t take long before I discovered two unpleasant truths: I ardently disliked working on church committees and I dreaded visiting the sick and dying. I puzzled over this disconnect. How could I feel both a keen calling to ministry and a fervid dislike of the tasks ministers performed? I concluded that it wasn’t the tasks…

HEWERS OF WOOD. Drawers of water. Branch-plant economy. That’s always been the knock against Canada. Blessed with almost unlimited natural resources that we can just reach out and dig up, pump or harvest, we’ve never had to develop a risk-taking, entrepreneurial spirit. As a result, we’ve been laggards when it comes to innovation. We don’t develop new products. We don’t start worldclass businesses. We leave all that to others – especially the Americans. So goes the story – but it’s a myth. And perhaps there’s no better time to recognize it – and to put forward the much more exciting reality – than right now as we celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. The truth is that an astonishingly high number of world-renowned products have been invented or developed in Canada. And…

AT THE ANNUAL international conference of the Alzheimer’s Association held in Toronto in 2016, there was lots of excitement about a study showing that the risk of dementia can be nearly halved with a unique brain speed-training exercise. Double Decision is an online cognitive training exercise that increases visual processing speed, both at the centre of gaze and on the periphery. Studies have shown that it improves cognitive measures (including speed and attention), as well as functional abilities and well-being (including depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life). It’s even been shown to improve driving safety and mobility (including reduced at-fault crash risk and better on-road driving safety). It’s the first time that anything – brain-training program, physical exercise, diet, nutrition or drug – has been shown to reduce the…

I CAME TO EAT. What I didn’t realize was, along with generous portions of barbecue, I’d be served up heaping spoonfuls of a fresh perspective on a place. A place that in the mind’s eye of so many of us is one of cowboys, 10-gallon hats and high hair. Yes, we’re talking about Texas. And, sure, there are cowboys, 10-gallon hats and high hair, but on a visit to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I discovered that there is also art, architecture and an affinity for sophisticated cuisine. Dallas Cowboys is somewhat of a misnomer. The cowboys are actually in Fort Worth. The importance of preserving the culture is evident in this neighbouring city, so close to Dallas it shares the airport. Twice a day, there’s a different kind of flight,…

THE THING TO REMEMBER about Africa is, like everywhere else, it’s about the people. Botswana has some finelooking elephants, and Zambia has a lot of entertaining hippos. But none of them, as I discovered on my month-long solo bicycle trip across the eastern and southern sections of the continent, is a patch on the people, both foreign and domestic. By the time I joined them, the group had been cycling for three months. They’d started in Cairo in January, made it across the deserts of Sudan, the mountains of Ethiopia and only barely managed to extricate themselves from the muddy back roads of Tanzania. I’d flown into Mbeya, Tanzania. It was dark by the time Tallis, the tour leader, got me to camp, and the group I’d soon know as…

HAVE CANE, WILL TRAVEL Perhaps you could do something for those with minor disabilities, such as inability to walk without a cane or walker, partial blindness, MS, Parkinson’s disease, among others. We would love to continue to travel and need some special consideration and help to get around. Cruises by land and water sound attractive, but again would have to have knowledgeable staff to provide the necessary support services. Do such travel services exist? —Diana Laubitz, via email EDITOR’S NOTE Please see our article “All Access” [October 2015] or read it online at www.every thingzoomer.com/all-accessaccessibility- when-traveling. ALL PAIN, NO GAIN Re:“Deaths of Despair” [March]. People turn to opioids to deal with pain, pain that worsens while we wait for medical treatment. We wait months, accepting that the pain and the…

LAVENDER Beloved for generations and evoking orderly cupboards of crisp linens, lavender was due for a rethink. For a modern audience, Yardley has tweaked their stalwart favourite (Yardley of London English Lavender, 50 ml eau de toilette, $19, exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart) with bergamot, white flowers and a warm, musk base. Lavender also enchanted Guerlain perfumer Thierry Wasser who observes that “people think that lavender is an aromatic note, a clean note, but they forget that lavender is a flower.” Mon Guerlain, his newest scent for the storied house, enhances lavender’s floral aspect with signature Guerlain vanilla, sandalwood and jasmine. CHYPRES Chypres fragrances are the grande dames of classic parfumery and must contain bergamot, oakmoss and labdanum. Classic chypres like Guerlain’s Mitsouko and Chanel Coco tend to the darker,…

Areport released in 2012 had bad news for boomers and beyond: sexually transmitted infection rates among 50- to 90-year-olds in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. had doubled over the previous decade. And according to the same report, post-menopausal changes to the vagina, such as decreased lubrication, can make it more vulnerable to the entry of pathogens that cause infection. Time to talk precaution. Like a peacock spreads his feathers to attract peahens, Trojan is making a play for the ladies with its new XOXO by Trojan ($14). Sounds like the latest scent from a French fragrance house – and it’s packaged to look like it, too. But inside the reusable and deliberately pretty lilac box are 10 thin, “softouch” latex condoms – each wrapped to look like a makeup…

FIFTEEN YEARS. That’s how long Goldie Hawn had been out of the game. She had not made a movie since she and Susan Sarandon played former groupies on a nostalgia trip in The Banger Sisters, back in 2002. In the meantime, she had published her memoir, Goldie: A Lotus Growing in the Mud. She had written a self-help book, 10 Mindful Minutes. Through her Hawn Foundation, she had created an international program called MindUP, which was imparting meditation techniques to a million schoolchildren in eight countries. And she was relishing her role as grandparent to five kids. Her mind was miles away from Hollywood. “I was immersed in a new life, with people who were changing the world,” says Hawn, speaking by phone from Los Angeles. “I was endlessly stimulated…

MANY OF US have witnessed family or friends who become quite confused or agitated when in the hospital. This can be disquieting, as patients may be medicated – even restrained. This confusion and agitation could be the result of delirium. Delirium is defined as an acute confusional state with decreased attention. It is common where patients are not used to their surroundings: almost a quarter of patients admitted to Internal Medicine and up to 80 per cent of critically ill patients in the ICU experience it. Hospital environments may be a cause because of frequent room changes, invasive procedures, loud noises, poor lighting and a lack of natural light. And delirium is serious – it is associated with worse outcomes for patients who experience it. Unlike dementia, it develops rapidly.…

FAMILY FUN You’ll be spoiled for choice: Hmmm, should you check out Wan Chai’s Ani-Com Park, featuring colourful comic characters? Or the world’s only full-size replica of Noah’s Ark? Do you spend a day or two at Disneyland, and maybe Ocean Park’s aquarium and waterslides? Or, head up to Madame Tussauds wax museum at the Peak Tower? In fact, no visit to Hong Kong is complete without a trip on The Peak Tram. The mind-blowing journey on a 130-year old funicular—originally built for the exclusive use of the Governor and wealthy colonials to access their homes—climbs Victoria Peak on a seemingly impossible angle. Another must-do for people of all ages: A trip on the Star Ferry between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. On the short journey, take in the teeming…

COULD WE WALK ON THE MOON? Dreamers, some said. Dreamers, like Gene Rodenberry, who created Star Trek; and U.S. President John F. Kennedy, whose drive to beat Russia in the Cold War-driven space race, launched NASA into our psyches. I find one such dreamer, Charlie Johnson, at the Marshall Space Flight Center near Huntsville, Ala. Johnson used Roosevelt’s GI Bill to help make that dream come true. The Korean War vet was an original member of the team that built the Saturn V rocket, capable of carrying a human to the moon, in the early ’60s. Johnson, now in his 80s, works as a volunteer docent at the facility. He’s still spry and cheeky, winking at the gals while telling his back-in-the-day stories. But before Johnson and his engineering skills…

Arnold Schwarzenegger, 69, says U.S. President Donald Trump, 70, targets him on Twitter because “I think he’s in love with me” We’ll know if the romance gets off the ground if Arnold is spotted with a mysterious orange spraytan substance on his collar. Forget the Space Needle – Seattle’s home to Space Grandpa Retired aerospace engineer in Seattle builds his grandkids a backyard roller coaster. Seniors at a Boston retirement home knit clothes for local chickens to help keep them warm in the winter It’s a departure from the more traditional method for keeping chickens warm – a rotisserie. We don’t know Victoria’s secret, but Mercy’s is clearly “screw age and flaunt what you got” New Zealand-based clothing company makes 56-year-old model Mercy Brewer the face of their lingerie campaign…

GIVE A GIFT that gives back this Mother’s Day. A portion of every sale from the ME to WE tea and accessories collection at Davids Tea (above) goes to providing clean water to developing communities in Kenya. Each product, from lip butter to collectible tea tins, comes with a Track Your Impact code, so Mom can see exactly how and where the purchase proceeds are used. Plus, the ME to WE tea blend contains hibiscus, which is high in vitamin C, iron and antioxidants. Wellness, all around. And on the subject, perfect for DIY Mom is Healing Herbal Teas (Storey) by Sarah Farr. The book is a how-to and what to blend to improve everything from digestion to intimacy. Or for History Buff Mom, Krisi Smith’s World Atlas of Tea…

hE’S DOING WELL – at least physically – but for 86-year-old James Acker and his family, the nightmare is far from over. It’s been a month (as of this writing) since Acker was viciously attacked by another resident with dementia at his nursing home in Dundas, Ont. The beating left him black and blue and bleeding from the head. At first, his family was told he only had a 50 per cent chance of surviving. His daughter, Tammy Carbino, describes him as a gentle soul, but after the attack he was agitated and paranoid, displaying behaviour she had never seen before. Thankfully, that has subsided and the bruises have faded. “He’s healed but he’s very depressed,” she told me. And no wonder – Acker is stuck in the Hamilton General…

IF YOU’RE OVER 55, own your home and want to stay in it, but need financial assistance, you may be considering a reverse mortgage. It’s a loan that allows you to convert some of your home equity into cash you can use. But, like any financial plan, getting a reverse mortgage is a major decision. You may be strug gling to make up your mind. You needn’t be alone. For one thing, just to be approved for a reverse mortgage, you’re required to consult with an independent lawyer. You can also speak with your financial advisor. But if you have adult children, why not bring them into the conversation as well? Your kids can share a different perspective, offer insights, give advice – and, above all, lend their support. Find…

tHE OTHER DAY I read a newspaper article that reminded me once again that I still haven’t made burial arrangements for my corporeal remains. The article described a newly popular hobby in New Zealand, the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Coffin. DIY practitioners, usually aged mid-70s to mid-90s, build and sometimes decorate their own coffins, many of which start off as benches. “We like to say it’s only a box until you put someone in it,” says Joanne La Grouw, the treasurer of the Kiwi Coffin Club Rotorua, whose motto is “Fine & Affordable Underground Furniture.” The new fad highlights something I’ve already written about in Zoomer: how we dispose of our bodies once we don’t need them. The Big Two choices are still “rot” (burial) or “burn” (cremation). In the last 50…