Health Issues

There's a new reason to drink your milk! Long touted for its bone-strengthening properties, calcium is now also being recognized for its stroke-related benefits. According to research presented at the American Academy of Neurology last week, higher levels of calcium in the blood are associated with less severe stroke and better outcome, a property scientists had previously attributed to high magnesium intake.Other than dairy products, you can get more calcium by including any of the following foods on your plate: green vegetables such as broccoli or kale, legumes, canned fish, as well as fortified juices and cereals. For more suggestions on how to increase the calcium in your diet, read the National Institutes of Health's fact sheet.Here is some statistical data from the National Institute of Aging.This information will help to make you realize that health issues, as they pertain to senior America, is definitely on the rise.

Another site for more information on senior health issues is the National Institute of Health.

If you are working for the Commonwealth of MA or a retiree of the State Retirement System, a retired teacher of one of 75 communities, and are under the Group Insurance Commission, GIC, you can get information on GIC at their site.

Are you eligible for Medicare? Anyone who has 40 units in social Security, is married, or was married to someone having the forty units, has paid Medicare taxes for ten years, is eligible. Irrespective of when you are eligible for full retirement, you are eligible for Medicare at 65. For information on Medicare go to this site.

_{photo credit: Anne Worner}