AARP Recommended Minute Minders

The current AARP Magazine has these 60-second health boosters:

• Kick off your shoes--at the front door, to keep from tracking allergen-loaded soil and pollen throughout the house
• Give someone a squeeze--a 10-second hug lowers blood pressure by increasing the feel-good hormone oxytocin and lowering the stress-chemical cortisol
• Drink your watermelon--a tall glass of watermelon juice can relieve muscle soreness with its high levels of the amino acid L-citrulline
• Remember your feet--the tops of toes and tips of ears burn easily and need sunscreen
• Savor a slice--a cucumber slice pressed to the roof of the mouth for 90 seconds can help eliminate bad breath by increasing saliva flow
• Stick out your tongue--and scrape it, to reduce bad breath and protect against gum disease, colds and tooth decay.

Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate,
American Board of Prosthodontics
(661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com
5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309

Caring For Aging Parents

As our parents age, we take care of them more and more.  I see this often in my patient population--either the side of the coin in which seniors are brought in for treatment by their grown children, or the other in which adult patients share their experiences as they are more and more responsible for their parents.  We have many in-depth discussions, and my personal experiences of having a father in his late 80's with progressive Alzheimer's disease still living at home with  my mother, or my father-in-law, aged 90, living with us, add to the discussion.

I remember well an L.A. Times article in which the author wrote about his aging and dependent parent--acknowledging that his father had a powerful need to maintain control over his life when the difficulties that came with age made it not possible.  He understood his father still nurtured the deep desire to see and appreciate that his life had meant something, that his legacy was consolidated. This phenomenon will become more frequent as the boomer generation ages.

Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate,
American Board of Prosthodontics
(661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com
5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309