In the first presidential debate of the 2012 election, President Obama and former Governor Romney went head-to-head on issues ranging from taxes for the middle class to how much government should be involved in regulating Wall Street. This first debate held high stakes for each candidate, as historically debates can serve to predict who will get ahead in the polls and ultimately become the next president.

The ongoing health care issue was a hot topic during this evening’s debate, its significance underscored as the candidates frequently referenced it to back up their platforms. The issue deeply polarizes voters as they face the critical question of how they’ll pay for routine and emergency medical expenses.

The importance of how Medicare, Medicaid, and the so-called ObamaCare Act will function in the future could not be overstated for the future health of the nation, with Obama saying outright, “I want to talk about Medicare…because that’s the big driver of our deficits right now.”

A frequently-quoted $716 billion was one point of difference between the candidates, and a touchy subject at that. Obama took it from Medicare and transferred the sum to help pay for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare, a move he defended during the debate. Romney blasted the president’s decision, saying he would return it to Medicare and give states the ability to make their own decisions concerning health care for their citizens.
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There have been many speculations as to the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. Currently, there is no cure for the condition and as it progresses it worsens, often causing memory loss, mood swings, aggression and confusion, and eventually leading to death.

Though Alzheimer’s was formerly thought to be a disease of age, a growing body of research now suggests that it may be a metabolic disease – linking it to poor diet. As reported by the Guardian, scientists have even gone so far as to call it type 3 diabetes.

This news is especially concerning as Alzheimer’s currently affects an estimated 35 million people worldwide, and that number is expected to reach 100 million by 2050. Equally alarming are projected growth rates of type 2 diabetes in the U.S. alone, which are also expected to triple in the next several decades.

These speculations are tied to two potential factors: 1) Alzheimer’s causes a lack of natural insulin in the body, or 2) it causes an impairment of the brain’s ability to respond it. Suspicions of the link continue to rise as those who die from Alzheimer’s are often found to have low insulin levels in the brain. This has led researchers to believe that insulin is produced in the brain as well as in the pancreas, explaining why it could play such a crucial role in neuron signaling and cell growth and lifespan, according to Popsci.
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The world’s oldest woman celebrated her 116th birthday this past weekend, and we couldn’t help but wonder how she reached the milestone without looking a day over 89.

Besse Cooper of Monroe, Georgia, received a unique gift this year: a bridge named in her honor in her Georgia hometown. The city leaders were pleased to name the bridge after their Guinness World Record holder, and to highlight their town on the map.

Besse is one of only eight people who have been confirmed to be at least 116 years old. That is one seriously impressive accomplishment. Besse told Guinness World Records that her keys to longevity have been minding her own business and not eating junk food. Hard to argue her logic; clearly her methods work.

While Besse is nearly in a league all her own, many people do live to see higher digits even if they don’t make it to 116. According to GeronGuide.com, there are seven effective health habits of centenarians. Besse’s core habits can be found on the list.
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For those in their 20s and 30s, consider this a wake up call: Research now suggests that baby boomers may not live longer than their parents, as a collection of studies surrounding those born between 1946 and 1964 suggests their health is on the decline.

S. Jay Olshansky, a public health professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has been studying the longevity of baby boomers under a MacArthur Foundation Grant. And based on his findings thus far, he predicts noticeable drops in this generation’s lifespan.

“If you look at the health status of the baby boom versus the generation that just preceded them, they are in worse shape,” Olshanksy told Reuters in a recent interview. He added that health experts are seeing greater frailty, increased risk for cardiovascular disease and declining cognitive function among this generation.

With improvements in healthcare, innovative drugs, and increasing life expectancies among most age groups, it’s been an assumption that baby boomers would easily outlive their parents’ generation. However, because of factors like obesity and cancer, their lifespans may be cut short.
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When it comes to improving your memory, experts say it’s all about rest.

A new study from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, suggests that taking breaks is more effective for boosting memory than other traditional methods like caffeine and mental exercises.

As reported by CNN, researchers gathered a small group of “normally aging” elderly men and women, and asked them to recount as many details from two stories as they could.

Following the first story, participants were asked to relax and close their eyes in a dark room for 10 minutes. Researchers then asked participants to point out the differences in several pairs of near identical images.

Researchers found that overall, participants recounted far more details after they had rested; and that their memory boost held up even a full week after the initial trial.

Previous research has showed that small periods of rest – even a few minutes – are beneficial to both memory and alertness. But this new study points to the effectiveness of short periods of rest for “long-term memory consolidation.”

Research fellow and lead study author, Michaela Dewar, points out that when we first encounter new information, we’re likely in an early stage of memory formation. “Further neural processes have to occur after this stage for us to be able to remember this information at a later point in time,” she said.
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