Fred Cicetti

1 month ago | lifestylesafter50.com | Fred Cicetti

By Fred Cicetti (This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on back pain.) Back pain is very common: it affects about 8 out of 10 people. But there are many steps you can take to avoid it.  One of the best things you can do to prevent back pain is to exercise regularly and keep your back and abdominal muscles strong.  A program of regular low-impact exercises such as walking, swimming, or riding a bike will be beneficial. Yoga can also help stretch and strengthen muscles and improve posture.

2 months ago | lifestylesafter50.com | Fred Cicetti

By Fred Cicetti Q. I hear an awful lot of geezers complain about their backs. How common is back pain? The first attack of low back pain usually happens to people between the ages of 30 and 40. Back pain becomes more common with age.  Back pain is very common. It affects about 8 out of 10 people. This affliction incapacitates so many people, and the subject is so extensive that I’m doing a three-part series on back pain. This first one is about causes.

Jan 20, 2025 | lifestylesafter50.com | Fred Cicetti

By Fred Cicetti Q. How dangerous is secondhand smoke? My son smokes in the house and it is annoying. Secondhand smoke—also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)—is made up of the “side stream” smoke from the end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the “mainstream” smoke that is exhaled.  Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke absorb the same 4,000 chemical compounds that smokers do. More than 60 of these compounds are known or suspected of causing cancer.

Nov 18, 2024 | lifestylesafter50.com | Fred Cicetti

By Fred Cicetti Q. Do you get more heartburn when you are older? More than 60 million Americans experience heartburn at least once a month and more than 15 million Americans experience heartburn daily. Heartburn is more common among the elderly. You can control infrequent heartburn by changing your habits and using over-the-counter medicines.  For example, you should avoid heartburn producers such as chocolate, coffee, peppermint, tomato products, alcoholic beverages, greasy or spicy dishes.

Nov 11, 2024 | theforumnews.com | Fred Cicetti

Cognitive function changes as we grow olderThis is the second column in a three-part series about the aging brain. Aging reduces the efficiency of our brains, but there is an upside. “The brain begins to compensate by using more of itself,” explains Dr. Bruce Yankner, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Yankner explains that a teenager working through a problem will show a lot of activity on the side of the brain that we use for reasoning.