Healthy Living

August is the perfect time to enjoy a bounty of fresh vegetables. Harvested at their peak, these veggies are packed with essential nutrients and vibrant flavors that can elevate any meal. Incorporating seasonal delights, including tomatoes, zucchini and bell peppers, into your diet can boost your health and support local farmers. Enjoy the taste of summer with this heirloom tomato salad recipe from AARP® Staying Sharp®. Find more great recipes at AARP Staying Sharp today.

We are enhancing the AARP Online Community to provide an improved user experience while preserving the connections and conversations you value.    To make that possible, we will be transitioning to a new platform that provides a strong foundation for today's experience and future enhancements.    To learn more about what is coming, visit: https://www.aarp.org/games/community-information/ 

Recently I read article how the people over sixty loosing muscles, - yes if you do not care about you will. My name John 77 years old dietitian with master's degree in diet planning and nutrition assessment from University of Warsaw, Poland. My drama starts when I was around 30 years old, my doctor gives me destructive news, because of congenital heart disease, I have had the most 2-3 years to life, for the next 35 years I been living destructive life, alcohol and stress. Around 20 ago I met my wife, she encourages me to chang my life, being dietitian, I start looking for solutions. few years ago, I achieved success- finding right diet. Now standing at 5'8 tall, weight 162 pounds, I'm full of muscle, incredibly healthy (despite of my heart disease) with perfect joints and brimming vistality and libido. Appearance no older than 60. My active day: 6am - gym heavy lifting 1.5h. 9am to 10 am 4 stets 80 push up= 320. 11am to 4pm walking fast and swimming (5-6days a week). I would like to en

I always use a Salad Spinner - don’t you?  Yes even the bagged stuff and definitely the heads or hearts.  I use it for other stuff too - like berries.Best invention ever - protects your health when others fall short for some reason.  I still use the ole pump type -  

Hi everyone, I’ve been trying herbal tinctures for stress and sleep, but I’m not seeing much effect and I’m starting to think it might be the brand I’m using. There are so many options, but I’m not sure which ones are actually good quality or worth the money. If anyone has experience with trusted brands or noticed better results with certain ones, I’d really appreciate your suggestions. Thanks!

How Exercise Helps Burn Visceral FatAs a clinical pharmacist, I spend my days helping people manage their health with medications — but one of the best prescriptions I can offer doesn't come in a bottle. If you've been told you need to lose belly fat, here's what I want you to know: the deep fat around your organs, called visceral fat, is the kind that really matters for your health. It's linked to heart disease, diabetes, and a whole host of metabolic issues. The great news is that regular movement — walking, swimming, biking, whatever you enjoy — is incredibly effective at shrinking it. What I find most encouraging to share with my patients is that you don't even have to see a big change on the scale. Research shows that exercise can reduce visceral fat by about 6% even when your weight stays roughly the same, because your body is trading that deep, harmful fat for healthier muscle.So how much are we talking? About 30 minutes a day, five days a week, of something

Bad knees running my life lately. Doctor says keep moving but everything hurts. Tried glucosamine, didn't do much. Ice helps sometimes. What's working for you all?

  FYI KFF Health News 07/14/2026 - Knee Pain? Ragged Cartilage? Research Suggests Surgery’s Not the Best Answer  I was wondering why Medicare picked this particular procedure - Arthroscopic Knee Surgery - to add to the Prior approval test in several states. (WISeR (Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction) Model Looks as though medical necessity with this procedure does need to be documented for approval.  Why do this when other other methods also work well especially if there are conditions that would make the procedure even work better if it is approved.   

Hi.  I hope I'm posting this in the correct forum.  Please let me know if there's one that's more appropriate and I'll copy and paste this accordingly. I live alone and I'm looking for recommendations for a daily check-in service (phone call, text, or choice of either).  I came across one called "Iamfine" on Google that looked like a possibility and was what I would consider reasonably priced.  Has anyone here used this particular service, or is there another one that you or a loved one has used that you would recommend (or conversely, any that I should stay away from)?  What would be even better is if I can find something that's in combination with a "Life Alert" type notification service so that I could have one source for both purposes, but I don't know if this exists anywhere except in my imagination! 😄 Thanks in advance!

Playing brain games may lower dementia, do you play a game daily?  Here is a great article on this:  https://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-2017/brain-games-lower-dementia-fd.html   Share here what games do you play.

Would you throw out food if it is pass the “sell by” date? AP U.S. News 07/01/2026 - Did the milk expire? California bans ‘sell by’ food labels to cut food waste  I never even reference the sell by date or actually the use by date either, I got by my own senses and they have never failed me. What do you do?  

Until just today I have not really felt so bad about aging as I do now. I am 64 and just went to a seminar this morning on senior linkage line information sources. I have also been going to various medicare seminars to start learning about my upcoming options. Usually, in my life I have enjoyed problem solving and learning information was a way to feel empowered. But lately, I have felt terribly overwhelmed by problems to be solved and all this aging information seems to me a bit overwhelming as I navigate to try to figure out how I can care for myself as I grow older. I have no kids to help me out with this. As I was driving somewhere today, I suddenly just started crying, tears coming down my cheeks. I am starting to very, very overwhelmed with so many aspects of aging and all the upcoming changes. I think another thing that spilled over is the ongoing severe stress on retirement investment accounts due to the decreases the past year and now this horrible banking crises starting. I f

One thing that currently fills me with gratitude is the number of PBS channels my T.V. antenna picks up...far far more than I ever got with cable T.V. alone.  Anyway, two of the channels I get have been running a bunch of Lucy Worsley and reruns of the Ben Franklin biographical series from a few years ago. After watching Lucy's account of the brutal injustice done upon one Agnes Sampson, some of the things Mr. Franklin said have taken on a deeper meaning: To be proud of virtue, is to poison yourself with the Antidote. (As Silence Dogood commenting on parents sending their children to Harvard) I reflected in my Mind on the extream Folly of those Parents, who, blind to their Childrens Dulness, and insensible of the Solidity of their Skulls, because they think their Purses can afford it, will needs send them to the Temple of Learning, where, for want of a suitable Genius, they learn little more than how to carry themselves handsomely, and enter a Room genteely, (which

Seniors.Welcome to your "Golden Years", where your aging benefits cost you gold prices. Increased 2026 Medicare rates, 30% increases in AARP / UHC Supplemental plans, $5500.00+ hearing aids, $8000+ a month Assisted Living rates. It is becoming obvious, the goal of our broken Medical system is to spend down the hard earned assets of the most vulnerable. AARP, if your mission of representing the elderly is one of sincerity, you might want to align your intentions with those providers who can deliver cost effective results. The rate of these price increases is unsustainable and will ultimately result in the demise of the provider base.

Very interesting - KFF Health News 05/22/2026 - The New Old Age - 3 Medical Routines That Older People May Not Need  l. Colonoscopy after the age of 76Never had a colonoscopy; colon cancer is not a hereditary trait in my family - in fact, no cancer at all - every 5-years I did do a non-invasive stool-based colorectal cancer screening test - always negative but if it ever came back positive, I would repeat and then if positive again I might have gotten a colonoscopy.  TOO old now to even consider it.  Of course if you have a hereditary history or meet some of the other specifics of being a high risk - definitely get one on the preventive schedule but if nothing shows up by age 76, you be the judge of getting more preventive colonoscopies.   2.Removal of Actinic Keratoses.I do have some of my actinic keratoses removed - the ones that might get irritate by clothing or if one appears on my face (vanity) but other than that - they just stay.

Hello to anyone who may read this,  My brief story and question at end:  I am only 51 years old, I have a condition that is limiting me to work as a vascular sonographer in a hospital that I have been working for almost 30 years. I am becoming disabled through repetitive motion and currently I am in continual pain to neck, shoulders and all joints in the upper body since JAN 2022. I have two small children, wife and a home, so I am blessed. Unfortunately I am becoming more limited daily and with working as a vascular sonographer, I am worsening my condition without a doubt because it is a measured effect. While I was also diagnosed with cervical disc herniation JAN 2022, no providers are willing to indicate that the disc is the cause, for which it might not be, but none the less, I am not doing well physically and now it is progressing mentally since. I have seen (2) orthopedic surgeons, (2) pain management physicians (no drugs ever!), PCP, Physiatrists and have com

 Should your Dr. or Specialist prescribe Dex-Com system of constant-read glucometer, be aware that I experienced four malfunctioning arm sensors within a six-moth period, and when I wrote to complain, they simply put me on "ignore". So I would advise asking for an alternative to that product which apparently will not warranty their off-shore manufactured instruments.

The current April/May 2026 cover photo of Eva Longoria is so airbrushed that it might as well have been taken 25 years ago. Is this supposed to be encouraging to the rest of us "normal" people leading "normal" lives. Come on. Are celebrities so afraid to show their faces? It's actually disgusting and I'm sick of it. It just adds to ageism and sexism is not in the least encouraging. Why did I put this under brain health? Because it drives me nuts. That's why.

I enjoy doing puzzles to stimulate my mind. I am looking for some ideas for new puzzles I can try as I have gone through plenty during this quarantine. Can someone point me in the right direction or recommend some of their favorites?

  I am posting this FYI - check your eye drops to see if they are on the list - this is a Class II Recall from the FDA and under such (per the article) “People can continue using their medication during a Class II recall unless stated otherwise by the company, according to the FDA.” NBC NEWS 04/03/2026 - Eye drops recalled over safety concerns, FDA says  

Can anyone suggest protein powder for elderly (between 65 and 80 years old) women and men? I don't trust reviews from marketplace. If anyone is taking daily protein powder and have good benefits, please share with me; we're willing to try it.Thanks in advance.

Ready to take a fresh approach to eating this year? Try the Mediterranean diet. It’s more of an eating plan than a diet, as it doesn’t have the rigid rules and restrictions you find in fad diets. It’s a way of eating that emphasizes plant-based foods, which are rich in nutrients and fiber, and includes only a small amount of red meat and sugar. There’s also a focus on sharing meals with others, if possible, and doing things you enjoy, such as walking, dancing, gardening or yoga, to stay physically active, several times a week. Visit AARP® Staying Sharp® for more information on brain health.

 KFF.org 01/23/2026 - These 3 Policy Moves Are Likely To Change Health Care for Older People  1. Change to the 2023 proposed federal rule setting minimum staffing levels for nursing homes - now reversed back to previous levels.2.  Changes to Home Health by Medicaid 3.  WISeR Model being used in (6) states for prior approval of (17) procedures as a test for determining medical necessity - and to pull out waste, fraud and abuse. Read the article to find out the history, the changes  and the reason for the old changes and ther new ones.  

TATOOSShould I be concerned about whether tattoos are safe to be injected/drawn on/pierced/through my skin?'Is this a surgery"?Should tattoo "vendors" be certified?  By whom?How/where/who makes the "dye"/"ink"?What's in them/ink? Where are they made?

Hi everyone! As we kick off a new year, I’ve been thinking a lot about setting realistic fitness goals. For me, it’s all about staying consistent with chair yoga and finding new ways to stay active. What are your fitness goals for this year? Any tips or advice for staying motivated? Let’s share and encourage each other!