When creating your Halloween pumpkin masterpiece, save the seeds to roast and eat as a healthy snack. Pumpkin seeds health benefits include reducing hair thinning, reducing menopause symptoms in women, prostate symptoms in men, and overactive bladder problems in both. Pumpkin seeds nutritional benefits Pumpkin seeds are available as green kernels, or as whole seeds with their hulls still intact. Pumpkin seed kernels are an excellent source of protein (58% by weight) and healthy oils (29% by weight) of which...Read more

"Doing moderate exercise several times a week is the best way to keep the mind sharp if you're over 50," BBC News reports. A review of existing data found both aerobic exercise and strength training appeared to improve cognitive functions, such as memory, attention, and how well people carry out tasks. The review brought together information from 39 studies in the biggest summary of the effects of exercise on mental ability to date. Previous summaries of research have had unclear...Read more

The Scottish Chiropractic Association’s Good-back Gardening Guide At this time of year, Scottish chiropractors experience a seasonal influx of patients with back and neck strain caused by over-zealous gardening. Dr Ross McDonald, SCA President, comments: “The arrival of spring brings out the gardener in all of us, regardless of how fit or physically active we have been during the winter. As a result, we see an increase in gardening-related spinal injury and pain. Looking after your back properly before, during...Read more

Over 50s colouring books-don’t go over the lines! Do you recall colouring-in during your childhood? , what resonates is if I was ever colouring-in within a team there be a constant reminder ‘Don’t go over the lines’ more testament to accuracy than discipline perhaps? Adult colouring books are all the rage, perhaps the resurgence is partly due to Black Sabbaths Ozzie Osborne-a keen colouring fan. I recall several years ago inadvertently watched a reality show about the Osborne’s and found...Read more

Latest alcohol guidelines reduce limits Tough new guidelines issued on alcohol have cut recommended drinking limits and say there is no such thing as a safe level of drinking. Drinkaware has welcomed the clarity of the new alcohol guidelines being announced today by the UK’s Chief Medical Officers (CMO) following their review of evidence on the links between alcohol and health harms. Under the Chief Medical Officer’s updated guidelines men and women will be advised that: You are safest not...Read more

Festive cheer abandons nearly three million older people this year Gogglebox stars join campaign to tackle loneliness A quarter of all over-65s – nearly three million people [i] – are not looking forward to Christmas this year, with around 550,000 of those saying it’s because the festive season brings back too many memories of loved ones who have passed away, according to new polling for Age UK. The research, part of the Charity’s No one should have no one at...Read more

Over 50s struggle to see their GP Recently Jeremy Hunt said the National Health Service makes people feel proud to be British but the over 50s - the biggest users of the NHS - are struggling to use it, according to research by Saga Health Insurance*. Half of over 50s say it is difficult to book an appointment to see their GP the same day they fall ill and almost one in three struggle to book a doctors’ appointment in...Read more

New findings released on World Osteoporosis Day by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) show that 89% of those who used the new IOF Calcium Calculator - which is based on Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations* - were calcium deficient. The free online tool helps people calculate their approximate daily calcium intake based on their typical weekly diet. Calcium is a major building-block of our bone tissue, with 99% of the body's calcium stored in the skeleton. Along with vitamin D,...Read more

Europeans are living longer, but can it last? European health report 2015 The latest European health report shows a Europe that has achieved striking successes and is on track to hit several targets, such as reducing premature mortality and setting further national targets for health. The report, which is the WHO Regional Office for Europe's analytical account of the health of the European Region and its progress towards the targets set by Health 2020, WHO's overarching health policy, also reveals...Read more

Scientists have cracked the secret of why some people live a healthy and physically independent life over the age of 100. For the first time, a team of experts from Newcastle University's Institute for Ageing and Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, explored which biological and pathological processes may be the most important for successful ageing after 100 years of age. They identified that to live past the age of 100 you must keep inflammation down in the body and...Read more