There are unpaid millions in the U.S. today caring not only for their children but also for their parents or older relatives. In fact, 44 million Americans are spending around 22 hours a week providing unpaid care to a frail loved one or one with an illness, disability or terminal diagnosis. Three fourths of these caregivers are women in their late 40s who still have grown children living at home. Typically these individuals assist with the activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing, toileting or feeding their loved one, as well as taking care of the shopping, finances and transportation to and from medical appointments. These responsibilities generally last at least thre
A new study out of Stanford University published in the journal Nature Medicine has found that caffeine may help prevent heart disease, heart attacks and strokes by decreasing inflammation. The long-term study tracked more than 100 adults who fell into two groups. The first group had a genetic predisposition to having high levels of age-related inflammation and excess production of an inflammatory protein called IL-1-beta. The second group had far lower levels of this protein and subsequently much less generalized inflammation in their bodies. What the researchers discovered was that the "high inflammation" group had much more incidence of elevated blood pressure and stiff heart arteries-
