SRA E-MAIL NEWSLETTER*
Issue # 53
April 2007
Len Wines, Editor
SOME ITEMS FROM THE SRA PRESIDENT
Carole Gustin
<cgustin@usc.edu>
Jeopardy: All fans of “Jeopardy” have the opportunity to watch the taping of the program at USC's Galen Center on April 21 and/or April 22. USC has tickets (there was also an ad in the Los Angeles Times). Tickets will be available until they are gone. If you want tickets, call 213-740-6936.
June 4 Update: Our annual meeting is just around the corner. We will send a postcard as a reminder, but please put the date on your calendar. The Nominating Committee, under the direction of our Chair, Harriet Servis, has a slate of candidates for election to the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Nominations may be made from the floor with the consent of the nominee. We will also be presenting a revised set of By-laws. (More on that next month.)
Slate of Officers:
President ---- Carole Gustin
Vice President ---- Louise Ball
Secretary ----- Madaleen Smith
Treasurer ----- Frank Chew
We will still need to fill some Member-at-Large and Hospitality positions, so let us know if you would be willing to serve.
After lunch and business are finished, Betty Redmon has arranged a wonderful program. Dr. Kerry Burnight, graduate of USC's Davis School of Gerontology, will facilitate a sharing of ideas about a variety of things, including your ideas on how retirement can be enjoyable and productive. We ask that you bring something (maybe a book, ideas for improving health, trips that were just right, recipes, etc). You might want to share things that exhibit your own creativity (paintings, crafts, poetry).
Frances Feldman's Survey: You should have received a two-page survey from Frances that asks for your input on how retirement is going for you, things you wished you had done earlier, and things that worked out as planned. These ideas, plus things we will glean from our June meeting, will help Frances and her task force develop a report that can be shared with USC pre-retirees and with the University Administration. Our experiences may be able to help those coming after us.
March 15 Luncheon: Our luncheon for new retirees was a Hit! We had 17 tables filled with SRA members, honored guests, and representatives from the University. A BIG THANK YOU to Helen Jones and her committee for making this a special day for all. Those honorees who were not able to attend are invited to stop by the Emeriti Center to pick up a gift. Sorry we can't mail it, because it is TOO BIG!!!
AN APPLE A DAY KEEPS ALZHEIMER'S AWAY
Until recently, it was generally assumed that fate determined who developed Alzheimer's disease (AD), and there was no way to change it. But evidence is mounting that, as with so many other illnesses, healthful life choices can improve the odds against AD.
The latest research is from the University of Massachusetts (Lowell) and focuses on the impact of antioxidants and that yummy childhood standby—apple juice. In the study, mice—some of which were susceptible to cognitive decline—were given one of three diets.
The first was a nutritious diet, while both the second and third were nutritionally deficient diets. But the third diet was supplemented with apple juice—the equivalent of two 8-ounce glasses of pure apple juice or two to three apples daily.
Thomas B. Shea, PhD, the study's lead author, explained to me that the poor diet was to create oxidative stress because this would better isolate their response to apple juice. Dr. Shea, who is the director of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell Center for Cellular Neurobiology and Neurodegeneration Research, described the sub-standard diet the mice had as akin to the way most people eat.
After a month (equivalent to a year in human life), the mice were put into a maze to test their cognitive performance. The mice on a nutritious diet tested in the 70% to 75% correct range. Mice on a deficient diet without apple juice performed at just 50%, but the mice that had a poor diet and apple juice rose to the 75% level, establishing the value of the juice.
Further evidence: Dr. Shea says when they tested mice on apple juice and a nutritious diet, they achieved a 90% level, higher than any he had seen before. The researchers also found that acetylcholine, a brain chemical, increased in mice that had apple juice compared with those on a deficient diet without the juice. This is critical because acetylcholine plummets in people with AD. In fact, the activity of several current AD medications is to prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine.
Dr. Shea says that the value here is definitely the antioxidants in apples, not a boost from the fruit's natural sugar. But most of these antioxidants aren't specific to apples, he says. You can also get them from blueberries, spinach, and probably cranberries as well (though not from diluted or sugar-sweetened cranberry juice cocktail).
If you prefer apple juice, though, be sure to get pure apple juice, not apple juice cocktail, which is loaded with sugar and contains less juice. For those who prefer the fruit, any kind is fine, but always eat the skin, the richest store of antioxidants. Be sure you wash it thoroughly before eating to reduce pesticides.
This is extremely valuable research. It underscores the probable role of a nutritious diet in combating the risk of AD. As Dr. Shea points out, having a weakened form of certain genes likely increases the risk of AD in a person. Antioxidants alone aren't powerful enough to strengthen those genes, but having antioxidant-rich foods as part of a sound diet appears to make a big difference in reducing risk of AD. Be well. Carole Jackson/Bottom Line's Daily Health News.
SOME USEFUL WEB SITES TO VISIT
Did you know that there is a place on the Internet you can visit where you can get the latest updates to your operating system and most of the software on your computer? It's <http://www.versiontracker.com>. There are tabs for Macintoshes, Windows, and even Palm OS. Most software publishers put the latest versions or updates to their products on version tracker. I find it valuable to visit the site daily. You may, as well.
You can make this spring fitness time by getting free slide shows, videos, and articles from <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fitness/SM00103>. If you can't click on this URL, be advised that those are zeros in the URL, not the letter O.
If you are a news junkie, you can't get better informed than by going to <http://www.lexisnexis.com/news/>. There you will find information from over 4,000 sources like wire services, newspapers, TV transcripts, columns, and so on.
Need to rent a car? You might want to take a look at <http://www.bnm.com>. Here's what the site says about itself: “Car Rentals and rental cars from BreezeNet.com. Find the discount car rental of your choice with one-stop shopping on a variety of rental car deals. We make it easy to search by rental car discounts, car rental company, or search by location (for example, Orlando Car Rentals, Los Angeles Car Rentals, Phoenix Car Rentals, and other national car rental and international rental car deals).” There are over 50 car rental companies listed.
BottomLine/Personal for April 1, 2007, calls attention to a “One-stop Web site for file conversion.” The service is free, and, for example, you can convert a .pdf to a .doc painlessly. If you click on the FAQ tab, you can learn how Zamsar can offer the service completely free of charge and, of further interest, where the name Zamzar came from. <http://www.zamzar.com/>
OK, IF THESE DON'T MAKE YOU LAUGH THEY SHOULD AT LEAST BRING A SMILE
A group of third, fourth, and fifth graders, accompanied by two teachers, went on a field trip to the local racetrack to learn about thoroughbred racehorses. During the tour, some of the children wanted to go to the restroom, so it was decided that girls would go with one teacher and the boys with the other.
As the teacher assigned to the boys waited outside the men's restroom, one of the boys came out and told her that he couldn't reach the urinal. Having no choice, the teacher went inside and began hoisting the little boys up by their armpits, one by one.
As she lifted one up by the armpits, she couldn't help noticing that he was unusually well-endowed for an elementary school child. “I guess you must be in the fifth,” she said.
“No, ma'am,” he replied. “I'm in the seventh, riding Silver Bullet. Thanks for the lift anyway.”
*****
A man arrived at work with both ears bandaged.
“What happened to your ears?” asked the foreman.
“Well,” he explained, “yesterday I was ironing a shirt when the phone rang, and I accidentally answered the iron.”
“That explains one ear. But what about the other one?”
“For God's sake. I had to call the doctor!”
*****
Selected from Red Skelton's “Recipe for the Perfect Marriage”:
Two times a week we go to a nice restaurant, have a little beverage, good food, and companionship. She goes on Tuesdays. I go on Fridays.
I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary. “Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!” she answered. So I suggested the kitchen.
*****
From the Women's Dictionary
“Argument” (noun) A discussion that occurs when you are right, but he just hasn't realized it yet.
“Barbecue” (noun) You bought the groceries, washed the lettuce, chopped the tomatoes, diced the onions, marinated the meat, and cleaned everything up, but he “made the dinner.”
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*The content of this Email Newsletter is for the information of the members of the USC SRA. It is not a University of Southern California official publication. There is no intent to promote any particular product or point of view. Personal decisions regarding health, finance, exercise, or other matters should be made after consulting with the reader’s own professional advisors.