One Critical Mistake That Costs Seniors Their Mobility
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Will Harlow, the over-50s specialist physio, advises what to do instead:
Nose over toes
Often considered the most important test of mobility in later life (or in general, but later life is when it tends to decline) is the ability to get up off the floor without using your arms.
Many seniors, meanwhile, struggle to get out of a chair without using their arms.
Now, sitting in chairs in the first place is not good for the health, but that’s another matter and beyond the scope of today’s article.
If, perchance, you struggle to get up from a chair (especially if it’s low/deep, like many armchairs are) without using your hands, then here’s the way to do it:
- While practicing, cross your arms in front of you, so that you cannot use them.
- Shuffle yourself towards the front of the chair. No, don’t use your arms for this either, do a little butt-walk instead, to get you to the front edge of the chair.
- Lean forwards to position your nose over your toes (hence the mnemonic: “nose over toes”; memorize that!), as this will put your center of gravity where it needs to be.
- Now, push with your feet to rise up and forwards; slowly is better than quickly (quickly may be easier, but slowly will improve your strength and balance).
For more on all of this plus a visual demonstration, enjoy:
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You might also like to read:
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HRT Side Effects & Troubleshooting
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This is Dr. Heather Hirsch. She’s a board-certified internist, and her clinical expertise focuses on women’s health, particularly in midlife and menopause, and its intersection with chronic diseases (ranging from things associated with sexual health, to things like osteoporosis and heart disease).
So, what does she want us to know?
HRT can be life-changingly positive, but it can be a shaky start
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), and in this context she’s talking specifically about the most common kind, Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT), involves taking hormones that our body isn’t producing enough of.
If these are “bioidentical hormones” as used in most of the industrialized world and increasingly also in N. America, then this is by definition a supplement rather than a drug, for what it’s worth, whereas some non-bioidentical hormones (or hormone analogs, which by definition function similarly to hormones but aren’t the same thing) can function more like drugs.
We wrote a little about his previously:
Hormone Replacement Therapy: A Tale Of Two Approaches
For most people most of the time, bioidentical hormones are very much the best way to go, as they are not only more effective, but also have fewer side effects.
That said, even bioidentical hormones can have some undesired effects, so, how to deal with those?
Don’t worry; bleed happy
A reprise of (usually quite light) menstrual bleeding is the most common side effect of menopausal HRT.
This happens because estrogen affects* the uterus, leading to a build-up and shedding of the uterine lining.
*if you do not have a uterus, estrogen can effect uterine tissue. That’s not a typo—here we mean the verb “effect”, as in “cause to be”. It will not grow a new uterus, but it can cause some clumps of uterine tissue to appear; this means that it becomes possible to get endometriosis without having a uterus. This information should not be too shocking, as endometriosis is a matter of uterine tissue growing inconveniently, often in places where it shouldn’t, and sometimes quite far from the uterus (if present, or its usual location, if absent). However, the risk of this happening is far lower than if you actually have a uterus:
What you need to know about endometriosis
Back to “you have a uterus and it’s making you wish you didn’t”:
This bleeding should, however, be light. It’ll probably be oriented around a 28-day cycle even if you are taking your hormones at the same dose every day of the month, and the bleeding will probably taper off after about 6 months of this.
If the bleeding is heavier, all the time, or persists longer than 6 months, then speak to your gynecologist about it. Any of those three; it doesn’t have to be all three!
Bleeding outside of one’s normal cycle can be caused by anything from fibroids to cancer; statistically speaking it’s probably nothing too dire,but when your safety is in question, don’t bet on “probably”, and do get it checked out:
When A Period Is Very Late (i.e., Post-Menopause)
Dr. Hirsch recommends, as possible remedies to try (preferably under your gynecologist’s supervision):
- lowering your estrogen dose
- increasing your progesterone dose
- taking progesterone continuously instead of cyclically
And if you’re not taking progesterone, here’s why you might want to consider taking this important hormone that works with estrogen to do good things, and against estrogen to rein in some of estrogen’s less convenient things:
Progesterone Menopausal HRT: When, Why, And How To Benefit
(the above link contains, as well as textual information, an explanatory video from Dr. Hirsch herself)
Get the best of the breast
Calm your tits. Soothe your boobs. Destress your breasts. Hakuna your tatas. Undo the calamity beleaguering your mammaries.
Ok, more seriously…
Breast tenderness is another very common symptom when starting to take estrogen. It can worry a lot of people (à la “aagh, what is this and is it cancer!?”), but is usually nothing to worry about. But just to be sure, do also check out:
Keeping Abreast Of Your Cancer Risk: How To Triple Your Breast Cancer Survival Chances
Estrogen can cause feelings of breast fullness, soreness, nipple irritation, and sometimes lactation, but this later will be minimal—we’re talking a drop or two now and again, not anything that would feed a baby.
Basically, it happens when your body hasn’t been so accustomed to normal estrogen levels in a while, and suddenly wakes up with a jolt, saying to itself “Wait what are we doing puberty again now? I thought we did menopause? Are we pregnant? What’s going on? Ok, checking all systems!” and then may calm down not too long afterwards when it notes that everything is more or less as it should be already.
If this persists or is more than a minor inconvenience though, Dr. Hirsch recommends looking at the likely remedies of:
- Adjust estrogen (usually the cause)
- Adjust progesterone (less common)
- If it’s progesterone, changing the route of administration can ameliorate things
What if it’s not working? Is it just me?
Dr. Hirsch advises the most common reasons are simply:
- wrong formulation (e.g. animal-derived estrogen or hormone analog, instead of bioidentical)
- wrong dose (e.g. too low)
- wrong route of administration (e.g. oral vs transdermal; usually transdermal estradiol is most effective but many people do fine on oral; progesterone meanwhile is usually best as a pessary/suppository, but many people do fine on oral)
Writer’s example: in 2022 there was an estrogen shortage in my country, and while I had been on transdermal estradiol hemihydrate gel, I had to go onto oral estradiol valerate tablets for a few months, because that’s what was available. And the tablets simply did not work for me at all. I felt terrible and I have a good enough intuitive sense of my hormones to know when “something wrong is not right”, and a good enough knowledge of the pharmacology & physiology to know what’s probably happening (or not happening). And sure enough, when I got my blood test results, it was as though I’d been taking nothing. It was such a relief to get back on the gel once it became available again!
So, if something doesn’t seem to be working for you, speak up and get it fixed if at all possible.
See also: What You Should Have Been Told About Menopause Beforehand
Want to know more from Dr. Hirsch?
You might like this book of hers, which we haven’t reviewed yet, but present here for your interest:
Enjoy!
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To improve children’s mental health, start by supporting their parents
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
Many Australian children struggle with their mental health. Recent data shows around one in seven children (13.9%) aged 4–17 experiences a diagnosable mental illness.
So what can actually help?
Our research shows the most powerful influences on children’s wellbeing begin at home. We analysed data from 5,501 children tracking their mental health over a decade or more, from early childhood through to their mid-teens.
While we often talk about improving mental health services to address current needs, our findings underscore how important prevention is.
To improve children’s mental health, we need to better support their parents through measures that reduce stress and instability, such as access to stable housing, financial security, mental health care and social connection.
Ante Hamersmit/Unsplash What we did and what we found
We looked for patterns in the data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. First, we identified challenging behaviours and symptoms of mental illness such as anxiety, low mood and restlessness across the whole group. Then we homed in on children who showed declining mental health over time and examined what they had in common.
Our most striking finding was that around 10–15% of Australian children developed severe and persistent symptoms of anxiety, emotional distress and behavioural difficulties. This kind of ongoing distress could begin as early as four or five years of age.
What set these children apart was their home environment. The risk of long-lasting mental health difficulties was much higher for children:
- whose mothers experienced depression or anxiety
- who experienced harsh or hostile parenting, or parental conflict or violence
- whose mothers lacked social support
- who grew up in financial hardship or housing stress.
Research shows poor mental health among primary caregivers, regardless of gender, is linked to worse mental and physical health for children.
Our study focused on mothers because they were the primary respondents in the dataset and were most often identified as the child’s primary caregiver. This reflects broader patterns in Australia, where mothers still tend to take on a larger share of caregiving responsibilities.
Risk factors rarely occur on their own
This isn’t about blaming individuals. It reflects broader systems that leave families without adequate support.
Consider a family where a parent is juggling insecure work, struggling to pay rent, battling their own anxiety, and feeling cut off from support networks. In this environment, parenting becomes harder, tensions rise, and the child absorbs that stress.
The research found children facing multiple difficulties were at far greater risk than those exposed to only one or two. Some individual factors were strongly associated with poor outcomes. For example, exposure to parental violence more than doubled the odds of persistent and severe mental illness symptoms.
Our findings suggest addressing several of these pressures together (not just treating the child’s symptoms) could make a substantial difference. Based on statistical modelling, we estimated that reducing factors such as parental psychological distress, hostile parenting and partner violence could potentially prevent up to 40% of severe and persistent mental health problems in young Australians.
But there is no simple quick fix to break such structural hardships. Governments need to provide coordinated, multifaceted support across housing, employment, mental health services and community infrastructure.
What families actually need
Accessible mental health care
This means shorter waitlists, affordable services, and options that fit around work and family responsibilities.
There have been positive steps in recent years including expanded telehealth and community mental health programs. But many families still struggle to access timely and affordable support.
Parenting support
Evidence-based parenting programs, which give parents practical strategies for managing kids’ anxiety and their own conflicts, can also help.
One example is the Australian parenting program Cool Little Kids. Its online modules focus on managing children’s fear and anxiety around things such as separation, trying new activities and sleep. Among children whose parents completed the program, a review found there was a 21% reduction in anxiety disorder diagnoses in the first year after the intervention, and 45% in the second year.
Housing stability
Secure tenancies allow children to stay in the same school and maintain friendships, reducing stress and disruption. Renters and lower-income families are more likely to experience housing insecurity and repeated moves, meaning many children face ongoing instability during critical developmental years.
Financial security
Australian research shows that policies such as paid parental leave reduces depression in new mothers, with at least 2–3 months being especially protective.
Australia has expanded both paid parental leave and childcare subsidies in recent years, but gaps remain. While these policies have improved support for many families, access is still uneven. Casual workers, lower-income households and families facing housing or financial stress are particularly vulnerable.
Combined with affordable childcare and income support, further investment in these areas could help prevent children’s mental health conditions.
Social connection
When caregivers feel supported and connected, children tend to do better. Local playgroups, community centres and parent networks can reduce parental isolation – a risk factor strongly linked to poorer child mental health in our study.
Australia already has many of these supports through organisations such as Playgroup Australia and local neighbourhood and family centres. But access remains uneven and many families still struggle to find affordable and culturally safe services in their local area.
Prevention starts earlier than we think
The message from our research is clear and compelling: supporting parents early on is the most direct path to supporting children, now and in the future.
When families have stable housing, manageable financial pressure, and access to mental health care, children are less likely to develop serious mental health problems later on.
Narendar Manohar, Research Fellow in Workplace Mental Health, Black Dog Institute; Hiroko Fujimoto, Research Officer in Workplace Mental Health, Black Dog Institute, and Peter Baldwin, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Swinburne University of Technology; UNSW Sydney
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Did You Believe These Skincare Myths?
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Dr. Michelle Wong gives us the insider knowledge:
If you scratch the surface…
Here are some popular myths that just aren’t true, and their continued prevalence has more to do with cognitive biases than anything else:
- “Chemical sunscreens need time to activate”: both chemical and mineral sunscreens start blocking UV immediately after application, and the recommendation to apply them 20–30 minutes before sun exposure mainly exists so the product can dry and thus not get accidentally wiped off.
- “You should avoid layering products under chemical sunscreen”: there’s no special requirement to use fewer products under chemical sunscreen compared with mineral sunscreen.
- “Ingredient percentages tell you how effective a product is”: the listed percentage of an ingredient (such as 2% niacinamide) doesn’t guarantee performance because stability, formulation, packaging, and delivery systems determine how much actually reaches your skin.
- “Peeling gels remove large amounts of dead skin”: the solid mass formed when rubbing peeling gels are in large part the product itself reacting with oils on your skin rather than quite that much skin being removed.
- “Hyaluronic acid can hold 1,000 times its weight in water”: there’s no reliable evidence supporting this claim, and experimental analysis suggests hyaluronic acid binds roughly 40–85% of its weight in water instead.
- “Hyaluronic acid dries out your skin if you don’t use a moisturizer on top”: humectants like hyaluronic acid don’t pull water out of your skin, because hydrogen bonds only work at extremely short distances.
- “Hyaluronic acid must be applied to damp skin to work properly”: serums and moisturizers already contain large amounts of water, so applying them to damp skin doesn’t significantly change hydration results.
For more on each of these, plus a short discussion of the cognitive biases involved, enjoy:
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Want to learn more?
You might also like:
Skincare “Scams” That Are Actually Very Recommendable
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What Your Eyes Say About Your Health (If You Have A Mirror, You Can Do This Now!)
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In an age when doctors are increasingly pressed to get you out of their office quickly and not take the time to do thorough tests, having a good basic knowledge of signs and symptoms of disease has become more important than ever for all of us:
The eyes have it:
Dr. Siobhan Deshauer is back, this time working with Dr. Maria Howard, a Canadian optometrist, who advised behind-the-scenes to ensure the best information about these signs and symptoms and what they tell us:
- Color blindness test: Ishihara color test identifies color blindness; in the version in the video, seeing “74” is normal, “12” indicates red-green color blindness, and no numbers suggest complete color blindness due to genetics or retinal/optic nerve issues.
- Yellow sclera (scleral icterus): yellow sclera indicates high bilirubin from excessive red blood cell breakdown, liver damage, bile duct blockage, or Gilbert syndrome.
- Blue sclera: indicates thin collagen in the sclera, which can be linked to osteogenesis imperfecta, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and Marfan syndrome.
- Pink eye: caused by infections, autoimmune diseases, or trauma; persistent symptoms or associated pain/vision changes need medical evaluation.
- Physiologic diplopia (double vision): normal test where fingers appear doubled when focusing on different planes; absence may indicate amblyopia.
- Pinhole test (visual acuity): looking through a small pinhole can determine if glasses are needed for clearer vision.
- Nearsighted vs farsighted: nearsightedness risks retinal tears and night vision issues, while farsightedness increases the risk of glaucoma.
- Eye color and health: brown eyes lower cancer risk but higher cataract risk; light eyes higher cancer risk but lower cataract risk; sudden changes may indicate a condition.
- Kayser-Fleischer rings: golden-brown rings around the iris suggest copper buildup from Wilson disease, treatable with chelation therapy.
- Corneal arcus: gray/white ring around the iris indicates cholesterol buildup, normal with aging but concerning in younger individuals, signaling hypercholesterolemia or artery narrowing.
- Limbal rings: dark rings around the iris are generally aesthetic and not health-related.
- Red desaturation test: a difference in red color perception between eyes may indicate optic nerve or retinal issues.
- Eye twitching: often linked to stress, sleep deprivation, or caffeine; persistent twitching or muscle involvement requires medical attention.
- Pupillary reflex: pupil constriction in light; abnormal responses suggest trauma, overdose, or poisoning.
- Cataracts: lens cloudiness due to age, UV exposure, smoking, diabetes, or prednisone; also occurs sometimes in youth due to conditions like diabetes.
- Yellow spots (pinguecula and pterygium): sun damage, wind, and dust exposure cause yellow spots; protect with sunglasses to prevent progression impacting vision.
- Dark spots in the eye: includes freckles, moles (nevi), and melanoma; changes require medical evaluation.
- Hypnotic induction profile: eye roll test assesses susceptibility to hypnosis.
- Floaters: normal clumps in the eye; sudden increases, flashes, or curtain-like effects may signal retinal detachment.
- Retinal detachment: caused by aging-related vitreous shrinkage; treated with lasers, gas bubbles, or retinal buckles.
- Macular degeneration (Amsler grid test): wavy, fuzzy lines or missing vision spots may indicate this condition.
- Giant cell arteritis: no, that’s not a typo: rather it is about blood vessel inflammation that can cause blindness; treated with prednisone, symptoms include headaches and vision changes.
- Near point of convergence: focus test to detect convergence issues common with excessive screen time.
- Blepharitis: eyelid inflammation causing itchiness, burning, or flaky skin; treated with hygiene, antibiotics, or tea tree oil.
- Proptosis (Graves’ disease): bulging eyes due to hyperthyroidism; treatable with medications, radiation, or surgery.
- Ptosis (droopy eyelids): indicates myasthenia gravis, temporarily improved with the ice pack test.
- Night vision issues: caused by retinal problems or high myopia, not typically vitamin A deficiency in developed countries.
- Dry eyes: caused by screen time, smoking, medications, or autoimmune diseases; managed with lubricating drops, reduced screen time, and adjustments.
- Watery eyes: caused by irritation or blocked tear ducts; treated with lubricating drops or surgery.
- Retinoblastoma: rare childhood cancer detectable through flash photography showing one white pupil; early detection enables treatment.
For more on all of these plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
What Your Hands Can Tell You About Your Health
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5 Golden Rules To Improve Your Mobility (At Any Age)
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Implement these rules, and enjoy good mobility for life:
It’s about focus
Or mindfulness, if you prefer. Intentionality, perhaps, but then you have to actually carry out the intentions too (daydreaming will not suffice)!
So, five things to keep in mind (and act upon):
- Regress to progress: in other words, allow yourself to return to the basics when needed. Modifying an exercise, even to ostensibly “make it easier” is matching it to what your body needs right now. In a subjective sense, it’s not easier at all, if the effort required to do it is the same. Backing off helps you rebuild strength, correct compensations, and feel the right muscles working.
- Follow the three-part prehab process: every warm-up should include foam rolling, dynamic stretching, and activation. Foam rolling relaxes tight muscles, stretching mobilizes joints, and activation wakes up underactive muscles. This sequence builds flexibility, mobility, and stability so your body can perform optimally during training.
- Be intentional when you exercise: prioritize quality over load, e.g. focus on full range of motion rather than heavier weights or faster reps. Proper loading through the full range helps maintain and improve mobility which is, at the end of the day, what you’re doing this for. The numbers in your exercise log don’t matter—your body does. So, pay attention to what muscles you feel working—those are the ones benefitting.
- Perfect form doesn’t always mean perfect muscle recruitment: you can have textbook form but still use the wrong muscles! For example, compensations can hide behind good-looking movements, leading to pain and imbalance. Always check what you actually feel working, and correct recruitment through mobility and activation drills targeted to your weak links, as applicable.
- Use it or lose it: mobility, like strength, needs maintenance. Keep doing the prehab and activation work that made you feel better—don’t drop it once pain fades. Consistent small efforts protect against regression and help you stay strong, supple, and pain-free as you age.
For more on all of this, enjoy:
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Want to learn more?
You might also like:
Mobility For Now & For Later: Train For The Marathon That Is Your Life!
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How Dandelions Can Protect Your Brain
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…and other items from this week’s health science news:
Clock these dandelion brain benefits:
Often the star of our “This or That” section, winning vs almost everything, dandelion greens are incontrovertibly nutritional heavyweights.
And now, there’s more: dandelions’ polyphenols are not just antioxidants, but also can inhibit enzymes such as acetylcholinesterase, making them top candidates for supporting brain health after digestion. This is important, because Alzheimer’s involves reduced acetylcholine due to increased acetylcholinesterase activity, along with inflammation driven by lipoxygenase and damage from reactive nitrogen species.
In other words:
- The brain needs acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) to function correctly
- Acetylcholinesterase (an enzyme) lowers acetylcholine levels
- Dandelions’ polyphenols reduce the acetylcholineresterase that would otherwise be reducing your acetylcholine levels
- Therefore you have more acetylcholine remaining than you otherwise would have
- Therefore you are enjoying a measure of protection against an important axis of Alzheimer’s pathology
And the good news is that leaves, flowers, and roots were analyzed, and leaves had the highest total phenolic content (3987mg/100 g) and flavonoid content (3250mg/100 g).
Those numbers are huge, by the way; not many plants score anywhere near this level!
It’s also worth noting that salads are better than tea, in this regard, because polyphenol availability increased during the intestinal phase after an initial drop in the stomach, suggesting digestion can release bound compounds.
Read in full: Dandelion leaves boost brain-protective compounds after digestion
Related: Dandelion: Time For Evidence On Its Benefits?
Fast food, fast demise
“Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are generally bad for the health” is not breaking news, nor is their typically adverse impact on heart health.
This is usually put down to them being low in most nutrients, and dangerously high in such things as salt and saturated fats.
However, the harm comes in more ways, and new research (linked below) shows that beyond the fact that higher intake of ultra-processed foods is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke and cardiovascular mortality, the additives commonly included in such foods may be doing their share of the damage too, in several different ways:
- Oxidative stress: reactive oxygen species (ROS) linked to additives can reinforce inflammation and contribute to endothelial dysfunction and plaque formation. You don’t want any of those things.
- Inflammation: UPFs may activate NF-κB, increasing inflammatory cytokines like IL-6 and TNF-α, which promote chronic inflammation and vascular damage everywhere they go.
- Gut microbiome disruption: additives also tend to reduce beneficial gut bacteria, promote pro-inflammatory species instead, and increase intestinal permeability (i.e. create “leaky gut syndrome”), leading to systemic inflammation throughout the body.
Further, the researchers say that these combined mechanisms “support early atherogenesis”, increasing risks of hypertension, thrombosis, and long-term cardiovascular disease.
In numbers:
- The main cohort evidence: in the NutriNet-Santé study (over 105,000 participants), a 10% increase in UPF energy intake was linked to a 12% higher cardiovascular risk.
- Other large US studies: data from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and Nurses’ Health Studies showed 11% higher CVD risk and 16% higher coronary heart disease risk in the highest UPF intake group.
- Additional cohorts: the Framingham Offspring cohort found each extra daily serving of UPFs increased cardiovascular event risk by 7–9%, independent of diet quality. Note that “serving” here means what it says is a serving on the pack, not what you personally eat in one sitting. So we’re talking 80g of French fries, or 5 Pringles, etc.
- Meta-analysis of these and more: across 22 prospective studies (over 1 million participants), UPF consumption was associated with a 17% higher cardiovascular risk, with a dose-response relationship (i.e. eat more UPFs, get more CVD).
All this to say… It can really be a very good idea to ask yourself “what ultra-processed foods do I eat?” and see what can be reasonably cut out and replaced with whole food alternatives.
Read in full: Heavily processed foods may raise heart disease risk beyond poor nutrition alone
Related: How Likely Is It That Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs) Will Kill You?
At the seat of a different falling problem from most
It’s easy to think that the risk of falling is just not something that affects people using wheelchairs or scooters, but in fact, more than 98% of wheelchair and scooter users reported some level of concern about falling.
This fear itself can be a problem, because the very fear of falling can lead people to avoid physical and social activities, contributing to deconditioning, secondary health issues, and reduced quality of life.
So, how justified is the fear?
In a very recent study (Dr. Sahel Moein et al., article linked below, study linked in the article), 68% of participants experienced a fall-related injury within the past year. So, a very strong real-world risk.
This risk is exacerbated by the fact that many standard fall risk assessments (such as those used by hospitals and other care providers) don’t apply well to wheelchair users.
For this reason, Dr. Moein and her team developed the “Fall Concerns Scale for People who Use Wheelchairs and Scooters”, and also the iROLL (Individualized Reduction of Falls) program, which is a six-week intervention designed to improve wheelchair skills, build confidence, and teach users how to get up after a fall.
In the words of Dr. Laura Price, a member of Dr. Moein’s team:
❝We cannot simply provide a device and expect people to be able to use it effectively. Training is critical to ensure that people can use a device to its full extent.❞
Read in full: Falls are prevalent concerns among people who use wheelchairs, scooters
Related: Fall Special
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