In an earlier blog I complained my doctor thought I was too old for anymore fecal tests. I was stunned. But on the day I returned from my mammogram, I received a second email from her. I am also too old for mammograms, as well.
No more fecal tests or mammograms? Why mourn?
I needn’t have, but I did. Being too old left me feeling like a throwaway person, and I was jarred by two thoughts. 1) Did my doctor have information about my health she wasn’t sharing? 2) Did she think I was too old for chocolate.? If so, I’d find another physician.
Prescriptions for a long life change with each scientific discovery about human anatomy. Wine used to be good for us. Now, medical experts say it’s something to avoid. Likewise, eggs and potatoes, which I love, fade in and out of favor. At the moment, they are in favor, so I’ve decided to stop reading anything more about diets. I’ll quit while I’m ahead.
Of course, many mysteries remain. How the brain ages and what causes Alzheimer’s are big queries. No definitive answers appears to be on the horizon. Still, some new information offers hope. A team of Spanish scientists has discovered our brains don’t stop developing after adolescence, as once thought. Instead, the body produces fresh neurons well into our 90s. (“Health & Science,” The Week, April 12, 2019, pg. 21.)
As one researcher notes, “I believe we [will] be generating new neurons as long as we need to learn new things” (Ibid pg. 21). Now that’s an incentive to pick up a book and read. Let’s start with Trompe l’Oeil, nest pas?
Special announcement. Blogs will be printed without photos in future.
