PAGE 6B HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MAY 19, 2017
(StatePoint)--Heart dis-
ease and stroke cause one in
three deaths among women
each year, killing approxi-
mately one woman every
80 seconds. While there are
many risk factors involved
that are beyond one's con-
trol, a healthy lifestyle can
make a big difference.
Here are five healthy hab-
its that can reduce your risk
for illness.
• Move about: Exercise
doesn't have to be daunting!
Aim for 10-minute sessions,
three times daily. Movement
sets your metabolism in
motion, so make sure it's a
consistent part of your life.
• Get sleep: Sleeping fewer
than seven hours a night can
make you gain weight and
have more trouble taking it
off, according to Columbia
University research. Another
study found that people who
get enough sleep have a five
percent higher metabolism
than people who don't.
That means more calories
burned while you're sleep-
ing! Doesn't get much easier
than that.
• Eat small and well:
"Studies have found that
losing five to 10 percent of
your body weight can lower
the risk of a heart attack,"
says Dawn Zier, CEO of Nutri-
system and the 2017 Go Red
for Women CamPaign chair
in Philadelphia, a movement
to help end heart disease and
stroke in women.
Research suggests that
eating smaller, balanced
meals throughout the day
promotes greater weight
loss and maintenance, and
can also be good for your
heart. Schedule meals every
two to three hours, six times
a day. Programs designed
to help you eat healthy
portions can mean seeing
quick results.
• Rise, shine, drink water.
You'll burn more calories all
day: A German study found
that drinking 48 ounces
(about six.cups) of cold water
increased calorie burn at
rest by up to 50 calories per
day. This alone could melt a
pound in a little more than
two months. And drinking it
before meals could give you
an added bonus, as a Virginia
Tech study found that dieters
who drank two, eight-ounce
glasses of water before meals
for 12 weeks lost 36 percent
more weight than those who
didn't down the water.
• Put your phone away:
Checking your email in the
morning will just stress
you out. Many productivity
experts recommend waiting
at least an hour once you
get to work before checking
your inbox, so you can tackle
your most important priori-
ties calmly without getting
distracted.
Be proactive. Take steps
to improve your health and
reduce your risk for serious
illness.
may surprise
(StatePoint)--Those fa-
miliar with Parkinson's dis-
ease (PD) are likely aware of
the disorder's most visible
symptoms, including slower
movements, impaired bal-
ance, rigidity/stiffness and
involuntary shaking. How-
ever, Parkinson's, which is
a neurodegenerative brain
disorder, can cause a range
of non-motor symptoms,
which can bring about a new
set of challenges for people
with Parkinson's and their
caregivers.
It's important to learn
more about these non-motor
symptoms, such as hallucina-
tions, delusions and mood
disorders, so you can be sure
to discuss .them with your
doctor.
1. Hallucinations. More
than half of all people with
Parkinson's will experience
hallucinations or delusions
over the course of their
disease. HalIucinations can
cadse people to see, hear, or
experience things that aren't
real. For example, people
with Parkinson's commonly
report seeing groups of
people or animals that in
actuality are not there.
As hallucinations become
• more frequent, people with
PD may become unable to
distinguish what's real and
what's imagined and react
to their hallucinations. Hal-
lucinations can lead to in-
creased patient and caregiver
distress, and even nursing
home placement.
2. Delusions. Delusions
"are false beliefs not sup-
ported by evidence, and in
people with Parkinson's,
delusions often have. para-
noid themes. For example,
a person with Parkinson's
might make accusations
about their spouse or some-
one else trying to access
their life savings. Another
common delusion is even a
longtime spouse commit-
ting adultery.
Studies have shown that
many experiencing these
symptoms are not reporting
them to their doctors, pos-
sibly due to embarrassment
or not understanding that
the symptoms are associated
with PD and the majority of
the discussion is focused on
motor symptoms.
3. Cognitive Changes. As
explained by the National
Parkinson Foundation, prob-
lemswith attention, inability
to focus on planning, dif-
ficulties with memory and
language, and personality
changes characterize the
cognitive changes that can
take place over time with PD.
4. Sleep Disorders. A range
of sleep disorders are often
associated with PD. They
include insomnia, restless leg
syndrome, talking or moving
during sleep and excessive
daytime sleepiness. Sleep
disorders can impact overall
health and well-being.
5. Mood Disorders. Depres-
sion, anxiety and irritability
can also affect those with PD.
In fact, one study showed that
up to 40 percent of people
with Parkinson's will expe-
rience some form of anxiety
during the course of their
illness.
6. Additional non-motor
symptoms. The non-motor
symptoms of PD are numer-
ous, ranging from vision
problems to hypertension to
loss of sense of smell. These
symptoms can also appear
before a PD diagnosis and
should be noted.
More information about
Parkinson's disease and its
non-motor symptoms, such
as hallucinations and delu-
sions, can be found at www.
parkinson.org.
While there is currently no
cure for Parkinson's disease,
there are different treatment
options, as well as assistive
devices, to address motor and
non-motor symptoms. When
people with Parkinson's and
their loved ones report the
variety of symptoms that
might be associated with the
disease, it can help determine
what treatment option is best
for them.
By Gary Marriage Jr.
Retirement can open up
a whole new way of life for
Americans ready to bring
their working years to an end,
but at least one thing doesn't
change.
The IRS still keeps awatch-
ful eye on your income--in-
cluding whatever amount
you're pulling from the IRA or
401(k) that you spent decades
building into a nice, hefty
nest egg.
Uncle Sam has been wait-
ing for years--possibly de-
cades-to tax that money
because the deposits you
made were pre-tax, mean-
ing you weren't taxed on the
income you contributed to
the accounts.
That tax-deferral system
works well--until retirement
time arrives and you need the
money.
"When you defer taxes,
eventually it catches up with
you," says Gary Marriage
Jr., CEO of Nature Coast
Financial Advisors (www.
naturecoastfinanciai.com).
"Suddenly, your IRA or 401(k)
isn't worth as much as you
thought because every with-
drawal you make potentially
can be taxed."
But there's an answer and,
with President Donald Trump
and Congress looking at tax
cuts, now would be the time
to take advantage, Marriage
says.
Those traditional IRA and
401(k) accounts can be con-
verted to a Roth IRA, which
isn't taxed when withdrawals
are made. That doesn't mean
you'll avoid the taxes, Mar-
riage says, because you'll pay
them when you make the con-
version. But when you reach
retirement, you'll be able to
make withdrawals the rest of
your life tax free.
"Taxes are about to be on
sale," Marriage says. "Over the
next four to five years, your
tax bracket is probably going
to be as low as it ever will be."
He says some facts worth
knowing about Roth conver-
sions include:
• Space out the conversion.
Most people wouldn't want to
take the tax hit all at once,
and you don't have to. You
can transfer the money into
a Roth in increments over
the course of a few years. So
if, for example, you space out
the conversion over five years,
then the tax is spaced out over
five years as well, A few factors
determine how much you can
convert the first year, but Mar-
riage says about 40 percent of
the people he has worked with
were able to convert half of it
in the first year.
• The age to do it. A conver-
sion can be done regardless of
the account holder's age, but
Marriage says it's his experi-
ence that people 59 to 74
benefit the most.
• Start with a Roth if pos-
sible. Some employers now
offer a Roth 401(k) as an op-
tion. Employees should take
advantage of that, Marriage
says. They won't get to defer
their taxes on the portion of
their income they contribute
to the account, but the inter-
est grows tax free and they'll
avoid taxes come retirement
time.
Marriage says he recently
did a conversion for a client
where he had calculated that
if the client lived to be 90,
they would have paid nearly
$1 million in taxes on IRA
withdrawals.
"Switching to a Roth low-
ered that to $200,000," he
says. "I know that still sounds
like a lot, but I'd rather pay
$200,000 than nearly $1
million."
Gary Marriage Jr. is the
founder and CEO of Nature
Coast Financial Advisors
(www.naturecoastfinancial.
corn), which educates retirees
on how to protect their assets,
increase their income and
reduce their taxes. Marriage
is a national speaker, deliver-
ing solutions for pre- retirees,
business owners and seniors
on the areas affecting their
retirement and estates. He
is an approved member of
the National Ethics Bureau,
and has been featured in
"America's Top Hometown
Financial Advisors 2011" and
was selected to contribute
to a book with Steve Forbes
titled, "SuccessOnomics:
Power Principles. "Marriage is
also the founder of Operation
Veteran Aid, an advocate for
war-time veterans and their
families.
ways semors
(StatePoint)--Ifyou signed
up for a new Medicare plan
during Open Enrollment,
it's important to understand
how your prescription drug
costs may be affected. Even if
you did nothing to alter your
coverage, some features of
your plan may have changed
for 2017.
Unfortunately, almost one-
in-five Medicare beneficiaries
don't have a good under-
standing of their plan, and
a good portion have some
misconceptions about copays,
according to a recent survey
by Walgreens.
Here are three easy steps
to help you make the most
of your benefits and find po-
tential cost-savings for your
prescription medications
under your Part D coverage.
Think Generic
When possible, consider us-
ing a less expensive prescrip-
tion drug brand or generic.
These alternatives typically
carry the same formulas at a
reduced cost, saving patients
substantially over time.
can save
Preferred Pharmacies
Verify whether your plan
has preferred pharmacies--
which are pharmacies that
have an agreementwith a Part
D plan to charge less than a
standard network pharmacy.
For example, Walgreens,
which is a preferred pharmacy
for many of the nation's top
plans, can help lower the cost
of your copays, even to $0 in
the case of Tier 1 generics on
certain plans.
"Depending on the design
of your plan, coverage, and
prescription drugs, you can
pay higher copays at one
pharmacy in comparison to
another if your pharmacy is
not in your plan's preferred
network! So, choosing the
right pharmacy is definitely
important," says Mariah
Moon, the blogger behind
"The Simple Parent," who
recently wrote about help-
ing her mother research
her options for lowering
her drug costs as part of
the #PartDAtWalgreens
campaign.
90-Day Refills
"My pharmacist told me
that many physicians are
willing to write 90-day pre-
scriptions for many of the
medications that seniors
are often prescribed. This
not only saves time by re-
quiring fewer trips to the
pharmacy, but also may save
copay costs," says Shelley
Webb, a registered nurse and
founder of "The Intentional
Caregiver," who cared for
her father in her home for
four years and was recently
sponsored by Walgreens to
share tips about saving on
prescription costs with her
readers.
Medicare beneficiaries
seeking help navigating pre-
scription drug costs can find
free resources at walgreens.
com/topic/pharmacy/medi-
carepartd.
If you didn't review your
plan before renewing, it's not
too late to become a savvy
consumer and learn more.
Doing so can help you save
money.
