Ag Chat from 5/13/26: May is Older Americans Month

From our Family and Consumer Science Agent , Sonya Patterson

Every May, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) leads the nation’s observance of Older Americans Month, a time to recognize older Americans' contributions, highlight aging trends, and reaffirm our commitment to serving older adults. The 2026 theme is “Champion Your Health”. The theme focuses on prevention, wellness, and personal responsibility as cornerstones of healthy aging. It encourages taking an active role in managing your own health, advocating for yourself, accessing preventive care, and making informed decisions that support independence.  Aging happily means being able to do the things we love with those who matter most, for as long as possible. A key to this lies in maintaining our bodies and minds to ensure they are functioning properly. Preventive care is necessary to spot any underlying health condition from getting worse or to avoid a new set of maladies altogether.  What Does Preventive Care Mean? Preventive care means actively screening for illness or disease before you have signs or feel sick. It is vital to find diseases early when they are easier to treat. Identifying health issues before they become serious is one of the best ways to stay healthy. Examples of Preventive Care. There are many types of preventive care services to choose from that go beyond annual wellness check-ups. Ultimately, only you and your doctor can make the decision to explore the screenings that best fit you and your lifestyle. While this list is not complete and should not be treated as such, it's important to note that these are among the important screenings you may not have thought about.   Physical Health. These are screenings to monitor common ailments such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, abdominal aortic aneurysm, hepatitis C, HIV, etc.  Safety for Older Adults. Assessing your risk for falls (which is the #1 reason for emergency room visits in adults over the age of 45, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)) is included under this category of screenings. Others to consider are assessing home safety and elder abuse.   Mental Health, Cognitive Health, and Substance Abuse. This includes screening for depression, alcohol use, tobacco use and cognitive impairment.   Vaccinations. Older adults should consider being vaccinated for influenza, pneumococcal disease, (commonly known as the “pneumonia vaccines”), Shingles (herpes zoster), Tetanus-diphtheria (Td) and tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap).   Cancer. Common cancer screenings include colorectal cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer. I encourage you to speak with your doctor about anything on this list or beyond that you have questions or concerns about. Which Preventive Care Service Do You Need? It's not as easy as picking and choosing from a list. So many factors such as your age, health, sex and lifestyle will determine which tests or screenings you should have. It is important to speak to your doctor and know what questions to ask so they know how to best optimize your healthcare journey and recommend which screenings are right for you. Get Started with Preventive Care. The best way to get started is to see your doctor once a year. Visiting your doctor every year for a physical will let you take control of your health and allow your doctor and other healthcare providers to become your true healthcare advocates.  The Benefits of Healthy Eating as You Age. Healthy eating is important at any age, but becomes even more so as get older. As importantly as keeping your body healthy, eating well can also be the key to a positive outlook and staying emotionally balanced. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be about dieting and sacrifice. Rather, it should be all about enjoying fresh, tasty food, wholesome ingredients, and eating in the company of friends and family. No matter your age or your previous eating habits, it’s never too late to change your diet and improve the way you think and feel. Improving your diet now can help you to: Live longer and stronger. Good nutrition can boost immunity, fight illness-causing toxins, keep weight in check, and reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, Type-2 diabetes, bone loss, and cancer. Along with physical activity, a balanced diet can also contribute to enhanced independence as you age. Sharpen your mind. People who eat fruit, leafy veggies, and fish and nuts packed with omega-3 fatty acids may be able to improve focus and decrease their risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Antioxidant-rich green tea may also enhance memory and mental alertness as you age. Feel better. Wholesome meals can give you more energy and help you look better, resulting in a boost to your mood and self-esteem. It’s all connected—when your body feels good, you feel happier inside and out. The Caswell Ag Chat is a weekly snap-shot regarding various aspects of agriculture in Caswell County. We’d like to have different perspectives, highlight different farmers in Caswell, as well as fold in those farm owners involved in agritourism in order to highlight ‘All things Agriculture’ in our beautiful county. Our number one economic driver here is agriculture and as we transition from larger row crops of tobacco, that are still critical to our county, we would like to keep the citizens of the county aware of how much we have to offer to those who make all types of farming their career choice. If you’d like to participate in the Caswell Ag Chat, please email: CaswellAgChat@yahoo.com