At first, we thought the hardest part was convincing our Mom that she shouldn't drive any more.

But two years after getting Mom to relinquish the car keys, my two older siblings and I are learning that taking care of an aging parent has many, many 'hard parts.'  Moreover, we've learned that the American healthcare system isn't terribly helpful to adult children of modest means who want to provide a safe, clean, engaging living arrangement for aging parents of limited means.

You wouldn't know it from what you "read in the news" lately, but for the past several years the food and beverage industry has been making efforts to meet rising consumer demand for healthy food that fosters health and wellness.

Last September, the world's biggest fast food company, McDonald's, announced a plan to begin listing calorie counts for all menu items in its thousands of North American restaurants.  The move was in response to growing concerns from consumer advocates, public health officials and doctors about the on-going obesity epidemic in the United States.