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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Weekly Health Update

Mental Attitude: Friendships & Anxiety.
Anxious, solitary kids are more emotionally sensitive and more likely to be excluded and victimized by their peers. They're also less likely to have friends, and when they do, to have fewer than their peers and to lose friendships over time.
Child Development, Sept 2011

Health Alert: Obesity Costs!
States spend up to $15 billion a year in medical expenses related to obesity. Estimates in dollars range from $203 million in Wyoming to $15.2 billion in California. National costs of obesity are $147 billion.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Sept 2011

Diet: Wine & Dementia Risk.
Moderate wine drinkers are 23% less likely to develop dementia and/or Alzheimer's disease. Resveratrol, found in fairly high levels in wine, is a naturally occurring antioxidant that decreases the stickiness of blood platelets and helps blood vessels remain open and flexible. It also inhibits enzymes that can stimulate cancer cell growth and suppress immune response.
Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

Exercise: Good Reasons.
Exercise decreases the rate of joint degeneration in people with osteoarthritis, lowers your resting heart rate, helps to boost creativity and reduces circulating levels of triglycerides.
Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health, 1996

Chiropractic: What Does Double Crush Mean?
If there is irritation of a nerve root at the vertebra of the neck, or at the triangle formed between the scalene muscles and the first rib, the nerve itself becomes "sick." As that nerve passes into the arm, it passes through several muscles before it enters the hand, beneath the transverse carpal ligament. If the nerve is already "sick," the "secondary stress" of compression within the arm muscles, or at the wrist, may cause regional symptoms at that location. We call that second insult to the nerve a "double crush" phenomenon.

Wellness/Prevention: Four Ways To Live Longer.
Those who practice all 4 are 66% less likely to die early from cancer, 65% less likely to die early from a major cardiovascular disease, and 57% less likely to die early from other causes. 1) Avoid Tobacco. 2) Limit Alcohol: Men should have no more than two drinks a day, women no more than one. 3) Improve Your Diet: Eat more fruits, eat more vegetables, eat more whole grains, switch to fat-free and low-fat dairy and eat more seafood. Cut down on salt and foods high in sodium, saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, added sugar, and refined grains. 4) Exercise at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise spread over at least 5 days a week - or - do a total of 75 minutes of vigorous exercise 3 days a week or more.
American Journal of Public Health, August 2011