Weekly Health Update!
Week of: Wednesday, January 8th, 2014
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” ~ Alan Kay
Mental Attitude: Good News Regarding Dementia. Several recent studies show that the rate of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease is declining due to increased education and improvements in both health care (treatment of key cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol) and lifestyle (regular exercise).
New England Journal of Medicine Perspective, December 2013
Health Alert: Don’t Mix Your Drinks! A growing trend among young adults is mixing energy drinks with alcohol. Research has shown that college students tend to drink more heavily and become more intoxicated on days they consume a combination of energy drinks and alcohol than on days when they only drink alcohol. While the United States no longer permits manufacturers to premix high-caffeine products with alcohol, mixed drinks such as vodka and Red Bulls are becoming more popular. The public health implications include physical risks to individuals from blacking out, alcohol poisoning, and even exposing the community to dangerous situations in which young adults may be "wide awake drunk" after a night of partying.
Journal of Adolescent Health, December 2013
Diet: Two-Thirds of 13-Year-Old Girls are Afraid of Gaining Weight! Using data concerning 7,000 teenagers, United Kingdom researchers found that two of every three 13-year-old girls are afraid of gaining weight or being overweight. The researchers also noted that half of the girls surveyed avoid fatty foods and 26% restrict their calories.
University of Bristol, December 2013
Exercise: Boost Your Energy Naturally. Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance. Exercise and physical activity deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and help your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you have more energy to devote to daily life activities.
Mayo Clinic, November 2013
Chiropractic: Does Knuckle Cracking Cause Arthritis? Previous studies have NOT shown a link between knuckle cracking and hand osteoarthritis. One study even suggested that knuckle cracking helped prevent osteoarthritis. This study showed that 18.1% of those who cracked their knuckles regularly had hand osteoarthritis compared with 21.5% of those who did not crack their knuckles.
Journal American Board of Family Medicine, April 2011
Wellness/Prevention: An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away. Experts in the United Kingdom (UK) estimate that if everyone over the age of 50 simply ate one apple each day, this act alone would prevent about 8,500 vascular-related deaths each year. Previous studies estimate that prescribing statins to all adults over 50 years old could prevent a similar amount of vascular-related deaths annually but the mass prescription of statins in the UK could also result in an extra 10,000 diagnoses of diabetes and an extra thousand cases of muscle disease. The study did not note any potential negative effects from mass apple consumption.
British Medical Journal, December 2013
Dr. Jessica Bohl & Dr. Trip Delcampo
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