2001 to 2003 FYI's: Page Two
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PTSD
The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Alliance is offering free
educational resources as part of a national public service
campaign to inform the general public and health-care
professionals about PTSD. As many as 70 percent of American
adults have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their
lives. Up to 20 percent go on to develop PTSD. PTSD afflicts
roughly one of every 13 Americans. It can affect anyone who
has experienced extreme trauma, has been a witness or victim
of a violent act, or has repeatedly endured life-threatening situations.
Once properly diagnosed, PTSD can be treated.
28
Web Site Offers Facts on Hair
Hereditary hair loss affects nearly 50 million men and 30 million women in the United States.The American Academy of Dermatology has designated August as Hair Loss Awareness Month. The AAD hopes to make
women and men alike more comfortable with the condition,
which in turn should encourage them to seek early treatment. See also: Prevent Hair Loss the Right Way with Natural Nutrients
29
Are you depressed, or do you fear someone you love is?
If so, you can visit Depression Screening where
you can rule out clinical depression using their free help.
30
Prevent Blindness
Prevent Blindness America offers vision tests for adults as
well as for children. Free Online Vision Test - NOTE: The test may no longer be online, but there is a wealth of information on this site for you. Check it out!
31
Parents magazine compiled the top ten worst foods
for kids. They are:
- Chicken Nuggets (bursting with fat)
- Chips (mostly fat, sodium and empty calories)
- Doughnuts (packed with saturated fat and trans-fatty acids)
- French Fries (high in fat, few vitamins)
- Fruit leather (no resemblance to fresh fruit)
- Hot dogs (high in fat and sodium, also a choking hazard for kids three and under)
- Juice-flavored drinks (most no more than 10-percent juice; even those with apple, pear or grape concentrate have negligible nutrients)
- Prepackaged lunches (high in saturated fat and sodium, packed with sugary treats, nutritionally unbalanced)
- Soda (regular flavors high in sugar, too often replaces milk)
- Toaster Pastries (a lot of fat, not much fruit)
32
Five Reasons To Eat An Apple Every Day
- Your Diet - Apples are the perfect, portable snack: great tasting, energy-boosting, and free of fat.
- Your Heart - Research confirms it! The antioxidant phytonutrients found in apples help fight the damaging effects of LDL (bad) cholesterol.
- Your Digestion - Just one apple provides as much dietary fiber as a serving of bran cereal. (That's about one-fifth of the recommended daily intake of fiber.)
- Your Lungs - An apple a day strengthens lung function and can lower the incidence of lung cancer, as well.
- Your Bones - Apples contain the essential trace element, boron, which has been shown to strengthen bones - a good defense agianst osteoporosis.
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September is:
International Self Awareness Month
National Honey Month
National Little League Month
National School Success Month
National Sewing Month
National Coupon Month
Children's Good Manners Month
Baby Safety Month
National Chicken Month
Fall Hat Month
Pleasure Your Mate Month
Marriage Health Month
Special Weeks in September
16-22 - National Singles Week
Tolkien Week
17-23 - Love a Mensch Week
Constitution Week
23-29 - National Dog Week
Deaf Awareness Week
22-29 - Banned Books Week
Special Days in September
1 - Emma M. Nutt Day
3 - Labor Day
4 - Newspaper Carrier Day
5 - Be Late for Something Day
6 - Do It! Day
7 - Neither Snow Nor Rain Day
9 - National Grandparents Day
10 - Sew Be It Day
Swap Ideas Day
11 - 911 Day
No News is Good News Day
12 - Video Games Day
15 - National POW/MIA Recognition Day
Someday
16 - National KidsDay
Women's Friendship Day
17 - Citizenship Day
Rosh Hashanah Begins
18 - United Nations International Day of Peace
20 - National Student Day
21 - Biosphere Day
22 - National Centenarians Day
Dear Diary Day
Hobbit Day
Elephant Appreciation Day
First Day of Autumn
Proposal Day
23 - Innergize
Good Neighbor Day
27 - Yom Kippur
29 - Michaelmas
34
Autumn Olive
A hardy bush long treated as good for little but curbing soil
erosion produces an edible berry that scientists have
found is up to 18 times richer than tomatoes in lycopene, a
compound widely believed to protect against cancer. It
is very rare to see lycopene in anything not tomato-based.
The bush is known as autumn olive. The berries are more
like cranberries in taste and size. In parts of Asia, they are
eaten as a fruit.
Next month the journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science will publish a report on this berry.
35
Snoring and Your Heart
Women that snore, even occasionally, have a 20
percent greater risk of cardiovascular disease than
those that do not snore. This finding holds true even
after weight, smoking and other health factors are
taken into account.
Previous studies on males that snore and those
with the breathing disorder sleep apnea, have
reached similar conclusions.
Researchers really don't know why snoring is associated
with cardiovascular disease risk. But they say it
should be a "wake-up call" for those who snore to
pay more attention to other cardiovascular disease
risk factors they can control like diet and exercise.
For more information regarding snoring, check out the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association
36
Spelling Relif for Back Pain
People suffering a job-related back injury are invited to join an
Internet discussion group linking them with fellow back-pain
sufferers. The free service, offered by Stanford University's
Patient Education Research Center, is part of a research study
intended to determine whether self-management skills might
help those who suffer from back pain to decrease their discomfort
and become more active. Participants will have access to
encouragement and advice from others in pain and from experts.
The program is known as WISE (Work Injury Supported Education).
37
Hole Truth Survey
A recent study by Life Savers purports to link the method
Americans use to consume one of the candies with their
personalities. According to the study, called "Hole Truth
Survey", 1,500 Life Saver lovers contributed to the following
results:
*The number of people who prefer to suck on a Life Saver
outnumber those who chew the sweets nearly 4 to 1. Of
those self-described suckers, 74 percent were women with
two years or less of college, earning 40,000 or less.
Conversely, of the 19-percent who said they were chewers,
many were men, typically with a college degree or higher,
who earn 60,000 a year or more. As for the top flavors,
Cherry rated the most popular among Americans, followed
by Butter Rum, Wint-O-Green and pineapple.
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The Top 8 Worst Conveniece Food Ideas:
8. Beet Jerky
7. Pre-Wilted Lettuce
6. Freeze-Dried Twinkies
5. Individually Wrapped Bacon Bits
4. Peel-an-Eel
3. VisceraWhiz Aerosol Liver 'n' Onions
2. Haggis Helper
1. Corn Dog on a Rope
39
Excess Abdominal Fat
Excess abdominal fat is an independent risk factor for
heart disease, so if you are normal weight but have a belly,
it may be time to lose it. To measure your waist
circumference, place a tape measure around your abdomen,
level with the top of your hipbone. Make sure the tape
is snug, but does not compress the skin. Measure after
breathing out. If you are a man with a circumference greater
than 40-inches, or a woman with a circumference greater
than 35-inches, talk to your doctor.
See also: Intra Abdominal Fat
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CHOCOLATE LOWERS CHOLESTEROL!
A new study shows that a diet high in cocoa powder and dark
chocolate, which are high in substances called flavonoids,
lowers LDL, known as the "bad cholesterol" -- when compared
to a diet poor in other flavonoid sources such as tea, coffee,
wine, apples, beans, or orange or grape juice. LDLs are thought
to play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis
(hardening of the arteries), and flavonoids inhibit the oxidation
of LDLs, which could delay the progression of the disease.
Cocoa powder and dark chocolate could add to one's intake of
antioxidants, but use your common sense: don't gorge
on chocolate at the expense of fresh fruits and vegetables.
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This is diabetes Month (November).
This is a good time to give some
attention to an epidemic in the U.S. More than a million
Americans have Type 1 (or juvenile) diabetes, which strikes
kids suddenly, requires insulin for life and can shorten life
by 15 years. A new patient is diagnosed every hour. It is
critical for these kids to manage their disease, especially
during the school day, when blood tests and/or insulin
injections may be needed. Warning signs are extreme thirst,
frequent urination, drowsiness, increased appetite, sudden
weight loss for no reason, vision changes, a fruity odor on the
breath, heavy or labored breathing, or stupor. Any of these
symptoms demands immediate evaluation by a doctor.
For more information, visit Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
42
SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a collection of
depressive symptoms some people experience during
the shortened daylight hours of winter.
Classic SAD symptoms include depression, mild
anxiety, lack of energy and enthusiasm, overeating,
oversleeping, craving sweets and other carbohydrates
and the inability to concentrate. To treat SAD, do the
following:
Get outdoors for an hour or so a day, even when it's cloudy.
Up to two hours a day of phototherapy - light treatment
directed to the brain through the eyes - helps the majority
of people with SAD.
White fluorescent lighting is recommended. According to
researchers, full-spectrum lighting works no better and is
potentially harmful to the eyes and skin.
Anti-depressants help some people.
For more information on Visit SAD
43
Home Safety and Sanitation
- Prevent food born illness by washing your hands properly - about 20 seconds.
- Keep the temperature of your refrigerator at 32 to 40 degrees. (Life begins at 40 - in the way of bacteria).
- Sanitize kitchen sink drain, disposal and connecting pipe nightly. Simply run disposal and pour some bleach down the drain or a commercial cleaner if you prefer. These moist areas are ideal for bacteria growth on trapped food particles.
- Don't bother using fruit and vegetable washes, they don't make your fruit any safer to eat.
- Use paper towels when cleaning up kitchen spills, especially raw meat juice. Sponges and rags can harbor germs and spread them to other surfaces.
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Instant Energizer
Feeling a little harried and fatigued during this busy
time of year? Try this little instant energizer. This is
a yoga move that opens up the chest and stretches
your rib cage so you can breathe easier. Breathing
easier means more oxygen flow in your bloodstream
which, in turn, means more energy! This move also
improves posture by lengthening your shoulder, back
and neck muscles. Here is what you do:
Grasp the ends of a hand towel behind your back, palms
facing in toward your body. One arm at a time, slowly
lift the towel straight up behind you as high as you can
comfortably. Do not strain. Hold for three full breaths
through your nose, then release. Relax, then repeat
two more times.
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Cholesterol Education Program Publications
The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) has booklets for the public and health professionals on lowering blood cholesterol. Most are free of charge. The NCEP has booklets for adults with high blood cholesterol, age-specific
booklets for children and adolescents with high blood
cholesterol and their parents, and a pamphlet on physical
activity and how to get started. To order publications on
cholesterol, weight and physical activity or request a catalog,
write to the address below:
NHLBI Information Center
P.O. Box 30105
Bethesda, MD 20824-0105
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From Georgia Pecans
Just a Handful a Day provides the latest health information and
recipes to incorporate this versatile nut into your own healthy
lifestyle.
Saving Babies
You can literally help save the 4,000 babies born each year with devastating birth defects! Tell every woman you know of childbearing age to take folic acid every day. A recent study found that less than half of women take a daily multivitamin or folic acid supplement of 400 micrograms, which would prevent partially formed spinal cords.
Source: Mortality Weekly
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Animal Crackers
Animal crackers have been a popular snack for kids, of both the little
and adult variety, for decades. They are loaded with saturated fat and
sugar, like many cookies. Those 15 cute little frosted Animal
Crackers are full of more saturated fat than a McDonald's Quarter
Pounder and more sugar than a Hershey's Chocolate Bar! Check the
back of the bag. The second ingredient (sugar is first) is "paritally
hydrongenated soybean and/or cotton seed and/or palm oils". A
single-serve, two-ounce bag delivers 290 calories, nine grams
of saturated fat and 28 grams (seven teaspoonfuls) of tooth-decaying
sugar. That is twice the sugar and six times the saturated fat you
would get in the same-size box of Ernie's Animal Crackers, which is
Keebler's frost-free version.
49
Facts About Glaucoma
A pamphlet from the National Eye Institute was designed to help people with glaucoma and their families better understand
the disease. It describes the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of glaucoma. It is mainly about open-angle glaucoma, the most common kind in the United States. The link to the online pamphlet was no longer available when last checked, but you can visit the National Eye Institute.
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Functional Foods
According to the American Dietetic Association, just one in
five of us have heard of functional foods. Functional foods are
foods that contain health benefits such as margarine with
cholesterol-lowering ingredients and calcium fortified orange
juice. Since many health experts agree that functional foods
can be significant health boosters, perhaps you may want to
consider making an effort to add one or two to your next
shopping list.
See also: BellyBytes.com: Food Structure/Function Claims
