Health & WellnessS


Health

Older Drivers Unaware Of Risks From Medications And Driving


Science Daily
Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:50 UTC
Most older drivers are unaware of the potential impact on driving performance associated with taking medications, according to new research from the Center for Injury Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

The findings, released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, indicate that 95 percent of those age 55 and older have one or more medical conditions, 78 percent take one or more medications, and only 28 percent have an awareness of the risks those medications might have on driving ability.
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Cheeseburger

American Junk Food Imports Hit Poor


The Ecologist
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:40 UTC
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Imports of processed cheese and french fries have soared
Influx of high-fat and high-sugar foods into Central America has increased obesity levels.

Central American countries are facing an obesity crisis because of the influx of North American junk food, say researchers.

Writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Globalization and Health, researchers said the increase in free trade agreements between Central and North American countries had led to a rise in the import and availability of processed, high-fat and high-sugar foods.

They linked the junk food imports to the growing levels of obesity in countries like Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
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Arrow Up

Upstate New York County Bans BPA


NewsInferno
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:27 UTC
Bisphenol A - BPA - the dangerous, ubiquitous estrogen-mimicking toxin that has been linked to a wide variety of adverse health events has just been banned in Schenectady County in upstate New York.
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Info

The Obvious Advantage of Organic Food Over Conventional

Tom Philpott
Grist
Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:10 UTC
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A bit of nitrogen with those veggies?
A recent literature review [PDF] by the U.K. Food Standards Agency concluded that organic foods offer no nutritional advantages to ones grown with conventional chemical agriculture.

The report quickly bounced around the media and the internet and has congealed into received wisdom. For example, in a recent chat with readers, Washington Post food politics columnist (and general policy writer) Ezra Klein engaged in the following exchange:
Santa Fe, N.M.: I saw a report today on a study finding that organic food isn't any healthier than conventional food. Is buying organic a waste of money, in your opinion?

Ezra Klein: Honestly? Yes. It's definitely not healthier, at least not according to any study I've seen. There's some argument that it's more environmentally friendly. But it's not something that I'm convinced is worth a premium. I'd rather buy from a local farm that uses some pesticides than a major producers who has gone organic.
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Syringe

Infant Primate Study Links Vaccination with Autism


Natural News
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:27 UTC
A study shows a direct link between standard childhood vaccination series and autism-like symptoms in primates. Presented by one of the principal scientists behind it, Dr. Laura Hewitson, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, the research was presented as an abstract pending publication at the International Meeting for Autism Research. It has been presented in both London, UK and Seattle, USA.
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Attention

Health and day care workers lack basic safety knowledge, study shows

Meredith Jameson
Examiner.com
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:26 UTC
In a recent study by the University of Alabama, health and day care workers failed to identify the majority of safety hazards in a home for toddlers and children.

The day care workers only identified 37% of the hazards, while health care workers identified only 29%.
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People

US: Disabled Students Are Spanked More

Sam Dillon
New York Times
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:17 UTC
More than 200,000 schoolchildren are paddled, spanked or subjected to other physical punishment each year, and disabled students get a disproportionate share of the treatment, according to a new study.

Most states prohibit corporal punishment in public schools, but 20 do not. The two watchdog groups that collaborated on the report, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, are urging federal and state lawmakers to extend the ban nationwide and enact an immediate moratorium on physical punishment of students with disabilities.

"Corporal punishment is just not an effective method of punishment, especially for disabled children, who may not even understand why they're being hit," said Alice Farmer, who wrote the report.
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Magnify

US: No 'death panel' in health care bill

Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Associated Press
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:09 UTC
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says the health care overhaul bill would set up a "death panel." Federal bureaucrats would play God, ruling on whether ailing seniors are worth enough to society to deserve life-sustaining medical care. Palin and other critics are wrong.

Nothing in the legislation would carry out such a bleak vision. The provision that has caused the uproar would instead authorize Medicare to pay doctors for counseling patients about end-of-life care, if the patient wishes. Here are some questions and answers on the controversy:
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Magnify

FDA Declares Mercury Amalgam Fillings Safe for All

Mike Adams
NaturalNews
Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:16 UTC
His mercury fillings were gray
And he chewed on them every day.
But the stuff reached his brain
And it drove him insane
Now he works for the FDA
Any scientific credibility the FDA might have been clinging to in these last few years has now disintegrated with the agency's recent announcement that after reviewing 200 scientific studies, it has concluded mercury fillings are safe for human health! This ruling, as you'll read below, further demonstrates how the FDA is a rogue federal agency that respects no law and frequently operates in direct violation of the law.
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Heart

Yoga Therapy can Counteract Stress and Depression

Claire Coleman
Times Online
Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:01 UTC
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Stressed out? Then move off the psychiatrist's couch and onto a yoga mat for the latest type of therapy

For years, yoga devotees have been telling us that bending and twisting our limbs into gravity-defying contortions is a great way to develop the perfect body. Now things have gone one step further, with a new wave of teachers claiming that yoga also offers a fast track to a beautiful mind.
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