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      Highways Promote High Concentration of Exhaust Toxicity Leading to Health Risks

      May 23, 2011 /

      Exhaust from cars and diesel trucks contain high concentrations of the ultrafine particulate matter.

      These particles have a high degree of toxicity, with concentrations directly related to traffic density.

      Studies link pollution from vehicles with brain damage.

      A substantial and growing body of scientific evidence has linked airborne toxic pollution from motor vehicles, trains and aircraft to significant health problems, especially in children, including aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function, irregular heartbeat, heart attack and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.

      But now we’re learning more about what it does to our brains as well as the fact that it may increase the risk of lung and vascular damage.

      The same study also found that the fields close to major highways exposed children to levels of ambient ozone above levels shown to cause airway inflammation, abnormal lung function, and asthma exacerbation, with the highest levels in the warmer afternoon hours when games and practices are held and traffic is at its peak.

      Research, Resources, Wellness

      Is Ronald McDonald bad for kids?

      May 23, 2011 /

      The first Ronald was the TV weatherman Willard Scott in his younger years.

      Scott had been doing Bozo the Clown on local television.

      When the show was canceled, an enterprising McDonald’s franchise asked him to come up with a clown figure that would lure the kids into the restaurant.

      Ray Kroc, owner of McDonald’s, saw the clown, liked the idea and extended it to the whole country.

      Adults bear an enormous responsibility for the obesity epidemic among children.

      Yet there’s also no question that even conscientious parents and guardians, who really do try to do well by kids and teach them healthy life choices, are not playing on a level field.

      They’re going up against billions of dollars spent every year in corporate marketing, all aimed at teaching kids to make exactly the opposite sorts of choices

      The fast-food giant hit back at a group of 550 doctors and health-care professionals who took out ads in U.S. newspapers demanding that the company do away with its redheaded clown mascot and its other marketing towards kids.

      “Stop making the next generation sick — retire Ronald and the rest of your junk-food marketing to kids,” said Dr. Steven Rothschild, an associate professor of preventative medicine at Rush Medical College in a release on Wednesday.

      Nutrition, Research, Resources, Wellness

      Middle Aged Fitness Can Determine Future Risk for Heart Disease and Stroke

      May 19, 2011 /

      If you’re middle-aged, a strong predictor of your risk of heart attack or stroke over the next decade or more can be determined by a fairly simple fitness test:

      How fast can you run a mile?

      The National Institutes of Health and The American Heart Association funded these studies.

      In two separate studies, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that how fast a middle-age person can run a mile can help predict the risk of dying of heart attack or stroke decades later for men and could be an early indicator of cardiovascular disease for women.

      In one recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers analyzed the heart disease risk of 45-, 55- and 65-year-old men based on their fitness level and traditional risk factors, such as age, systolic blood pressure, diabetes, total cholesterol and smoking habits. The scientists found that low levels of midlife fitness are associated with marked differences in the lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease.

      Research, Wellness

      Drug and Alcohol Treatment Doubles for Seniors

      May 19, 2011 /

      Surveys show the vast majority of older drug addicts and alcoholics reported first using their substance of choice many years earlier.

      However, older people metabolize alcohol differently from their younger counterparts causing more severe damage.

      That lifelong use can lead to liver damage, memory loss, hepatitis and a host of other medical issues.

      A minority of people find comfort in drugs and alcohol far later in life, fueled by drastic life changes, loneliness or legitimate physical pain.

      Seniors use the drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism whether it is loss and loneliness or feeling of displacement.

      Experts have observed a rise in illicit drug use, while treatment for alcohol has dropped even though it remains the chief addiction among older adults. The 2008 statistics show 59.9 percent of those 50 and older seeking treatment cited alcohol as their primary substance, down from 84.6 percent in 1992. Heroin came in second, accounting for 16 percent of admissions in that age group, more than double its share in the earlier survey. Cocaine was third, at 11.4 percent, more than four times its 1992 rate.

      Research, Wellness

      Your Morning Cup of Coffee May Cut the Risk of Prostate Cancer

      May 19, 2011 /

      That morning “Jo” may be more helpful than just an eye opening jolt of energy.

      Whether caffeinated or decaffeinated studies show that men who drink one to three cups of coffee per day lower thier risk of aggressive prostate cancer by 13%.

      More findings indicate that increased amounts of coffee continues to cut the overall risk.

      The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, also found men who drank six or more cups of coffee per day over some 20 years were 60 percent less likely to develop the more aggressive forms of prostate cancer.

      Research, Wellness

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