WEEKLY HEALTH UPDATE
Week of: Monday, December 12th, 2011
Courtesy of:

Dr. Derek Friedman

Mental Attitude:  Brain Games. Researchers have found risk/reward scenarios (such as playing games) stimulate nearly all areas of the brain. Since the brain’s primary purpose is to maximize our chance of survival and reproduction, it makes sense reward should be important for all cognitive functions, and thus most brain regions.  Neuron, Oct 2010

Health Alert: Antibiotics. After 70 years, antibiotics are still the primary treatment for bacterial infections. The prevalence of antibiotic resistance is now outpacing the rate of new drug discovery and approval. The economic costs and health threats of antibiotic resistance have become so serious that the World Health Organization dedicated World Health Day to call global attention to the issue. Antibiotics are routinely sprayed on crops and fed to livestock, which helps cause antibiotic resistant bacteria to develop. That antibiotic resistance is then transferred to humans when they eat the food containing the antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is resistant to a broad range of antibiotics, causes infections in people with compromised immune systems, such as HIV and cancer patients. It's also responsible for hospital-related infections such as urinary tract infections, pneumonia and infections from burns. The fatality rate is about 50%. Hospital-acquired urinary tract infections by P. aeruginosa alone cost more than $3.5 billion a year in the US. WHO, Oct 2011

Diet: A Slice Of Watermelon! Watermelon reduces atherosclerosis in animals. The study involved mice with diet-induced high cholesterol. By week 8, animals given watermelon juice had lower body weight, due to decreased fat mass. They experienced no decrease in lean mass. Plasma cholesterol concentrations were significantly lower, with modestly reduced intermediate and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations.  University of Kentucky, Oct 2011

Exercise: Reduces Productivity? Exercise may reduce work productivity in employees with high stress jobs. The study’s authors recommend employees with more stressful jobs utilize other techniques to manage stress.
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Oct 2011

Chiropractic: Yoga & Low Back Pain. A 12-week yoga program for adults with chronic or recurrent low back pain improved back function better than back pain education booklets. Annals Of Internal Medicine, Nov 2011

Wellness/Prevention: Stop Smoking! Smokers are twice as likely to have strokes, and on average, they have them 10 years earlier than non-smokers. Heart and Stroke Foundation, Oct 2011

Quote: “You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it.” ~ Bill Cosby

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WEEKLY HEALTH UPDATE
Week of: Monday, December 5th, 2011
Courtesy of:

Dr. Derek Friedman

Mental Attitude: Commuting To Work Is Bad For Your Health! Spending hours each day behind the wheel or crammed in a public train or bus, commuting to and from work is bad for your health. Those who commuted reported more everyday stress, exhaustion, missed work days and generally poorer health. Those with longer commutes reported even worse health. Duke University, Oct 2011

Health Alert: Under Construction! Nearly all construction workers will experience one or more work-related injuries or illnesses over a lifetime, plus a greater risk of premature death. Over a 45-year career, a construction worker has a 75% chance of a disabling injury, and a one in 200 chance of being fatally injured on the job. An individual who begins construction work at the age of 20 has a 15% chance of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and an 11% chance of developing dust-related parenchymal chest X-ray changes.  Center for Construction Research and Training, Oct 2011

Diet: Strawberries & Stomach Ulcers. Scientists discovered strawberry consumption might help reduce and or slow the formation of stomach ulcers caused by alcohol consumption, viral infections and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, like aspirin and ibuprofen. Plos One, Oct 2011
Exercise: Good Reasons. Exercise helps speed recovery from chemotherapy treatments, increases the ability to supply blood to the skin for cooling and increases the thickness of the cartilage in your joints.  Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health, 1996

Chiropractic: Wound Healing & Mechanical Stress. Exerting mechanical forces on an injury site immediately after healing begins significantly inhibits vascular growth into the bone defect region. However, after healing is underway, introducing mechanical forces on the injury site can lead to a more robust vascular network.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Oct 2011

Wellness/Prevention: Cranberry Juice vs. Cranberry Extracts. Cranberries have been recognized for their health benefits for years, especially in preventing urinary tract infections. However, it was found that drinking actual cranberry juice is much more effective in preventing a Urinary Tract Infection than simply consuming cranberry extracts. Food Science and Biotechnology, Oct 2011

Quote: “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Want More?

• To Receive The “Weekly Health Update” Every Monday Via Email,
Go To www.WeeklyHealthUpdate.com - Code:  33487FRIED

• To Sign Up For Our Email Newsletter, Go To: www.InGoodHandsLetter.Com - Code:  33487FRIED

• Check Out:  http://www.DrDerekFriedmanblog.com