Mental Attitude: Teen Girls at Greater Risk for Depression. An assessment of nearly 400 American teens found that adolescent
girls have more relationship-related stress than adolescent boys, which places them at an increased risk for depression. Lead author Dr. Jessica Hamilton explains, "These findings draw our focus to the important role of stress as a potential causal factor in the
development of vulnerabilities to depression, particularly among girls, and could change the way that we target risk for adolescent
depression… Thus, finding ways to reduce exposure to these stressors or developing more effective ways of responding to these
stressors may be beneficial for adolescents, especially girls." Clinical Psychological Science, October 2014
Health Alert: ER Visits Linked to Synthetic Pot Increasing. Officials in the United States (US) have announced that the number of visits to emergency rooms related to synthetic marijuana -- also known as "K2" or "spice" -- have more than doubled in recent years. There is a widespread misconception that such substances are both safe and legal. Unfortunately, synthetic marijuana can contain varying amounts of different ingredients and contaminants that can lead to serious health effects, including anxiety, severe agitation, nausea, vomiting, tremors, seizures, hallucinations, paranoia, rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, unresponsiveness, and even death. U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, October 2014
Diet: Frequent Dining Out Can Be Bad for Your Waistline and Health. Individuals who regularly dine at restaurants may be at
higher risk for becoming overweight and having poor cholesterol levels compared with those who eat at home more often. Researchers analyzed more than 8,300 Americans and found that people who ate six or more meals a week away from home had a higher body mass index, lower HDL (good) cholesterol, and lower blood concentrations of vitamins C and E than those who rarely dine out. The authors recommend eating more meals at home. If eating at home is not possible, consider choosing grilled, baked, or steamed foods; swap fries for a salad or vegetables; and take home half the meal if the portions are too large.
International Journal of Obesity, October 2014
Exercise: Dads Feel Guilty About Exercising. New research indicates that fathers face many of the same family and work barriers to exercise as mothers. Lack of exercise among working parents has been usually recognized as a female issue, as mothers have been conditioned to meet everyone else’s needs before their own. However, according to a new study, fathers also report guilt related to family and taking time for themselves. Study author Dr. Emily Mailey adds, "Fathers mentioned feeling guilty about not spendingtime with their spouses. That really didn't come up for the women. The men felt guilty about exercising after the kids go to bed because that would be time they could spend with their wives." BioMed Central Public Health, October 2014
Chiropractic: Smartphone a Pain in the Neck? Prolonged head flexion (bending forward at the neck) while using a smartphone is a risk factor for neck pain. Researchers measured the forward flexion of smartphone users and found that most participants maintained head flexion of 33-45 degrees when using their smartphone. Furthermore, they note that head flexion was significantly larger when texting compared with other smartphone-related tasks, and greater while sitting than standing. The results suggest that texting could be a main contributing factor in the incidence of neck pain of heavy smartphone users. Ergonomics, October 2014
Wellness/Prevention: Probiotic Benefits Women’s Skin. Researchers claim that consuming the probiotic Lactococcus lactis strain H61 once a day for a month is beneficial for the skin of young, healthy women. They found that the probiotic improved skin health by significantly increasing sebum (oil secreted by the sebaceous gland) levels, which indicates better skin protection.
Journal of Dairy Science, July 2014
Quote: “We accept the love we think we deserve.” ~ Stephen Chbosky
To Receive The “Weekly Health Update” (every Monday) and other information from 30-A Chiropractic,
click the 'Subscribe' button below:
(A mobile version of this site is available for access via your smartphone so you can get your Weekly Health Updates on the go.)
