Health Tip: Stressed Out?

Meditation can take many forms, including the art of deep breathing. It’s a great way to relieve stress.

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers these steps to deep breathing, which helps your body get plenty of oxygen:

* Lie on your back on a flat surface.
* Rest one hand on your stomach above your belly button, and the other hand on your chest.
* Breathe in slowly and deeply, making your stomach rise a bit. Hold for a second. Read more

Health tip for turn down music

The next time you’re tempted to crank up the stereo, you’d be wise to note the link between sound volume and hearing loss.

Scientists measure the levels of different sounds with a unit called the A-weighted decibel (dBA), according to Health Canada.

Here’s how different volumes can affect hearing:

- Sounds with levels below 70 dBA pose no known risk of hearing loss, no matter how long they last. Listening to music at this volume is about the same as what you’d experience driving a four-door family car on the highway with the windows closed. – With sound levels above 70 dBA, the duration of daily exposure becomes an important risk factor. For example, sounds measuring Read more

Take Back Breakfast With Kellogg’s(R) Special K(R) Cereals

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., May 2007 — /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Skipping breakfast has more implications than just mid-morning hunger pains. A new review, published in the Nutrition Bulletin (June 2007) verified that people who eat cereal for breakfast regularly tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI) and are less likely to be overweight than those who do not eat cereal for breakfast regularly.

Kellogg Company sponsored the evaluation of published studies on breakfast cereal and body weight. Researchers at Ashwell Associates Ltd. and Oxford Brookes University (U.K.) conducted a comprehensive review of nine studies to see whether people who eat cereal for breakfast regularly tend to have a lower average BMI and are less likely to be overweight than those who do not eat breakfast regularly, or opt for alternatives like eggs or meat for breakfast.

“From our analysis, it is evident that there is a clear relationship between regular breakfast cereal Read more

Health risks of being overweight or obese

type 2 diabetes

high blood pressure

high blood cholesterol

coronary heart disease

stroke

some types of cancer

gallbladder disease

If you already have one or more of these conditions, ask your health care provider if a modest weight loss (5 to 10 percent of your body weight) could help you feel better or need less Read more

Health risks of being underweight

poor memory

decreased immunity

osteoporosis (bone loss)

decreased muscle strength

hypothermia (lowered body temperature)

If you are underweight, you may not be getting enough nutrients. Talk to your health care provider about the best way to gain weight and meet your nutritional needs. Read more

Eating Tips for healthy older adult

To help you stay on track with your healthy eating plan, follow these tips:

1. Do not skip meals.

2. Select high-fiber foods like whole-grain breads and cereals, beans, vegetables, and fruits.

3. Choose lean beef, turkey breast, fish, or chicken with the skin removed to lower the amount of fat and calories in your meals.

4. Have three servings of vitamin D-fortified low-fat/fat-free milk, yogurt, or cheese every day.

5. Choose foods fortified with vitamin B12. Read more

Often Ends Without Surgery

Two separate studies reported in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine show that surgery is the fastest route to pain relief for two very different conditions: severe sciatica and degenerative spondylolisthesis.

But the studies also show that these conditions do not worsen if surgery is delayed — and that nonsurgical treatments can relieve at least some of the pain.

An editorial titled “Back Surgery: Who Needs It?” accompanies the studies. Editorialist and back pain researcher Richard A. Deyo, MD, MPH, is professor of medicine and director of the center for cost and outcomes research at the University of Washington in Seattle. Read more

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