Mental Attitude: Stress Reduces Male Fertility.
Past studies have linked stress to a number of health problems including heart disease, asthma, obesity, and depression. A new study suggests that stress can also reduce male fertility. Researchers found that men who experienced two or more stressful life events over the previous year had lower sperm quality compared with men who did not experience any stressful life events. They also found that regardless of stress, jobless men had lower semen quality than those who were employed.
Fertility and Sterility, May 2014
Health Alert: Worldwide Obesity Rates Significantly Increased Over the Last 33 Years.
During the past three decades, there has been a significant increase in worldwide obesity rates with no significant decline noted in any country. Investigators found that over the previous 33 years, worldwide overweight and obesity rates for adults have increased 27.5%, while rates among children and adolescents increased by 47.1%.
Lancet, May 2014
Diet: Do You Eat White Bread?
According to new research, when white bread is a staple of an individual’s diet, they are 40% more likely to become overweight or obese compared with those who eat whole grain bread. The researchers conclude, “Consumption of white bread [of] two portions per day or more showed a significant direct association with the risk of becoming overweight or obese.”
European Congress on Obesity, May 2014
Exercise: Helps Reduce Amphetamine Use.
In some regions of the United States, nearly 20-25% of substance abuse admissions are for amphetamine abuse. A study involving mice showed a relationship between increased physical activity and decreased consumption of available amphetamines. If this corresponds to human subjects, exercise may become a useful tool to help individuals recover from amphetamine drug abuse.
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, April 2014
Chiropractic: More Pain-Free Days!
A randomized trial involving 400 chronic low back pain patients found patients who received a course of twelve spinal manipulation treatments experienced 22.9 more pain-free days and 19.8 more disability-free days over the next year compared with patients who received no treatment.
Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, June 2014
Wellness/Prevention: Bad Sunburns While Young Tied to Higher Skin Cancer Risk.
A new report suggests that women who get five or more sunburns between the ages of 15 and 20 have an 80% increased risk for melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. Besides melanoma, these groups of women also have a 68% greater risk of basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma. Dr. Abrar Qureshi, professor and chair of the department of dermatology at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, explains, “Parents may need to be advised to pay more attention to protection from early-life sun exposure for their kids in order to reduce the likelihood of developing melanoma as they grow up. Older individuals should also be cautious with their sun exposure, because cumulative sun exposure increases skin cancer risk as well.”
American Association for Cancer Research, May 2014
