Health Alert: Air Pollution Can Affect Cognitive Function.
Cognitive assessments completed by over 500 individuals at various stages of life revealed that those who grew up in areas with greater exposure to air pollution experienced more severe cognitive decline than participants from less polluted neighborhoods. Lead author Dr. Tom Russ writes, “For the first time we have shown the effect that exposure to air pollution very early in life could have on the brain many decades later. This is the first step towards understanding the harmful effects of air pollution on the brain and could help reduce the risk of dementia for future generations.”
Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, February 2021
Diet: Bleeding Gums and Vitamin C.
An analysis of 15 clinical trials found that low vitamin C status is associated with bleeding of the gums, gingival bleeding, bleeding in the eye, or retinal hemorrhaging. Investigators also found that increasing daily vitamin C intake helped people with low vitamin C plasma levels reverse these bleeding issues.
Nutrition Reviews, February 2021
Exercise: How to Make Exercise a Daily Habit.
Harvard University offers the following tips to help make exercise a daily habit: piece your workout together, such as getting 10 minutes in the morning, noon, and night; exercise with a friend; take a walk during lunch; use a pedometer to keep track of steps and record daily totals; turn off the TV, computer, and smartphone to reduce sitting time; break up sedentary time with stretching breaks; sign up for a fitness class; and plan exercise into your daily schedule.
Harvard University, February 2021
Chiropractic: Age and Low Back Pain Can Impair Balance.
Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense where its various parts are in relation to one another for purposes of movement and balance. Examinations of 151 adults of varying ages with or without chronic low back pain revealed that chronic low back pain and advancing age are both risk factors for reduced proprioception. Doctors of chiropractic are trained to diagnose and manage low back conditions and provide exercise training to improve their joint position sense.
Frontiers in Neurology, December 2020
Mental Attitude: Social Media Addiction Can Reduce Quality of Life.
A survey of 390 university students revealed that about 1 in 5 (21.5%) met the criteria for social media addiction. Further analysis showed that these individuals also had an elevated risk for poor sleep, poor academic performance, low levels of life satisfaction, and depression.
Frontiers in Public Health, January 2021
Wellness/Prevention: Working Outdoors May Lower Risk of Breast Cancer.
New research suggests that women who spend more of their working hours outdoors in the sun have a 17% lower risk for breast cancer after age 50.
Occupational & Environmental Medicine, February 2021