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Reducing Stress Lowers Risk of Cardiovascular Problems
A Review in The Lancet reveals the importance of healthy lifestyle choices to reduce stressors related to cardiovascular risk factors. Researchers from John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore examined records between 1990 to 2006. They observed how stress affects the sympathetic nervous system, impacts physiology, and the effect it has on the cardiovascular system. Lead author, Daniel Brotman, claims "Acute physical stressors such as sugery, trauma, and intense physical exertion are well known triggers of cardiovascular events. Emotional stressors are increasingly recognized as precipitants of such events." (Read more about Reducing Stress Lowers Risk of Cardiovascular Problems)
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Binge Drinking Can Affect Decision Making
Binge drinking, typically associated with college students, may lead to poor decision making.
The results of a new study published in the June issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research suggest that among college students, those who binge drink often exhibit poor decision making . Jenny Larkins, a graduate student in clinical psychology at the University of Missouri, claims that alcoholics make poor decisions such as those involving short-term rewards coupled with long-term losses. The problems were associated with mental skills such planning for the future, abstract reasoning, inhibiting or delaying responses, doing two things at once and shifting between activities. (Read more about Binge Drinking Can Affect Decision Making)
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Off to College
It’s a jittery time for students and parents: when the child heads off to college for the first time.
The potential pitfalls are numerous. So how do you help your teen navigate these new waters?
As corny and trite as it might sound, communication is the key here: what parents say, how they say it, and what they don’t say will help their child get off on the right foot at the university level, and not fall trap to problems like eating disorders, drug abuse and binge drinking.
Alexander Danielides, a college senior at Duke University, recalls the the exciting and confusing times of freshman year. “I think definitely at the beginning, especially the first month of school it is crazy, every night you are going out.”
“It can be a highly susceptible time for kids going off to college because often times in high school there is a comfort level there, there they found their niche. That sense of belonging are wiped clean. This is the time for mental health issues and especially eating disorders with young woman,” says Dr. Farhan Matin, Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Lenox Hill Hospital.
There is no question, for problems such as eating disorders, alcoholism, and drug abuse, including the latest--prescription drug abuse--there is a genetic, biological component. Some kids, quite simply, are more susceptible than others. However, all kids are at risk, and one key is a good line of communication with the parents.
“In many cases there is nothing really anyone to do to fully prevent these things from happening, however having a good healthy relationship with the parents. That is something I can’t stress enough,” says Dr. Matin.
Still, though, peer pressure can be a powerful negative force among new, uncertain college freshmen. (Read more about Off to College)
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Marijuana Brain Study
Some might say that marijuana is not a dangerous drug overall.
But new research released today suggests that it can have a profound negative impact on the development of the adolescent brain, and maybe even predispose one to schizophrenia.
With the drinking age at 21, many teens turn to marijuana as a way to get high. And many would argue, that given the two evils, marijuana is a lesser one. That can be debated at length, but consider the new research which shows that adolescents who are heavy pot smokers have visual changes on their brain scans--showing diminished development in key areas, which are important for higher level thinking. (Read more about Marijuana Brain Study)
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Family History
How well do you know your family medical history?
We mean, really know –in the sense of knowing what each parent, brother, sister, grandparent, and great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, and cousin has or has had in terms of medical conditions. (Read more about Family History)
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KUDZU AND ALCOHOL ABUSE
If someone you know might be drinking more than you think they should, there’s some good news. New studies show connections between alcoholism and the kudzu vine, which may help combat alcohol abuse. Researchers have identified that the root of the kudzu vine has properties which can help suppress the cravings for alcohol.
Now, alcoholism doesn’t occur overnight. It’s often a gradual process from the first drink, to heavier drinking, to frank alcoholism. Not all young heavy drinkers go on to alcoholism, but it’s certainly a setup for the problem. (Read more about KUDZU AND ALCOHOL ABUSE)
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ALCOHOL ABUSE DRUG
Tonight, there is new hope for those suffering from alcohol addiction. An experimental once-a-month injectable drug is helping patients get their lives back on track.
19 million Americans suffer with alcohol addiction, not to mention the family members and friends who’s lives are affected as well. Now this new medicine has been shown to be highly effective at controlling the cravings. (Read more about ALCOHOL ABUSE DRUG)
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ALCOHOL AND STROKE RISK
Lately, alcohol has gained a lot of attention because of its benefits to the heart. It’s been shown to reduce cardiovascular risk when used in moderation. However, there’s a warning tonight that shows the opposite if used in excess.
Now, new research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine and led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston shows that heavy drinkers, meaning, those who consumer an average of three or more alcoholic drinks per day, are nearly 45 percent more likely to suffer a clot type stroke compared with nondrinkers. (Read more about ALCOHOL AND STROKE RISK)
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WINE BENEFITS
There have been plenty of studies done showing the health benefits of alcohol on the heart, and plenty of rumors that the health benefits of red wine are far greater than those of other alcohols.
Unfortunately for dipsomaniacs, the fact remains that there has not been any significant research to back claims made about the health benefits of red wine. (Read more about WINE BENEFITS)
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