Thursday, April 2

HEALTH

Ease doctor visit stress for kids
MENTAL HEALTH

Ease doctor visit stress for kids

For children older than toddlers, anticipation is sometimes the worst. Most children experience some anxiety regarding doctors’ visits. For children older than toddlers, anticipation is sometimes the worst. However, Parents magazine reminds that once the ordeal is over, children move quickly onto the next thing. A few of Parents’ recommended tips for minimizing stress include: - Prepare. Read books about visiting a doctor. A few are “The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor,” “Say ‘Ahhh!‘: Dora Goes to the Doctor” and “What to Expect When You Go to the Doctor.” Role play with a toy doctor kit; “listen” to heartbeat and “take” blood pressure. Use a scale to show how weight is measured. - Stay calm and relaxed. If a child sees a parent or guardian comfortably talking about the doctor visit, an...
Pool safety tips for the summer
SELF-CARE

Pool safety tips for the summer

Tip of the week: Backyard pool Safety tips for the summer According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are several ways to stay safe around backyard pools this summer: 1. Never leave a child unattended in or near water. 2. Teach children how to swim. 3. Teach children to stay away from drains. 4. Ensure all pools and spas — both in your backyard and any public pool you may visit — have compliant drain covers. 5. Install proper barriers, covers and alarms on and around your pool and spa. 6. Know how to perform CPR on children and adults. Veggie gardening What grows best in June Urban Farmer recommends beans, corn, cucumbers and summer squash for a June planting in USDA zones 3-8, which cover most of the continental U.S. Beans can be planted directly in the ground ...
SELF-CARE

Here’s What Fat Acceptance Is—and Isn’t

Sizeism is everywhere in our culture, from the workplace to the playground. It’s time to change that. Fat-shaming is stitched into the fabric of American culture. In fact, it’s so embedded in our everyday lives that we don’t often recognize when we’re perpetuating fat-phobia, or the act of discriminating against someone because of the size of their body. For instance, Michigan is the only state that has passed a law that forbids employers from penalizing fat people in the workplace, which means that in 49 states people of size can be fired, denied promotions, and paid less than their straight-size counterparts. While children are often taught to use the Golden Rule to guide their interactions with all people, especially those who are different from they, unfortunately, tre...
MENTAL HEALTH

Psychiatrist Claims Demonic Possession a Real Problem

After 25 years of experience in private practice and as a professor at New York Medical College and Columbia University, and evaluating hundreds of possession cases, Dr. Richard Gallagher believes possession is real. He is also the author of Demonic Foes, A Psychiatrist Investigates Demonic Possession in the Modern United States. Atheists laugh at the suggestion of demons being real (see the comments under the above linked article). Others think evidence of demons is nonexistent and the movie The Exorcist is merely entertainment. The overall lack of awareness of this phenomenon might be in part because many who have done enough research to understand the concept aren't willing to go public with it out of a fear of ridicule. It's not surprising to us; a mention of our Spiritual Detox w...
NUTRITION

The Surprising Links Between Family Dinner and Good Health

Adults who prepare quality meals for children are offering something more important than a nutrition lesson. When the 10 Garcia-Prats boys got together every night for dinner, they shared more than food around the table. They talked about the successes and frustrations of their days. The older boys helped the younger ones cut their meat. They compared their picks for the World Cup, a conversation that turned into an impromptu geography lesson. Their mother, Cathy, author of Good Families Don’t Just Happen: What We Learned from Raising Our Ten Sons and How It Can Work for You, strove to make the dinner table warm and welcoming, a place where her boys would want to linger. “Our philosophy is that dinnertime is not just a time to feed your body; it’s a time to feed your mind and ...
Type 2 Diabetes – A Diagnosis of Diabetes Can Have A Positive Effect on Your Life
SELF-CARE

Type 2 Diabetes – A Diagnosis of Diabetes Can Have A Positive Effect on Your Life

Even the worst situations may not be as tragic as they initially seem. When the harsh facts are presented, it is easy to narrow your focus on what is most alarming. In the process, you may not consider the positive aspects of a situation, even if they are minimal. When the odds seem stacked against you and your circumstances bleak, it pays to hold onto hope. One frightening situation for many adults is when they are given a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. At first, the condition may seem bewildering and foreign, but as you will learn, even small changes in your lifestyle can help you to manage the effects. At some point, the disease has got to be stopped in its tracks. If you care about your well-being and ability to live a long, productive life, you will put into motion a plan that helps ...
Type 2 Diabetes and Weight Loss – What Are Your Chances of Success?
SELF-CARE

Type 2 Diabetes and Weight Loss – What Are Your Chances of Success?

First things first: this is not meant to be a wake-up call. And naturally, being told your chances of succeeding are not as high as your chances of failing, may feel demoralizing. Your chances of succeeding at any endeavor - whether it is in regards to health, career, or a relationship - always carry with them a risk of failure. And more often than not, your chances of anything other than success (not necessarily implying failure), are going to be higher. Why? On a long enough timeline, there is just too much of the unexpected to account for. There is too much outside of your control that could go wrong. And even if all of these factors line up correctly, what is to suggest your efforts would be flawless? It is just irrational to expect to avoid mistakes all the time. You are not perfect,...
The Battle For Minimum Weight – Blacks and the Obesity Epidemic
NUTRITION

The Battle For Minimum Weight – Blacks and the Obesity Epidemic

Caught up in the frenetic grind of her fashion industry job, Allison Ferrell, 41, paid little attention to her increasing waistline. As Manager of Product Operation and Logistics for Abaete, a New York-based luxury apparel line, lunch was a luxury she couldn't afford. She said she was crazed and I couldn't spare the time so If I didn't eat by 1:00 p.m. that was it for the rest of the day. After a 2005 surgery left her stomach upset, she routinely avoided a litany of foods and routinely skipped meals. Her erratic eating habits kicked her body into pre-starvation mode. Believing it was starving, her body stopped burning calories and began to store food reserves causing an increase in body fat. I'd had a good run, but my negative habits were catching up with me and now it was time to take ca...
NUTRITION

Patti LaBelle’s Sweet Potato Pie Pandemonium – NBC News

At 71 years of age, R&B super diva Patti LaBelle has experienced just about everything fame and good fortune could bore. But nothing could've prepared the 'Lady Marmalade' crooner for the avalanche of adulation she would receive from her latest endeavor; a line of boxed sweet potato pies exclusively sold at Wal-Mart stores since September. Thanks to a viral video, which surfaced on Facebook on November 12 -- where a bedazzled baseball hat clad James Wright Chanel simulated transforming into LaBelle and started belting out some of her signature songs in between bites of the pie-- a national frenzy has ensued. Two days later, legitimate news outlets were reporting that the pies were sold out. Humorous memes, GIFs and similar "Patti Pie" testimonies flooded social media timelines throu...