WEEK OF : MONDAY November 09, 2009

Courtesy of:

Dr. GARRY BELL D.C.

(916-632-1665)

Mental Attitude:

Follow the money. I’m not sure if this is good news or bad. But it is what it is: The cost to treat mental health problems has risen faster than any other type of health care treatment. The costs soared from $36 billion in 2006 to $58 billion in 2006 while the number of people who sought care almost doubled, from 19 million to 36 million. This helps to explain the traffic problems on our freeways. The increases spanned all demographic groups. Archives of General Psychiatry August 2009

Health Alert :

I’m falling for you. Falling down (and I can’t get up) is a huge nightmare for most older folk. New research shows that taking higher doses of Vitamin D can reduce falls by almost 20%. Vitamin D helps in muscle strength which helps prevent unexpected falls. The Institute of Medicine has recommended only 400 IU per day for people 51 – 70 years old. However this new study suggests that this isn’t enough and in fact they say that they only saw the reduction in falls in those taking 700 – 1000 IU per day. Anything less showed no help in falling. Everyone sing: You are my sunshine, my only sunshine… British Medical Journal (BMJ) October 2, 2009

Diet :

What ain’t fruits and nuts is flakes. California has always been thought of as being a place where we eat a lot of fruits and vegetables (on our way to the beach). Well, another one bites the dust. The CDC recommends that Americans should eat 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables each day. Well, across the U.S.of A. we are averaging only 14% of adults and only 9.5% of children that eat that much. In all of the states, Washington D.C. ranked first with 20.1% and Mississippi was last with 8.8%. California was tied with Arizona at a lousy 31st with only 16.1% eating enough fruits and veggies. Maybe we are now mostly flakes? (See Mental Attitude above) C.D.C. Report September 29, 2009

Exercise :

It’s all in the head. We all want to exercise and know that we should, however, few of us actually do. Experts are now saying the reason we don’t exercise is that we lack the willpower to do it. It appears that we all have a limited amount of willpower to use each day and that we usually use it all up before we decide to exercise, thus, we don’t exercise. Some tips on getting the willpower to exercise: Schedule your exercise time, Workout with a buddy, Do it (exercise) first thing in the A.M. and Get in the mood to exercise by being in a good mood by listening to good music or by watching something funny on TV. Now drop and give me 20. Psychology and Health September 24, 2009

Wellness/Prevention :

Hair therapy. Hair stylists do far more than make you beautiful. They listen. Researchers are now saying that most elderly people build a strong relationship with their stylist and their stylist hears more about their health and relationship problems than their Doctor. So… the stylist should do a little more than just listen, they should offer resources to the client on how to get help for their problems. Some already do. Most don’t because they don’t know who or what to refer them to. The reason: the stylist doesn’t have a pamphlet or phone number to give out. The researchers suggest that the Medical community spend a few bucks on these resources and make them easy to obtain so more help can be accessed. (I can see it now: a rinse, a trim and some diabetes information please.) Journal of Applied Gerontology October 2009

Quote :

When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it happened or not. Mark Twain