Weekly Health Update For The Week Of Monday, September 17th, 2012

Mental Attitude: Positive Emotion.
Older adults display more positive emotions and are quicker to regulate out of negative emotional states than younger adults. Older adults may be better at regulating emotion because they tend to direct their eyes away from negative material or toward positive material.
Current Directions in Psychological Science, August 2012

Health Alert: Alzheimer's Research.
The global market for Alzheimer's disease therapeutics could soar to $8 billion once therapies are approved that actually change the course of the disease. The current therapeutic market is valued at $3-4 billion and is shared among drugs that temporarily delay disease progression or address the symptoms but do not alter the underlying disease. Despite all the research on amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, there is still a debate on whether these biological phenomena are causative or symptomatic of Alzheimer's. Once scientists can clearly and unequivocally define key factors related to the actual biology of the disease itself, therapeutic advances could take place much more quickly.
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, August 2012

Diet: Summer Time Blues!
Barbequed hot dogs and sausages are common summer time treats, but are they the right choice for your diet? It's not just the high levels of fat or calories that are cause for concern, most hot dogs, bratwurst, and other sausages are also very high in sodium. The average hot dog contains 280 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 1,250 mg of sodium.
American Heart Association

Exercise: Micronutrients and Physical Fitness
Adolescents' blood levels of micronutrients are correlated with how well they perform in physical fitness tests. For cardio-respiratory fitness, concentrations of hemoglobin, retinol, and vitamin C in males and beta-carotene and vitamin D in females was positively associated with VO2 max (peak oxygen uptake).
Journal of Applied Physiology, Aug 2012

Chiropractic: Lack of Motion.
Back in 1933, a study showed lack of proper joint motion can cause Degenerative Joint Disease (osteoarthritis). An immobilized joint will develop cartilage changes similar to those of osteoarthritis.
Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics, 1933

Wellness/Prevention: Nutrition and IQ.
Children fed healthy diets at a young age may have a higher IQ when tested at eight years old. A study looked at the link between the eating habits of children at six months, 15 months and two years, and their IQ at eight years of age. Children breastfed at six months and who had a healthy diet regularly including foods such as legumes, cheese, fruit and vegetables at 15 and 24 months, had an IQ up to two points higher by age eight. Those children who had a diet regularly involving biscuits, chocolate, sweets, soft drinks and chips in the first two years of life had IQs up to two points lower by age eight.
University of Adelaide, Aug 2012