Lung Cancer in Non-Smokers

The death of actress Dana Reeve in 2006 gained a great deal of attention, not just because she was the widow of Christopher Reeve, who played Superman and was paralyzed from a horse-back riding injury, but because Dana Reeve died of lung cancer and she was not a smoker. This is a very important point because this is a study which really has looked at smoking and non-smoking and found that yes, certain people can develop lung cancer, even if they don’t smoke. Now, I want to stress a point. Far and away, cigarette smoking is the greatest risk for lung cancer. That being said, there are people who have a gene which increases their risk of lung cancer, even if they don’t smoke. The bottom line is, you want to get tested if necessary, if you have the gene in your family. But, don’t smoke anyway because that would still increase the risk above the regular average.

Fighting Parents and Children's Behavioral Problems

There is a new study in the latest issue of the journal Child Development and it’s raising questions. Let’s start with the study. According to researchers from the University of Virginia, parents fighting likely doesn’t cause children’s behavioral problems such as skipping school, lying, shoplifting or bullying. The study was well done. It looked at over 1,000 identical and fraternal twins and more than 2,000 of their children. What the study found is, parents who argued passed on genes that influence whether or not the children will argue and get into disruptive relationships. The report goes against other studies. They have suggested that parents who are in argumentative relationships may be better suited to separate. The study supports the concept that couples should try and work out issues. They need to do it with guidance and with counseling. It’s all very important. For more information, click onto http://www.mymedicalreports.com/.

Research on Toddlers and Learning

There is new research from Vanderbilt University that provides some excellent insights into ways toddlers learn. The research follows up on studies using MRI to evaluate areas of the brain that are affected. In this particular study, two-year-olds were tested to look at differences in learning from video and face-to-face interaction. Some of the children watched the video of a woman telling them where to find a stuffed animal hidden in another room. Other children received the same information from the same woman in person. Children who watched the video rarely found the toy animal. Those who were told in position did, and here’s where gets interesting. Researchers followed this with an interactive video. A closed-circuit video system enables the woman on the screen to respond to the children through conversation and games. After five minutes, those children did respond. For more information, click onto www.MyMedicalReports.com.

Dietary Sources of Vitamins are Best

Many people turn to vitamins to help them in various situations. There’s nothing wrong with that, however you have to realize that the best vitamins, they occur naturally. They occur naturally through diet, through exercise, through eating proper foods. Fruits and vegetables are chalked full of vitamins and vitamins can be gained by that source. What I think you need to realize is when you’re turning to vitamins, and you’re trying to figure out the best ones for you, you have to realize that you make sure you get natural vitamins, and if you’re going to buy something, check into them. For more information, click onto www.MyMedicalReports.com.

Excess Weight Around the Waist May Be a Major Health Risk

Where you carry your weight could be as important, if not more important, that how much you weigh. That's what British researchers say. They point to a study released about thick waists which shows that a thick waist almost doubles the risk of a premature death. This is not the first study to come to such a solution. The other key point is researchers found excess fat stored around the middle of the body was a major health risk, even when people are not considered obese or even overweight by statistical BMI standards. As I mentioned, this is not the first study to make this implication and I think it brings up a very interesting point. Physicians might consider routinely measuring patients' waists as well as their BMI on a routine office visit. If you carry too much weight in the waist, diet and exercise are equally effective as they are for people who carry excess weight somewhere else. For more information, click onto www.MyMedicalReports.com.

Flavored Medications and Child Safety

The medical term is compliance; getting patients to take prescribed medications and to take them consistently. It's one of those battles that's very tough to fight at times. The best way to do it is to explain carefully why the drugs need to be taken and to get all parties to buy in and believe in the importance. There are always other attempts to achieve this goal. One of the latest is to flavor medications. In fact, there are companies set up to do this to allow common medications to taste better. Now, it sounds good on the surface, but there's a problem. If medications taste good, they could be a temptation to kids. Then you have an issue of a child taking pills that could be extremely dangerous because of the taste. If you choose to go with flavored medications, please keep them away and make sure they have safety bottles. That's a very important issue. Make sure you use common sense and you don't put children at risk. For more information, click onto www.MyMedicalReports.com

Worrying and Health

Let's face it. Most of us spend far too much of our time worrying. We worry about our families, our money, our futures. We even worry about how much we worry. Numerous studies have shown too much worry is not good for us. The stress of worry can increase our blood pressure, the risk of heart disease, even cancer. But a recent study from the Trust for America's Health says we could be hurting our health by worrying about our health. According to the research 37% of people worried about cancer as their top health concern, 14% heart disease, 13% obesity, 11% chemical terrorism. Certainly worry is appropriate in doses, and it could be good for us in some respect. It can help prevent problems and anticipate problems down the line, but let's face it, you don't want to overdo it. For more information, click onto www.MyMedicalReports.com.