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Antibacterial Personal Care Products Are Linked to Allergies in Children
June 20th, 2012
From Science Daily (June 19, 2012) This study gives us yet another reason to use more natural products! Cathie— Exposure to common antibacterial chemicals and preservatives found in soap, toothpaste, mouthwash and other personal-care products may make children more prone to a wide range of food and environmental allergies, according to new research from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. Results of the NIH-funded study are published online ahead of print June 18 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Using existing data from a national health survey of 860 children ages 6 to 18, Johns Hopkins researchers examined the relationship between a child’s urinary levels of antibacterials and preservatives found in many personal-hygiene products and the presence of IgE antibodies in the child’s blood. IgE antibodies are immune chemicals that rise in response to an allergen and are markedly elevated in people with allergies.
“We saw a link between level of exposure, measured by the amount of antimicrobial agents in the urine, and allergy risk, indicated by circulating antibodies to specific allergens,” said lead investigator Jessica Savage, M.D., M.H.S., an allergy and immunology fellow at Hopkins. Continue reading »
Facial Yoga: Minimize Forehead Wrinkles
February 23rd, 2012
What to do about forehead wrinkles? Beyond bangs and botox…try facial yoga! Watch this video; these exercises are surprisingly easy to do.
Filed under Fitness | Comments Off on Facial Yoga: Minimize Forehead WrinklesNever Go To Bed Angry
February 4th, 2012
By Anahad O’Connor, the New York Times: Most people have heard the old saw about going to bed upset: Never do it, the saying goes, or the hard feelings will fester and resentment will build.
Some say it goes back to the Bible, in Ephesians 4:26. “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Regardless of its origins, the adage has been scarcely researched. But in a recent study in The Journal of Neuroscience, scientists found there might be a nugget of truth to it: Going to sleep after experiencing negative emotions appears to reinforce or “preserve” them.
Filed under Science | Comments Off on Never Go To Bed AngryLittle Things That Make a Big Difference: Balance Exercise
January 13th, 2012
By Cathie Dunal, MD, MPH: One of my patients, a lovely lady of about 60–let’s call her Sandra–had a bad fall a few years ago. It was an icy February, and the sudden collision with a sidewalk took a toll on her back and neck. She went to physical therapy for several months.
This past spring, when Sandra came in for her annual visit, she had a big smile. “I didn’t fall once during the winter,” she beamed, “and I think I know why.” I took the bait: “Why?”
“Because I did the balance exercise you taught me all through the winter. I’m sure that’s why I didn’t fall. I had a few close calls.” She said that she told her friends about the balance training I’d prescribed, and they were doing the exercise too.
Balance exercise? It’s actually incredibly simple to do a tiny bit each day to maintain and improve your balance, and I’d like to share it with you, too:
Stand on one foot. This can be done at any time; I prefer to do it when I’m brushing my teeth–if you brush your teeth for two full minutes, as the dentist recommends, that’s a minute balancing on each foot. Twice a day. Or while waiting for a pot to boil, a download to finish…during commercials.
It’s that simple. Continue reading »
Filed under Fitness | Comments Off on Little Things That Make a Big Difference: Balance ExerciseFace Yoga: Chin & Neck Tightening
November 27th, 2011
Here’s another set of facial yoga exercises from instructor Annelise Hagen to help tighten your chin and neck.
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