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We’re all smiling that the warmer months are back (although with our weird weather this year, who knows?) so it’s a good issue to feature dental health! We’ve spoken a lot in our pages about how easily we can take our health for granted, and our dental health is not excluded.
I’ve been practicing dentistry for 17 years and there is one phrase I have heard more than I would like to admit to: “No offense Doc, but I HATE going to the dentist.” I emphasize the word HATE because these patients place a lot of passion on this word. This is a real fear these people are experiencing, from crying in the chair even before they open their mouth to cold sweats, blood pressure rising, increased breathing to the point of nearly passing out. I even had one teenager run out of the dental office and his mother had to chase him down to bring him back in.
Aren’t eating disorders illnesses that affect only girls and actresses?
When you picture someone with an eating disorder what image pops into your mind? If you are like most people, you will instantly picture an emaciated girl or a gaunt young female actress being photographed on the red carpet.
When I was a little girl I always could talk to the animals and they talked back to me. I thought that everyone could do that. To this day I remember as a young girl playing with dolls and cooking dinner for them, the boys played with their cars and trucks. It was called pretending. The word pretending has changed and today is now called imagination.
For everything they do for us, our furry family members also deserve the benefits from an increased personal awareness. Remember that life for most of our pets is a chain of “what can I do for you?”
Regardless of sexual orientation or preference, we each have a strong picture, created by the mind’s eye, of the perfect body. We’re aroused by such things as curves, hardness, body hair, and skin tone and when we stand unclothed in front of the mirror each day, we make judgments about how we look based upon our own self-created ideals. Others judge us quickly based upon their ideals.
When we think about engaging in positive behavior change, we often think big. Exercising, eating right, quitting smoking, speaking up more often - these are all behaviors that we can choose to change. And behavior science has provided us with some great assessment tools and strategies for changing these big, obvious habits. It is certainly commendable to be hitting the gym and building your physical fitness! But, have you ever thought that maybe your brain needs a workout as well?
We’ve all heard of MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, hugely resistant strains of bacteria that can be very serious and even deadly if they enter the body through a wound or cut. This contagious bacteria can not only infect the skin but other parts of the body as well and is resistant to normal antibiotic treatment.
An international collaboration has allowed the identification of three new lupus genes, a discovery that was published in the April 6, 2012 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Researchers at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, in partnership with research facilities and universities around the world gathered more than 17,000 samples for genetic testing. The study began in 2009 and took a year for the samples to be gathered and another year to analyze the findings.
It’s spring and although this winter was more mild than many we can remember, this is truly the time of year when many are inspired to get outside and move more. For some harried business types, fitness can devolve into simply trying to increase the number of steps walked each day. For fitness enthusiasts, fitness comes in the form of alternating workouts to maximize performance, improve strength, or achieving fitness goals.
