Mental Attitude: Siblings Can Ease Pain of Family Conflict. In this study, researchers interviewed children from 236
families and found that teens who had good relationships with their siblings experienced less distress when answering
questions about observed parental disagreements. Study co-author Dr. Meredith Martin writes, “We showed that having a
good relationship with a brother or sister reduced heightened vulnerability for youth exposed to conflicts between their
parents by decreasing their tendencies to experience distress in response to later disagreements between their parents.”
Child Development, June 2018
Health Alert: Heat Waves Raise Heart Attack Mortality Risk. A heat wave is a period of unusually hot weather
lasting several days in which temperatures exceed the historical average in the region. An analysis of data from 23
published studies indicates that heat waves may increase the risk of myocardial infarction-related death by up to 64%.
Environmental Pollution, October 2018
Diet: Eye Strain? Eat More Dark, Leafy Greens! Chinese researchers evaluated students from five universities and
found that participants with poor eyesight who consumed larger quantities of dark, leafy green vegetables in their diet had
a 40% reduced risk for eye strain. Examples of dark, leafy greens include spinach, broccoli, collard greens, kale, Swiss
chard, arugula, and bok choy. International Journal of Ophthalmology, June 2018
Exercise: Stronger Hips May Help Pitchers Stay on the Mound. In this study, researchers measured lower extremity
performance in 18 collegiate pitchers before and after a simulated game. While researchers observed no change in jump
squat performance following the 117-pitch session, the participants did experience a decline in their hip abduction and
adduction strength that may have affected their pitching velocity. The research team concludes, “Our findings suggest that
hip abduction and adduction strength are susceptible to fatigue owing to repetitive throwing motions and that hip
adduction strength, especially, is an important physical fitness factor for maintaining ball velocity during a game in
baseball pitchers.” Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation, June 2018
Chiropractic: Factors That Increase Risk for Degenerative Disk Disease. Disks degenerate when they become
dehydrated, lose height, and the vertebrae on either side develop bony growths called osteophytes, which can cause or
exacerbate lower back pain. In this study, researchers compared data concerning 160,911 degenerative disk disease
(DDD) patients and 315,225 healthy controls and identified the following risk factors for the condition: tobacco use,
hip/knee osteoarthritis, overweight/obesity, and diabetes. Clinical Spine Surgery, July 2018
Wellness/Prevention: A Third of Women May Not Get Enough Sleep! Do you get 7-9 hours of sleep each night?
Among a sample of 9,749 Canadian women, researchers found that 38% did not get sufficient sleep. Previous research has
noted an association between insufficient sleep and an increased risk for accidents, poor cognitive performance,
cardiovascular disease, depression, weight gain, diabetes, and early death. Canadian Journal of Public Health, April 2018
Quote: “The man who realizes his ignorance has taken the first step toward knowledge.” ~ Max Heindel

I found that Dr. Joe Megna is one of the best chiropractors I have found in the Napa region.