Mental Attitude: Bullying May Affect the Brain. An analysis of the brain scans of nearly 700 teens found that those who had been victimized by bullies had reduced brain volume in two key regions of the brain associated with regulating motivation, attention, and emotional processing. Molecular Psychiatry, December 2018 Health Alert: Risk Factors for Early Childhood Obesity. Past studies have shown that kids who are overweight have an elevated risk for obesity in adulthood. In this study, researchers analyzed data concerning 502 three-year-old children and identified the following risk factors for obesity in early childhood: obesity in mother pre-pregnancy; high birth weight; formula feeding during the first year of life, high frequency of fast food consumption, and time watching TV or computer screens at age three. International Journal of Obesity, December 2018 Diet: Vitamin D and Asthma in Young Children… Data from two clinical trials suggests that for babies with deficient vitamin D levels, improving their vitamin D status (via supplementation in these studies) resulted in a reduced risk for asthma symptoms in early childhood. Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical, January 2019 Exercise: Try Dancing. Seniors who want to improve their fitness levels should consider dancing. In a small study involving thirty sedentary women over age 65, those who danced for an hour three times a week experienced similar improvements with respect to aerobic fitness, lower body muscle strength, and static balance as those who walked three hours a week. Experimental Gerontology, December 2018 Chiropractic: Long Work Hours Linked to Musculoskeletal Pain. Using data from the Fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey involving nearly 25,000 workers, researchers report that working over 40 hours a week is associated with up to a 40% increased risk for musculoskeletal pain in men and up to a 66% elevated risk for musculoskeletal pain in women. Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, December 2018 Wellness/Prevention: Preventing Chapped Lips. Chapped lips are more common during the winter months. To prevent dry chapped lips, the Mayo Clinic recommends the following: before going outside in cold weather, apply a lubricating lip cream or balm; avoid licking your lips; drink plenty of fluids; moisten the indoor air with a humidifier; avoid contact with irritants or allergens; and breathe through your nose instead of your mouth. Mayo Clinic, January 2019 Quote: “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” ~ Stephen Hawking

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