Scientists at St. Louis University said many older people have a built-in immunity to the H1N1 virus because a similar virus circulated some 70 years ago. The proof is in the numbers.

More youth and people in their 30s and 40s are getting sick with the swine flu than older adults. To solidify that claim, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that middle-aged people are being hospitalized at a higher rate for swine flu than regular flu. This means elderly people are being hospitalized at a lesser rate for swine flu, but still have normal hospitalization rates for the regular influenza virus.

Most parents are pretty good about using sunscreen on their kids, both because they want to avoid the future damage the sun can do and because they don’t want their kids to suffer with sunburn. The good news is that adult sunscreen is usually just as effective as kids’ brands and less costly.
The following are a few guidelines to follow in choosing the right content in the sunscreen for your children:
An SPF of 15-30 or higher
Broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection
Water resistant
Hypoallergenic, fragrance-free and PABA-free

A recent study suggests eating a handful or two of nuts a week could cut back on the risk of blindness in elderly by about 35 percent. Researchers at the University of Sydney said foods that have a lot of omega-3 fatty acids can greatly reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration, a common eye condition in the elderly that leads to blindness.

Like nuts, fish also carried a decreased risk of contracting ARMD. A weekly serving of fish cut back on the risk by 31 percent. Researchers believe the fatty acids build up a protective layer that defended against plaque build-up.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association says if men have just the right amount of estrogen, their heart health can improve. Too little or too much estrogen, though, can prove to be damaging. For the study, researchers looked at men who had heart failure and analyzed their vital signs.

Men who had the smallest amount of estrogen in their systems were almost four times as likely to die of heart failure than men who had average levels of estrogen. The men who had the highest levels of estrogen had about twice the risk of dying than men with an average amount of estrogen. Men who had the average level had no increased risk of dying from heart failure. For the study, researchers studied more than 500 men in Poland. The participants averaged about 58 years in age and all had pre-existing heart problems.
In the year following the study, about 170 of the men died.

Researchers separated those who died into three different groups based on low, high and normal estrogen levels. The middle group had an 82 percent survival rate. The group with the lowest estrogen scores only had a 44 percent survival rate, while the group with the highest estrogen levels had a
63 percent survival rate.

A new study from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center says a new experimental drug can help men who suffer from prostate cancer. The study, which was published in the journal Science Express, says the drug does so by lowering PSA levels, which usually signify growth of a tumor. For this study, researchers examined 30 men and exposed them to certain compounds they hoped would affect PSA levels. They found the compounds in the drug dropped PSA levels in 22 out of the 30 men.

A groundbreaking study published in the British Journal of Psychology found a link between high levels of testosterone in the womb of pregnant women and autistic traits in their children.

The study was prompted by statistics that autism is four times more common in boys than in girls. It is also linked with other traits found more often in boys, such as left-handedness.
The study observed and tested 235 children whose mothers had an amniocentesis during pregnancy over eight years.

Researchers plan to continue studying the children they have been following and will now look for a link between high levels of testosterone in the womb and children who have been diagnosed with autism by studying banks of amniotic fluid that have been collected since 1990 in Denmark.

A study by Kaiser Permanente has found that one in three women will suffer from complications of a weak pelvic floor during her lifetime. Women can develop a weak pelvic floor despite their activity level, hormonal health and even if she has never given birth.
Factors such as obesity, smoking, high caffeine intake, chronic constipation or even sitting at desk all day can contribute to a weakened pelvic floor. Women with pelvic problems may also have hip and lower back problems which can aggravate the issue.
Women can fix the problem by undergoing surgery, which has its own complications, or by being fitted for a pessary, which is a conical-, ring- or square-shaped device that helps support the pelvic organs and reduce the stress of incontinence.
The pelvic muscles can be strengthened through kegel exercises to prevent or delay the potential for these problems if done regularly. Tai chi, yoga and Pilates can also help strengthen the body’s core and pelvic floor.

By Antoinette Grajeda
One of the best parts of summer is the warm temperature, but too much heat can lead to heat-related illnesses. These conditions occur when the body’s temperature control system is overloaded. The body normally cools itself by sweating, but sometimes that isn’t enough. In these instances, body temperature rises rapidly and can damage the brain or other vital organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Several factors affect the body’s ability to cool itself including high humidity, age, obesity, fever, dehydration, prescription drug and alcohol use, heart disease, mental illness, poor circulation and sunburn. Those with the greatest risk for heat-related illness include people who are overweight, ill, children up to 4 years old and adults 65 years of age and older, according to the CDC. The risk may increase among those using psychotropics, Parkinson’s disease medications, tranquilizers and diuretics.

Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness and occurs when the body’s temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails and the body is unable to cool down. Within 10 to 15 minutes, the body’s temperature may rise to 106 degrees or higher. Heat stroke can cause permanent disability or death if emergency treatment is not provided, according to the CDC.

Warning signs of heat stroke vary, but include a body temperature of about 103 degrees; red, hot and dry skin; a rapid, strong pulse; throbbing headache; dizziness; nausea; confusion; and unconsciousness.

If someone should experience a heat stroke, in addition to calling for immediate medical assistance, you should cool the affected person rapidly by moving them to a shady area or immersing them in a tub of cool water. If the humidity is low, wrap them in a cool, wet sheet and fan them vigorously. Monitor their body temperature until it drops to 101-102 degrees and if emergency medical personnel are delayed, call the hospital emergency room for further instructions.

Prevention
The key to avoiding heat stroke is prevention, and sitting in an air-conditioned location is a good start. Electric fans may also provide comfort, but in extreme temperatures, they won’t prevent heat-related illness, according to the CDC. Other prevention techniques include drinking plenty of fluids, replacing salts and minerals, and wearing appropriate clothing and sunscreen.

To help keep athletes safe during the hot summer months, Gatorade has teamed up with the National Football League to educate parents and coaches about heat-related illness and the importance of hydration. As part of the 4th annual “Beat the Heat” program, NFL players, coaches and their wives will lead hydration awareness efforts, while raising money for the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation. For every unique download of the Gatorade Heat Safety kit on www.nfl.com/trainingcamp, Gatorade will donate $1 (up to $25,000) to “Beat the Heat” charities.

The Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation was created in memory of its namesake who died from complications of heat stroke in 1995. The organization is located in Rogers and raises awareness about hydration and heat illness prevention locally as well as nationally by hosting an informative Web site, an annual 5K Run, and through the distribution of information, pamphlets and squeeze bottles to coaches and physical education teachers.
Last year, the House approved a resolution to designate August as National Heat Stroke Awareness month. The foundation’s executive director Rhonda Fincher said August is the perfect time to raise awareness because it’s typically a hot month and that’s when local schools begin football practice. However, she added that caution should be taken more often than one month out of the year.

“People need to be aware of it year-round because it can happen any time, any where, depending on the conditions, but especially in the heat of the summer,” she said.
While there are lots of tips for preventing and treating heat stroke, Fincher said the simplest one to remember is “pre-hydrate, hydrate and re-hydrate” and it applies to everyone, not just athletes. Information from the Gatorade Sports Science Institute supports Fincher’s insistence of the importance of hydration. The organization’s research showed that as many as 70 percent of high school football players could show up for practice poorly hydrated. The research also indicated that the recommendation of drinking fluids prior to working out increased the number of players appearing to be adequately hydrated upon their arrival to practice.

For more information, visit www.kendrickfincher.org, www.nfl.com or www.gatorade.com

The ongoing team effort between Gatorade and the NFL is built on communicating heat-illness prevention and treatment techniques, including the “4 Downs” of heat safety to athletes and parents and coaches of athletes who are playing or practicing in hot weather.

The “4 Downs” are:

• 1st Down: Prevent — Know how to avoid heat illness, identify the warning signs and treat the symptoms
• 2nd Down: Prepare — Acclimate to the heat and hydrate BEFORE you get to practice
• 3rd Down: Proper Hydration — Choose sports drinks like Gatorade to replace electrolytes, especially sodium lost in sweat
• 4th Down: Plan — Have an emergency plan and keep a cool pool nearby to immerse players suffering from heat stroke

Source: Beat The Heat Campaign, www.nfl.com

Heat Illness Prevention
What Puts Youth Athletes At Risk?
Heat-related illnesses are some of the most common problems for youth athletes playing in the heat. These conditions can be dangerous, or even fatal in some cases. Heat-induced illness is one of the most preventable sports injuries. Parents, young athletes and coaches need to understand the physiological factors that increase the risk for heat-related illness and take steps to prevent it.

Why kids are at risk:

• Children absorb more heat from a hot environment because they have a greater surface-area-to-body-mass ratio than adults. The smaller the child the faster he heats up.
• Children and adolescents may have a reduced ability to dissipate heat through sweating.
• Children and adolescents frequently do not have the physiological drive to drink enough fluids to replenish sweat losses during prolonged exercise.
• Youth athletes may be more easily distracted when occasions allow for them to rest and rehydrate.

Signs Of Dehydration And Heat Illness
If dehydration progresses unchecked, the risk of heat illness increases. Heat illness is best understood in three separate degrees of severity: heat cramps, heat exhaustion and the most serious and deadly form, heat stroke. The symptoms outlined above do not necessarily occur in progression, so young athletes could experience heat stroke in absence of other indicators.
Source: Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation, www.kendrickfincher.org

By Antoinette Grajeda

Children are taught reading, writing and arithmetic and a variety of other subjects in school. PE4life is making sure students also learn the value of being active and healthy. PE4life is a national nonprofit advocacy organization created in 2000 with the mission “to develop a country of active, healthy children and youth by increasing access to quality physical education solutions,” according to the group’s Web site.

Northwest Arkansas is now home to PE4life’s first regional office, which is funded through grants as well as corporate and private donations and located inside the Rogers Athletic Center. The organization’s programs are already being implemented at schools in Springdale, Bentonville and Rogers. The schools will serve as models so these programs can be replicated throughout Northwest Arkansas and the state, community outreach manager Sherry Lloyd said. Lloyd became involved in the local academy because she thought it was “a great way to influence children.”
PE4life’s approach to physical education is it “be offered to every child everyday, be available to all students, not just the athletically inclined, provide a wide variety of sports and fitness activities to promote an active and healthy lifestyle, assess students on their personal progress toward fitness and physical activity goals, incorporate technology on a regular basis, and extend beyond the walls of the gymnasium,” according to the organization’s Web site.

One of the programs the organization offers is exergaming, or the use of technology for fitness. Another option is outdoor adventure where children learn about camping, bicycling, fishing and kayaking. Students are also taught practical applications along the way. For example, when learning about bicycling, children may also learn how to change a bike’s tire or replace a chain. Outdoor activities also create another activity students can do with their families, Lloyd added.

One of the cirriculums PE4life endorses for its elementary physical education is Action Based Learning, a program that focuses on how to incorporate being active into academics.
“I work with teachers, telling them about how the brain works and grows and remembers and develops, and then the strategies that they can use in the classroom to get movement into their teaching — teaching academic concepts kinesthetically,” ABL co-founder Jean Blaydes Madigan said.

Madigan has 30 years of experience as a physical education teacher, but is now a consultant. When she first heard about PE4life, she was excited about the opportunity to work with an organization who had goals similar to her own.
“I considered them like the knight in shining armor riding in on the white horse and they’re going to save my profession because it was a group of business people who were actually saying they were going to give money towards the effort and then also to lobby in Washington on Capitol Hill for daily physical education, which has always been my dream because of the importance of physical education,” she said.

While discussing the importance of being healthy, Madigan cited a study released in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this year, which discovered that one out of five 4-year-olds is obese. When researchers tested the children’s IQs, they also found that their scores were 10 to 20 points lower than their peers.
“What that means is the brain is not getting the fuel that it needs because the high fat, high sugar diet impedes the ability of the brain to get its fuel, which is glucose and oxygen,” Madigan said.

When it comes to improving children’s health, Madigan said it’s important to remember “the good N.E.W.S.” — nutrition, exercise, water and sleep.
“If we can get the parents to do that and work together as a community to help our kids, that’s what it’s all about,” she said.

Schools teaching the PE4life program often track data and so far, their statistics have shown an improvement in students’ fitness scores and decreased disciplinary incidents. There has also been improvements in students’ academics. For example, at Naperville Central High School in Illinois, a new Learning Readiness PE class was implemented for the 2005-06 school year. This program found a link between physical education and improved math and literacy scores when physical activity was offered before reading and math classes. Students who enrolled in a PE class immediately before their math class increased their algebra readiness by an average of 20 percent, according to the organization’s Web site.

Naperville, Ill., was the location of PE4life’s first academy and some argued the program was successful because the school had the proper funding. To test that theory, the organization started an academy in a poorer school district in Grundy Center, Iowa.
“What we wanted people to see is this is not a cookie cutter program,” Lloyd said.
The program was a success there as well and now PE4life has six academies across the United States. Interested teachers, coaches and community leaders can attend these academies to learn more about the program and take the lessons home to their communities.

In June of this year, Bentonville hosted a summit, which attracted more than 200 participants from California, New York, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri and Oklahoma.

After attending a conference, some people become discouraged when they return home because they “hit a brick wall when they get back because of funding,” Lloyd said. The community outreach manager is adamant that participants should not be disheartened.
“If you have to do it on a shoe string budget, it can be done,” she said.

One of the ways Lloyd’s office can help is by assisting interested parties in their search for funding and by offering a grant writing class. The local office also offers public speaking and in the fall, the academy will host training sessions.
Information: 479-621-8878 or www.pe4life.org.

By Antoinette Grajeda
There are several options for treating the varying ailments of the human body and one of those is complementary and alternative medicine. Sometimes referred to as CAM, this term refers to medical products and practices that are not part of standard care, meaning what medical doctors and allied health professionals practice, according to the National Library of Medicine.
These practices may not be considered mainstream, but in recent years, more patients have been adopting these methods. About 38 percent of adults and 12 percent of children use some form of CAM, according to a nationwide government survey released in December 2008. Examples of CAM therapies include biofeedback, chelation therapy, deep breathing and hypnosis. Some of the more well-known therapies include acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal medicines.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is among the oldest healing practices in the world and “aims to restore and maintain health through the stimulation of specific points of the body,” according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
The term acupuncture describes a group of procedures involving the stimulation of points on the body using a variety of techniques. The technique that’s been most studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or electrical stimulation.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the body is seen as a balance of two opposing and inseparable forces, yin and yang, and disease is caused by an imbalance of the two. This disparity leads to the blockage in the flow of qi (vital energy) along pathways called meridians. Using acupuncture allows the qi to become unblocked.
According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, an estimated 3.1 million adults and 150,000 children in the United States used acupuncture during the previous year. Between the 2002 and 2007 survey, acupuncture use among adults increased by approximately 1 million people. Although that number is increasing, licensed acupuncturist Pamela Bayers of Health & Harmony Oriental Medical Clinic in Fayetteville, said fear prevents some people from trying acupuncture.
“A lot of people are afraid of needles,” she said. “A lot of people are afraid and a lot of people think ‘well, if it was really that good, why wouldn’t our insurance company cover it?’”

Some insurance companies do cover this form of treatment and if enacted, The Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act would make acupuncture a benefit covered under both Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits program.
Acupuncture can be used to treat a variety of conditions like arthritis, back and neck pain, fibromyalgia, shoulder pain, gastrointestinal problems, infections, insomnia, anxiety, depression, skin problems, heart problems and chronic fatigue, Bayers said. This treatment can also help improve someone’s mental outlook.

“A lot of times people feel better and they get along with people better because their qi is more in harmony, their body’s more in harmony, so things work better,” she said. “So a lot of times people will walk out feeling less irritable; a lot of times they’re happier.”
Few complications from acupuncture have been reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but complications have resulted from inadequate sterilization of needles and improper delivery of treatments. When not implemented correctly, acupuncture can lead to infections and punctured organs.
Chiropractic

Chiropractic focuses on the relationship between the body’s structure (mainly the spine) and its functioning. U.S. practitioners are required to earn a doctor of chiropractic degree from properly accredited colleges. Several patients have chronic, pain-related health conditions and seek care primarily for back pain, neck pain and headache, according to the NCCAM.

Some procedures can be traced back to ancient times, but the modern version of the profession was founded in Davenport, Iowa, by Daniel David Palmer in 1895. Palmer was a self-taught healer who believed the body has a natural healing ability. He theorized that misalignments of the spine can interfere with the flow of energy needed to support health, so the key to health is to normalize the function of the nervous system, according to the NCCAM.

Like acupuncture, chiropractic is one of the more widely used CAM treatments in the U.S. According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, more than 18 million adults and 2 million children received chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation during the previous year.
Side effects and risks depend on the type of treatment used. For example, consequences from chiropractic adjustments can include temporary headaches, tiredness or discomfort in the adjusted areas. The likelihood of serious complications, such as stroke, is low and related to the type of adjustment performed as well as the part of the body treated, according to the NCCAM.

If dietary supplements are part of a chiropractic treatment, they can interact with other medications so it’s important for patients to inform their chiropractor of any medicines and supplements they’re taking.