LONELINESS IS AN EPIDEMIC In a study conducted by a social science researcher at the University of Michigan concluded that one in three adults feel they lack companionship. Dr. Solway conducted a poll of 2,000 adults ages fifty to eighty also found that one in four feels isolated. Feeling lonely is a widespread occurrence, and it has lasting effects on our aging population’s health. Twenty-six percent of adults who said they felt a lack of companionship said they were in fair to poor health. Only thirteen percent of people who rarely lacked companionship rated their health that way. Its toll on mental health was also heavy, though no surprise there. Reach out if you have a lonely person in your life.
ACCUTANE AND DEPRESSION In this digital age, parents can Google anything that they are considering to administer to their children, and a lot of misinformation can be found. Doctors have for years debated about the rumor that Accutane, the acne drug that helps to clear up severe acne is linked to depression in teens. A new study recently conducted debunks this myth. It concluded that having moderate to severe acne is more likely to cause teen depression. The results after doing a course of Accutane are so dramatic and life-changing. If you or someone you know is suffering from bad skin, this drug could potentially change their life in such a positive way and increase their self-esteem. I know that for a fact, because it did just that for me. Be sure to get monitored by your doctor and follow all of their instructions while taking Accutane.
START A FOOD DIARY With all the diet fads that surface, from keto to Atkins, is turns out the ultimate winning way to get healthy weight loss is to go old school. Start a food diary. It only takes about fifteen minutes a day. One hundred forty-two people were monitored over a period of six months and met weekly with a trained dietitian. Those who self-monitored their diets by keeping an accountable journal ended up losing ten percent of their body weight on the program. Making yourself accountable for what you are putting in your mouth makes you face the reality of what you are consuming, allowing you to self-correct. Take some time for yourself. Participants with the most success spent about twenty-two minutes journaling, but by the end of the program, they were averaging only fifteen minutes a day.
HOT CHOCOLATE FOR SUFFERERS OF MS Extreme fatigue can plague sufferers of MS. A new study recently suggests that sipping this comforting drink may give patients some relief. Like dark chocolate, cocoa is rich in flavonoids, which are abundant in fruits and vegetables, which have many anti-inflammatory properties that benefit patients suffering from MS- triggered fatigue. The study is promising, and with celebrity actress Selma Blair bravely coming forward with her diagnosis and struggles with Muscular Sclerosis, scientists are hoping to develop a nutrition-based and dietary way of treating the disease.