Get Physicals, Get Fit!

Summer starts this weekend!  It's time to get out.  Play ball, ride a bike, paddle a boat, go for a walk.  There are so many good reasons to get fit and stay fit.  Here are just a few.  Exercise:

 

* Improves mental function

* Lowers stress

* Raises energy levels

* Boosts immune system function

* Lowers disease risk--including high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes and stroke

* Improves strength, flexibility, endurance and resistance to pain

* Builds social relationships--especially when you work out as part of a team

 

Don't forget to schedule well child visits, and get your sports and camp forms filled out.  Everybody should exercise every day, especially our kids.

 

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/exercise-benefits

 

http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2009-mchi/5168.html

An Upside to Autism?

As many in 1 in 88 children are now diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder, and as many as 1 in 54 boys.  That's up 23% since 2009, and 78% since 2007.  Autistics tend to be less social, and less communicative, than their peers.  But they also seem to find it easier to focus: they have a perceptual edge.

In new a study at University College London, adults with and without autism were asked to keep track of letters flashed on a computer screen.  When there were only a few letters, both autistic and normal subjects could keep up; but as the number of letters increased, the normals fell behind.  Autistics could process more information in a short amount of time.

Most of us have heard stories about autistic savants, who solve multivariate math problems in their heads, or draw detailed pictures at young ages.  And apparently, higher than average numbers of people with ASD work in the IT industry.  They seem to see the details that most of us miss.

Other "upsides" characterize people with a variety of disorders.  People with ADD often turn out to be creative writers, or win prizes at science fairs.  And dyslexics are often better at peripheral perception, making them successful as artists or designers.

Of course, none of this diminishes the fact that autism, or any other disorder, imposes hardships on affected children and their families.  Nor does it lessen the need to provide treatment and other resources.  The take-home message is that "deficits" can be trade-offs.  There are different kinds of minds, and that's not all bad.

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/AutismPrevalence/

http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/Media-office/Press-releases/2012/WTVM054757.htm

Happy T-Day, Skip the Soda

Thanksgiving is back!   And we all know what that means: turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, cranberries with sugar, sides with cheese.   Nothing is better than bringing friends and family together at the holidays.   And traditionally, across cultures, that means getting together over food. 

Enjoy it, but skip the soda. On Thanksgiving Day, and on other days, it's best to find an alternative to pop. Drinking Coke, Pepsi, other colas has been linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.   And as we know, children are often the biggest consumers of soft drinks.   Some children drink sodas not just at dinner time, but all day long. According to a recent CDC study, about half of the US population drinks at least one "sugared beverage" daily; and boys 12-19 are the worst offenders, averaging almost two cans of pop a day.

Parents should try to put a stop to that.   There are so many great alternatives: water, milk, fruit juice, lemon and limeade, even herbal tea and iced tea.   At our house, we love a little splash of fruit or citrus in a glass of plain, carbonated water.   It tastes fresher, and it's almost calorie free.  Try it.

And, in any case, thanks – for being our patients, clients, neighbors and friends.   Happy holidays from all of us at T&T.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/sodas-and-your-health-risks-debated

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/21/soda-linked-to-health-problems.aspx

Flu Clinic, Redux

Our first flu clinic was such a hit, we've decided to do another.  It's set for Saturday, the 12th of November, from 9-12 in Ann Arbor.  All Turke & Thomashow patients are welcome, of course.  Call anytime to make an appointment.  If you can't make it that Saturday, any other time is fine.

 

We're stocked up on flu vaccines and flu mists in both Ann Arbor and Chelsea offices.  Mist is available to children 2 years old and up; vaccines are available to children 6 months old and older.

Again, this year's vaccine protects against all three common influenza strains, including the "swine" flu.  Vaccination usually kicks in about two weeks after the shot, and lasts through the end of flu season in spring.

 

Special thanks to nurses Diane, Jill and Sue, and to receptionist Kris, for making these clinics work!

 

http://www.annarbor.com/news/flu-season-is-around-the-corner---do-you-plan-to-get-vaccinated/

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm

Flu Clinic Set

School started again last week, and we all know what that means.  Flu's just around the corner.

We're stocking up on vaccines, and expect to start giving flu shots the week of September 19th.  Our first flu clinic is scheduled for the month of October: it's Saturday, the 15th in Ann Arbor.  Call anytime to make an appointment.

This year, like last year, the vaccine should protect against all three common influenza strains, including the "swine" flu.  Vaccination usually kicks in about two weeks after the shot, and lasts through the end of flu season in spring.

The CDC recommends that everybody six months or older get a flu shot every year.  The H1N1 strain has been hardest on young adults, and influenza is usually most dangerous in infants.  Let's spare them the agony if we can.

http://www.annarbor.com/news/flu-season-is-around-the-corner---do-you-plan-to-get-vaccinated/

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm

Skinny Foods, Fat Foods

The results of a New England Journal of Medicine study on American diets came out last month.  You may have heard about them.  In case you haven't:

Over the past two decades, Professor Walter Willett and a small army of scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health followed over 120,000 people, and asked what they ate.  They found that people who ate some foods tended to gain weight, and that people who ate other foods tended to take weight off.

The top 5 fat foods were:

#1  Potato chips

#2  Potatoes

#3  Sugary drinks

#4  Unprocessed red meats

#5  Processed meats

The top 5 skinny foods were:

#1  Vegetables

#2  Whole grains

#3  Fruits

#4  Nuts

#5  Yogurt

We knew that.  Now let's do something about it -- for ourselves, and for our babies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/health/19brody.html?_r=1

Sight and Sunlight

There are so many good reasons for kids to go outside in the summer. That's where the lakes, rivers and playing fields are. It's so much easier to swim, kayak or run outdoors than in the living room. And it's so much harder to develop juvenile obesity, or diabetes.

Besides which, there now appears to be another reason to get kids out of the house. Exposure to sunlight may make them less myopic. Just 1/4 of Americans were nearsighted in the 1970s, but more than 40% of us are nearsighted now.  Why is that?  Because we're spending more time under artificial lights.

 

Natural light helps a child's developing eyes maintain a correct distance between the developing retina and lens. That keeps vision in focus.  When a child spends too much time indoors, the distance between the lens and retina becomes too long.  So faraway objects start to blur.

 

Kids in Singapore, who are outdoors just 3 hours a week on average, are 9 times more myopic than kids in Sydney, who spend an average of 14 hours a week outside.  And among American children with 2 myopic parents, those who spend at least 2 hours a day outdoors are 4 times less nearsighted than those who spend less than an hour a day outside.

 

Human brains, like human bodies, have been wired to spend time on lakes, rivers or fields.  And summer vacation is a good time to get out of the house.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/21/opinion/21wang.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general