“Most children and adolescents who are strongly committed to sports are not concerned about nutrition as it relates to energy balance and obesity,” states a report from a 2004 issue of Nutrition. The interactions among nutrition, growth, and development deserve attention if a participant expects to achieve optimal performance and to avoid the injuries and problems that stem from nutritional deficiencies.

The upper part of the normal blood pressure range can be a danger zone for heart attack and stroke. Investigators at Kaiser Permanente, in Portland, Oregon, looked at almost 600 men and women who were ten to sixty-five percent above their ideal weight, and who had slightly elevated blood pressure. All were given weight reduction counseling, and later were compared to a like-sized group who received no such guidance. It was found that a ten-pound weight loss effected a drop in diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure by 2.7 mm of mercury, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but which is significant.

If there exists such a philosophical regime that can bring a person closer to Elysium in every aspect of life—balance, health, aging—its enthusiasts argue that it is yoga. Investigations into the complexities of this physical / mental / spiritual discipline have focused on the almost inexplicable efficacy of its practice. That it is conjectured to effect a return to normal following a physical or mental derangement deserves at least a little attention.

Some unfortunate persons are not able to convert essential fatty acids (EFA’s) from their parent forms to their more active metabolites, such as converting linoleic acid, the primary omega-6, to gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). More than twenty years of research points to the inefficiency of this active conversion pathway as causative of inflammatory skin conditions. Wherever and whenever a metabolite cannot be made by the body on its own, administration of that substance may be in order.

Each child is unique and has his own distinct needs for sleep. Generally, a preschooler needs 10 to 12 hours a night, maybe with a nap during the day. The surprise is that the school-age and preteen group benefit from the same, except for the nap. But, “media use has been shown to negatively affect a child’s sleep,” according to researchers at Seattle’s Children’s Research Institute. In their randomized controlled study of preschoolers, they found that the children had more than 70 minutes of screen time a day, with a fifth of that after 7 PM. Almost 20% of the parents interviewed indicated at least one sleep problem with their preschooler.

After years of acceptance as a safe and effective weed killer, a popular herbicide is facing the guillotine as teratogenic—it causes malformations in an embryo or fetus. Initial investigations (in the 1970’s) into the safety record of the chemical, glyphosate, indicated that its safety to humans was guaranteed. An organization called Earth Open Source has now indicted the chemical as a serious risk to public health while accusing the herbicide industry of hiding the truth for decades.

We like to think of ourselves as clean and fresh-smelling. But at what price? Although suspect for several years, the gentle aromas wafting from our laundry appliances are giving us more than we asked for—pollution. Venting the dryer outside contributes to the air many of the same chemicals emanating from vehicle and industrial exhausts, but better-smelling.

One of the vagaries of parenthood is that we think we know more than our kids, enough to maintain a watchful eye over all they do and the places they go. That might have been true before the advent of wireless technology and electronic media, but that’s an iffy proposition today.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of the relative percentages of fat and muscle mass in the human body, based on a person’s weight and height, used to assess obesity. This barometer was used by researchers to determine the effect of the food additive, monosodium glutamate (MSG), on weight over a period of time. It was learned that those persons who consume MSG regularly experience changes in the part of the brain that controls appetite, thus having an influence on energy balance and consequent weight gain.