Source: An Estimated 2 Million U.S. Adults Have an Opioid Use Disorder — Physician’s First Watch
Dramatic Increases in Alcohol Use, Abuse Reported in U.S. Adults | Medpage Today
CRC Mortality Rises in People Younger than 55 – Medpage Today
Being present to the ones we love – Oklahoman.com
We all have difficult days and unfulfilled dreams and sometimes need a place of comfort. We have joyful days and want someone to celebrate with us, but if we’re not paying attention, significant moments can be overlooked.
So turn off the television, log off social media, pocket the mobile phone, and if you can’t mute the phone and ignore it, then leave it in the car when you go out to eat. Be present — not just with your ears, but your eyes, as well. Pay attention. Don’t interrupt. Say, “Tell me more or help me understand,” and just listen.
Charlotte Lankard is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice. Contact her at clankard@opubco.com.
Source: Lankard: Being present to the ones we love | Oklahoman.com
Abdominal Aortic Calcification Among Individuals With and Without Diabetes: The Jackson Heart Study
In the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), we examined the association of diabetes with abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) among African Americans. Among included individuals (n = 1,664), the mean age was 57 (± 11) years, 69% were female, and 18.3% had diabetes (based on fasting blood glucose [FBG], HbA1c, use of glucose-lowering medications, or physician diagnosis). The median AAC and coronary artery calcification (CAC) scores were 904.15 (interquartile range 0–1093.10) and 0 (0–96.19), respectively. The prevalence of any AAC or CAC was 69% and 49%, respectively. Individuals with diabetes were older, had higher BMI, had higher systolic blood pressure and prevalence of hypertension, had lower HDL levels, were less affluent or physically active, had poorer nutritional intake, and had higher levels of hs-CRP.
Source: Diabetes Care
Social isolation, loneliness could be greater threat to public health than obesity – ScienceDaily
To illustrate the influence of social isolation and loneliness on the risk for premature mortality, Holt-Lunstad presented data from two meta-analyses. The first involved 148 studies, representing more than 300,000 participants, and found that greater social connection is associated with a 50 percent reduced risk of early death. The second study, involving 70 studies representing more than 3.4 million individuals primarily from North America but also from Europe, Asia and Australia, examined the role that social isolation, loneliness or living alone might have on mortality. Researchers found that all three had a significant and equal effect on the risk of premature death, one that was equal to or exceeded the effect of other well-accepted risk factors such as obesity.
Source: Social isolation, loneliness could be greater threat to public health than obesity — ScienceDaily
Get off your damn phone, get out of the house and go do something with your family and friends.
Our Minds Have Been Hijacked by Our Phones – WIRED
Source: Our Minds Have Been Hijacked by Our Phones. Tristan Harris Wants to Rescue Them | WIRED
Technology steers what 2 billion people are thinking and believing every day. It’s possibly the largest source of influence over 2 billion people’s thoughts that has ever been created. Religions and governments don’t have that much influence over people’s daily thoughts. But we have three technology companies who have this system that frankly they don’t even have control over—with newsfeeds and recommended videos and whatever they put in front of you—which is governing what people do with their time and what they’re looking at.
I’ll be the first to admit I spend a lot of time online. But I pretty much avoid most social media sites. Stopped using FaceBorg. Instagram to catch the occasional post from one of the kids. A little Twitter for news. LinkedIn rarely. It wasn’t hard for me to recognize mass brainwashing. Not to mention addiction.
One of my more popular posts was a link to this Atlantic article.
But many of you never clicked through to read the article. I do hope you take the time to read this Wired article. It will make you think long and hard about your use of technology.
Think about what would happen if you shut off some of these apps that keep dinging you for attention? This happens.
Change in Diet Can Lower Mortality Risk
A worsening diet over the course of 12 years was associated with an increased mortality of 6% to 12%, the researchers found. Those who stayed consistently on a healthy diet starting at baseline had a 9% to 14% lower risk for death than those who stayed consistently on a poor diet.
Source: Change in Diet Can Lower Mortality Risk
Source: Association of Changes in Diet Quality with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality — NEJM
Is Your Cell Phone Killing Your Productivity At Work?
Source: Is Your Cell Phone Killing Your Productivity At Work?
I’m not going to say this again.
Step away from the phone slowly and keep your hands where I can see them.
Mammoth and Plenty of Raw Vegetables – ScienceDaily
Senckenberg scientists have studied the diet of anatomically modern humans. With their recent study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, they were able to refute the theory that the diet of early representatives of Homo sapiens was more flexible than that of Neanderthals. Just like the Neanderthals, our ancestors had mainly mammoth and plants on their plates — the researchers were unable to document fish as part of their diet. Therefore, the international team assumes that the displacement of the Neanderthals was the result of direct competition.
And yet another result came as a surprise for the scientists: The proportion of plants in the diet of the anatomically modern humans was significantly higher than in comparable Neanderthal finds — mammoths, on the other hand, appear to have been one of the primary sources of meat in both species.
Take home lesson:
Eat more plants and less mammoth.
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