Mocktails Ala mode! 

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Penelope DelValle, who will be studying business and law courses at DePaul University shared with Healthy Lombard that…
As a freshman entering my collegiate journey, I have stepped into the world of young adulthood. With this new sense of freedom certainly comes a sense of responsibility. To combat the real problem of alcohol poisoning among students, DePaul University assigns and eagerly advertises a module course to all of its students newly coming into the University. After learning about the real issues that can be associated with too much alcohol consumption, I began considering alternatives for youths and people in general that would like to be in the social setting of cocktails and socializing but wish to avoid the consumption of alcohol.
Hence, this new excerpt idea for the Lombard Health paper: ”Mocktails Galore!”
Below I will share some simple recipes you can entertain guests within your home or at a social gathering. Being conscious of our health, people of all ages should be aware of the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption. Too much alcohol in the body can hinder rational decisions, become toxic to imperative organs such as the liver or kidneys, and is correlated with increased signs of aging of the skin and body. Without further ado, here are the recipes!

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Exposure to green space may boost cognitive health 

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Residential areas with more green space were associated with faster thinking, better attention, and higher overall cognitive function in middle-aged women, according to an NIA-funded study. Published in JAMA Network Open, the findings suggest that green space — such as trees, flowers, grass, gardens, and parks — could be explored as a potential community-based approach to improving cognitive health.

For this study, a team of researchers from Boston University, Harvard University, and Rush University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Chicago analyzed cognitive test and residential green space data from 13,594 women with an average age of 61. The women were enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II, a longitudinal study that examines risk factors for major chronic diseases in women. The participants took online cognitive tests that measured psychomotor speed, attention, learning, and working memory. Then, using satellite image-based technology, the researchers determined the amount of green space around each participant’s home. Researchers evaluated the association between the amount of green space within walking distance of a participant’s home and their cognitive function.

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5 Health Benefits of Addiction Treatment 

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Freelance Writer Maggie Bloom shared with Healthy Lombard that addiction treatment is a behavioral health treatment that helps individuals overcome their dependence on drugs and alcohol. It can be provided in an outpatient or intensive outpatient setting, in partial hospitalization programs (PHPs), or as part of a residential program. The goal of addiction treatment is to help people stop using drugs and alcohol, maintain sobriety for the long term, and reduce the risk that they will return to drug use.

Addiction treatment is often used interchangeably with substance abuse treatment, but these terms have fundamental differences. Addiction refers specifically to the psychological dependence on a drug or alcohol. Substance abuse refers to the problematic use of any drug or alcohol. Treatment can help people recover from both addictions and substance abuse problems. Continue reading to learn more:

1.   Drug and Alcohol Detox

After years of abuse, your body has become used to drugs. When you stop taking them abruptly, you may experience withdrawal symptoms that can be very uncomfortable and even dangerous. This is why detox is essential before entering a drug or alcohol treatment program.

The detox process is done in a controlled environment, often in an inpatient setting, where doctors can monitor your progress. Therefore, detoxing can be uncomfortable and even dangerous. It’s essential to ensure you have a safe and comfortable place to recover from drug or alcohol abuse.

During the first few days of detox, you will be given medication to help ease withdrawal symptoms. After the initial phase of detox, patients move on to rehabilitation treatment.

In addition, withdrawal from drug and alcohol symptoms include nausea, sweating, vomiting, anxiety, hallucinations, and convulsions. If you are experiencing these symptoms when you stop using drugs or alcohol, you must seek medical attention immediately. The most common form of detox is medically supervised withdrawal followed by a period of abstinence (detox).

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Apple Crunch Day 

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SEND US YOUR SELFIE

 

Healthy Lombard invites you to join millions of people around the country on October 13 and crunch into an apple to raise awareness about eating better and supporting local farmers.

Then take a selfie (eating an apple) and send it to us at [email protected].

All submissions will be posted on our Facebook Page and this webpage (no names included) and entered into a drawing to win 1 of 4 gift cards.

Healthy Lombard has celebrated Apple Crunch Day since 2015.

We became involved because we were looking for an activity for the fall that would support our mission of addressing the epidemic of Pediatric Obesity through Awareness, Activities, and Achievement.

Since one of the ways we support our mission is by providing “free-of-charge” activities for youth, Apple Crunch Day was a perfect match.  By the way, the other ways we support our mission are by promoting a healthier lifestyle for everyone through the items on our website, and by providing a platform for community networking and collaboration through our daily calendar, monthly newsletters, social media, and quarterly partners’ meetings. Read more 

Fasting Before and After Chemotherapy and Radiation 

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Healthy Driven Families 

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At Edward-Elmhurst Health, they take your family’s health as seriously as you do. Through community programs and educational resources, their Healthy Driven Families initiative aims to improve families’ overall health by helping you make intentional choices that lead to a healthier lifestyle. In this post, you will find tools to help you and your family incorporate healthier habits and practices — in the areas of nutrition, exercise, sleep, and mental health — into your daily lives to optimize wellness.

Maintaining a healthy weight

The percentage of children and adolescents affected by obesity in the United States has more than tripled since the 1970s. Childhood obesity can harm a child’s health now and lead to lifelong health problems. Edward-Elmhurst Health offers a variety of services to help combat childhood obesity.

If your child is 15 or younger, Maria Ariza, M.D., a family medicine physician who specializes in childhood obesity medicine, can help your child achieve a healthy weight. Dr. Ariza provides compassionate, personalized care with consideration for your family’s lifestyle.

If your child is 16 and older, the medical weight loss specialists at Endeavor Health® Weight Management provide medical management and lifestyle recommendations. The medically-supervised program is tailored to your child’s metabolism and unique weight issues to help him/her eliminate weight-related health problems.

 

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How to Handle Raw Poultry 

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A founding member and Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Michael Greger, MD, is a physician, New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition. He shared the following information in his NutritionFacts.org blog.

Poultry is the most common cause of serious food-poisoning outbreaks, followed by fish, then beef. But aren’t people more likely to order their burgers rarer than their chicken sandwiches? The primary location where outbreaks occur is the home, not restaurants.

In 2017, a study of more than a thousand food-poisoning outbreaks determined that poultry, specifically chicken, was the most common culprit, “highlight[ing] the role of poultry as a major source of foodborne outbreaks in the United States.” Fish was the second “most frequently reported food category,” and beef was third. But aren’t people more likely to order rare burgers than rare chicken sandwiches? Yes. The biggest problem with poultry isn’t “inadequate cooking,” but “food-handling errors,” both at home and in the grocery store.

As he discusses in his video How to Shop for, Handle, and Store Chicken, a “shop-along observational study was conducted to determine actual shopping, transportation, and storage behavior of consumers who purchase raw poultry products.” What did the researchers find? “Neither hand sanitizer nor wipes were observed in 71% of grocery store meat sections of stores visited.” Even when sanitizing products were available, only one participant out of the 96 they followed used them. Food-poisoning bacteria can get on the outside of packages, “therefore, it also is important to educate shoppers on the importance of using hand sanitizer in the meat section after touching poultry packages.” Plastic bags were available in most meat sections, “but only 25% of shoppers used the bag for their raw poultry purchases…The shoppers placed the poultry [directly] in the main basket of the grocery cart 84% of the time,” where it could come in direct contact with fresh produce that might then be eaten raw in a salad, for example.

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What’s the difference between stents and bypass? 

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heart buttonWilliam Stephan, M.D., an interventional cardiologist with Edward Hospital, shared in EEHealth’s Healthy Driven blog that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease and affects more than 18 million adults in the United States.Coronary artery disease develops when the blood vessels that supply your heart with oxygen become diseased or obstructed. This can lead to a reduction or “blockage” of blood flow to your heart and cause symptoms, including chest pain and shortness of breath — potential precursors to a heart attack.

Once coronary artery disease is discovered, it is important to address it right away to avoid a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke. Lifestyle changes and medication are often the first lines of treatment for less severe cases. If these more conservative treatments are not effective, angioplasty with stenting or coronary bypass surgery may be required.

Angioplasty with stenting is a non-surgical procedure that involves threading a tiny wire through the narrowed heart artery. Once across the blockage, a balloon is used to dilate the artery and a stent (small metal coil) is placed to hold the artery open like scaffolding. The stents are medicated to help reduce the likelihood of the vessel developing a recurrent blockage.

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5 Easy Ways To Manage Lower Back Pain 

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Lizzie Weakley, a freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio, shared with Healthy Lombard that when you have lower back pain, even the simplest of tasks become difficult if not impossible. While you may feel as if the pain will never go away, there are actually several things you can do to manage your lower back pain that will bring you much-needed relief. Rather than continue to be in pain day after day, here are five things you can do that may give you surprisingly effective results.

Loosen Up by Exercising

When you are experiencing lower back pain, various types of exercises can be quite beneficial. One of the best is swimming, which can work your entire body while putting virtually no strain on your back muscles. A relaxing form of exercise can also help reduce your stress levels, which will lessen the chances you have tight muscles.

Hot and Cold Treatments

An inexpensive and effective home treatment, hot and cold therapy can be done first thing in the morning, at night before bedtime, and anywhere in between. Hot and cold packs are available in pharmacies and other stores and can be used in combination with one another if needed.

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8 Ways to Support Stroke Survivors with Their Recovery 

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Samantha Higgins shared with Healthy Lombard that when a person suffers from a stroke, the consequences can be life-altering. The physical and emotional challenges of stroke recovery are immense, but with a little help from a loved one, the recovery process can be much smoother and more efficient. If you have a friend or family recovering from a stroke, here are some ways to support them with their recovery.

Get Them Accessories to Aid in the Recovery

While it is important to provide emotional support to stroke survivors during their recovery, it is also important that they have the necessary accessories to help them recover. Accessories can include items such as adaptive equipment like drop foot brace and clothing, which can assist in improving the quality of life for those who have suffered a stroke.

Accompany Them to Physician Appointments

An important part of the recovery process is visiting a physician regularly so they can check on the progress of the individual and make any necessary adjustments to their treatment plan. By accompanying them to physician appointments, you can provide emotional support as well as practical assistance. You can make sure they are not late for their appointments and adhere to measures prescribed by the doctor.

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