Health for Life

It’s December and it’s Saturday morning, do you feel energized and ready to start the day? Do you feel nostalgic and lonely -- and just can’t get motivated? Or are you overwhelmed with despair and feel like staying under the covers all day? While the holiday season is supposed to be a time of joy, celebration and good will – for many people, it’s a time for feelings of sadness, loneliness and isolation. Anyone is susceptible to holiday depression, regardless of age, gender or background. And there are many reasons for depression during the holiday season. For many people, holiday activities are added to all of their other responsibilities that may include both work and family.

In an interesting move the majority of the EPA workforce 30 days ago called for regulation of greenhouse gases. It is good to see concern for our environment -- which is critical for health and wellbeing -- finally coming from the EPA. It's a reminder I suppose that many poor practices in that agency stem not from slack or uncaring staff but from management that dances to political tunes.

In an unprecedented action, representatives for more than 10,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientists are calling on Congress to take immediate action against global warming, according to a petition released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The petition also calls for an end to censorship of agency scientists and other specialists on topics of climate change and the effects of air pollution.

It turns out vegetarians really are smarter. But maybe not because of what they eat. Bright children, evidently, are more likely to reject meat and opt to become vegetarians when they grow up, according to a study published in the BMJ (BMJ, doi:10.1136/bmj.39030.675069.55 published 15 December 2006).

Researchers from the University of Southampton who conducted the study suggest that vegetarians are more thoughtful about what they eat. But it remains unclear whether bright children choose to become vegetarians for the health benefits or for other reasons, such as a concern for animals, or as a lifestyle choice.

Studies find mechanisms for the well-documented gap between outcomes for men and women with heart disease and suggest strategies for narrowing it.

Physicians are frustrated by distribution challenges but plan to vaccinate until doses are exhausted.