Health and Science
National Institutes of Health: Mediterranean Diet May Slow Development of Alzheimer’s Disease, Recipes by Lisa Mosconi
In a new study, Dr. Lisa Mosconi from Weill Cornell Medicine and her colleagues measured changes in brains over time. They performed baseline brain imaging in 34 people who ate a Mediterranean diet and 36 people who ate a Western diet. The volunteers ranged in age from 30 to 60 and showed no symptoms of dementia when the study began. The researchers then repeated the scans at least two years later. The study was supported by NIH’s National Institute on Aging (NIA). Results were published online in Neurology on April 13, 2018. more »
The Looming Threat to Sex Education: A Resurgence of Federal Funding for Abstinence-Only Programs?
"Abstinence-only programs violate adolescents’ rights, ignore their needs and do not work. Adolescents have a basic human right to complete and accurate information about their sexual and reproductive health. The abstinence-only-until-marriage approach withholds comprehensive information on effective ways to reduce the risks of unintended pregnancy, HIV and other STIs, which violates adolescents’ right to information and also requires educators to disregard basic ethical standards by providing incomplete and potentially harmful information to students." The Guttmacher Institute more »
Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Rabbit in the Bush; Seasons and Changing Climate
Ferida Wolff writes: The rabbit blended in so well I had trouble seeing it at first. Its coat picked up the gray of the broken branches, the brown of the fallen leaves and the white of the small stones scattered throughout the patch. Seeing the rabbits made me think of how we all adapt to our environments. We learn to accept some things we are given and change others. We can shift our perspective to create a safer space and blend in when necessary. We and the rabbits are fast learners. It helps us to live and to thrive. more »
California Insurance Commissioner Urges Federal Government to Withdraw Proposed Health Care Rule: A Race to the Bottom Rather Than Providing A Meaningful Alternative
"I strongly oppose the proposed rule, Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance (proposed Rule), because it further erodes the protections provided under the ACA, poses significant risk to health insurance markets in California and the nation, and offers consumers skimpy health insurance policies that cannot be relied upon to cover necessary health services when they need them most."
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Today Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Med… more »