Health
/ArcaMax
C-Force: Muscling in on the Signs of Aging
Of all things, a line from a 1966 Rolling Stones song recently popped into my head: "What a drag it is getting old." I don't recall people taking exception to that lyrical statement back then, and I'm sure most folks wouldn't nowadays. For 81-year-old Mick Jagger, I'm guessing it may have taken on a whole new meaning.
It can be a drag to see ...Read more
The Overlooked Importance of Living Color
The world we live in is filled with so many colors. Yet have you ever stopped for a moment to consider how just the experience of being exposed to these colors may be subconsciously impacting your mood, perception and maybe even your diet? There is now a field of scientific study called color psychology dedicated to exploring just how the ...Read more
C-Force: Stress Stacking Up as Election Nears
As reported by U.S. News, a recent survey from the Thriving Center of Psychology states that "72% of Americans are stressing about the upcoming election." Based on what we are seeing, this feels like a low number. At the same time, we are being told the stress of parenting in this country has risen to such a level that Surgeon General Vivek ...Read more
C-Force: Downturn in Teen Vaping Good News, But Health Risks Remain
In what is considered a win for public health officials, the recently released 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey reports that a half-million fewer school-age kids vaped -- a practice that Oxford Dictionaries defines as "inhaling and exhaling vapor containing nicotine and flavoring produced by a device designed for this purpose" -- this past ...Read more
C-Force: Labor Day Used to Be About Taking on Too Much Work
Here's hoping you and yours had an enjoyable Labor Day holiday on Monday. Yet I'm betting it's left a lot of folks feeling a day behind in their workload because of it. For countless others, Labor Day amounted to no time off at all. That's because it is a somewhat unconventional holiday. For many, it isn't even a day off work. "Unlike most U.S. ...Read more
C-Force: Good Exercising Judgment Not as Easy as Some Think
In today's world, physical inactivity remains a problem. In fact, it has become a major concern. As reported by Healthcanal, in 2020 just 24.2% "of U.S. adults met guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise. ... Among all adults, 46.9% get enough aerobic activity, compared to 31.0% who get enough muscle-strengthening activity."
...Read more
C-Force: Healthy Oils a Slippery Subject
This is a commentary about oil. Not the crude stuff, but the various extracts that have been used, some since the beginnings of recorded history, to improve human health. I was reminded of this practice recently when I stumbled upon this Medical News Today headline: "Could fish oil benefit people at high risk of Alzheimer's disease?"
"Many ...Read more
C-Force: Some Juicy News on Health
The juice of the pomegranate, so uniquely sweet yet tart, is derived from a fruit that long ago cropped up throughout the Mediterranean and is steeped in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Now, in 2024, it seems to be having its day. Articles are sprouting up everywhere praising the virtues of this beverage that "lowers blood pressure and ...Read more
C-Force: Fine-Tuning to Find the Moving Health Benefits of Sports
While striving for excellence in sports may be an obvious goal of the Olympic Games, a less heralded one is promoting the health benefits of sport. This goal is as important in the host country, France, as it is in other parts of the world. As the International Olympic Committee's website proclaims, "in France almost 40% of the population deny ...Read more
C-Force: Do the Self-Diagnosed Have a Fool for a Client?
In many ways, coverage of the Olympics and Paralympic Games represents a much-needed unifying and normalized experience for us. It couldn't come at a better time given the divisive, fear-inducing and pressure-packed times in which we live. The games are also a vivid reminder of how today's emerging technologies rule the world. According to ...Read more
C-Force: The Many Unrecognized Impacts of Trauma
It is entirely possible that I have recently been overdoing it in focusing too much on psychological threats to public health. For example, the many reports of the debilitating effects rampant fear and anger are said to pose to public health and safety that I touched on last week. According to the experts, these emotions, when heightened, ...Read more
C-Force: With the Rise in Social Isolation Come Fear and Anger
In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, recognizing the significant challenges that loneliness, social isolation and mental health issues pose to college-age Americans in the post-pandemic world, conducted a listening tour of colleges and universities. Following the tour, he wrote an official advisory on the topic, the content of which has ...Read more
C-Force: Is Measuring Pain on a Scale of Zero to 10 the Best We Can Do?
Before becoming a journalist and bestselling author, Elisabeth Rosenthal worked as an emergency room physician. As a graduate of Harvard Medical School and a physician, she had to make the same request to patient after patient: "Rate your pain on a scale of zero to 10." In a recent editorial in The Atlantic, she points out that the concept of "...Read more