Whole Foods Market Hosts Hunger Banquet With Local High Schools

Whole Foods Market in Winter Park, in collaboration with Winter Park and Timber Creek High Schools, will present a Hunger Banquet to benefit the Whole Planet Foundation at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 3 at Glenridge Middle School.

A Hunger Banquet illustrates the disparity in distribution of the world’s resources by randomly assigning attendees to dinner tables representing different areas of the world to highlight the circumstances involved in the distribution of food in those areas. The event is open to the public, ages 12 and over.

For more information, go the the Whole Foods Market website.

Lip Products May Increase Cancer Risk

Lip glosses may be fashionable, but they don’t provide much in the way of sun protection for lips, and they may do just the opposite.

Dr. Christine Brown, of the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, says those who regularly use lip balm or lip gloss may have a greater risk of developing skin cancer because the products attract sun rays to the lips. Those who use these products should apply a layer of sun protection under lip gloss or lip balm, she said.

Click here to read the complete Medical News Today story.

Colas Could Harm Bone Health

Drinking too many colas–especially those containing sugar–can be unhealthy for anyone, but a new study suggests they could jeopardize bone health.

“There is enough evidence that high consumption of soda and carbonated beverages is associated with somewhat lower bone mass in children and that’s a real concern and people should be aware of it,” said Dr. Lawrence Raisz, director of the University of Connecticut Center for Osteoporosis.

Experts don’t know the exact cause of the problem, but believe it may be related to the caffeine or phosphoric acid in colas or the fact people drinking colas may consume fewer nutritious beverages with calcium and vitamin D.

Click here to read the complete HealthDay news story.

Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About BPA and Plastic Bottles

If you are wondering about all of the buzz surrounding plastic bottles and the dangers of the chemical BPA found in some of them, you may want to check out a new story on the KidsHealth website sponsored by the Nemours Foundation.

The story, “Behind All the Buzz on the Chemical BPA,” reviews how BPA is absorbed, where it is found and what it all means to consumers.

Click here to check it out on the KidsHealth website.

TV Turnoff Week Good for the Whole Family

Too much TV isn’t good for anyone, especially children and teens who spend more than a couple of hours each day in front of TV and computer screens. That’s why organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are supporting national TV Turnoff Week, April 21-27.

“We know that the more time a child spends in front of the TV or computer, the more likely he or she is to be overweight,” said Acting U.S. Surgeon General Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H. “Kids are spending more time sitting in front of screens every day than they do anything else except perhaps sleeping. For Turnoff Week, we are asking parents to turn off the scrreens and get active with their kids.”

Read more on the NIH website.

Childhood Migraines Linked to Sleep Disorders

It’s bad enough to be plagued by migraine headaches, but children who suffer from them are also likely to be troubled by sleep disorders and a lack of sleep, according to new research.

“Sleeping problems can exacerbate the problems migraine causes on a child’s health and may hinder a child’s performance at school,” study author Dr. Martina Vendrame of Temple University in Philadelphia, said in a prepared statement. “Parents and doctors need to be aware of the strong likelihood of sleep disorders in children with migraine and seek appropriate preventions and treatments.”

Read more at the Healthscout website.

It’s National Infant Immunization Week

The Orange County Health Department, in recognition of National Infant Immunization Week, is working to raise awareness of the importance of childhood immunizations.

Each year, thousands of children become ill from diseases that could have been prevented by basic childhood immunizations, and the health department wants to remind parents to check their children’s shot record to make sure it is up-to-date.

For more information, go to the Orange County Health Department website.

Whole Foods Market Hosts Hunger Banquet With Local High Schools

Whole Foods Market in Winter Park, in collaboration with Winter Park and Timber Creek High Schools, will present a Hunger Banquet to benefit the Whole Planet Foundation at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 3 at Glenridge Middle School.

A Hunger Banquet illustrates the disparity in distribution of the world’s resources by randomly assigning attendees to dinner tables representing different areas of the world to highlight the circumstances involved in the distribution of food in those areas. The event is open to the public, ages 12 and over.

For more information, go the the Whole Foods Market website.

New Lead Alerts

The latest lead alert from the Orange County Health Department (OCHD), which includes items such as water bottles, toy robots, fake teeth and seasonal writing pens, notes lead poisoning can affect nearly every system in the body.

“Because lead poisoning often occurs with no obvious symptoms, it frequently goes unrecognized, the alert states. “Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and at very high levels, seizures, coma and even death,” according to OCHD officials.

Click here to read more about the alert on the OCHD website.

Early Child Neglect Can Lead to Aggressive Behavior Years Later

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reports that child neglect “may have the most profound effect on development of aggression if it occurs before age two, according to the study ‘Importance of Early Neglect for Child Aggression.’”

An AAP summary of the study says “researchers found that physical neglect reported to child protective services before age two was a stronger predictor of later aggression than either neglect at older ages or abuse at any age.”

The authors conclude that solving the problem of early neglect has the potential for immediate and intermediate and long-term benefits in reducing youth violence.

Click here to read more on the AAP website.