National folate awareness Campaign launched

White Plains, NY PRNewswire. Vanessa Minnillo is making it a priority to share an important public health message with women nationwide. Minnillo is working with March of Dimes and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals to help educate all women of reproductive age about the importance of folate and folic acid through a national educational campaign called Girlfriends for Folate.

DailyCandy.com, the popular and trendy online resource for women, has also committed to engaging its extensive membership of women to help spread the word about daily folate supplementation.

Folate, a B vitamin (synthetically available as folic acid), helps regenerate cells. When taken before pregnancy and during the early months of pregnancy, it helps reduce the risk of serious birth defects of the spine or brain, also known as neural tube defects (NTDs).

(ARA) More children will receive an autism diagnosis this year than will be diagnosed with AIDS, diabetes and cancer combined, according to the Autism Speaks organization. You've probably heard or read at least some of the often-emotional debate over the causes and cures of autism.

Yet one thing everyone agrees on is that the sooner a child's autism is diagnosed, the sooner that child can get the help he or she needs.

The nation's fastest-growing developmental disorder, autism affects an estimated one in every 110 children. With such a high incidence rate, many parents may agonize over any developmental delays, wondering if what they see is just the normal variances in children's development rates - or an indication of a more serious disorder.

New York, NY. PRNewswire. The Spring 2011 edition of On The Issues Magazine - "The Ecology of Women" - examines how environmental health affects women's lives, particularly the toxins and chemicals that enter our bodies from the air, water, food and consumer products. These toxins are implicated as possible causes of conditions like cancer, early puberty, infertility, miscarriages, and birth defects. "The Ecology of Women" seeks to insert the effects of environmental toxins into conversations around women's health, and spark collective awareness and action within the feminist and environmental justice movements.

In Acting as if Future Generations Matter, environmental lawyer and activist Carolyn Raffensperger explains that, despite mounting, and sometimes frightening, evidence of environmental harm, there is hope in adopting a precautionary principle to end the use of unregulated chemicals.

McLean, VA.PRNewswire. USA TODAY has launched five new blogs by top women writers, now appearing on yourlife.usatoday.com. Each blog complements the core mission of USA TODAY's Your Life, launched online in November, to offer families the up-to-the-minute information they need to thrive personally and professionally, care for themselves and their families, nourish their bodies and shine through life's challenges.

"The addition of these fresh female voices continues the USA TODAY commitment to publishing news and advice on topics that are vital to American families' health and well-being," said Heather Frank, vice president of consumer media for USA TODAY.

The women chosen by USA TODAY's Your Life include entrepreneurial guru Tory Johnson, founder of www.womenforhire.com and well-known psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser, author of How to Be a Grown Up. The complete list includes:

My thighs used to be like two friendly neighbors waving to each other across the fence. Evidently, they've grown closer over time because they seem to have moved in together. This would not be such a problem if there weren't so much friction in the relationship. Cripes.

For most of my life I have been blessed with an easy-to-maintain, healthy body weight. I worked at it not one iota. My metabolism burned high. My addiction to drama provided enough "weight loss through chaos" to send me into sizes smaller than my bone structure every five years or so. I still own the skirt from the time my first marriage was ending. I weighed about 100 pounds. But, my God, I was an actual size 4! I know. I know! Sigh.

Then two things happened. I began to shed my codependent tendencies. I fell in love with a nice, even-keel guy, and we had a baby when I was 39 years old. I was happy. No more size 4's for me. By the time I had my surprise bonus baby at age 46; my stomach muscles were behaving just like the pouched-out knees of my well-worn sweat pants-not so elastic anymore.

By Judy Beyers, Founder - Powersource Personal Training

As a personal trainer for over 26 years, I have heard the complaint on a daily basis, “I’m so weak, I have no strength and I have no muscle.”

Sometimes a client will say, “Ever since I turned 49, or 59 or 69, I’ve lost all my tone and strength.”  It’s a frightening feeling for people to feel that they are eating less and gaining weight or just getting weaker and experiencing more aches and pains for no reason.

Deep within all of us is a tremendous untapped source of strength, endurance and power.  It is our muscle.

By Cindy Rae, Founder – Raediant Cindy Rae

If you want young, dewy-looking skin and an up-to-date makeup and wardrobe, then following are a few solutions.

SKIN

If you can spring for it (pun intended) get a rejuvenating facial. Slough off those dead skin cells from winter and let that new skin shine. Try the new sonic technology in facial cleansing. Clean never felt or looked so good.

(ARA) Ignoring hearing loss is easier when you’re alone. You can turn up the volume on the TV or radio as loud as you want, and you don’t have to ask anyone to repeat what they just said. But how do you cope with hearing loss when you’re in a social or business setting?

The question is far from academic; one out of every six baby boomers has a hearing problem and one in 14 members of Generation X has a hearing problem, according to the Better Hearing Institute (BHI). Hearing loss affects about 10 percent of the American population.

(ARA) The dinner table is a favorite gathering place for many families. Sharing an evening meal is a tradition because it gives all members a chance to connect, share stories, discuss and enjoy a bit of socializing before everyone dashes off to their next event.

Creating menus to keep everyone interested in making it home for the evening meal can be a challenge, especially if you’ve been preparing dinner for many years. And with more and more people looking for healthy meals, you may be looking for new options to serve your family.

PR Newswire. The Centers for Disease Control reports that more than one quarter of all deaths are caused by heart disease alone. However, despite its often-deadly effects, heart disease does not have the high profile of cancer, AIDS and other terminal diseases. This means that many people with heart disease either do not realize they have the condition, or do not seek treatment for early warning signs. While many think that heart disease primarily affects men or the elderly, women are just as likely to suffer from heart disease as men. In fact, approximately 10 percent of women age 45 to 64 suffer from the disease.

Geeta Maharaj, nursing director at Everest College’s Salt Lake City campus explains that you don’t have to be in nursing school to know there are many things you can do to reduce the likelihood of having heart-related health problems. “One of the most important is simply to learn about how your life choices affect your heart’s health,” adds Maharaj.

United Family Medicine is an independent, nonprofit provider of primary health care, physician training, health promotion and outreach services. Continuing our 70-year-old mission, we strive to meet the needs of the medically uninsured, underinsured and underserved residents of Saint Paul, MN, though we serve people of all income levels. We believe that healthy communities are built not only on the kind of medical care and services offered at our clinic, but also on the vibrancy and commitment to future generations that we value and foster.

Funding for UNFPA is at risk of being cut. Elimination of U.S. funding to UNFPA would have a crippling effect on UNFPA’s global health programming. Recent legislation singles out UNFPA as the only global health agency that would be prevented from partnering with the U.S. in any humanitarian assistance efforts.

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