Topic - Alcoholism, Obesity, Depression.  It’s well-known that alcohol abuse plays a big role in the development of many health problems.  

It’s impact goes beyond the obvious, however.

Research reveals that women who abuse alcohol at age 24 are three times as likely to be obese by age 27 and women who are obese at 27 are likely to be depressed by age 30.  

This continuum of alcohol, obesity and depression isn’t seen in men.  We now know that obesity may actually give men protection against depression later in life.  

Considering the very severe health consequences of obesity and depression let alone alcohol, if you know a young woman who is leaning toward chronic alcohol abuse, intervene to the extent possible to support her recovery.  

Her habits for the first years 30 could seriously reduce her life expectancy and the quality of her life.  

If she goes on to be married and have a family, the misery index is substantially increased for all of those whose lives are touched by hers.

Topic - Teen Brains.  One of the most confusing features about teenagers is that they seem smart, but don’t act smart.  

At times, they behave maturely and the next minute, they are having a full-blown tantrum about nothing at all.  What’s the reason for these extremes?  

It has to do with the timing of brain development.  From age 11 to 16, kids’ performance on intelligence tests improve rapidly and then level off suggesting intelligence peaks by age 16 which is when the brain stops physically growing.  

The brain continues to physically mature and becomes more efficient until about age 35.  

Impulse control and evaluating risk doesn’t fully mature until the early-to-mid 20’s. As a result, teens are more capable of deciding when to end a pregnancy than they are of controlling their behaviors in a violent confrontation.  

Avoiding confrontations that may escalate into violence is critical for managing your family and keeping authorities out of your relationships.

Topic - Licorice In Pregnancy.  Believe it or not, when mother ate large amounts of licorice while pregnant, her children performed at lower levels on intelligence tests and had shorter attention spans and more symptoms of ADHD than other kids.  

One theory is that the compound, glycyrrhizin, in the licorice alters the placenta and allows damaging stress hormones to cross over into the baby’s developing brain.  

Mother would have to eat a great deal of licorice to harm baby, but the study points out how everyday foods have the potential to influence the fetus’ developing brain.  

It’s best to stick to a diet of freshly-prepared foods and avoid those with high levels of sugar and additives.  Processed foods contain a great deal of salt and preservatives and are likely to have little nutritional value for baby or mother.  

Pregnant women develop cravings, so if you eat lots and lots of a certain food, make sure it has no hidden dangers for baby.

Topic - Social Media Benefits.  Many parents are concerned about the amount of time their kids spend on social media outlets, but for social outcasts and those with social interactional disorders, participating in these controlled peer interactions improve their self-esteem.  

Research shows that those who struggle with confidence in social settings feel less upset, embarrassed and depressed after chatting it up online with peers they may not know.  

These interactions increase their social communication skills.  They also gain access to peers that they would ordinarily be isolated from.  

This access allows them to learn about the “lingo” of their peers, their interests and concerns which could then align them more competently with their peer group.  

If your child lacks confidence in their peer interactions and needs more practice before getting into the game for real, allow them to participate in social media outlets.

Topic - Depression.  Depression can be as deadly as smoking.  

An extensive research study revealed that the death rates for those who suffer from chronic and serious depression are comparable to those who are long-term smokers.  

However, if you are both anxious and depressed, death rates drop, amazingly enough.It is thought that the discomfort caused by the anxiety prompts the sufferer to seek help, thus reducing the depressive symptoms.  

Those who are depressed become socially isolated and their health habits decline as a result.  An unhealthy cycle develops whereby coping skills deteriorate possibly resulting in a poor job performance and even greater levels of isolation.  

Deteriorating dietary habits and poor self-care result in health problems.  

If you love someone with depression, realize the risks and help them get the treatment they need.  If you suffer from depression, cognitive behavioral therapy and possibly medication can improve your quality of life.

Topic - Childhood Cancer Effects.  As if surviving cancer isn’t enough, children who have been treated with radiation for brain tumors are likely to have problems with memory, organization and regulating their emotions later in life.  

They don’t adjust to adult life because of poor school performance, less full-time employment and subsequent lower income.  

Parents spend every ounce of their emotional energy coping with the unending procedures and consoling their gravely ill child.  Now is all they can handle.  

They can’t afford the luxury of dreaming that their child will live.  But, they need to prepare for a adulthood by arranging frequent evaluations to monitor academic performance as well as mental health counseling to deal with the trauma of having a life-threatening disease.  

If you know a family with these challenges, consider gently broaching this subject so they can discuss it with their doctors.

Topic - Autism Risk Seen In Placenta.  The search is on for ways to detect autism as early as possible so that interventions can begin.  

We know there are certain genetic markers for autism, but most kids are diagnosed first and then the genetic confirmation is conducted.  This approach doesn’t result in treatment.  

Researchers at Yale University were able to identify if a newborn was or wasn’t the sibling of a child with autism which makes that newborn 9 times more likely to develop the disorder.  

How could they tell?  By evaluating the abnormal folds in the placenta which suggests that nutrients weren’t properly delivered to the developing fetus.  

If the newborn was found to be vulnerable to autism, treatment began immediately when the brain is most flexible and able to change.  

It’s not known if therapies for older children work in newborns, but since the incidence rate of autism is now 1 in 50, we need to get creative to reduce the devastating symptoms in children.

Topic - Animals' Grief.  Rabbits, elephants, dogs, cats, monkeys, birds, giraffe, dolphins and whales, coyotes, wolves and horses have strong grief reactions when their babies or partners die.  

They spend a great deal of time trying to revive the dead family member and finally succumb to the realization that they must move on.

In the case of domestic pets, the dead pet is removed right away and the ancient process is not allowed to play out.  

It’s unhealthy to keep a dead pet around the house so its partner can grieve, but it’s important to understand the grief reaction of the surviving pet in order to teach little Andy why his dog, Buddy, doesn’t want to play and why he seems sad.  

Use this situation to find out what Andy thinks about death.  Help him express his feelings and develop coping skills appropriate for his age such as ways to honor his dog.

Don’t minimize Andy’s feelings especially if this is his first experience with death.

Topic - Left Handedness.  About 10% of the world’s population is left-handed.  

Why are people left-handed?  

There’s not much difference between lefties and righties.  But lefties excel in visual-spatial tasks and more lefties than righties are geniuses.  

Handedness might be related to speed.  Using one hand saves time and in the ancient world, handedness could have made the difference between life and death.  

Early survival may have favored lefties due to the surprise punch from the left in a fight.  Better warriors had more access to women and had more children.  

Societies with high levels of cooperation have more people with same-handed dominance than those that compete.  

Today, left-handedness may be related to problems during fetal development or birth. Lefties have higher rates of dyslexia, schizophrenia, allergies and lupus.  

Regardless of the reason for being a southpaw, nature has a plan.

Topic - Number Recognition.  Recently, I met a very intelligent and accomplished woman who casually remarked that she can’t read the number 9.  

She found it fascinating that she has “brain farts” when confronted with 9.  She also surmised that she pursued a field where numbers weren’t involved.  

I didn’t want to be Poindexter, but I shared that scientists recently found a teeny tiny part of the brain only 1/5 of an inch wide “turns on” when people see numbers, but it doesn’t light up when people see the number name spelled out as in n-i-n-e.  

This is curious because our brains don’t automatically read numbers.  It has to be taught.  

This group of neurons is side-by-side to the spot we use to read words and is thought to be responsible for dyslexia.  

Is this cluster of “number” neurons responsible for dyscalculia or the dyslexia of numbers?  Your math problems may be all in your head!