Lights, Camera, Healthy Food!

Last night I fully recorded the video I plan to post on the newspaper's blog site. It took me about forty minutes to record the video and I prepared for about three hours to memorize my speech. My boyfriend came over to help me with the camera technicalities. Without him, it probably would have taken me twice as long to record myself. I only screwed up my lines a few times, but that was because I practiced so many times. My only concern is that I can't delete a scene that I fumbled on. The deletion setting on the camera only allows the person recording to delete the last scene and by accident, my boyfriend pressed the record button twice, which started another scene. I couldn't access the deletion application to the initial scene, which has me a little worried. Also, Mr. Miller told me to bring in the hard drive today so we could put the video on the newspaper blog site. Well, Mr. Miller isn't here, so I hope I'm not screwed completely. I guess I'll find out tomorrow what my O

Picture Credit: www.dcs.qmul.ac.uk/~phao/CIP/Images/

Health Food Nation

Yesterday I gathered all the food and nutritional information I'm going to include in my video. Most people under-estimate the access they have to making a healthy, yet delicious food. Many of these meals can be made from food sitting in the back of your kitchen pantry or cuppord. And if you don't have them, they are easily accessable and are usually affordable at a local grocery store. A lot of my friends purchase lunch after school or during their opens from local delis and luncheons. Most of them work and have visable spending money, but I think they could use their spending money on other things if they take some time to explore the options in their kitchen at home. If their family orients most of their meals around eating out, they could consider many of the healthy options now offered by our school.

I'm very excited to film my project. Not only am I learning about something new, but I'm enjoying it, too. I feel like I can really help a lot of people and educate them about their nutritional health. In a way, I feel like this was the aim of our project and that I am fufilling the requirements.

Switch-a-roo

As we know, I was going to write a feature article in the school newspaper about our school's carbon footprint and how it compares with schools across the country. Well, that wasn't working out. My sources were not answering my questions but, instead, were referring me to other people, who referred me to other people as well. There was too much data and information I need by the due date of this project. I was very frustrated because none of this was my fault; my only contacts and sources turned out to be unreliable ones. I did everything I could to get the information and I ended up getting nothing in return.



I changed gears. Something I research for my previous idea influenced my new project idea. Diet and food trends are everywhere. They're advertised on TV, the internet, in store windows, and even at work. They appear to have magical affects, and try to convince their audience that all you have to do is take this pill and watch the weight disappear. Obviously, in the real world, this is not true. The most practical, realistic, and healthiest way to lose weight is a healthy diet and exercise. I'm going to film a quick five minute video showing the healthy food trends of 2009 and post it on the school newspaper's website, following it with a brief summary. This can be easily accessed by not only Branford students, but to any student who has internet access. I'm excited to begin.

Mother Nature's Medicine

This featured blog is called Pain Management and Migrane Relief. Its sole contributer is Indie Cooper-Guzman, a nurse board certified in pain management through the American Academy of Pain Management. She gives helpful advice on how to reduce and better manage headaches and migranes. This particular blog entry is called "The Value of Change... Getting Outside". It is a common misconception that remaining sedentary at home will lessen physical pain. Cooper-Guzman shares with her audience how "the change of scenery, the feeling of fresh air, and the change of pace can change the way you think and how you feel" and often relieve pain. Enjoying scenery and beautiful weather will often lead to a positive attitude and thus, prohibiting pain from controlling our mentality. Also, surrounding oneself in fresh air and a calm, relaxing environment can reduce the need for worry and concern, which leads to a happier, more positive person.

The audience Cooper-Guzman is writing to is one that experiences physical pain regularly and is interested in unique methods of alleviation. Cooper-Guzman sounds very passionate about this method of alleviation and encourages her readers to adopt this practice. The most interesting part of this blog entry is how simple the solution is to a common and often worrysome problem. Many people rely on over-the-counter or prescription drugs even at the slightest sign of pain. Stepping outside is a more enjoyable and healthier method to this problem. I agree with Cooper-Guzman's advice. I notice that sunshine and fresh air help me feel much better when I am in pain or illness. Going outdoors in beautiful New England often makes people feel happier than being in a gloomy, dark basement den, especially when they are experiencing pain.

Photo Credit-Raymond 3

Counseling Cures

The name of this blog entry is What Medications Are Recommended for Adolescents Who Are Quitting Smoking? It's author is Donna M. D'Alessandro, MD and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital. The focus of this blog entry is to channel focus on adolescent smokers and which method of quitting is most effective. The blog follows a 17-year-old male who is an athlete, but also is a light smoker whose parents are asking him to quit. He had only been smoking a few cigarettes a day for the past three months, and was unsure if it was affecting his athletics. After a patient evaluation, the male was diagnosed as a healthy male athlete and recent smoker. The health counsler suggested he receive help through counseling.

Of all methods used to quit smoking, counseling is most recommended by pediatricians for adolescents. Not only is counseling more effective than other methods, but it is medication-free. This leaves the patient not dependent on other medicine in place of nicotine. I believe this blog entry was intended for parents of adolescent smokers or friends of adolescent smokers. The author's tone remains calm throughout the article. She expresses that while the health of new smokers is not in immediate danger that it will be in the future if they do not receive proper treatment soon. The author also explains that "..adolescents enrolled in tobacco cessation programs are 2 times more likely to quit and remain abstinent." This blog interested me because the patient evaluation of the young male showed no dangerous signs to his health. It is clear that short term effects of smoking are small, yet the long term effects of smoking can be fatal.

Experts are in Opposition of Lowering the Drinking Age

A group of researchers and safety experts are now in opposition against lowering the drinking age. This research group expressed to The Washington Post that the only change that should be made is to enforce stricter laws for those caught drinking underage. This is because they are concerned that the number of fatal accidents from underage drinking will increase dramatically, especially young drivers ages 16-20. The United States does not have much data to support this theory. Instead, they are basing their opinion off of New Zealand, who lowered the drinking age from 20 to 18, that experienced an increase in driving fatalities from underage drinking.

A coalition of colleges, called the Amethyst Initiative, proposed to reopen the debate for underage drinking, saying that allowing alcohol access to people as young as 18 could promote drinking in moderation. However, this coalition has been very much criticised by experts who claim that 900 lives are saved every year from drinking-age laws. Experts are especially trying to change societal views of college students. Because each state has a different plan or opinion on how to regard underage drinking, there are no further plans congregate state senators in reaching a mutual agreement.

This is a very controversial issue. It is hard for me to take sides on this opinion because there are positives and negatives about lowering the drinking age. However, I lean more towards lowering the drinking age than away from it. I believe that lowering the drinking age will promote moderate drinking. Teenagers need to be exposed to alcohol at an earlier age to understand the affects of alcohol. Many have a skewed perception on how fantastic alcohol is and how great it can be. Teenagers should experience how alcohol affects them, and this should hopefully teach them that alcohol should only be consumed in moderate quantities. Of course, there is a concern that driving fatalities will increase. However, I don't believe they will increase, but remain the same. There are drunk driving fatalities from people well over the drinking age and well under the drinking age. As long as alcohol is legal and accessable, there will be drunk driving fatalities, regardless of what the drinking age is.

ACL Tears Among Young Children Are On the Rise

Doctors nationwide have been treating ACL injuries now more than ever in young children. The New York Times reports that years ago, it was believed that young children's ligaments were stronger than their bones, therefore expecting a child's Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) would be injured less than their bones. However, specialists today are treating children regulary for ACL tearing, when a decade ago, most specialists had few annual visits for such an injury.

Specialist believe that they are treating more young children for ACL injuries due to children becomming involved in competative sports earlier. Unlike 20 years ago, there are hundreds of thousands of travel and ellite sports teams that are local to many citizens' residences. Because the level of competition is higher now than ever amongst young athletes, it is easy and common for them to become injured, thus attributing to the increase in ACL tears in children.

Certain specialists are opposed to performing surgery on ACL tears in children. Because a child's leg bones are not yet fully developed, drilling screws into a child's growth plate to stabilize the ACL raises concerns. There have been a few alternative surgeries for young patients that avoid drilling into the growth plate and, instead, drilling holes in fully developed bone to thread the tendons. However, this method's long terms effects are unknown and doctors are currently researching other possible surgery alternatives for young athletes treating ACL tears.