Posts Tagged ‘National Drinking Water Week’

Strands of Health

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Photographer: Graeme Weatherston

 

When it comes to your hair are you more concerned about the cut and color or what it says about your overall health?

 

Experts believe that our hair says a lot more about us rather than just being in style with the latest hair trends.  It has been found that the health of our hair and scalp can be a major red flag to a variety of different health conditions (Haiken, 2010).

 

According to Victoria Barboas, MD, “Our hair responds to stress, both the physical stressors of disease and underlying health issues, as well as psychological stress.”

 

With that in mind, what does your hair say about your health?

 

Red Flags


According to an article written by: Melanie Haiken, writer for Caring.com

 

  1. Dry, limp, thin-feeling hair.
  2. Scaly or crusty patches on the scalp, starting at the hairline.
  3. Thinning hair over the entire scalp.
  4. Overall hair loss that appears permanent.
  5. Dry brittle hair that breaks off easily.
  6. Hair falling out in small circular patches.
  7. Yellowish flakes on the hair and scaly, itchy patches on the scalp.
  8. Gray hair.

 

*To learn more on why this may be happening, what it could mean, and proper treatments, please visit:

 

http://health.yahoo.net/caring/8-things-your-hair-says-about-your-health

 

On The Other Hand

 

It has been found that some medical conditions and medications may affect your body, as well as your hair and scalp but sometimes, you may just need to take better care of your hair and/or scalp.

 

WebMD has provided a fantastic slide-show on Hair Health, showing you Myths from Facts.

 

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/slideshow-hair-and-scalp-conditions

 

More Valuable Sources:

 

Provided below is some additional research on the truth behind your hair and scalp- great info!

 

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100182640&

 

http://www.savvymiss.com/no-cache/body-spirit/womens-health-womens-body/womens-health-womens-body/article/what-your-hair-skin-and-nails-say-about-you-2875.html

 

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Does-Your-Hair-Say-About-Your-Health?&id=3038380

 

Sources:

http://health.yahoo.net/caring/8-things-your-hair-says-about-your-health

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/slideshow-hair-and-scalp-conditions

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It is National Drinking Water Week!!

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

 

May 2-8, 2010 is National Drinking Water Week. The theme of this observance is “Only Tap Water Delivers”. 

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the goal of this week is to highlight the importance of tap water and bring attention to everyone as to why investing in our public water systems is essential for safe healthy drinking water!

 

Did you know?

  • Nearly 286 million Americans receive their running water from a community water system.
  • Around 45 million Americans receive their running water from private ground water wells (Ground water wells are not required to follow Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines).
  • Tap water delivers fluoride, which will help prevent tooth decay!
  • Water fluoridation has been named one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century!
  • In the 1900′s there were approximately 100 cases of typhoid fever for every 100,000 persons living in the United States.  In 2006, it was found that only 0.1 cases for every 100,000 persons linked back to typhoid fever.  This significant decrease is due to the implementation of disinfection methods performed by the Environmental Protection Agency here in the U.S.
  • Due to the U.S.’s improvements in water quality over the years (water treatment, disinfection, and fluoridation) it has made the United State’s  tap water one of the safest and healthiest drinking water supplies in the world.

 

What you and your family should know:

  • Are you familiar with the Clean Water Act, which was passed in 1972?  Educate your kids on what it is and why it is important!
  •  Did you know that every community water supplier is required to provide it’s customers with an annual consumer confidence report?  Every year by July 1, you should receive this report in the mail.  It will tell you where your water comes from, the level of contaminants in it and how customers can get involved in protecting their drinking water!

    •  

    How You Can Help!

    • Be involved! Visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website and enter your area code to find out how you can help in your area!
    • Be informed!
    • Be observant! (Communicate with your neighbors, be alert & be aware of your surroundings)
    • Don’t Contaminate!

     

    Why Water and Health Go Hand and Hand:

     

    Most people know that drinking water is very beneficial for a healthy lifestyle; but do you know of all the other reasons it is important that we have healthy water?  Check out all of  the CDC’s different healthy water topics! http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/

     

    Fun fact:

    Did you know the human body is composed of 70% water?

     

    This week do some research about your own tap water and then sit back & enjoy a nice cool, clean glass of water in celebration of National Drinking Water Week!

     

    Sources:

     

    http://www.cdc.gov/Features/DrinkingWater/index.html

    http://www.cdc.gov/Features/DrinkingWater/graph.html

    http://health.utah.gov/epi/fact_sheets/typhoid.pdf 

    http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html

    http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/lcwa.html#National Pollutant

    http://www.epa.gov/safewater/wot/pdfs/book_waterontap_full.pdf

    http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/

    http://www.epa.gov/

    http://www.peoples-health.com/water-is-life.html

    http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/

    http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/cwa.cfm?program_id=45

     

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