Health

Everyone's been hearing about the bird flu lately and the potential of a pandemic. Some people are taking the threat very seriously, but I don't think most of us are too concerned.  On the other hand, it's a fact that there have been 10 pandemics in the last 300 years.  Based on that, you'd have to say it's not really a matter of if but of when.  There was an interesting discussion about this on a recent episode of Science Friday, about the disruptions in that there'll be in the economy, distribution systems, etc. if a pandemic strikes.

From an article in USA Today:

Nearly 2,000 pastors have traveled to Orange County's Saddleback Church for a national conference that coincides with World AIDS Day on Thursday. On the agenda: How to start local AIDS ministries and free HIV testing in churches... Churches have realized that AIDS isn't a "gay disease" and can't be easily labeled, even in the United States, said Doug McConnell, dean of School of Intercultural Studies at the Pasadena-based Fuller Theological Seminary. Interest in domestic ministries has steadily grown in the past five years, he noted... "The church has the moral authority to say, 'Hey, it's not a sin to be sick,'" said Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, a best-selling book. "The Gospels repeatedly show that Jesus loved, touched, and cared for lepers - the diseased outcasts of his day. Today's 'lepers' are those who have HIV/AIDS."

Here's another article from Christianity Today.

The new CPR guidelines announced recently change the number of compression per two rescue breaths from 15 to 30.  I guess I've been through the training about 4 or 5 times, so I'm pretty used to the 15 to 2 ratio.  Will I be able to remember that it's been changed to 30 to 2?  Don't know.  Hopefully I won't have to.

A recent study has quantified the benefit of almost daily exercise in terms of length of life.

The researchers looked at records of more than 5,000 middle-aged and elderly Americans and found that those who had moderate to high levels of activity lived 1.3 to 3.7 years longer than those who got little exercise, largely because they put off developing heart disease -- the nation's leading killer. Men and women benefited about equally.

Here's a summary article about the exercise study.

In other health-related news, exercise has been linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer, and other research suggests that decaffeinated coffee may have a harmful effect on the heart by increasing the levels of a specific cholesterol in the blood.

25 % of men leave public restrooms without washing their hands.  10 % of women do.  Therefore, it's probably a good idea to use a paper towel to protect your hand from the door handle when you leave...there's not telling what germs were left there by the previous person.  For example, "...viruses can stay alive for two hours on hands, and for 20 minutes on hard, dry surfaces those germy hands touch."  The most delinquent hand washers were at the Braves' baseball stadium in Atlanta, where 37 % of men left without washing.