Gifts wrapped up in health
While speed shopping toward the holidays, consider giving your friends and family gifts that promote good health.
The November issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter offers these ideas:
Gifts of food : Assemble your own basket of healthy items, such as fruits and nuts (along with a nutcracker), a little dark chocolate and some black tea. You also could add copies of your favorite healthy recipes or a gift certificate to a natural-foods store.
Gifts of relaxation : Consider gift certificates for a massage or half a day at a local spa. Other ideas include relaxation DVDs, guided-imagery CDs or top-quality bath soaps and bath salts along with some candles for soothing getaway bath time.
Gifts that nurture: Give a promissory note of daily walks together or a certificate for regular exercise classes for the two of you. Or buy a membership to a fitness center or athletic club and accompany it with a subscription to a health magazine.
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The bright side of life
If you’re tired of reading all the grim news about the many things that wreck your health, here’s good news from recently reported government health statistics, reported in the November issue of the Harvard Health Letter.
Americans are living longer, healthier lives. The mortality rate from heart disease has declined steadily since the early 1980s. The mortality rate from cancer began dropping 15 years ago. The rate of stroke has been on the decrease for nearly 50 years.
AIDS has not been among the top 15 causes of death since 1997. Some 600 fewer Americans died from the disease in 2005 than in 2004.
Although American women live longer on average than American men (80.4 years versus 75.2), the gap has been narrowing for a quarter-century.
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Caution on genetic tests
Dozens of at-home tests are available to show your genetic predisposition for conditions such as breast, ovarian and colon cancer, diabetes and blood-clotting disorders. Simply swab the inside of your cheek, send the cells in and wait for your results.
Most are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, however, nor are the labs regulated, warns a report in the November issue of Self magazine. In addition, many companies don’t put the results into context, which can lead to a false sense of security or anxiety, says Cathy Wicklund, president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors in Chicago.
Rather than take risks with unregulated firms, go to a genetic counselor to learn about any inherited-disease risks. You can find one in your area through the Web site of the National Society of Genetic Counselors at NSGC.org.
