Today, the average teenager sends 3,339 text messages each month and spends 97 minutes a day playing video games. Add social networking, video watching, and emailing and the results can be damaging to mental and physical health. Brain Housman applies 20 years of experience to helping families make better choices. (www.360family.org)

It looks so innocent sitting there among the other vegetables in the produce section. But that simple, unassuming plant may help heal your child of autism. Dr. Michael Greger weighs in on this and other contemporary health topics. (www.nutritionfacts.org)

Pediatrician Dr. Rachel Nelson offers five powerful health tips for parents and their young ones to follow to help them reach their full potential.

Have you ever witness anything that left you speechless—in a good way? Dr. James Marcum, founder/director of Heartwise Ministries, says that what you felt at that moment was actually healing to both your mind and body.

There’s something uniquely sad about losing a parent. They may be old and infirmed, but when the moment of separation comes, most people feel a loss unlike any other. Christian author Sharon Brown Keith offers insights and hope from her own painful experience.

It’s unpredictable, often disabling, and there doesn’t seem to be a cure. It disrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body. That’s one of the conditions that neurologist Norman McNulty examines on this revealing program.

It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it. Eric Nelson is a colon and rectal surgeon practicing in Chattanooga, Tennessee and an expert in colorectal diseases of the most unpleasant and dangerous kind.

How are you feeling today emotionally? If you say, “Meh,” you might want to listen carefully as Dr. James Marcum, founder/director of Heartwise Ministries shares information about a potentially dangerous mental condition called depression.

Recently Wallet Hub has released their most and least stressed cities.

The stressors in these cities could be commuter stress, unemployment stress (mental), divorce stress (social), poor physical health, pollution etc.

I do not know about you, but the media is stressing me out. With negative stories and a constant bombardment of trivia my epigenetics are changing.

Stress, no matter the source, is not good. Every input affects the body. Inputs from food, lifestyle habits, medical conditions, and even food, change the body. Stress can shorten telomeres causing our DNA to age triggering mutations and malfunctions. Next come symptoms and a trip to the doctor.

Everyone has a genetic hard drive given to us by our parents. The stressors of life make up the software, which changes the hardwiring. We want inputs that improve the hardwiring.

If everyone in your family loses their hearing at age 70 and you are exposed to the stress of excessive noise, your hearing may worsen sooner. The hardwiring is stressed by the noise.

The same can be said for other parts of the body. If your genes are prone to dementia and your brain is stressed by alcohol, lack of sleep, pain, poor nutrition, lack of movement or whatever, the brain may age sooner. Medications may treat symptoms but do not address cause.

The point I want to make is to pay attention to the stressors in your life and limit stress related damage to your DNA. Remembering that all inputs affect the body to some degree.

The body is much more complicated than we can even imagine. The more I learn, the less I know. As technology progresses, the complexities are being uncovered. Don’t forget, too much media can also be a source of stress. Stay balanced. Try to obtain more physical, mental, social, and spiritual rest.

Surgery is sometimes necessary. But, there are practical things we can do to assist our surgeon as he or she works to take us safely through the often dangerous process. Dr. David King offers suggestions and a peek into the future.

Where are the medical professionals who will step up to the plate with the necessary guidance for getting and staying well? Dr. Matthew Hollie promotes what he calls “the preventive medicine mindset.”

In August every year, I am inundated by football. High school young men getting ready for the season, hype on the upcoming college season, and professionals getting prepared for the season are the stories in the media. Everyone has a story, comment or opinion on the upcoming games. Remember these are games. Yet we cannot get enough media coverage about football.

A study published July 25, 2017 in the Journal of the American Medical Association examined the brains of deceased, former football players ranging from youth to pros. 88 percent of the individuals had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. This is a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated trauma to the skull. Trauma to any body part is not a good thing. Trauma to the organ responsible for controlling the body, including higher levels of thinking and functioning is a major stress.

The three-pound brain with 80-90 billion neurons and quadrillion interconnections enclosed in a protective casing needs to be protected. It is too valuable to be “banged around.” At younger ages as the brain develops, the impacts are more pronounced.

The latest study is the largest study to date and again suggests that football players may be at the greatest risk of developing neurologic disease. Of those pros examined 110 of 111 brains studied had CTE, of college brains examined 48 of 53, and 3 of 14 of high school brains had CTE.

Genetics, years played, amount of force and hits, hydration, and a host of other factors could affect the disease’s progression. Years ago, we did not fully understand the dangers of cigarettes, the same can now be said of football. We are just beginning to understand the impact on health that football is having.

Nationwide over one million youth participate in football each year. Concussion is the most obvious acute syndrome, but the repetitive trauma may produce symptoms of memory loss, depression, headaches, and dementia years later.

If a brain would normally begin to age at say at 80 years of age and undergoes stressors that changes the very DNA, known as epigenetics, the aging process accelerates and the organ wears out sooner. We do not have a good test to show the protein deposits, degenerative changes, and accelerated aging.

I applaud that precautions are now being set in place to lower the risks, but damage still occurs at some level. Is it worth it? This is a legitimate question. Dementia and depression are tough to see in anyone. Our society is still in love with football. We just cannot get enough. Society will pay a price. Will mothers get to the point where they will not let their children play because the risks outweigh the benefits? Brain pain, is it worth it?

Sometimes food can fool you. You think you’re eating healthfully, and then you discover a hidden secret of the unhealthy kind. Dr. Michael Greger shares both a warning and some encouragement concerning rice. (nutritionfacts.org)

We all know we should, but many of us don’t. Cardiologist Dr. James Marcum, founder/director of Heartwise Ministries, talks about exercise and how to fit it in with our daily walk with God.

We’ve got a problem. We all do a lot of sitting. Is it affecting our health? Dr. Christopher Stewart, program director of the physical therapist assistant program at Southern Adventist University near Chattanooga, Tennessee, shares insights and suggestion for keeping our posture proper and strong.

“It’s just not fair,” some may say. “It’s important to me; to my happiness, my contentment, my sense of well-being?” This may be true. But it also may be contributing to your early demise. Christina Grenga, faith-based certified international health educator, reveals the troubling truth about processed sugar. (www.grengahealth.com)

They want your blood—and for good reason. They’re desperate to give it someone who doesn’t have enough of their own. Aly Barraza, communication program director for the American Red Cross East Division, explains how the process works. (www.redcrossblood.org)

Successful marriages require effort, understanding, and self-sacrifice—not exactly themes you’ll find depicted on the cover of romance novels. Nina Roesner, author of “The Respect Dare,” explains that there are steps we can all take to boost the chances for success of our relationships. (www.greaterimpact.org)

Anytime a medical condition or diagnosis includes the word “dysfunction,” it’s time to talk to a professional. Dr. James Marcum, board-certified cardiologist and founder/director of Heartwise Ministries, examines “Diastolic Dysfunction” and demonstrates why we should care…or not.

If I were part of the physician led team treating George Washington years ago and suggested leeches were “not a good idea”, there is a good chance I would not be invited to the next meeting of the local medical society. Similarly if I were practicing dentistry and suggested that cocaine might not be the best anesthetic agent, dentists from that time would have thought that idea, “strange.”

Throughout the course of history new ideas and discoveries have often taken time to be accepted by leaders. This is not unique to medicine. This has been the case for scientific advancements, new business ideas, and even political discoveries. Unfortunately, taking time has cost lives. Even though new ideas took time to be accepted, did individuals make time to evaluate the evidence?

Smoking has been going on for years. In the 30’s it was suggested that smoking be used as a treatment for asthma. Now, years later, it is well known that smoking is a risk factor for heart disease, lung disease, and cancer. Smoking shortens life. Even thought this is well established, people still smoke. The good news is, we know the truth, and individuals can decide. Those promoting smoking cessation are no longer being looked on as strange. It just took time.

The American College of Cardiology has recently released new recommendations that urge hospitals to improve patient menus by adding plant-based options and removing processed meats which have been linked to 60,000 cardiovascular deaths a year (JAMA, online March 7, 2017).

This recommendation of one plant-based main dish at each meal with a variety of vegetables and fruit is not a new concept. Many have been recommending this for years and now those voices and research are being heard by professional organizations. Now lives can be saved. It took some time.

The American Medical Association has also passed a resolution calling on hospitals to provide healthful plant-based meals and eliminate processed meats. Why is this happening? Finally voices are being heard. Evidence is being evaluated and disseminated. There will be much more to come. It took some time and effort. Now individuals are making time to evaluate this evidence-based information.

The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine has had a campaign to make hospital foods healthier. The World Health Organization has stated publicly that processed meats are carcinogenic to humans. Doctors including Ornish, Campbell, McDougall, Esselstyn, Diehl, Barnard, Greger and a host of others have been spreading this information for years. Organizations like, Nutrition Facts, Plant Pure Nation, Center for Nutrition Studies, and Food Matters, to name a few, have been spreading this information for a time, often against public opinion. To all, we say thank you. Sometimes it just takes time.

I am thankful that with the Internet and other forms of modern media, this information has spread. There will be pushback as history has proven. What individuals will do with this information is a personal choice. At least the word is out. It took some time.

We are going to hear much more about this issue as history progresses and someday we will look back and ask, “Why did this take so much time”? We will also be learning of more seemingly revolutionary ideas as history progresses. Let’s make the time to look at the evidence when evidence is available. Let’s learn from history.