A recent study suggests that an increase in either parents age carries a higher risk of a child developing autism. In this study, they concluded that whether the male or female is older, this could affect the chances of having an autistic child, independent of their partners age. For example, a woman in her late thirties has a 21-37% increase that her child will have autism no matter how old the child’s father is. This percentage continues to grow with age. If the father is in his late thirties he has a 28% greater chance of his child having autism independent of the mothers age. However,  if both the father and mother are in their late 30’s, this does not double the chances. They are still at around the same increase as a couple with one spouse above 30 years of age.

For full text article: http://www.babycenter.com/204_older-parents-more-likely-to-have-an-autistic-child_10363302.bc?scid=momspreg_20120207:3&pe=MlVCZjJ2TXwyMDEyMDIwNw..

The American Chiropractic Association provided a list of some different tips that can be used while you are sitting, standing or lying down to help you maintain a good posture.

Sitting Down: Make sure to keep your feet flat on the floor and don’t cross your legs. Your knees should be at the level of your hips and should be pulled away from the chair slightly. Relax your shoulders and keep your forearms parallel to the ground.  Lastly, try to avoid sitting for long periods of time, take a break and walk around every once in awhile.

Standing: Most of your weight should be on the balls of your feet with your knees slightly bent and feet shoulder width apart. If you are standing for a long period of time you can gradually shift your weight from your toes to your heels. Let your arms hang down in a relaxed position and stand tall with your shoulders pulled back and your stomach tucked in. 

Laying Down: Most importantly, find the right mattress for you and make sure to sleep with a pillow and try to avoid sleeping on your stomach. If you prefer to sleep on your side then put a pillow between your legs, or if you prefer to sleep on your back then place a pillow under your knees.

These are just some quick tips that you can use to help your maintain the proper posture. You can read more information here or visit a Chiropractor to help you analyze your posture.

Most people know that it is important to maintain a good posture when you are standing, sitting and even lying down.  However, not everyone knows about some of the problems that can arise from having an abnormal posture.  Here is a list of a few things that can be caused by having bad posture:

• Headaches
• TMJ Disorder
• Fibromyalgia
• Bone Deformation
• Disc Degeneration
• Visceral Disorders
• Pain Syndromes
• Altered Biomechanics

These are just a few of the problems that can arise from having an abnormal posture.  If you think that your posture might not be correct you can visit a doctor of chiropractic and they can evaluate your posture. Also, make sure to check back tomorrow for some tips on how to maintain a good posture.

An easy way to burn a few extra calories in your day is by not skipping commercials while watching television.  Instead, you can use this time to do short exercises like marching in place. 

A recent study looked at the amount of calories that were burned from an hour of sitting versus an hour of sitting with interspersed activities of marching in place.  In 25.2 minutes of commercials participants recorded 2,111 steps. This increases the calories burned in that hour from 81 to 148 calories.

This is an easy way to burn a few extra calories so try it out next time you sit down to watch an hour long television show.

For more ways to burn a few extra calories a day visit Women’s Health Magazine.

The Topic for this week is Diversified Chiropractic Technique.

We researched a lot of information about the background of the diversified technique, how the adjustments are performed, what to expect from a diversified Chiropractor and much more.  Make sure to check out this topic of the week to see if diversified is a good technique for you and make sure to check back next week for another interesting Chiropractic technique.

Read more about Diversified Chiropractic.

Here is a great recipe for parents and children to make together from Whole Foods Market.

Ingredients

• 4 slices of whole grain bread, toasted and cut into 1in cubes
• 4 slices of deli ham and 4 slices of deli turkey
• 16 cherry tomatoes
• 4 leaves romaine lettuce
• 1/4 pound cheddar cut in cubes
• 1/4 pound mozzarella cut in cubes
• 2 kosher dill pickles sliced thickly

Method

Making the kabobs is easy, just alternate all of the ingredients and thread them onto a kabob stick.  

Enjoy making these kabobs with your children!

A recent study was performed showing how much of an impact food advertisements had on children and how parents can alter that impact.  The study showed children 2 cartoons with a food commercial between.  The first half had a commercial showing apple slices while the second half of the children had a food advertisement for french fries.

After the show they were then asked to pick a coupon for either french fries or for healthy food and the patients were told to remain neutral or try and influence them what to pick.

The results show that parents can have an impact on what the children will eat. For the people who watched the french fries commercial and the parents did not have any influence then 71 percent of the children picked the french fries coupon. However, if the parents encouraged them to choose the healthy food the percent decreased to 55.

There are always going to be advertisements for unhealthy food on television but parents can have an impact in what the children choose to eat.  You can read the entire article here.

Eating when you are stressed out doesn’t always seem like the best idea.  However, if you eat the right foods when your anxiety levels are high you can actually help decrease your stress levels.  Here is a list of some foods to eat the next time you are feeling stressed or anxious about an exam, interview, presentation or anything else.

• Almonds, Pistachios and Walnuts: almonds contain Vitamin E to help boost your immune system, while pistachios and walnuts are good for lowering your blood pressure.
• Avocados: The creamy flavor of avocados can help replace your desire to eat foods like ice cream when you are stressed out.  Also, avocados are a great source of potassium which can help lower your blood pressure.
• Skim Milk: The calcium in skim milk can help to soothe tension. In addition, warm milk is helpful for insomnia and restlessness.
• Oatmeal: The carbohydrates in oatmeal cause your brain to slowly release serotonin which is a relaxing brain chemical that could make you less irritable.
• Oranges: These fruits contain Vitamin C which is also helpful in boosting your immune system and can help lower your blood pressure and make you feel less stressed.
• Salmon: Omega 3 fatty acids are found in salmon and have been shown to help keep your cortisol and adrenaline (stress hormones) levels from elevating too much.
• Spinach: Magnesium is a mineral found in spinach that can help keep your body feeling at ease and lower your stress levels.

You can read more information about each of the different foods at Women’s Health Magazine and find some good ways to incorporate these foods into your diet.  So the next time you are starting to feel a little stressed or you know your anxiety levels are going to be high try some of these foods to keep your blood pressure down and your mind and body at ease.