March 2018

THUNDER BAY – The Anishinabemowin word for sickness – aakoziwin, which means out of balance, was highlighted during the opening presentation at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care’s Empowering and Promoting Healthy First Nation Communities conference in Thunder Bay. “It’s a translation — it’s like you’re out of balance,” says Christopher Mushquash, clinical psychologist for Dilico, associate professor at Lakehead University and a Pays Plat citizen, during his presentation on Understanding the...

The question of nature vs nurture extends to our microbiome -- the personal complement of mostly-friendly bacteria we carry around with us. Study after study has found that our microbiome affects nearly every aspect of our health; and its microbial composition, which varies from individual to individual, may hold the key to everything from weight gain to moods. Some microbiome researchers had suggested that this variation begins with differences in our genes; but a large-scale study...

Cities and states are trying new ways to entice food stamp recipients to eat their fruits and vegetables. One approach that’s gaining popularity: offering rebates to low-income families when they buy fresh produce. A program in Massachusetts was so popular that it ran out of rebate money and had to be suspended. By rewarding food stamp recipients for making healthy choices, advocates hope to encourage low-income people to eat more fruits and vegetables. [For more on this story by Teresa...

On Monday, February 26, 2018 the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR443 with unanimous bipartisan support, affirming and advancing trauma-informed care throughout the United States. The Resolution includes: Resolved, That the House of Representatives— (1) recognizes the importance, effectiveness, and need for trauma-informed care among existing programs and agencies at the Federal level; and (2) encourages the use and practice of trauma-informed care within the Federal Government, its...

Close to 1,000 victims of domestic violence and human trafficking benefit from services provided by the Maryland Safe at Home Address Confidentiality Program (ACP). Safety, stability, and regaining a sense of control over one’s own life are the priority – but can be challenging to attain. To meet this need, the ACP was created in 2006 to provide at risk survivors with the means of keeping their address off public record and out of the hands of their abuser. The ACP offers a free...

What will the world be like when millions of us, who were once suppressed by the burden of Childhood PTSD, are liberated, and bring our gifts to the world? In this week's short video, I talk about the great change happening for many of us who have learned to re-regulate our brains and recover from the effects of childhood adversity. Anna Runkle is a video producer, mother and author of the blog Crappy Childhood Fairy. She is finishing a book due out this spring on practical techniques to...

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“Poison is the wind that blows from the north and south and east.” Marvin Gaye wasn’t an environmental scientist, but his 1971 single “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” provides a stark and useful environmental analysis, complete with warnings of overcrowding and climate change. The song doesn’t explicitly mention race, but its place in Gaye’s What’s Going On album portrays a black Vietnam veteran, coming back to his segregated community and envisioning the hell that people endure. Gaye’s...

Some experts have suggested that there is an “obesity paradox,” the idea that obese people live longer than those of normal weight. But a new study found that obesity was associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and a two- to threeyear shorter life span. The study, in JAMA Cardiology, pooled data from 10 studies of 190,672 people followed from 1964 to 2015. Compared with those of normal weight, overweight men (body mass index of 25 to 29.9) had a 21 percent higher...

The allure is undeniable: A mega-corporation moves to town, bringing with it billions in capital investment and tens of thousands of jobs. Little wonder that the ongoing sweepstakes to win Amazon’s second headquarters has inspired city and state officials to offer record-breaking economic incentive packages in the hopes of attracting the online giant. Chicago has offered $2 billion in tax breaks, including a tax diversion program which would redirect up to 100 percent of potential Amazon...

The Department of Homeland Security may soon formalize the abhorrent practice of detaining the children of asylum-seekers separately from their parents. Immigrant families apprehended at the southwest border already endure a deeply flawed system in which they can be detained indefinitely. In this immigration system, detainees too often lack adequate access to counsel. But to unnecessarily tear apart families who cross the border to start a better life is immoral. Sadly, such separations are...

In Philly’s Center City live its richest residents—those who can pay the premium for that walkable, amenity-rich, green neighborhood. But just across the river, blocks away from the lush, expanding campuses of the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, the visual landscape of the city changes: Pawn shops, fast food eateries, boarded-up store fronts, and dilapidated houses. Only a few areas in West Philadelphia have become more prosperous ( and whiter ). The rest continue to suffer...