March 27, 2009 at 1:38 pm (1)
Tags: Capital Area District Library, Consumer Health, Libraries, Reference
The Campaign for America’s Libraries and Woman’s Day Magazine
The American Library Association (ALA) recently announced that the March 2009 issue of Woman’s Day magazine features an article explaining how 4 women used their local public library to improve their health. As part of a promotion partnership between ALA and WD, readers were invited to send examples of ”how the library changed my life.” From the 1,000s submitted, these 4 were selected to highlight the variety of resources and services public libraries provide. Dealing with a spouse’s health crisis, postpartum depression, blindness, and a cancer scare were what these women faced. They each credit their local library with playing a role in the successful outcome of their situation. Click here to read the full article online or visit your local Capital Area District Library to see the print issue of the magazine.
This latest initiative continues an eight-year partnership between the magazine and ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries that has generated millions of dollars worth of editorial coverage for libraries. Since 2002, Woman’s Day has asked its readers to write in about “how the library has changed my life,” “why I would want to be a librarian for a day” and “how I started my business at the library.”
From now until May 18, Woman’s Day magazine is collecting stories on how the resources found at libraries have aided its readers in saving money, finding jobs and providing necessary resources during tough economic times. To participate, women 18 and over can submit their stories in 700 words or less to womansday@ala.org Four submissions will be featured in the March 2010 issue of Woman’s Day. Click here for the official rules.
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March 23, 2009 at 12:09 pm (General)
Tags: Capital Area District Library, Consumer Health, exercise, weight loss
Now that the weather is getting warmer (relatively speaking) and the sun is shining, it’s time to think about what we’re going to find under all those long sleeves and heavy pants once we start shedding the layers of winter clothing. Did you do more cocooning this past winter than crunches? How are those upper arms 
looking? Have you got a little more “flexibility” in those muscles than you’d like to see? Well, have no fear, it’s not too late to start toning and exercising in anticipation of baring all with spring and summer fashions.
Many websites and books offer exercise routines that allow you to concentrate on a specific problem area or improve your overall fitness. Triceps, abs, thighs; whatever. GoAskAlice which is produced by the Alice!, Health Promotion Program at Columbia University helps with “firming up flabby arms“. About.com provides the 10 Most Effective Ab Exercises. YourTotalHealth a service of NBC and iVillage suggests thigh exercises. The Capital Area District Library has exercise DVDs in the collection that can be borrowed for a week at a time. They have 100s of DVD (and some VHS) titles including: Hips, Thighs & Abs, Tone & Tighten Abs, Buns, & Thighs, Shape–Toning Workout. To search for other titles or subjects, start at the library catalog and click on Find Movies.
Remember: always consult with your doctor before beginning any exercise routine.
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March 20, 2009 at 1:35 pm (General)
Tags: Daylight Saving time, seasons
Spring began Friday, March 20, 2009 at 7:44 a.m. ET – the spring equinox.
Spring has sprung, the grass is ris’, I wonder where the birdies is!
Enjoy !!!
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March 13, 2009 at 3:28 pm (General)
Tags: Capital Area District Library, Consumer Health, Michigan, poisons
While attending the Mid-Michigan Women’s Expo at the Lansing Center last month, I saw a very dramatic display of consumer items that paired poisonous/dangerous products with their look-alike food/beverage item. Similar in packaging and product color, it was a vivid demonstration of how confusing some products are. We’ve all seen the gag where an adult squirts hair cream on their tooth brush and ends up with a mouthfull of Brylcreem®; distastefull maybe, but not disasterous. Envision though, a large bottle of Tide® detergent, orange plastic with a large grip handle on the side. Now think about a gallon size container of Minute Maid® orange juice, same orange plastic with a large grip handle on the side. Or, how about Scope® mouthwash – cool peppermint flavor, pretty blue color in a transparent container. Put that next to Jet Blue® dishwasher soap or automobile window washer fluid (which are also a pretty blue color in transparent containers) and I think you can see what I mean. These are just 2 examples of “mistaken identity” or “look-alikes” of products that can be deadly. Which leads me to the fact that March 15-21, 2009 is National Poison Prevention Week.
In 1961, President Kennedy signed Public Law 87-319 which allowed for the annual designation of the third week in March as National Poison Prevention Week. The Poison Prevention Week Council was organized to coordinate this annual event which Congress intended as a means for local communities to raise awareness of the dangers of unintentional poisonings and to take such preventive measures as the dangers warrant.
In the mid-Michigan area, our regional poison center is located at the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. The center responds to calls from health care professionals as well as the general public, 24 hours a day, everyday. They can be reached at 1-800-222-1222 and calls are answered by registered nurses specially trained in poison information. In addition, they provide advice on emergency treatment for poison exposures, educate the public and professionals on poison prevention and treatment, and staff a toxicology laboratory.
Locally, the Downtown Lansing Library has a supply of free poison safety tools – a Poison Safety Guide pamphlet, bookmarks, and refrigerator magnets, on the 2nd floor Consumer Health information kiosk. Each contains the center’s toll free number of 1-800-222-1222. Also displayed is a poster that provides more examples of cases of ”mistaken identity” of safe and dangerous products. As the poison center says on their website, “Poisons act fast – so should you”.
Online you can find examples of look-alikes at the cooperative extension service of the University of Kentucky and the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center.
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March 12, 2009 at 3:49 pm (General)
Tags: Capital Area District Library, Consumer Health, Daylight Saving time, Michigan eLibrary
Just when you thought Daylight Saving Time (DST) was a mere inconvenience, here comes an article by New York Times science writer Anahad O’Connor that explains that it can affect your health causing restlessness, sleep disruption and shorter sleep duration. Here’s a link to the article and the scientific study involving 55,000 people that it cites. Also, FYI, a quick search of the Health & Wellness Resource Center database available through the Capital Area District Library or Michigan eLibrary online resources shows several other articles that discuss the health impact of DST.
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March 6, 2009 at 10:03 am (General)
Tags: Capital Area District Library, Daylight Saving time, MelCat, Michigan eLibrary, Reference
Just a quick reminder that Daylight Saving Time (DST) goes into effect in much of the U.S. on Sunday, March 
8, at 2 a.m. local time. “Spring forward” by setting your clock ahead 1 hour.
DST was first established in the U.S. in 1918 and most recently modified in 2005 by the Energy Policy Act to take effect on the 2nd Sunday of March. Several reasons for DST have been cited over the years including energy conservation, fewer traffic accidents, and less violent crime.
For the U.S. and its territories, Daylight Saving Time is NOT observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and Arizona. The Navajo Nation participates in the Daylight Saving Time policy, even in Arizona, due to its large size and location in three states.
Information for this post obtained from WebExhibits. See their website for further interesting history, anecdotes, controversies, and a list of world countries that observe DST (or Summer Time, as they call it in the E.U.)
Useful information can also be found at time and date. com. The Capital Area District Library has 2 books on DST. Seize the daylight: the curious and contentious story of daylight saving time by David Prerau and Spring forward : the annual madness of daylight saving by Michael Downing. Copies can be found at the Dowtown Lansing, South Lansing and Haslett locations. Also, several other libraries throughout the state have books on DST – search MelCat, the statewide interloan system for other resources. Enjoy!
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March 2, 2009 at 9:33 am (General)
Tags: Capital Area District Library, Consumer Health, food pyramid, heart disease, nutrition, weight loss
A recent search at Amazon.com shows hundreds of diet books being published in 2009. Every kind of diet approach is covered – 4 day diet, Mediterranean, instinct diet, vegan, writing diet, lemon juice diet, inner peace diet, etc., etc., etc., in addition to the traditional low fat, low calorie, low carbohydrates. With so many choices, it can be difficult to make an informed and healthy selection. Fortunately, a study published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine gives us the bottom line: the key to maintained weight loss is simple, calorie reduction in whatever healthful, balanced diet is followed. The study followed 800 adults over a 2 year period. They were assigned to 1 of 4 groups which followed distinct diet styles. At the end of the study, all groups had lost and gained relatively the same amounts of weight with the only commonality being calorie reduction.
“It really does cut through the hype,” said Dr. Frank M. Sacks, the study’s lead author and professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at the Harvard School of Public Health. “It gives people lots of flexibility to pick a diet that they can stick with.”
Conclusions: Reduced-calorie diets result in clinically meaningful weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00072995)
So there you have it. Calorie reduction is all you need to remember. To see a sampling of diet books you can always visit your local public library of the Capital Area District Library system and browse the 613.25 Dewey number area. Or, for specific titles or authors, search the library catalog. Good Luck and Happy Dieting!
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