Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Pulse

Healthline

By wire services
Published March 29, 2005

THE 14th ANNUAL YMCA Healthy Kids Day takes place April 2 at six branches of the YMCA of the Suncoast. YMCA Healthy Kids Day is part of YMCA "Activate America," a nationwide initiative focused on developing and implementing community-based solutions to help Americans improve their health and wellness. Each branch will host a variety of events such as games, youth sports, face painting, finger printing etc. Call the YMCA of the Suncoast (727) 467-9622, for information and directions.

Clearwater: 1005 S Highland Ave.; 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Bardmoor: 8787 Bryan Dairy Road, Largo; 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Hernando County: 1300 Mariner Blvd., Spring Hill; 9 a.m.-noon

High Point: 5345 Laurel Place, Clearwater; 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

North Pinellas: 4550 Village Center Drive, Palm Harbor; 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

James P. Gills: 8411 Photonics Drive, New Port Richey; 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Greater Palm Harbor: 1600 16th St., Palm Harbor. This branch will observe Healthy Kids Day 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 9.

NEW EVIDENCE SUGGESTS that oral piercing may lead to receded gums, a sign of age that is the origin of the expression "long in the tooth." Researchers at Ohio State University in Columbus looked at 58 young adults with an average age between 21 and 22. Half had pierced lips and the other half did not. Among the subjects with a pierced lip, 41.4 percent had receding gums, while 6.9 percent of those without a pierced lip suffered from this periodontal condition. In the pierced-lip group, recession of the gum line was, on average, twice as deep as it was among those with no pierced lip. Tongue piercing also has been connected to receding gums and dental disease, including chipped teeth. Researchers suspect that it is the trauma of piercing, and of a foreign object moving around inside the mouth, that causes the gum recession and other dental problems.

TAKING FOLIC ACID supplements - along with eating more foods high in folate, such as oranges, leafy greens and fortified grains - might help some women reduce their risk of hypertension. Among younger women, those who took more than 1,000 micrograms of folate daily had 6.7 cases of hypertension per 1,000 women, compared with 14.8 cases per 1,000 women in those who took fewer than 200 micrograms - suggesting that eight women per 1,000 might have avoided high blood pressure if they had consumed more folate.

[Last modified March 29, 2005, 08:42:03]