WARM UP:

One Joke: 

Q:  Why was the baby jalapeño shivering? (Answer at bottom)

One Fact: 

There are about 250 hairs in a human eyebrow!

One Quote:

“There are two ways to get enough.  One is to continue to accumulate more and more.  The other is to desire less.”

–G.K. Chesterton

One Guess…Name That Disease: 

• Description:  Eye disorder in which the light sensitive tissue on the back wall of the eye peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue.  

• Signs and Symptoms:  Sudden onset of visual disturbances including floaters, flashes of light in the periphery, blurriness, or “dark curtains”/shadows.

• Risk Factors: Severe myopia, prior cataract surgery, trauma, diabetic retinopathy, aging.

• Treatment:  Surgical emergency.  Surgical options include cryotherapy, laser therapy, use of gas bubbles, vitrectomy, scleral buckle surgery.

• Prognosis:  Generally good outcomes with proper early treatment but depends on the location and extent of the injury.

Answer: Click to find out!

HEALTHCARE HEADLINES:

** The FDA approved a novel medication based on groundbreaking CRISPR gene-editing technology for the first time last week. This treatment will target sick cell disease, but other applications could be on the way!

** A 70 year old Ugandan woman has given birth to twins via IVF.

** The Gates Foundation is funding efforts to create new needle-free vaccines.  Vaccine patches could reduce the need for trained professionals to give the vaccine and could make distribution easier in many parts of the world, doing away with rigid supply chain temperature requirements.  1 in 4 adults and 2 of 3 children have needle phobia, according to the CDC.

TOGETHER WITH FULTON:

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WATER COOLER WONDERS…the stuff we found interesting this week:

** Learn:  How much did you pay for your Christmas tree this year?  Read about the economics of Christmas trees and find out why you paid 400-500% mark up on your tree, whether it was real or artificial. 🎄 

** Year Ahead: Did you know there’s a color of the year?  Well get ready for 2024, the year of peach fuzz! Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said the color “resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.”

FOCUS ON WELLNESS:

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, sure.  But why?

As the winter fruit season approaches and selection becomes more limited, it’s worth reading this review article from Everyday Health and considering what’s so special about the mighty (and readily available) apple?  

1. Apples improve digestion because the skin is high in both forms of fiber – soluble and insoluble.  Soluble fiber helps slow down digestion, which controls your blood sugar and allows you to feel full.  Insoluble fiber aids with constipation and regularity.

2. Apples may lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure.  One recent study showed protective effects on lipid levels and other cardiometabolic markers with eating two apples a day.

3. Apples may boost immunity.  Apples are a good source of Vitamin C, which has been shown in studies to help the immune system 

4. Apples are high in antioxidants, which have been shown to limit cancer cell growth.  Eating apples has been shown to reduce the risk of colorectal, oral, esophageal, and breast cancers.

5. Apples are rich in flavonoids, which have been shown to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of dementia.  

6. Apples can support healthy weight loss and are diabetes friendly, tied again to the digestive effects of fiber.  A medium apple contains 95 calories and 4.8g of fiber.

By the way, what do you call two apples next to each other?  A pear!

THANKS FOR READING!

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JOKE ANSWER: He was a little chili!