healthbriefs


Sweet Stuff Combats Infections


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oney’s use as a medicine was described on Sumerian clay tablets dating back 4,000 years, and ancient Egyptians made ointments of the sticky substance to treat wounds. Now, contemporary scientists have shown that manuka honey, which comes from New Zealand, could be an efficient way to clear chronically infected wounds and help reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Professor Rose Cooper, of the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, in the UK, has investigated how manuka honey interacts with bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Group A Streptococcus and methicillin-resistant Staphy- lococcus aureus (MRSA). She dis- covered that the honey interfered with their growth, blocking the formation of biofilms that can wall off such bacteria from antibiotic remedies.


Unplug During Screen-Free Week


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he American Academy of Pediatrics recommends zero screen time for children under 2 and less than two hours per day for older children. Yet, the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that 40 percent of 3-month-old infants are regular viewers of television and DVDs, and school-age kids spend nearly twice as many hours with screen media such as television, video games, computers and handheld devices as they spend attending school. To help kids, families, schools and communities turn off screens and turn on healthier activities, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) urges ev- eryone to participate in Screen-Free Week, April 30 through May 6. CCFC is a national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups, parents and individuals, with a mission to reclaim childhood from corporate marketers. “The commercialization of childhood is the link between many of the most seri- ous problems facing children and society today,” advises CCFC Director Susan Linn. “Childhood obesity, eating disorders, youth violence, sexualization, family stress, underage alcohol and tobacco use, rampant materialism and the erosion of children’s creative play are all ex- acerbated by advertising and marketing.”


Learn more about the week- long event, efforts to restrict mar- keters’ access to children and how to help, at CommercialFreeChildhood.org.


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Boston | NaturalAwakeningsBoston.com


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