Over a 10-year period, Dr. Tobias Kurth and colleagues at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health studied the association between healthy lifestyles and stroke risk in more than 37,000 women age 45 or older.

At the beginning of the study, the women answered questions about their smoking habits, alcohol consumption, diet, exercise routine and body mass index. Researchers then assigned them a health index score from 0 to 20, with higher scores indicating a healthier lifestyle. Healthy behavior was defined as never smoking, consuming four to 10½  alcoholic drinks per week, exercising four or more times per week, having a BMI less than 22 and maintaining a healthy diet (rich in cereal fiber, folate, omega-3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated vs. saturated and trans fats).

Over the study period, 450 women suffered strokes. The 4.7% who had a health index score of 17 to 20 had a significantly lower risk than those who started with a score of 0 to 4.

“Our findings show the importance of healthy behaviors in the prevention of stroke,” the authors conclude.

Suggested Reading

New Nutrition Labels Highlight Trans Fat
Fat Tips for Heart Health
Hold the Salt
Obesity Health Risks

Hosted by Dr. Lisa Hark, a medical nutritionist and author of the new book, The Whole Grain Diet Miracle, the series offers a startling look at the causes of America’s childhood obesity epidemic, issuing a wake-up call for parents. Using state-of-the-art computer imaging, she gives them a frightening look at their children’s future faces. She then works with parents to change their ways and give their kids a healthy diet and active lifestyle. The family has three weeks to overhaul its bad habits under her direction, following her straightforward rules:

• Sack the sugar.
• Family eats together.
• Set a bedtime routine.
• Limit TV hours.
• Exercise together.

The series “taps into the family experience, capturing the emotionally charged moments that moms and dads across the country face every day as they juggle schedules and make critical parenting choices,” says TLC General Manager David Abraham. “Viewers will be captivated by each family’s struggles and challenges, but will also be armed with a wealth of easily incorporated information for better nutrition and exercise habits that can be used in their own lives.”

Tune in each week to see which families can correct their nutritional attitudes and habits.

Dr. Hark’s photo courtesy of TLC (Scott Gries/Getty Images)

Dr. Mehmet Oz

TV alert for Organic Authority readers!

Debuting this week on the Discovery Health Channel is “You: The Owner’s Manual,” cohosted by nationally renowned medical experts Drs. Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen.

The one-hour special, which premieres 8 p.m. Wednesday (EST/PST), is based on their best-selling book of the same name. It takes you on an offbeat journey through the human body, describing proven and critically important tips for restoring and maintaining your health.

With a slew of surprising factoids and a combination of animations and unique illustrations, the special provides a more complete understanding of what makes your body tick and how you can stay healthy, strengthen your body and lead a healthier life.

“Dr. Oz is the trusted source on any subject related to health, medicine and wellness,” says Eileen O’Neill, the channel’s executive vice president and general manager. “He delivers practical and life-changing information and advice in an easy-to-understand manner, and we’re thrilled to continue to have him as Discovery Health Channel’s ‘family doctor.’ ”

Watch It!

• 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25
• 11 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25
• 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28

All times are EST/PST

Reminder

Remember to shop at your local Whole Foods Market tomorrow, when the company will donate 5% of its total global sales to the Animal Compassion Foundation.
Click here for details.

Like many of you, I headed for the mall the day after Christmas, hoping to take advantage of favorite retailers’ sales and markdowns. Holiday “tidings of comfort and joy” seemed to be a distant memory as gotta-get-there-first shoppers drove like maniacs to land parking spaces and pushy crowds flooded the center. It was survival of the fittest, and one thought circled my mind as I navigated my way through the elbowing horde and all-around discourteousness: Why can’t people be more civil?

I was particularly shocked at how badly customer service representatives were treated at stores. Why do certain shoppers feel entitled to be disrespectful, demanding and downright obnoxious?

Business expert Winn Claybaugh, author of Be Nice (Or Else!), has the answer: “Some people seem to have the attitude that some individuals were born to serve, and others were born to be served,” he writes. “It’s been my experience that those who’ve worked in a service capacity—in the hotel, restaurant, retail or travel industries—tend to have compassion and generosity for those who might be serving them.”

At Organic Authority, we believe in remembering your organic spirit, but you should extend this courtesy to the folks who strive to make your life easier. Claybaugh urges readers to “go overboard and make up for all the times you ignored all those wonderful, amazing, humble, talented individuals who’ve made your life easier through their service.” This means saying hello to your mail carrier, garbage collector, gardener, restaurant busboy and others who often go unnoticed. Remember to say “please” and “thank you.” They’ll appreciate the gesture, as being overlooked, ignored and treated as second-class citizens happens all too often.

Please make a new year’s resolution to, put it simply, be nice!