HHSAA requires coaches to take a Concussion in Sports course

HHSAA requires concussion education for all state tournament coaches

HONOLULU – In an August 13, 2012 meeting, the HHSAA board approved a provision that all coaches – head coaches, assistants and volunteers – participating in any HHSAA state championship event complete the NFHS online concussion education course. 

 “It is the responsibility of our coaches and administrators to not only prepare our student athletes for victory, but to provide a safe environment as well,” said HHSAA Executive Director Chris Chun.

 The free 30-minute course titled Concussion In Sports – What You Need to Know is available on the NFHS learning center website, nfhslearn.com, and is a collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) providing information on concussion recognition and management.  If a coach fails to complete the course, he/she will not be allowed on the sideline during the event until the course has been successfully completed.

 “I am very pleased that our Board recognized the severity of concussions in athletics and included this course as part of the coaching certification process in Hawaii,” said Chun.  “The NFHS’s concussion course provides a strong foundation that will prepare our coaches to deal with concussions in collaboration with our athletic trainers and other health care professionals.”

 The HHSAA launched a concussion awareness and education campaign in August with a 30-second PSA aired on OC16 as well as a concussion resource page on SportsHigh.com.

Magnesium may aid in fight against Diabetes

 The number of adults with diabetes worldwide has more than doubled since 1980 to a mind-numbing 347 million, officially making it a global epidemic. But believe it or not, there’s good news about diabetes: There are a number of ways to combat and even outright prevent this growing disease.

As the 7^th leading cause of death in the United States, diabetes costs the nation $174 billion annually, including $116 billion in direct medical expenses. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 79 million Americans – one-third of the nation’s adult population – has prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are elevated, raising a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. In fact, according to research, having diabetes increases the risk of death from all causes.

For example, in examining data involving 820,900 subjects enrolled in 97 published studies, John Danesh, from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), and colleagues found that high fasting blood sugar levels ( >100 mg/dL) not only doubles vascular death risk, but also substantially raises the risk of death from nonvascular causes, including cancer and infectious diseases. Subjects with diabetes were 80 percent more likely to die from any cause during the study period. The researchers found that diabetics were at 2.32-fold higher adjusted risk of death from vascular causes, as compared to nondiabetic counterparts; and at significantly elevated risk of death from cancer and other non-vascular, noncancer causes including pneumonia and other infectious diseases, mental disorders, nervous system disorders, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Diabetics are also at increased risk of developing aging-related diseases. Men and women in their 50s with diabetes have nearly double the risk for developing cognitive impairment, incontinence, falls, dizziness, vision impairment and chronic pain compared to same-age counterparts who do not have diabetes. Because diabetes affects multiple organ systems, it has the potential to contribute significantly to the development of a number of health issues that we associate with aging.

Today, nondrug interventions such as nutritional supplementation, smart dietary choices, and lifestyle changes are becoming more widely recognized as key approaches to reduce the risk of diabetes and/or manage the condition if you’ve developed it. Let’s review some of these strategies and help ensure a healthier, happier, diabetes-free you.

More Magnesium Makes a Difference  

While magnesium is found in dietary sources such as green leafy vegetables, meats, starches, grains, nuts and milk, a number of surveys suggest that many adults fail to consume the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for this essential mineral. Frank Christoph Mooren, from the Institute of Sport Sciences at the Justus-Liebig University (Germany), and colleagues enrolled 52 men and women in a study in which each received either a magnesium supplement (containing magnesium-aspartate-hydrochloride at a dose of 365 mg per day) or placebo for six months. At the study’s conclusion, the team found that two out of three measures of insulin sensitivity had improved significantly in those receiving the supplemental magnesium compared to the placebo group, and blood sugar levels, measured as fasting levels of glucose in the blood, had improved by about 7 percent in the magnesium-supplemented group compared with placebo

Five Simple Ways to Reduce Your Chances of Getting Cancer

Excess Body Fat Can be a high Risk Factor

Simple Ways to Reduce Your Cancer Risk

    As of late November 2009, the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program estimated that nearly one in two men and women born in 2009 will be diagnosed with cancer at some time during their lifetime. With those depressing odds in mind, there’s no time like the present for you and your family to pursue natural ways to help ward off cancer. Here are a few to consider

 Watch What You Weigh. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), approximately 100,500 cancers that strike Americans annually are the result of excess body fat, underscoring the central role that overweight and obesity play in the development of cancer (and in the ability to survive the disease).

 Think Natural, Not Chemical. An October 2009 report by the American Cancer Society’s Cancer and the Environment Subcommittee advises the public to minimize exposure to known carcinogens (cancer-causing substances), calling for new strategies to more effectively and efficiently screen chemicals.

 High Cholesterol Is Not Your Friend. A recent large-scale study, results of which were published in November 2009, suggests that a person’s risk of cancer may be significantly lower when cholesterol levels are kept low.

 Try Sugar and Spice. Irish researchers have determined that curcumin, an extract found in the curry spice turmeric, promotes death of cancer cells. Another study suggests that certain compounds in pomegranate, a rich source of antioxidants, inhibit a liver enzyme and thus may confer beneficial effects against prostate cancer development.

 Live the Good Life. Earl Ford, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and colleagues studied data from 23,153 German men and women, ages 35 to 65 years, who participated in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition-Potsdam study. The researchers found that four lifestyle factors — never smoking, body mass index (BMI) of 30 or less, exercising 3.5 hours a week, and eating a healthy diet – slashed the risk of cancer, as well as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, by a staggering 80 percent.