Foods that fight inflammation

Healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are all important foods to include when trying to reduce inflammation. However, these are only a part of the big picture. A successful inflammation-fighting diet must meet all of the body's nutrient needs. This means including plenty of lean proteins and fluids as well. Your overall diet should provide balance and variety on a daily basis.

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Pediatrician Group Urges Early Flu Vaccine for Children

Children ages 6 months and older should get vaccinated against the seasonal flu as soon as the vaccine is available. This recommendation is from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). There are two vaccines this year. The trivalent vaccine protects against three strains of the virus. A new quadrivalent vaccine protects against the original three plus a fourth strain. The AAP is not recommending one vaccine over the other. It wants everyone to get vaccinated at the earliest chance so they are protected. The journal Pediatrics published the recommendations online. HealthDay News wrote about it September 2.

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Doctors’ Advice May Stop Impaired Drivers

Doctors who urge some elderly patients to stop driving may help to keep them safer, a new study suggests. The study was done in Canada. Doctors there must report to licensing officials if a patient has a condition that might impair driving. These conditions include epilepsy, sleep disorders, alcoholism and dementia. In 2006, Ontario started giving doctors a small fee to encourage reporting. Researchers used the fee structure to track more than 100,000 patients. Most were older than 60. Researchers added up the car crashes for drivers from this group in the year before the warnings began. They included only crashes serious enough for the driver to go to an emergency room. Then they kept track of the group for 3½ years. Crashes per year dropped 45%. The study could not tell if the patients stopped driving or were more careful. There was another result, as well.

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