I recently read an interesting article that appeared on CNN.com about the positive effects of mediation, particularly in the area of pain control or suppression. The article specifically discussed a clinical study that appeared in the April 6 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. In the study, a subject group was administered a slight burn before and after mediation and measured their pain sensitivity.

I was reading the Harvard Health Publications last week that discussed the revised guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) stating that children and teens should not participate in boxing due to concussions. In the revised guidelines recently released by the AAP, the academy strongly believes that those under 19 years of age are especially at risk with concussions because the brain is still developing. Children also tend to take longer to heal after a concussion than adults.

I am always looking for the latest research, and I saw an interesting study topic in the September issue of Wellbella Magazine. In it, they cite a study review by author Diane Hyson, Ph.D., M.S., R.D. who reviewed 60 studies examining the health benefits of 100 percent fruit juice. She presented her review at the 2011 Experimental Biology meeting. Although I would like to see the list of studies she based her review on, her conclusions are interesting.

In the past few weeks, I have discussed two important topics for parents now that the school year has started. The first topic was the importance of getting recommended health screenings and immunizations for children, and the second discussed why healthy school lunches are vital to children's overall development.