Let's Go Nuts!

New diets and supposed “miracle foods” that will increase quality of life and longevity are constantly being put onto the market for people to try. Many swear by secret fruits and strange pills from other countries, but have you ever thought of increasing longevity with walnuts? Well a new study from researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that people who ate nuts more than six times a week had a 20% lower death rate after four years!

Although other studies have been conducted about the correlation between nut consumption and longevity, no study had more than 118,000 participants of men and women. Although these findings tell us that nuts do extend life, the scientists don’t exactly know by how many years. Hopefully this information will be made available to us in the near future. If you feel the urge to try the new life extending fruit or drug, pick up some pistachios from your local food store instead.

Treatment of Medical Personnel

While reading through some news articles the other day, I found an article that really caught my attention. The title read, “Lawsuit: Ohio nurse was ‘worked to death,’” this was something interesting that I wanted to learn about because my mom was a nurse for quite a number of years. The article by Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley goes on to explain that an Ohio man is suing his deceased wife’s hospital where she worked as a nurse, until she died in a car wreck coming home from work. The husband claims the hospital “worked her to death” because it was “regularly understaffed” since 2011 and she had overextended shifts and regularly worked through breaks, as she did the day of her accident.

These types of working conditions are simply unacceptable, but unfortunately staff shortages and additional hours on already overextended shifts have already overtaken many hospitals all over the nation. There is one state that requires a safe staffing ratio for nurses to patients, where nurses who work on general medical and surgical floors may only care for no more than 5 patients, while intensive care nurses may only look after 2 patients at a time. This type of nurse to patient ratio should be put into effect in all states; not only to benefit the nursing staff, but the health of patients as well. Hospitals should have more consideration and appreciation for the medical personnel and all they do to help not only patients, but the hospital running smooth.