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State Mandate Calls for Mental Health Education in Florida Schools by MARY TOOTHMAN The State Board of Education has voted to approve a new mandate that calls for specific mental health lessons to be given to students in grades six through 12. The focus will be on awareness, prevention, and reducing stigma. At least…
Pop Quiz: Facts and Stats about Glaucoma

1.) Which of the following defines glaucoma? A medical condition in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively opaque, resulting in blurred vision. A complex disease in which damage to the optic nerve leads to progressive, irreversible vision loss. The inability to perceive differences in various shades of colors. The loss of vision after…
Talking Skin Cancer Care and Prevention

by TERESA SCHIFFER Here in Central Florida, we are bathed in sunlight most days of the year. People love living in Florida because of the sunny weather, but all that sunlight comes with some risks. One risk that people need to be aware of is the risk of skin cancer. In fact, new research shows…

UV ray eye safety tips to remember

In addition to the article about how to avoid heat stress – or worse – heat stroke on page 23, this month is also national UV Safety Month. The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Polk County Medical Association want to help everyone understand the dangers of over exposure to ultraviolet radiation. UV rays…
Healthy Cook: How do I eat my protein? Let me count the ways

“Make sure you get enough protein. Eat your meat. You need a lot of protein,” Mom harped. We do need protein. We need a lot of different nutrients to keep our body machines humming along nicely. Protein is just one of them. And it’s easy to get. Experts in Washington decree how much nutrients we…
Publisher’s Note: We are your reader advocates

In a former life as a newspaper publisher, we sometimes had a position in the newsroom called a “reader advocate.” Our editors would rotate on this desk and some loved the assignment and some frankly hated it. Basically the job entailed taking phone calls or answering emails about this or that regarding the content of…