Recently, William Doherty and his colleagues at the University of Minnesota surveyed 4,746 middle school and high school students in the St. Paul and Minneapolis areas for Project EAT (Eating Among Teens). They found that kids who ate with their families seven or more times per week, compared to kids who ate two or less meals per week with their families, were more well-adjusted; had higher grade point averages; and were less likely to be depressed or suicidal, smoke cigarettes, or use marijuana or alcohol. Read more...
 

• January is Birth Defects Prevention Month
  March of Dimes
  About 150,000 babies are born each year with birth defects. The parents of one out of every 28 babies receive the frightening news that their baby has a birth defect. Visit the March of Dimes' Web site to learn more about birth defects and how they can be prevented.

• January is National Blood Donor Month
  American Association of Blood Banks
  January is National Blood Donor Month. Every day in our country, approximately 38,000 units of blood are required in hospitals and emergency treatment facilities for patients with cancer and other diseases, for organ transplant recipients, and to help save the lives of accident victims. If you are at least 17 years of age (some states permit younger people to donate with parental consent), weigh at least 110 pounds and meet other donor requirements, you may be eligible to donate blood.

• National Folic Acid Awareness Week
  National Council on Folic Acid
  Folic acid is a B-vitamin that is necessary for proper cell growth. If taken before and during early pregnancy from a multi-vitamin or fortified foods, folic acid can prevent 50 to 70 percent of some forms of birth defects called neural tube defects.