What a great idea for a mostly-rural state. 

With so many baby boomers about to retire and a great number of geriatric patients already, it’s nice to see that ND is being proactive about this issue.  UND is a great vehicle for this.

I remember this being prevalent in the Book Cliffs in Utah, but I didn’t realize the disease was on the northern plains, too.  For those as creeped out by this as I am, here are some tips to rid your home of mice and here are some tips to prevent an infestation.

The earliest case I found of Hantavirus in North Dakota was in 1993.

The research covered a low-carb diet, a low-fat diet, and the Mediterranean diet which includes lots of fruits, vegetables and healthy fats.  The people on the Mediterranean diet lost more weight and had the most success improving blood sugar levels.

It reminded me of the Burleigh Diet Daily Plate, a concept developed by Wanda Agnew, a dietician with Burleigh County Health in Bismarck.  The plate gives a visual example of the proportions and kinds of food that are the healthiest.  Because of the variety of foods listed and the healthy tips, it seemed similar to what I know about the Mediterranean diet–although it didn’t emphasize healthy fats.

It makes me curious.  Could North Dakota’s Burleigh Diet Daily Plate work as well as the Mediterranean diet?

While browsing through the site a few days ago, I came across one tidbit of information that took me completely by surprise.  I clicked on a link to Woolsorter’s disease because I was curious about the name and discovered that Woolsorter’s disease is the same thing as Anthrax. 

After a few minutes of processing that information (and resolving to never take up sheep-shearing’, although that probably doesn’t have much to do with it), I realized how grateful I was to have access to that information.  Thanks to the people working at the North Dakota Department of Health, both for the surprising education and for the well-organized resources they post online.

The program, called Plant A Row, encourages local gardeners to donate fresh produce to the food pantries.  From the article:

Emily Feldmann and Anne Keller are kicking off a campaign called “Plant a Row in Minot,” asking gardeners to plant extra produce for donation to area food pantries and soup kitchens.

The program, called “Plant a Row,” actually exists on a nationwide scale, according to Keller. But every model the girls looked at was designed for big cities.

Thus, they are creating a prototype for a community the size of Minot.

“We found the project online on the Garden Writers Association of America Web site,” Keller said. “We took it from a big city plan and will make it work in Minot. This is designed for major metropolitan areas in the brochures, so Minot is going to be a leader in this.”

Besides providing more donations to the food pantry, the fresh produce will allow people who use the food pantries to eat fresh produce and have healthier meals.  It’s an unselfish wellness project that the entire community can contribute to.

That’s a North Dakota kind of project.

A little while later I came across this article (Would You Believe, from this past February) describing how North Dakotans deal with blizzards.  The quiet strength and amiable independance described here is typical of the North Dakota people I know. 

So I have to ask myself again why people in North Dakota live such long lives.  I’m listing my top six answers here:

1.  In North Dakota, people watch out for each other.  From the Would You Believe article:

The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn’t ask for a 
penny.  Local restaurants made food, and the police and fire departments 
delivered it to the snow bound families.  Families took in the stranded people – total strangers. 

2.  In North Dakota, people use their brains to find creative solutions to everyday problems.  As I’ve said before, here and here.

3.  In North Dakota, people take care of themselves.  No whining here.  Again from the Would You Believe article:

We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of 
a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades 
votes for ‘sittin at home’ checks. 
 
Even though a Category “5″ blizzard of this scale has never fallen this 
early, we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves. 

4.  North Dakota people have hobbies…an indicator of the ability to deal well with stress (scroll down).  See here, here and here for a few samples.  What it boils down to:  people in North Dakota know how to make their own fun.

5.  North Dakota people choose to live where they live because of the slower pace of life and because of the quality of life here.  See here for more about quality of life in North Dakota.

That’s not to say that North Dakotans don’t have their share of illness.  They just have great big spirits and jolly outlooks on life, and somehow those qualities pull them through their difficulties year after year.

From the Public News Service article: 

Fargo pediatrician Chris Tiongson says it’s a valuable, year-round lesson for parents and kids: bad habits at home lead to childhood weight gain.

“Too much time in front of the TV and too much pop; those are the two biggest things people can change. They should be drinking more water and getting out and doing stuff, turning off the TV.”

Doctor Tiongson says today, he sees more young people in his office with health problems that used to be for adults only.

“We’re starting to see even adult onset diabetes in children now related to their weight, and certainly more blood pressure problems.”

Since children tend to grab whatever snacks are quick and handy after school, Tiongson says it should be a parent’s priority to make sure those snacks are healthy.

Kudos to North Dakota’s doctors for bringing this issue to  light as often as possible.  Further thanks to them for working with parents to help them make positive, long-lasting lifestyle changes for the children.  They help make North Dakota a great place to live.