Treat yourself and your loved ones this Valentine’s Day with a choice of delicious healthy chocolate desserts. There are plenty of nutritious and tasty recipes to enjoy. From desserts rich in vitamins, dairy-free, low-carb, low sodium, high-fiber, vegan, gluten-free, and more, there’s something for everyone. Let your heart be happy and healthy this Valentine’s Day!
When you’re craving a comforting dessert on Valentine’s Day, this pudding cake is sure to satisfy you. As it bakes, a rich-tasting sauce will form which will delight your senses. The recipe calls for coffee which adds complex depth to the cake's flavor.
This healthy easy-to-make, rich-tasting chocolate pudding uses creamy avocados, Medjool dates, and unsweetened plant-based milk. Serve this nutritious creamy dessert with your favorite fruit topping.
For those moments when you crave a satisfying chocolatey treat, this quick and easy brownie recipe is a great choice. Cook this fudge brownie in a mug in the microwave and it's ready in less than a minute!
Try these flourless cookies with simple ingredients that get their volume from whipped egg whites (like a meringue) instead of grains. This recipe is gluten-free and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. A chocolate chip in each bite adds to the rich chocolate flavor.
Creamy Chocolate Gelato Nutrition Profile: Dairy-Free, Low-Sodium, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Low-Calorie Make this ultra-chocolaty, dairy-free Sicilian-style gelato at home. It’s a perfect treat for Valentine’s Day. Made without eggs or cream, it’s relatively lean but still creamy-smooth and flavorful. The coconut milk used for the base gives it a silky, rich texture with a subtle coconut flavor.
The chocolate nut bark is easy to make and great to have on hand for a delicious nutritious snack. Choose your favorite chocolate and combination of nuts to make this quick and easy recipe. It can serve as a simple dessert or healthy snack that will stay fresh for weeks.
International Day of Women and Girls in Science is recognized every year on February 11th. It is a day to recognize the contributions women and girls have made to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field, while also addressing the lack of gender diversity within various STEM-related professions. António Guterres, the Secretary General for the United Nations, wrote in his message honoring the day that “From climate change to health to artificial intelligence, the equal participation of women and girls in scientific discovery and innovation is the only way to ensure that science works for everyone.” (United Nations, 2024) While significant strides have been made in the representation of women in science and technology, there are barriers that must be dismantled to recruit more women into the field.
According to data from the United States Census Bureau, from 1970 to 2019 the percentage of women in the STEM workforce increased from 8% to 27%. Men represented 73% of STEM workers in 2019. Despite the gains for women in the STEM workforce, they are not evenly distributed among the different career paths under the STEM umbrella. For example, women “made up nearly half of those in all math (47%) and life and physical science (45%) occupations” while “Women represented only about a quarter of computer workers and 15% of those in engineering occupations.” (United States Census Bureau, 2021) Pew Research Center data supplements this information. “Women earned 85% of the bachelor’s degrees in health-related fields, but just 22% in engineering and 19% in computer science as of 2018.” (Pew Research Center, 2021) For the women working in these careers, they often earn less money than their male colleagues. The median earnings for women in STEM careers was $66,200, while the median earnings for men was $90,000. (Pew Research Center, 2021)
Women in STEM frequently encounter additional personal and systemic challenges when they enter the career field. The 2020 documentary Picture a Scientist follows several women in different STEM-related careers. The women discuss why they entered into their respective fields, their research interests and some of the challenges they have encountered while working as a scientist. They speak candidly about workplace harassment, lack of institutional support and other barriers, shining a light on some of the harsh realities women face from their fellow colleagues or from professional organizations. Picture a Scientist is available to users through the Himmelfarb Library’s Streaming Video Collection and is worth watching to learn more about the experiences of women in STEM.
International Day of Women & Girls in Science is an important day to draw more women interested in STEM and openly discuss effective strategies to keep women in the field. Having women in STEM positions will provide space for new perspectives and insights into technical and scientific issues currently facing the world.
References:
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. (2023). Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities 2023. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23315/report
The Lunar New Year is upon us! During this time of year, families worldwide awaken to the dawn of a new year, one that holds promises of prosperity and joy. Also known as the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, this is a time of great significance for many across the globe. 2024 ushers in the year of the Dragon, which is a symbol of power, strength, courage, and good fortune.
From February 10th to the 16th, activities will be held across the globe that are filled with ancient customs and modern revelry. If you would like to participate in or see such festivities, DC has its very own Chinese Lunar New Year Parade on Sunday, February 11th!
In China, preparations for the Lunar New Year often begin weeks in advance as families clean their homes to sweep away any traces of bad luck from the previous year. This tradition, known as "spring cleaning" is believed to invite good fortune and prosperity into the household. Vibrant red decorations adorn doorways and windows, symbolizing luck and protection from misfortune into the new year.
From dawn until dusk, throughout the Lunar New Year festivities of traditional meals, parades, and fireworks, intertwine with modern celebrations that create a tapestry of cultural richness and diversity that brings many together.
For many, this occasion is not only a time for celebration but also a moment of reflection and renewal. It's a time to set intentions for the coming year, express gratitude for blessings received, and embrace the many opportunities that come our way.
From the Himmelfarb Library, we wish you a safe and joyous Lunar New Year, while welcoming in a new chapter filled with promise and possibility, especially to those who celebrate!
With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity” by Sir Michael Marmot.
About the Book: Based on the Whitehall Studies (ten year mortality studies into the British Civil Service), “The Status Syndrome” is the culmination of Sir Michael Marmot’s decades long research. In it, he concludes that autonomy and the ability to participate in society are key factors of health. Relentlessly, he investigates the usual suspects of poor health - smoking, processed foods, etc - and demonstrates how they don’t fully account for health disparities. A blend of medical research and public health recommendation, “The Status Syndrome” demonstrates a keen intersection of analysis and application.
Reasons to Read: Beyond being highly accessible, Michael Marmot brings a unique perspective as the original leader of the Whitehall studies. And since the studies themselves focus solely on the middle class, the book avoids the obvious (ex: of course dire poverty leads to poor health outcomes).
It’s a book that goes beyond left and right wing politics, and, in fact, might challenge either value-set. It can be read selfishly - i.e. what are the ingredients for a healthy/quality life, and how do I position myself? Or, it can be read selflessly - i.e. how can we organize society so others can have a healthy/quality life?
Reasons to Avoid: The book takes a commonsense idea - higher status correlates tightly with better health outcomes - and takes the magnifying glass to its nuances. But if you prefer easily graspable ideas without looking into the examples, then “higher status correlates tightly with better health outcomes” might be enough for you.
If you’re a policy-junky, you can skim the Acheson report online (fully titled the “Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health Report”), from which Marmot derives his government recommendations.
(Not) Fun Facts:
In an eye-opening example, Marmot features our very own D.C. as an example of status gradient. “The status syndrome can be illustrated by a short ride on the Washington, D.C., subway. Travel from the southeast of downtown Washington to Montgomery County, Maryland. For each mile traveled, life expectancy rises about a year and a half. There is a twenty-year gap between poor blacks at one end of the journey and rich whites at the other” (Marmot, p. 2).
References
Marmot, Michael. (2005). The Status Syndrome. Times Books.
In 2022, Himmelfarb Library published a list of books to read by African-American authors in honor of Black History Month. The list featured authors across different genres such as Young Adult, Science-Fiction, Contemporary Fiction and more. We wish to revisit this list of recommendations and offer more titles that shine a light on the experience of African-Americans in the United States.
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward: This novel follows Annis, a teenager living through the system of slavery in the United States as she is forced from the Carolinas down to New Orleans. Reviewer Gabino Iglesias wrote in their NPR review: “Readers will walk with Annis, see the world through her eyes, and feel the pain of everything she experiences–but that journey, that suffering, will give them clarity and help them develop a deeper understanding of love, grief, and the realities of slavery.”
Chang Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenya: This debut novel is a satirical examination of consumerism and the prison system. It follows the lives of prisoners and “prize-fighters” Loretta Thurwar and Hamara Stacker who participate in televised fights to gain their freedom from the prison system. This novel was named one of the Top 10 books of 2023 by the New York Times. Giri Nathan writes in their review “As the plot careers forward, Adjei-Brenyah uses footnotes as tethers between fiction and reality, reminding us that his gladiatorial farce is just a little tragicomic leap from an extant American horror.” It may feel easy to get lost in the action between fighters, but readers will also be forced to reflect on their own attitudes towards incarcerated people and the prison system in America.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride: This is a murder mystery set in Pennsylvania in a multicultural neighborhood and moves non sequentially through time, starting in the 1970s before jumping back to the 1920s and 1930s as it examines themes of community, prejudice and class. Maureen Corrigan writes that “McBride’s roving narrator is, by turns, astute, withering, giddy, daming and jubilant. He has a fine appreciation for the human comedy: in particular, the surreal situation of African Americans and immigrant Jews in a early-to-mid-20th-century America that celebrates itself as a color-blind, welcoming Land of Liberty.” This novel is an enlightening, hopeful and entertaining piece of literature from a well-established and celebrated American novelist.
Thicker than Water by Kerry Washington: From a GWU alum, this memoir provides an intimate look at Kerry Washington’s life and career. Washington is a well-known TV and film actress who rarely shares details about her personal life. The memoir is Washington’s space where she discusses the hard moments of her life such as disordered eating, her career after the TV show ‘Scandal’ and other events. To learn more about Washington’s thoughts about her memoir, watch her Good Morning America interview with Robin Roberts:
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson: Wilkerson is well known for investigative book Caste: the Origins of our Discontents, her Pulitzer Prize winning journalism while working at the New York Times or from the new Ava DuVernay film, Origins. But her first book, The Warmth of Other Suns is another important piece of work that details the Great Migration, the time between 1910 and 1970 when many African-Americans and their families left Southern states for Northern cities. “The driving force behind the mass movement was to escape racial violence, pursue economic and educational opportunities, and obtain freedom from the oppression of Jim Crow.” (National Archives, 2021) The Warmth of Other Suns covers an important historical event that is not often discussed and the book is a good introduction into Wilkerson’s work as a whole.
Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman: Many people first encountered Amanda Gorman during the 2020 Presidential Inauguration when she read her poem, The Hill We Climb. Her first poetry collection, Call Us What We Carry was published in December 2021 and was instantly recognized as a best seller. In this collection, “Amanda Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing.” (Penguin Random House, 2024 ) If you were moved by Gorman’s poem The Hill We Climb, then read more of her work in Call Us What We Carry.
The Study of Human Life by Joshua Bennett: Dr. Joshua Bennett is an author and educator who currently serves as a Professor of Literature and Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Study of Human Life is a collection of work that “recalls and reimagines social worlds almost but not entirely lost, all while gesturing toward the ones we are building even now…” (Penguin Random House, 2024) Some of the book's themes include family, parenthood, vulnerability and ecology. The book blends multiple genres including autobiography and speculative fiction and will challenge many readers.
Other notable authors worth reading include Rivers Solomon, Jasmine Mans, Jericho Brown, Jason Reynolds, Audre Lorde and Colson Whitehead. Many of these titles may be requested directly from Himmelfarb Library, through the Consortium Loan Service or through Documents2Go.
African-American authors have contributed to all genres and learning more about their lives and works is a great way to expand your reading habits and discover a new favorite writer.
Weekly Meditation Workshop Date and Time: Monday, February 5, 2024, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Every Monday) Location: University Student Center, 5th Floor Activity Space. 800 21st St NW. Cost: FREE! RSVP to event
Join the meditation workshop to uncover the benefits of Falun Dafa for improved well-being and study. Learn exercises and meditation for inner tranquility as you brave through the spring semester! This event is sponsored by the GW Falun Dafa Club who aims to empower its members to incorporate the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, or in Chinese, 真 (zhen), 善 (shan), and 忍 (ren), in their daily lives.
GW Student Art Club Date: Second Friday of the month. Feb. 9, Mar. 8, Apr. 12, 2024: 12:00-1:00 PM Location: GW Textile Museum. 701 21st St NW. Cost: FREE! For undergraduate and graduate students
By popular demand, in partnership with the GW Textile Museum, the GW Art Therapy Clinic is thrilled to announce a monthly art club for GW students! On the second Friday of the month, join the club for open studio creative time. Bring your art supplies and your creativity for enjoyment and personal artistic exploration.
Friday Evening Tango Class Date: Friday, February 9, 16, 23, 2024 at 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM Location District House Dance Studio. 2121 H Street, NW. Cost: FREE! RSVP to Event
Learn to dance the Argentine tango! It’s the perfect activity for Valentine’s Day. You will learn the tango dance techniques and musicality together. Attend for a chance to meet new people! Feel free to wear whatever is comfortable for you and bring a pair of socks. No dance experience is expected and no partner is required.
DC Chinese Lunar New Year Parade Date: Sunday, February 11th, 2024. 2:00 PM Location: DC Chinatown, Between 7th & 8th Streets (Gallery Place Metro Station) Cost: FREE!
DC Chinatown celebrates the Year of the Dragon! In the lunar calendar, it will be the year 4721! The streets of DC Chinatown will fill with revelers and parade spectators in celebration of the Year of the Dragon. The dynamic community-based parade will include a range of cultural and community performers. The finale will feature a firecracker show in the middle of H Street. Come early for a bite to eat at one of the many nearby eateries and restaurants and then grab your curb-side vantage point to witness the colorful pageantry!
Landscape Tour: Lincoln's Wild Home Date: Sunday-Saturday, 9:30 AM-4:30 PM. Location: 140 Rock Creek Church Rd., NW. Cost: $10 (Includes Lincoln’s Wild Home app, headphones, map, and grounds pass)
In honor of Presidents’ Day, take a self-guided, app-based tour on the grounds of President Lincoln’s Cottage and the Armed Forces Retirement Home. The entire tour covers about one and a half miles total. As you explore Lincoln’s Wild Home, you will be invited to interact with the landscape as he and the generations who lived on this land before him may have been inspired to do.
Black History Month Trivia Night Date: Wednesday, February 21. 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM Location: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. 901 G Street, NW. East Storefront A & B. Cost: FREE! No registration is required!
Do you know your Black history? Show off your knowledge and see if you’ll take the crown! Join the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library for trivia night! Teams of 1, 2, or 3 players will tackle a total of 9 topics and 45 questions over 3 rounds. The team with the highest point total at the end of the night will take home a prize!
Washington DC Travel Show Date: Saturday, February 24, 2024: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM & Sunday, February 25, 2024: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM Location: Washington Convention Center Cost: Online Advance Tickets: $13
America’s Favorite Travel Show is Back in DC! Discover thousands of the newest vacation options from top destinations around the globe and meet the travel experts on hand. Learn the latest travel tips, trends, and advice in 4 theaters located on the show floor. Meet travel celebrities and take advantage of travel savings, trip giveaways, and exclusive show-only deals.
Overcoming the inertia to write a research project can be more difficult than actually writing it.
The blank document only grows more intimidating if you don’t remember previous research, or if you know that after writing, you’ll still need to find and compile all of your sources from note apps, half-references in drafts, and scraps of memory.
Fortunately, tools like RefWorks help smooth the path during both research and writing.
With RefWorks, you can aggregate and save references from our major databases like PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus; collaborate with the Google Docs add-on; and create bibliographies (in APA 7th, AMA, etc), importing them with the Microsoft word plug-in.
Himmelfarb staff have created a great one-stop RefWorks guide.
For many years, cervical cancer was one of the leading cancer deaths for women in the United States. Thankfully, with the introduction of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and regular cervical screening tests, instances of cervical cancer and cervical cancer deaths have dropped significantly around the world. Australia and Rwanda are on the path to eliminating cervical cancer instances among their population, while public health officials in other countries have created community partnerships to expand access to testing and treatment. A recent collaborative study from Public Health Scotland, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Edinburgh found that “the HPV vaccine was “highly effective” in preventing the development of cervical cancer” which supports the notion that testing and vaccination will lead to an end of cervical cancer. (Loudon, 2024)
Despite this recent positive news, barriers to testing and treatment continue to contribute to health inequities. Women in low- and middle-income countries do not have the same access to care as women in wealthier countries. “Low- and middle-income countries carry more than 80 percent of the burden of cervical cancer cases in the world…Those cervical cancers get diagnosed so late, and mortality is very high. More than half of people diagnosed die from cervical cancer worldwide.” (O’Donnell, 2022)
In the United States, Hispanic and Black women receive a cervical cancer diagnosis at higher rates than white women and die from cervical cancer at higher rates than white women. When looking at these statistics, researchers theorize that inadequate access to care is not the only reason for cervical cancer impacting Hispanic and Black women at such high rates. Dr. Jennifer Young Pierce, a gynecologic oncologist in Alabama, “suspects discrepancies in follow-up care for Black women–and systemic bias–are contributing to this higher mortality rate.” (Slivinski, 2022) A study published in Gynecologic Oncology “found that even though Black women were more likely to get Pap tests, only 78% of Black women reported receiving a follow-up recommendation, compared to 87% of white women in the study.” (Slivinski, 2022) Researchers are seeking to understand what factors are contributing to disparities in care for Black and Hispanic women.
“90% of girls fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by age 15 years
70% of women are screened with a high-performance test by 35 years of age and again by 45 years of age
90% of women identified with cervical disease receive treatment (90% of women with precancer treated, and 90% of women with invasive cancer managed).” (World Health Organization, 2020)
WHO urges countries to reach the 90-70-90 targets by 2030. There is a concerted effort to educate people about cervical health, HPV, the HPV vaccine and cervical cancer. Yet many women impacted by cervical cancer expressed not knowing about or understanding the illness until their cancer progressed to a late stage. Tamika Felder was diagnosed with stage II cervical cancer at the age of 25. “She was seeing a small amount of vaginal bleeding after sex…but she didn’t think anything of it. She was young, healthy and busy, and undergoing Pap tests was low on her priority list.” (Slivinski, 2022) Milicent Kagonga Amtana had to visit multiple medical facilities in her home country of Kenya before she was able to receive a comprehensive treatment plan. She now works within her community “to break down the stigma and shame around cervical cancer. Despite her own pain and health challenges, she works hard to encourage women to be screened for HPV and to have their daughters vaccinated.” (O’Donnell, 2022)
Addressing questions and misconceptions about cervical health and cervical cancer is necessary to break down stigma and encourage people to prioritize regular screenings. The National Cervical Cancer Coalition has resources to help you speak with your patients about the importance of regular screening exams and the HPV vaccine. WHO’s cervical cancer webpage provides updated news on the road to eliminating cervical cancer across the world, fact sheets, databases and other information that is informative for healthcare professionals and patients. Building trust with patients and the local community will be important to eliminating cervical cancer. “Ultimately, many experts agree that efforts to eliminate cervical cancer can make an impact if they are done right…The key, says [Ana P.] Ortiz, is for health care professionals and researchers to work together to identify the gaps.” (Slivinski, 2022)
At the end of January each year, the day arrives. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed this Saturday, January 27.
Memory and the act of commemoration are paramount in preventing history from repeating itself. International Holocaust Remembrance Day, also known as International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, was established by the United Nations in November 2005. The day commemorates the killing, by the Nazi regime and its collaborators, of six million Jews and millions belonging to other populations. January 27 was the date chosen to commemorate this day because it was the date that the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camps were liberated by Allied forces. Other countries also commemorate the Holocaust on different days.
You may have seen the 2022 Himmelfarb Library blog post commemorating this day, which covered doctors and the Holocaust, and another post from that year, which covered the Nazi Medical Research Dilemma. This year, we will focus on evidence that experiencing the trauma of the Holocaust induced genetic and epigenetic changes that are intergenerational. Epigenetics refers to “heritable changes in phenotype which do not involve alterations to the underlying DNA sequence” (Martin, 2014).
In a 2014 study, the first of its kind, blood samples were collected from 80 adult offspring with at least one Holocaust survivor parent. These blood samples were correlated with maternal and paternal PTSD in the parents (Yehuda et al., 2014). Findings showed that the glucocorticoid receptor gene GR-1F was altered, but in different ways, depending on whether the subjects experienced maternal or paternal PTSD. The findings of the study indicated that both maternal and paternal PTSD impact the stress response of offspring via the process of methylation, which is a first-line biochemical process that plays a critical role in the modification of DNA (Menezo et al., 2020).
Systematic review has also been applied to the topic of intergenerational trauma resulting from the Holocaust, Published in 2019, “Intergenerational consequences of the Holocaust on offspring mental health: a systematic review of associated factors and mechanisms”, reviewed 23 studies focused on the impact of the Holocaust on parent and child characteristics and interactions which were found to lead to the development of psychological symptoms, as well as biological and epigenetic variations (Dashorst et al., 2019).
Reviewing the evidence, the authors sought to examine: “association between parental and offspring’s mental health problems;” "perceived parenting and attachment;” “parental Holocaust history;” "additional stress and traumatic life events in Holocaust survivor offspring;” and “cortisol metabolism, epigenetic factors, and genetic predisposition” (Dashorst et al., 2019, pp. 22-23).
Assembling and reviewing this evidence, the authors suggest their findings indicate that, rather than pointing to direct observation of particular disorders in offspring, the impact of Holocaust trauma appears to result in diverse mental health problems that are influenced by characteristics of both the parents and the offspring, suggesting that treatment should be offered to both generations, as well as parenting support for traumatized parents raising children. Intergenerational effects were also found to impact cortisol levels, which regulate the body’s stress response. Holocaust survivor offspring were found to have increased vulnerability to stress.
Evidence related to Holocaust survivors and their offspring offers important guidance on biological mechanisms impacted by trauma, and on the diagnosis and treatment of, and support for, mental health conditions. However, new studies are more difficult to undertake as the generation that survived the Holocaust begins to die off.
Locally, this year’s commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which coincides with a surge in antisemitism worldwide, will take place in DC at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on Friday, January 26 and Saturday, January 27. Events open to the public include reading of victims’ names and the option to light a memorial candle. On Friday, January 26, between 2-3:45 p.m., Holocaust survivors will be present at the museum to engage visitors about their experiences.
Consider making a trip to the Museum this year to speak with a Holocaust survivor -- the opportunity will not last forever.
Holocaust literature is widely available at GW. This research guide from Gelman Library can help guide your exploration of our collections.
Also, consider joining GW’s SMHS Anti-Racism Coalition for its upcoming discussions of the book It Could Happen Here (available to read online through Himmelfarb Library), by Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL was founded in 1913 "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all."
International Holocaust Remembrance Day offers us all an opportunity to reflect, to learn and to consider how we can all work to prevent the conditions that fostered a climate of hate to develop into the historical events that coined the word genocide.
References
Dashorst, P., Mooren, T. M., Kleber, R. J., de Jong, P. J., & Huntjens, R. J. C. (2019). Intergenerational consequences of the Holocaust on offspring mental health: A systematic review of associated factors and mechanisms. European journal of psychotraumatology, 10(1), 1654065. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2019.1654065
Martin S. (2014). Journal Watch review of Influences of maternal and paternal PTSD on epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene in Holocaust survivor offspring. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 62(6), 1101–1103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003065114560792
Menezo, Y., Clement, P., Clement, A., & Elder, K. (2020). Methylation: An ineluctable biochemical and physiological process essential to the transmission of life. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(23), 9311. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21239311
Yehuda, R., Daskalakis, N. P., Lehrner, A., Desarnaud, F., Bader, H. N., Makotkine, I., Flory, J. D., Bierer, L. M., & Meaney, M. J. (2014). Influences of maternal and paternal PTSD on epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene in Holocaust survivor offspring. The American journal of psychiatry, 171(8), 872–880. https://doi.org10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.13121571
2024 is here, and January is National Blood Donor Month. In life, accidents happen; illnesses and outbreaks occur. During and after the holiday season and winter in general, blood donations diminish significantly which makes January the perfect time to donate. Not only are donations necessary in emergencies but they also treat chronic conditions. If you have not already, maybe ask yourself when is the last time that you visited your local blood drive?
Before donating, ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria. This typically includes factors like age, weight, and overall health. Consult with your local blood donation center if you have any questions. If you are uncertain where your nearest donation location site is, you can use the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies location finder. After donating, make sure to increase your fluid intake for the next 48 hours and avoid any strenuous activities. In rare cases, lightheadedness may occur. Make sure to take proper precautions before you go to donate.
If you choose to donate, you can take pride in knowing that your donation is giving someone the strength to fight their medical battles. Even if you’re not able to donate, you can contribute by spreading awareness; you may utilize any social media platform, newsletter, or bulletin to educate others about the importance of blood donation. It’s helpful to share statistics, success stories, and testimonials to inspire others to join the cause. You can bust common myths surrounding blood donation. Many people have misconceptions that may be preventing them from contributing. Keeping your information accurate may help to dispel any fears or concerns.
Let's make Blood Donor Month 2024 a resounding success! Your commitment to donating blood can truly make a difference and save lives. Thank you for being the heroes our community needs.
