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The Forbes rankings for “America’s Most Stressful Cities” are out again this fall. Leading the way again in 2009 is Chicago, a repeat winner from last year. Number 5 on the list is…not Philadelphia, not Detroit, not Washington D.C….but Providence, RI! Wow. How could a bucolic New England coastal town nestled on a bay, within a dinghy’s sail of Nantucket Sound and Cape Cod be the 5th most stressful city in America in which to live? According to Forbes, Providence “ranks as the fifth worst city for employment, with the unemployment rate up to 12.1% in June. It ranks tenth for cost of living and thirteenth for population density at 975 people per square mile.”

Forbes also trots out this description on stressful living and health: “Other cities have different reasons for stress: Pittsburgh comes in second for the least amount of sunny days, and ninth for low air quality. While for years we’ve been told to avoid certain skin cancers by staying out of the sun, new research showed a link between low vitamin D levels and increased propensity to the common cold. It’s also believed that vitamin D receptors in cells and tissue may help regulate the immune system. Irritants in the atmosphere can cause increased incidences of asthma, chest tightness or cough.”

Beyond the Forbes piece, an excellent overview of stress and the immune system by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center gives a great holistic view of how lifestyle stressors–emotional, mental pressures–impact immune response (Pittsburgh, by the way, is #29 on the Forbes list). To quotes from this UPMC piece:

“When you must respond to stress, you experience reactions in the body that may lead to illness, including elevated blood pressure and decreased function of the immune system. This continuous circuit of thought, emotion, and body response may be harmful in many ways.

For example, if you think, “If my boss gives me one more thing to do” or “If that person says one more stupid thing,” and that thought causes anger or frustration, you are stressing your body’s systems. Even thoughts associated with positive events like “I have so much to do to get ready for the wedding,” can create annoyance or dissatisfaction that can ultimately harm your health.”

See the Forbes story with links to more individual city data here.

Here’s another piece from Mayo on the topic. Pretty consistent messages between both. Someday, all the health experts will refer to “immune balance” rather than immune “boosting.” I guess “boosting” is easier for the average Joe to visusalize. Anything that gets boosted gets better, right? Boost your income, boost your sex life. Boost your self confidence. Boost your roost.

Maybe the concept of balance — not just for immune health but for life in general — will get greater receptivity as this economic slump comes to an end and in the aftermath, people realize that working, playing, buying things at continuous, full-throttle ramming speed is not the way to a long, fulfilling life. ”Extreme” this and that will be replaced by “balanced.”   Instead of the X-diet or the X-workout, it’ll be the B-diet.

On the drive home, I was wondering how similar this kind of sea change or paradigm shift (pardon the cliche) might be to the emerging science and health-care practice changes involving immune health balance and management.

Right now, natural/renewable wind has displaced only 1% of conventional energy sources (mainly coal). That little 1% constitutes 29 millions tons of coal and 90 million barrels of oil a year.  

I kind of compare that to natural/renewable immune balancing methods and technologies (diet, exercise, weight control, supplementation) replacing ”misprescribed” antibiotics. Health industry estimates gathered by Public Citizen show that 40% to 60% of antibiotics are over-prescribed or misprescribed in medical practices throughout the U.S.  And I won’t even get into findings showing antibiotic and other human pharmaceutical content levels building up in public water systems to due the sheer volume of medications passed through the human waste stream or disposed of improperly.

I hate to compare misapplied antibiotics to dirty burning coal, but it just seems that opportunities for new ways to challenge long-standing, conventional practices in how we live in this world can serve cross-cutting purposes and provide some inspiration among the pioneers.

Fully half of all U.S. adults feel the use of pesticides and preservatives has caused increased food allergies. Nearly 2 of 3 say they first started using organic foods and produce to avoid pesticide, GMO, hormone and antibiotic exposure. The only problem I see is that organic food market growth and total share of food dollars don’t reflect these high response levels. Maybe organic is expensive enough that people try it, but don’t stick with it.

And, 7 percent of all U.S. adults say they take some kind of supplement (beyond a daily multivitamin) to address immune health needs. The top conditions for supplement intake are 1) cholesterol (9%),  joint health (9%), heart health (8%), osteoperosis (8%), arthritis (7%), digestion (7%) and energy (7%).   

Here’s the kicker: immune balance can positively impact nearly all of these health issues (save for osteoperosis).

“The federal database used for the study, called the Toxics Release Inventory, has been known to include some errors and omissions, and is not subject to extensive quality control.  Even before the study was released publicly today, company officials at Fawn Engineering Corp. in Clive reported that the emissions data they submitted in 2005 to state and federal authorities was inaccurate. Those emissions, which were used in the USA Today study, showed higher-than-accepted readings of a toxic lung irritant that could affect the health of teachers and students at more than 40 Des Moines-area schools. Plant representative Jamie Badger said the information was simply recorded in the wrong category, and should have been included in the company’s inventory of solid waste. The company actually discarded the waste, which was wrongly reported as air emissions.”

The data “modeling” at the heart of this story makes for a confusing piece, and it is poorly reported. But, in an effort to sell newspapers–especially in this crummy media business environment–drama and anxiety must be created.

Air quality can, indeed, impact respiratory health and overall immune health, no doubt, and we should do all we reasonably can to reduce carbon and toxin emissions.  But, let’s keep things real, folks.

This is about your only hope in avoiding airborne contaminants

I was all ready to write today’s post, something about stress-coping techniques. Then I opened my laptop and my editorial plans changed instantly.

As I lifted up my laptop screen, I saw the typical dust, splotches, and other assorted crud that always accumulate on the screen. When it gets too grody, I get some Windex and wipe it down. And then I remembered; I just cleaned my screen a few days ago. Where is this gunk coming from? Answer: the environment.

I work in a modern office environment. My home is 10 years old with a sound furnace and a good filter. And I know I don’t open a can of soda…or a beer…right in front of my computer screen, nor do I sneeze on it.  And I have no pets that sniff and lick the thing when I’m not around. I also did a radon test a couple years ago and got very safe results.

Yet my computer screen is collecting this gunk each day. So, that must mean I’m inhaling this same stuff each day as well. That’s just a bit gnarly. Our indoor air quality may seem fine, but we’re still breathing in particles and pollutants anyway. And, as seen on my laptop screen, that can add up.

A Duke University study  states “it appears that ozone causes the innate immune system to overreact, killing key immune system cells, and possibly making the lungs more susceptible to subsequent invaders, such as bacteria,” according to John Hollingsworth, the lead author.  Some passages from “Emergency Asthma,” a medical text book, also highlight the effects of pollution on immune system cells. And, for everything you might want to know about indoor air quality, here’s an online guide from the EPA.

So, I am convinced that immune balance is essential in helping mitigate the effects of breathing less-than-stellar-quality air over the long term. I know one thing; besides continuing my EpiCor regimen, I’m gonna put in a new furnace filter tonight. My furnace guy told me I need to replace the filter each month. Of course, I blow that off and get around to it every 3 or 4 months. No more.