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Derek Ngwu

Derek served as a digital curator for Salud America! and its home base, the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio during fall of 2017. After graduating in December with a B.S. in Kinesiology Athletic Medicine from The University of Texas in San Antonio, Derek plans on working as a Medical Scribe for University Hospital and applying to Physical Therapy School. Derek strives for productivity, efficiency, and doing what he loves most - helping people. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but how you dance in the rain.

Articles by Derek Ngwu

Report: Latino Kids Have Bigger Obstacles to Success than Peers


latina girl painting - via annie casey foundation

U.S. Latino, black, and American Indian children have bigger obstacles to success than white and Asian children, according to a new report. The report, the Race for Results from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, scores how children are progressing on 12 key milestones from birth to adulthood. Milestones include math proficiency, graduation data, teen birth rates, employment prospects, poverty, and more. The higher the score (0-1,000), the better children fare. Latinos' actually increased to a score of 429 in 2017 from 404 in this same report from 2014. Yet this score is well below Asian (783) and white children (704), slightly ahead of African-America (369) and American Indian (413) children, and remains a "cause for deep concern," according to the report. "We will lose a ...

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More Firepower: Bill Gates Joins Fight against Alzheimer’s



Did you know that someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's every 66 seconds? Multi-billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates knows. He has had family impacted by the disease. And that's why he's investing $50 million to fund research to find treatment for Alzheimer's disease, a type of dementia that destroys memory and mental processing. "It’s a terrible disease that devastates both those who have it and their loved ones," Gates wrote on his blog recently. "I know how awful it is to watch people you love struggle as the disease robs them of their mental capacity, and there is nothing you can do about it. It feels a lot like you’re experiencing a gradual death of the person that you knew." Alzheimer's is the No. 6 cause of death in the United States. It kills more ...

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Historic Climb: California Bans Unhealthy Food Marketing in Schools


sugary drinks in schools

On Oct. 15, 2017, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that bans schools from marketing unhealthy foods that are not allowed to be sold or served in schools. This law, Assembly Bill 841, also forbids schools from partnering with companies for programs that reward students with foods or drinks that do not meet USDA Smart Snacks in School regulations and other standards. The idea is to help students make healthier food choices. "This law will help ensure that students receive consistent messages from their schools about the importance of proper nutrition as well as reinforce parents’ efforts to help their children choose healthy foods," according to a report by Changelab Solutions. This will lead to "healthier students who are better able to thrive academically." Latino ...

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Lobe your Brain: How to Eat to Expand Mental Capacity


brain food

About 15% of U.S. Latinos had a diagnosable mental illness in the past year—that's enough people to fill New York City. How can this population achieve healthier minds? A healthy diet is, not surprisingly, a great first step. In fact, good nutrition protects against depression and anxiety; poor nutrition is a risk factor for those conditions, according to an emerging field of research. "By helping people shape their diets, we can improve their mental health and decrease their risk of psychiatric disorders," Dr. Drew Ramsey of Columbia University told WebMD. The State of Mental Health Only about 1 in 5 Americans consider themselves in optimal mental health. Depression afflicts more than a quarter adults. By 2020, depression will rank as the second-leading cause of ...

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Tick Tock: The Impact of DACA on Latinos


latino-kid mental health

President Donald Trump's administration recently rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an American immigration policy signed by President Barack Obama five years ago. DACA allows unauthorized immigrants who arrived in the United States as children to work, go to school, and get a driver’s license without fear of deportation. The clock is now ticking for a Congressional fix for people who qualify for DACA. If not, recipients could lose their status starting March 5, 2018. Who are DACA recipients? Since the program started in June 2012, most DACA recipients are in Latino-centric states: California (222,795) followed by Texas (124,000) and Illinois (42,376). Unauthorized immigrants from Mexico make up more than three-quarters of all DACA ...

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