Southerners love their belts & belt buckles (especially you Texans). There are two other kinds of “belts” that encompass Southern tradition. Southern states are known not only as “the Bible Belt,” but also as a different kind of (less cool) belt: The Stroke Belt, obviously because strokes are more common in the south than other regions of the U.S. On the up side, if Chris & I were ever to move down south, I would have a very busy practice, on the down side, strokes are dangerous. Stroke the wrong area, and you’re disabled for life, unable to speak, move, or see.
An interesting article I read this evening in the New York Times spoke directly about 2 Southern epidemics: strokes and dementia. The news: they’re related! According to the article, the risk factors for strokes may also be risk factors for cognitive decline, too. Many are the same risk factors for heart attacks- it’s so so so important to control blood pressure, weight, cholesterol, blood sugars…etc, etc. Here’s the article:
NYT Stroke Belt
Another common disease affecting lots and lots of people that is influenced by good nutrition and exercise and lots of doctor check-ups…I’m just sayin’…