TEDMED 2015 is on its way!

Join the St. Louis Public Library for TEDMED2015: Break<ing>Through.

The St. Louis Public Library is livestreaming this year’s TEDMED stage program on November 19 & 20 at the Central Library.  The program consists of a series of 90-minute sessions on challenges and opportunities in science, health, and medicine.

TEDMED’s goal for their annual program is “for each person to leave inspired and recommitted to the important contributions they make – to their health, the health of their community and the world at large.”  Come watch and join others passionate about creating a healthier world.  We hope to have stimulating discussions in the breaks between sessions.

The sessions are spaced throughout the day with each session featuring multiple speakers on a single health-related theme.  The titles for the sessions are Catalyzing Great Science, Mind Matters, Back to Basics, Out There, Human Explorations, Techno-Utopia, Food Fix, and Who Cares for Health Care?  Speakers for each session are currently being announced on a rolling basis on http://tedmed.com/.

With a café in the building and free parking, you can stay all day at the Central Library or just drop by to watch a single session.

Mark your calendar for November 19 & 20; for more information on sessions as it becomes available see http://tedmed.com.  For more information about the Library's plans to screen sessions, check back here and on the library's website.

Healthy DIY: Kombucha

Central Library is hosting 5 DIY/craft programs ​this summer on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. in the Carnegie Room.

The program on Thursday, July 16 will feature William Pauley teaching about the art of handcrafting kombucha, a fermented tea beverage made with active enzymes, live bacteria, organic and amino acids. Participants will see a demonstration of the bottling process, and will get to take home their own bottle of kombucha. Registration required via Evanced, or by contacting Katie LaBarbera at 314-539-0349 or klabarbera@slpl.org. Class limit is 25 participants.

Can't make it/want to learn more?  The St. Louis Public Library has an assortment of titles that feature kombucha as well as other fermented foods.  Check out Kombucha tea for your health and healing by Alick & Mari Bartholomew, Delicious probiotic drinks by Julia Mueller, or True brews by Emma Christensen.

[PS: Other programs include seed saving and making things from books and other repurposed materials.  The first of these programs is this Thursday, June 18, when you can join the master-reusers from Perennial to make a custom travel journal and other travel accessories. You'll leave this event with new reuse ideas, simple craft skills, and an urge to hit the road! Register online at: http://perennialstl.org/]

Understanding jargon

When you visit your doctor, do you understand everything he or she says or do you leave confused?  The medical field is full of jargon; sometimes the most precise and accurate way of describing is with a strange phrase, and all you need is a clear definition to make sense of it.  Are you having trouble wading through words that don't make much sense?

Some tips to improve your understanding of health information include:

• Talk to your doctor and speak up when something doesn't make sense.
• Take notes.
• Ask where to get more information.
• Bring a family member or a friend along: four ears are better than two, and someone else might ask questions that hadn't crossed your mind.

Here at the St. Louis Public Library, we have lots of resources to help you figure out what your doctor said and meant: medical dictionaries where you can look up definitions of unfamiliar terms, and encyclopedias where you can learn about symptoms and treatments of illnesses, as well as look up the uses and side effects of drugs.  We also have a database, Consumer Health Complete, which has articles, fact sheets, and encyclopedia entries, as well as a dictionary that you can search or browse.

While we can't give out medical advice (we're not doctors after all, and it's best for both you and us), we can help you navigate the sometimes tricky wording to figure out what your doctor says, or what advertisements are selling.

Being well informed is crucial to making intelligent decisions, and understanding terminology is a necessary first step.

Get and stay active

Physical activity is a must for living a healthy and happy life, and exercise doesn't have to just happen at the gym.  Moving around throughout the day can have lots of benefits.  As the National Institutes of Health points out here, the benefits of being active are both physical and mental, and even 10 minutes at a time can make a big difference.

Books and videos the library has to make exercising easy and enjoyable include

• The Men's Fitness exercise bible: 101 best workouts to build muscle, burn fat, and sculpt your best body ever! by Sean Hyson and the editors of Men's Fitness.
• Strong women stay young by Miriam E. Nelson with Sarah Wernick.
• Core strength training : the complete step-by-step guide to a stronger body and better posture for men and women.
• The 20-minute body: 20 minutes, 20 days, 20 inches by Brett Hoebel.

• Sugar Ray Leonard & Laila Ali: lightweight & heavyweight workouts.
• Bob Harper inside out method: pure burn, super strength.
• Denise Austin hot body yoga.

We have lots more, so browse through the catalog to find the ones that are right for you!