Welcome to the Health and Fitness NewsWelcome to the Stars Hollow Health and Fitness News weekly diary. It will publish on Saturday afternoon and be open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.
Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.
You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.
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Pizzas made on the grill are really more like topped flatbreads. They get plenty of direct heat, so the surfaces brown nicely, but not enough ambient heat, even with the lid closed, for a crumb to develop on the rim of the pizza. Stretch out or roll the dough very thin, with no raised edge, so that the pizzas won’t have a doughy texture. It’s much easier to work with smaller pies, so I divide into three portions dough that I usually divide in half, and I roll them to approximately 10-inch disks. Then I freeze the disks between pieces of lightly dusted parchment so I don’t have to worry about the dough sticking or tearing when I’m ready to put it on the grill. I take it from the freezer shortly before I’m ready to grill it, and the cold rounds are easy to manipulate. If you want to reduce the calories in these pizzas you could roll them really thin and get four slightly smaller pies out of one batch of dough. Then freezing is really necessary for easy handling.
It’s important that you don’t weigh down your pizzas with ingredients, especially marinara sauce, or they’ll be difficult to get on and off the grill and they’ll be soggy. A thin layer of marinara – 1/4 cup – will be plenty for a 10-inch disk. As for vegetables, because the pizzas get so little time on the grill, they will taste best if you grill them a bit beforehand, on their own, in a grill pan. Then they get the nice charred flavor we love. I’ve given you recipes this week for tomato, eggplant, onion and fennel pizzas. Other vegetables that work well are peppers, summer squash, artichoke hearts, even potatoes.
~Martha Rose Shulman~
A basic pizza recipe you can use to create whatever flavor combinations you like.
Pizza on the Grill With Cherry Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Arugula
No precooked sauce is needed for these pies.
Grilled Pizza With Grilled Eggplant and Cherry Tomatoes
The grilled eggplant slices are equally good on their own, or use them instead of crusts for “eggplant pizzas.”
Grilled Pizza With Grilled Red Onions and Feta
Cooking the onions on the grill before assembling the pizza give them a nice charred flavor.
Grilled Pizza With Grilled Fennel and Parmesan
Imported black olives are optional, but they add a briny punch that complements the sweet fennel.
Pharmacist-Guided Home Blood Pressure Monitoring
by Serena Gordon, HealthDay Reporter
Study found combination led to better control of hypertension
July 2 (HealthDay News) — Using home blood pressure monitoring and partnering with a pharmacist for lifestyle advice and medication changes led to better control of hypertension, a new study shows.
After six months of the intervention, nearly 72 percent of the study volunteers had their high blood pressure under control compared to 45 percent in the group that received usual care. Also, the effects of the intervention persisted even after the intervention ended. Six months later, about 72 percent of the intervention group had their high blood pressure under control compared to 57 percent in the usual care group.
First Organ Grown From Stem Cells Alone: Report
by Brenda Goodman, HealthDay Reporter
Researchers say their advance, with livers for mice, may one day increase availability of human transplants
July 3 (HealthDay News) — Japanese scientists report they’ve turned a cocktail of stem cells into the world’s first functioning livers.
The tiny livers were created in the lab and transplanted into mice, where they grew and began to perform the same functions as human-sized livers, including metabolizing drugs and making liver-specific proteins.
Though very basic — the experimental livers don’t have all the features of full-grown organs — it’s believed to be the first time scientists have grown a three-dimensional organ in the lab using only cells.
No HIV After Stem-Cell Transplants: Researchers
by Dennis Thompson, HealthDay Reporter
Two more patients undergo ‘sterilizing cure,’ advancing understanding of the process
July 2 (HealthDay News) — Two HIV-positive patients show no trace of virus after receiving chemotherapy and stem-cell transplants as treatment for lymphoma, according to new research.
These patients have become the second and third known cases of a “sterilizing cure,” in which medical treatment removes all traces of HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — from the body. They have remained virus-free even though doctors months ago took them off their HIV-targeted medications.
Pricey New Blood Thinner May Be Safer for Leg Clots
by Brenda Goodman. HealthDay Reporter
In trial, Eliquis worked as well as warfarin but with less risk of bleeding
July 1 (HealthDay News) — The new pill Eliquis prevents dangerous blood clots in the legs and lungs as well as standard therapy, though with less risk of serious bleeding, a new study shows.
The research, published online July 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine, may point doctors toward a simpler, if more costly, way to prevent repeat blood clots in patients at risk for venous thromboembolism.
RA Drugs Have Same Impact on Time Lost at Work: Study
by Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter
Patients gained no more benefit from higher-priced biologic drug Remicade vs. cheaper medications
July 1 (HealthDay News) — Treatment with a pricey biological drug was no better than cheaper, conventional therapy in terms of reducing time off from work for people with rheumatoid arthritis, a new study finds.
Swedish researchers assessed lost work days among rheumatoid arthritis patients who had not responded to initial treatment with a standard medication, methotrexate.
Do Heart Patients Get Too Many Cholesterol Tests?
by Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter
Unnecessary screenings contribute to rising U.S. health costs, study suggests
uly 1 (HealthDay News) — Many U.S. heart patients may be getting their cholesterol levels checked unnecessarily, a new study suggests.
Statistics on more than 35,000 patients with coronary heart disease treated in a Houston-based Veterans Affairs network suggest this is an area of over-testing that’s contributing to the nation’s soaring medical costs, the study authors said.
Pain Reliever Lowers Blood Sugar for Type 2: Study
by Serena Gordon, HealthDay Reporter
But side effects of aspirin-like drug warrant further study
July 1 (HealthDay News) — An aspirin-like drug appears to lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, according to new research.
A study of the drug — the prescription pain reliever salsalate — also found it reduced inflammation associated with type 2 diabetes. But it produced unwelcome side effects that could limit its potential as a diabetes treatment.
Collapsible Laundry Hampers May Pose Risk to Kids
by Dennis Thompson, HealthDay Reporter
Two reports show wires can pop out, threatening vision
July 1 (HealthDay News) — Collapsible laundry hampers can cause serious eye injuries to children if a sharp wire contained within the device breaks free, according to a new report.
The researchers documented the cases of two children, one 23 months old and the other 11 years old, who each suffered a puncture wound in one eye from a collapsible laundry hamper.
The devices collapse and then pop back into shape because they have embedded within them a flexible wire that winds around the outside of the cloth hamper.
Sharp Rise in Drug Overdoses Among U.S. Women: CDC
by Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter
More now die from prescription medications than from car crashes, study finds
July 2 (HealthDay News) — The rate of fatal overdoses of prescription painkillers and other drugs among U.S. women quadrupled between 1999 and 2010, federal officials reported Tuesday.
Long thought of as primarily a male problem, drug addiction is increasingly affecting women, and the new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 42 women in the United States die each day from prescription drug overdoses.
Women With Lupus at Higher Risk for Hip Fractures?
by Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay Reporter
Study followed nearly 15,000 patients for 6 years
uly 4 (HealthDay News) — Women with lupus — the autoimmune disease that can damage skin, joints and organs — also are at higher risk of a hip fracture known as a cervical fracture, new research from Taiwan suggests.
Dr. Shu-Hung Wang, of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and his colleagues evaluated nearly 15,000 adults — 90 percent of them women — who had lupus. They followed them for an average of six years.
IVF Tied to Small Risk of Mental Deficits in Kids
by Amy Norton, HealthDay Reporter
Large Swedish study did not find higher risk for autism
July 2 (HealthDay News) — Despite some concerns, children born by in vitro fertilization do not seem to have an increased risk of autism, a large new study finds. They may, however, have a slightly higher-than-normal chance of being intellectually impaired.
The study, reported in the July 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at more than 2.5 million infants born in Sweden between 1982 and 2007. It found that the nearly 31,000 children conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF) did not have an increased risk of the developmental disorder autism.
Early Respiratory Infection & Type 1 Diabetes Risk
by Serena Gordon, HealthDay Reporter
Researchers looked at children who had first-degree relatives with the autoimmune disease
July 1 (HealthDay News) — What may seem like a harmless cold during the first six months of life may more than double a child’s chances of developing antibodies that often lead to type 1 diabetes, new German research suggests.
Infections that occur later don’t seem to pose as high as risk. When infants between 6 and 12 months had a respiratory illness, their risk only increased by 32 percent, the study found.
Bacteria Levels in Gut Tied to Autism in Kids?
by Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter
Study compared digestive tract samples from 40 children
July 3 (HealthDay News) — A link may exist between autism and bacteria in a child’s digestive tract, a small new study suggests.
Researchers analyzed gut bacteria in fecal samples from 20 children with autism and 20 children without the disorder. The children with autism had significantly fewer types of gut bacteria, which potentially could make them more vulnerable to harmful bacteria.
The study also found that children with autism had significantly lower amounts of three types of important gut bacteria.
Lifelong Reading, Hobbies May Help Fend Off Dementia
by Barbara Bronson Gray, HealthDay Reporter
Stimulating activities may encourage brain to adapt and create ‘work-arounds,’ study suggests
July 3 (HealthDay News) — Use it or lose it: Doing brain-stimulating activities from childhood — like reading books, writing letters and solving everyday problems — through old age may help prevent clinical signs of dementia such as memory loss, a new study finds.
“Certain things increase or decrease your vulnerability to cognitive [mental] decline,” said Robert Wilson, the study’s lead author. Keeping your brain active seems to help certain brain circuits operate effectively, even if a gradual buildup of brain disease is already occurring, said Wilson, a professor of neurological and behavioral sciences at Rush University Medical Center, in Chicago.
Marital Spats May Decline as Couples Age
by Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter
Over time, partners realize their differences won’t change, so they try to defuse conflict, study says
July 1 (HealthDay News) — One of the benefits of a long marriage may be fewer arguments as the years go by, a new study finds.
Researchers at San Francisco State University report that as married couples grow older, they become more likely to handle disagreements by simply changing the subject.
Can Hi-Tech Avatars Promote Real-Life Weight Loss?
by Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter
Virtual sessions on portion control and exercise helped women in small pilot study
July 1 (HealthDay News) — Watching an avatar exercise and learn healthy habits in a virtual community might help people shed excess weight, a small new study suggests.
Sleepy Teens Reach for Fast Foods First
by Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter
Study found those who slept less than 7 hours a night were also less likely to eat fruits, vegetables
July 4 (HealthDay News) — Sleep-deprived teens make poor food choices, a new study finds.
“Not only do sleepy teens, on average, eat more food that’s bad for them, they also eat less food that is good for them,” study leader Lauren Hale, an associate professor of preventive medicine at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, said in a university news release.
New Active Video Games May Give Kids More Exercise
by Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter
Youngsters in Australian study were a bit less sedentaryJuly 2 (HealthDay News) — Newer-generation “active” video games give a slight boost to children’s physical activity levels at home, according to a new study.
Most video games are passive and no better than watching television in terms of getting youngsters to move and burn energy. Children in developed nations spend 38 to 90 minutes a day playing video games.
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