Welcome to the Stars Hollow Health and Fitness 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.
By sweet potatoes, I mean the orange-fleshed tubers with brownish skin that growers and supermarkets often mislabel as “yams.” The two varieties at my local farmers’ market are jewel yams and the darker-skinned garnet yams, both sweet and moist.
In fact, actual yams have starchier, light yellow flesh and a rough, brown skin; they are native to Africa and Asia, and an important staple in the Caribbean and in parts of Africa. But they don’t have the impressive nutritional profile of real sweet potatoes.
Celiac, Crohn’s Disease Share Common Genetic Links
Scientists Key in on Genetic Variants That Cause Inflammation in the Gut
Jan. 27, 2011 — An international team of researchers has identified four genetic variants common to celiac disease and Crohn’s disease.
The research may help to explain why people who have celiac disease appear to have a higher rate of Crohn’s disease than the general population. It may one day lead to new treatments that address the underlying inflammation involved in both conditions.
Want to Sleep Better? Make Your Bed
Bedroom Comfort Affects Sleep, Survey Suggests
Jan. 26, 2011 — Spending too many nights tossing and turning? You may want to vacuum your bedroom, wash your sheets, and throw out that lumpy mattress before you reach for a sleeping pill.
Results from a survey commissioned by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) suggest that people sleep much better when their bedrooms are comfortable and clean.
Obesity Rates Weigh Down Cities’ Budgets
Trimming Obesity Would Save U.S. Cities Billions in Health Care Costs, Study Finds
Jan. 28, 2011 — Cities searching for ways to trim the fat and stretch their budget dollars may want to start looking at residents’ waistlines.
A new study suggests that trimming high obesity rates in the nation’s most overweight cities could help local governments save more than $32 billion annually nationwide in associated health care costs.
Allergy Pill Allegra to Be Sold Over the Counter
FDA OK’s OTC Sale of Popular Antihistamine
Jan. 25, 2011 — The FDA today approved over-the-counter sale of Allegra, the best-selling antihistamine also sold generically as fexofenadine.
Allegra maker Sanofi-aventis says Allegra will be on retail shelves on March 4, in plenty of time for spring allergy season.
U.S. Smoking Rates Keep Life Expectancy Down
Study Shows High Smoking Rates in Earlier Decades Affects Life Spans in U.S.
Jan. 25, 2011 — Life expectancies in the U.S. are now lower than for many other industrialized countries, and the nation’s past love affair with tobacco is largely to blame, government officials say.
In a report released Tuesday, a panel commissioned by the National Research Council sought to explain why the U.S. spends more on health care than any other nation, yet Americans are dying younger than some of their counterparts in other high-income countries.
Fewer Strokes After Heart Bypass Surgery
Researchers Say Improvement in Surgery Techniques Contribute to Decline in Stroke Rate
Jan. 25, 2011 — Fewer patients are suffering strokes following coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), even though there are more instances of older and sicker patients having the surgery than in the past, new research suggests.
The study, published in the Jan. 26 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, tracked more than 45,000 patients who had heart bypass surgeries over the past three decades at the Cleveland Clinic.
Deep Brain Stimulation for Stubborn Hypertension
Case Study Suggests Stimulating Brain With Electrical Impulses May Treat High Blood Pressure
Jan. 24, 2011 — Using electrical pulses to stimulate nerve centers deep within the brain may reduce high blood pressure that can’t be controlled with medication, a case report shows.
Doctors in the U.K. made the discovery after implanting a device that works as an electric stimulator of a region of the brain in a 55-year-old man who had developed chronic pain on the left side of his body following a stroke.
Tamoxifen May Cut Lung Cancer Deaths
Study Suggests Hormones Influence Some Lung Cancers
Jan. 24, 2011 — Tamoxifen, the medication long used to prevent the growth of breast cancer tumors, also appears to reduce the risk of dying from lung cancer, research suggests.
If the link bears out in future studies, giving tamoxifen for lung cancer may become another option for doctors, the researchers say.
Heart Disease Treatment Costs May Triple in Next 20 Years
Aging Baby Boomers Could Push Costs Up to $545 Billion by 2030, Group Says
Jan. 24, 2011 — The costs of treating heart disease are expected to triple by the year 2030, creating an “enormous financial burden” for millions of Americans, the American Heart Association says in a new policy statement.
The tab for treating heart disease will rise to $545 billion over the next 20 years, in large part because of the aging of the baby boom population, the oldest of which will be in their mid-80s by then.
The policy statement is published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Animal Farms May Produce Superbugs
Flies, Roaches on Pig Farms May Spread Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria to Humans
an. 25, 2011– Superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics, long known to create life-threatening infections in hospital patients, could also be originating from animal farms where antibiotics are used to promote growth, potentially threatening human health, new research suggests.
It’s not the pigs causing the potential problem, but rather the insects commonly found on these pig farms, including flies and cockroaches, says Ludek Zurek, PhD, an associate professor of microbial ecology at Kansas State University, who led the study.
Most People With Flu Don’t Stay Home
Survey Shows Two-Thirds of Americans Stick to Their Routines Despite Flu Symptoms
Jan. 25, 2011 — Staying home when you have the flu helps reduce the risk of others catching the disease, yet a recent survey finds that 66% of Americans go about their daily activities even after flu symptoms set in.
The same survey, however, revealed a double standard: 59% said they feel annoyed when others show up with flu symptoms, jeopardizing their own health.
U.S. Has 7th Highest Cancer Rate in the World
Experts Say Lifestyle Changes Needed to Reduce Nation’s Cancer Rates
Jan 24, 2011 — About 300 of every 100,000 Americans develop cancer each year, which means the U.S. has the seventh highest cancer rate in the world.
“We are higher than we should be, and this is not the type of list you want to be on top of,” says Alice Bender, MS, RD, a nutrition communications manager at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) in Washington, D.C.
CDC: 26 Million Americans Have Diabetes
Analysis Shows Many in U.S. Aren’t Even Aware They Have Diabetes
Jan. 26, 2011 — The CDC says about 26 million adult Americans have diabetes and that 79 million more have prediabetes, a condition that raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not so high as to result in a diagnosis of diabetes.
Does Raising the Thermostat Increase Obesity?
Study Suggests Link Between Keeping Warm and the Obesity Epidemic
Jan. 25, 2011 — Baby, it’s cold outside, but keeping warm by cranking up the heat may play a role — albeit not a very big one — in the current obesity epidemic, a new study suggests.
“Changes in the way we eat and physical activity levels are the primary factors behind increases in obesity, [but] other aspects of our lifestyle can also make a contribution,” says study researcher Fiona Johnson, a research psychologist in the department of epidemiology and public Health at University College London.
Hot Flashes Linked to Lower Breast Cancer Risk
Study Suggests Hot Flashes in Menopause May Reduce Risk of 2 Types of Breast Cancer
Jan. 28, 2010 — A new study shows that having symptoms such as hot flashes during menopause appears to be tied to a lower risk of the most common kinds of breast cancer.
“There’s good news about hot flashes,” says Susan Love, MD, a breast cancer expert and author of Dr. Susan Love’s Menopause and Hormone Book.
Breast Implants Linked to Rare Cancer
FDA Links Both Saline and Silicone Breast Implants to Lymphoma, but Risk “Very Low”
Jan. 26, 2011 — Women with breast implants “may have a very small but increased risk” of a rare form of cancer, the FDA today warned.
The FDA is aware of some 60 reports — 34 in the medical literature and others from doctors, regulators, and implant makers — of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) in women with breast implants.
Heart Benefits for Women Who Cut Hypertension
Researchers Say Study Points Out ‘Missed Opportunities’ to Prevent Heart Disease
Jan. 24, 2011 — Middle-aged women who take steps to lower their blood pressure could reduce their risk of having a stroke, heart attack, or developing heart failure, a new study shows.
Researchers say they found that high systolic pressure — the blood pressure when the heart contracts — is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease and its complications in middle-aged and older women.
Women Who Smoke May Raise Breast Cancer Risk
Study Shows Link Between Smoking Before Having Children and Breast Cancer
an. 24, 2011 — Smoking early in life may raise a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer, according to research that adds new evidence on the link between cigarettes and breast cancer.
The study showed smoking before menopause, especially before having children, slightly increased the risk of breast cancer among a large group of women who participated in the Nurses Health Study.
How to Use Pills to Prevent HIV
CDC: HIV Prevention Pills Only for Men Having Sex With Men
Jan. 27, 2011 — The CDC has issued early recommendations for the use of AIDS drugs to prevent HIV infection of men who have high-risk sex with men.
The preliminary guidelines follow last November’s groundbreaking report that daily use of the AIDS drug Truvada lowers men’s risk of HIV infection. This strategy, called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, can cut HIV risk by as much as 92% in men who take the pill every day.
Secondhand Smoke Raises Kids’ Ear Infection Risk
Study Shows Higher Risk of Middle Ear Infection for Children in Homes Where Parents Smoke
Jan. 28, 2011 — Children who live in homes where parents or others smoke have a higher risk of developing middle ear infections than kids whose houses are smoke-free, a new study shows.
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society in the Republic of Ireland say they found that a reduction in secondhand smoke in American homes was associated with fewer cases of otitis media, or what most people refer to as middle ear infections.
Childhood Leukemia, Brain Cancer on the Rise
Experts Say Exposure to Toxic Chemicals May Be Partially Behind the Increase
an. 26, 2011 — Childhood leukemia and brain cancer are on the rise, and exposure to chemicals in our environment such as chlorinated solvents and the head lice treatment lindane may be partially to blame, according to experts speaking at a conference call sponsored by Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.
Weekend ‘Catch-Up’ Sleep May Help Kids’ Weight
Study: Children Who Don’t Get Enough Sleep Have Higher Risk of Obesity, but Sleeping in on the Weekends May Help
Jan. 24, 2011 — Children who get too little sleep and have irregular school-day sleep schedules are more likely to be obese, especially if they don’t make up for lost sleep on the weekends, a new study finds.
When researchers monitored the sleep patterns of about 300 children between the ages of 4 and 10 for a week, they found that very few slept the recommended amount. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that preschoolers aged 3-5 sleep 11 to 13 hours daily and children aged 5-10 sleep 10 to 11 hours.
Traffic Noise Raises Stroke Risk
As Traffic Noise Rises, So Does Risk of Stroke in Older People, Study Finds
Jan. 25, 2011 — The noises generated by road traffic may increase the risk of stroke, especially in older people, new research indicates.
In a new study, which its authors say is the first to investigate links between road traffic noise and stroke risk, researchers found that for every 10 decibel increase in noise, the risk of having a stroke increased 14% overall in a participant pool of 51,485 people.
Electroconvulsive Therapy Under New Scrutiny
Advisory Panel Says FDA Should Not Ease Restrictions on Treatment for Severe Depression
Jan. 28, 2011 — The recommendations of an FDA advisory panel could mean new restrictions on electroconvulsive therapy — a controversial treatment used by tens of thousands of U.S. patients with severe depression and other mental disorders.
The experts urged the FDA not to ease restrictions on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for many patients. The agency is reviewing the safety of the treatment and could now require companies to prove to the government that their products are safe.
Depression Lurks for Low-Income RA Patients
Lower Socioeconomic Status Associated With Increased Risk of Depression in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients, Study Finds
Jan. 28, 2011 — Rheumatoid arthritis patients from lower socioeconomic groups are more likely to develop symptoms of depression than people who have higher incomes and better access to health care services, a new study indicates.
Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco examined data on 824 clinic visits by 466 rheumatoid arthritis patients and found that 37% were rated as having moderate to severe depression.
Eating Trans Fats Linked to Depression
But Study Shows a Diet That Includes Olive Oil Can Cut Risk of Depression
Eating too much trans fat, long known to raise heart disease risk, can also boost your risk of depression, new research suggests.
Eating a heart-healthy diet with olive oil can lower the risk of depression, says researcher Almudena Sanchez-Villegas, PhD, associate professor of preventive medicine at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Las Palmas, Spain. The study included more than 12,000 people.
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