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.
Inspired by two recipes in Maida Heatter’s “Book of Great Cookies,” these crisp treats may be the best peanut butter cookies you’ve ever tasted.
These are crunchy and a little bit sticky. If you are vegan you can substitute agave syrup for the honey.
This is like a toned-down pecan pie in bar form.
These heavenly bars are inspired by Sesame Dream Bars, from “Diet for a Small Planet” by Frances Moore Lappé.
These scones are not overly sweet and have a light, wonderful texture.
Smokers May Get Strokes 10 Years Before Nonsmokers
by Denise Mann
Study Shows Smokers Are on Average 58 Years Old When They Have a Stroke
Oct. 3, 2011 — Smoking is considered one of the major risk factors for strokes. Now research shows that smokers tend to have strokes close to one full decade earlier than nonsmokers.
Smokers were age 58, on average, when they had a stroke, while nonsmokers were 67, on average, according to a study presented at the Canadian Stroke Congress in Ottawa.
Raising ‘Good’ Cholesterol May Cut Heart Risk in Diabetes Patients
by Rita Ruben
Study Shows Heart Benefits for Diabetes Patients of Increasing HDL ‘Good’ Cholesterol
Oct. 7, 2011 — Raising levels of HDL “good” cholesterol might play an important role in reducing heart disease and stroke risk in patients with type 2 diabetes, a new study shows.
Kaiser Permanente researchers reviewed the medical records of 30,067 type 2 diabetes patients who had their HDL measured twice, six to 24 months apart, in 2001 to 2006. The researchers looked at whether the patients had subsequently been hospitalized for heart disease or stroke.
Americans Living Longer, Healthier Lives
by Denise Mann
But HealthyPeople 2010 Goals Still Not Met Yet in Crucial Areas
Oct. 6, 2011 — Americans are living a full year longer than they were a decade ago.
“Within one decade, U.S. life expectancy from birth increased to 77.8 from 76.8,” says Carter R. Blakey, acting director of disease prevention and health promotion at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, D.C. “That is tremendous.”
UVA Radiation May Cause DNA Damage in Skin
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Study Suggests Ultraviolet A Rays, Once Thought to Be Less Risky Than UVB, May Also Lead to Cancer
Oct. 6, 2011 — Ultraviolet A radiation, which can pass through window glass and clouds, causes changes to skin cells that may lead to cancer, a new study shows.
Experts once thought that UVA rays, sometimes called “aging rays” because they penetrate skin most deeply and lead to wrinkles, were less dangerous than UVB, or “burning rays,” which act primarily on the outermost layers of the skin where most cancers occur.
Pale People at Risk for Vitamin D Deficiency
by Denise Mann
People With Sensitive Skin May Get Less Vitamin D From the Sun
Oct. 5, 2011 — Pale people and the sun just don’t mix.
People with pale skin tend to be more prone to sunburns — and skin cancer. So, they often take steps to avoid the sun and slather on sunscreen when they are exposed to the sun’s rays.
As a result, they may make less vitamin D and may benefit from vitamin D supplements, according to a new study in Cancer Causes and Control.
Nation Gets ‘B’ for Hospital Support Care by Daniel J.DeNoon
Still Too Little Palliative Care for Most People With Serious Illness
Oct. 5, 2011 — Most people with serious illness — and half of their caregivers — may not get the care they need.
The support chronically ill patients and their families need is called palliative care. It’s a team-based approach that adds layers of support and coordinates the often fragmented medical services patients need.
The focus isn’t limited to patients who are dying. Palliative care actually can improve survival for seriously ill patients. The approach not only helps patients but also saves money. More and more hospitals are deploying palliative care teams — but not enough to meet the need.
New Pill May Reduce Relapses in MS Patients
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Study Shows Teriflunomide Could Become a New Alternative to Injections
Oct. 5, 2011 — People with multiple sclerosis (MS) may soon have a second needle-free option to control their disease.
Last year, the FDA approved the first disease-modifying pill, a drug called Gilenya, to treat MS.
Now a new study shows that a different drug, a once-daily pill called teriflunomide, may also slow the progression of the neurological disease and its disabling attacks better than a placebo.
4 Million in U.S. Admit Drunk Driving
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Drunk Drivers on Road 112 Million Times a Year, CDC Says
Oct. 4, 2011 — Four million Americans admit driving when they’ve had too much to drink, a CDC survey finds.
Just counting those who admit drunken driving — certainly an underestimate of the true number — alcohol-impaired drivers were on the road an estimated 112 million times last year.
That’s down 30% from 2006, but not down far enough for CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH.
Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Advanced Cancers
by Charlene Laino
Study Shows Three-Fourths of Cancer Patients Have Low Levels of Vitamin D
Oct. 4, 2010 (Miami Beach, Fla.) — More than three-fourths of people with a variety of cancers have low levels of vitamin D, and the lowest levels are associated with more advanced cancers, a new study suggests.
High-dose supplements increased vitamin D levels to normal in most patients studied, but it is too soon to know if supplementation improved their outlook, says researcher Thomas Churilla, MS, a third-year medical student at Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton, Penn.
Advance Directives Shape End-of-Life Experiences
by Denise Mann
Study Shows Living Wills May Also Help Reduce Health Care Costs
Oct. 4, 2011 — It’s a conversation that many of us don’t want to have. Maybe we are superstitious, feel that we are young and invincible, or maybe we just can’t find the right time to discuss our end-of-life wishes.
But a new study suggests that telling the people in your life about the type of care you do and don’t want in the event you become incapacitated can help shape your overall experience at the end of life. Such advance directives also can help reduce health care costs.
The study is published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Does Facebook Hold Clues to Problem Drinking?
By Kathleen Doheny
Study Suggests Link Between Online Comments on Drinking and Alcohol Problems for College Students
Oct. 3, 2011 — Those casual comments on Facebook, MySpace, and other social media sites can tell a lot about a person. Now, researchers have found a link between online drinking comments and problem drinking in college students.
The researchers evaluated comments, photos, and other publicly accessible information on the Facebook pages of 224 college men and women. They also gave them a standard test to evaluate alcohol problems.
Wrong Shoes Make Gout Pain Worse
by Bill Hendrick
Some Shoes That Seem Comfortable Can Actually Worsen Foot Pain, Researchers Say
Oct. 3, 2011 — Sandals may look comfortable, but they can actually worsen the pain of people with gout.
Researchers in New Zealand say people with gout commonly wear the wrong type of shoes, leading to increased pain, impairment, and disability.
A group of scientists led by Keith Rome, PhD, of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, signed up 50 gout patients from rheumatology clinics, and assessed their footwear choices.
New Warning Added to Avastin Label
by Matt McMillen
FDA: Cancer Drug Raises Risk of Ovarian Failure
Oct. 7, 2011 — Women taking the cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) are at increased risk of ovarian failure, according to an FDA warning added to Avastin’s label.
In a study of 179 women with colon cancer, 34% of those taking Avastin as an add-on to chemotherapy developed amenorrhea, a condition in which menstruation has ceased for three or more months, compared to 2% among those not taking the drug.
18 Deaths, 100 Cases in Listeria/Cantaloupe Outbreak
by Daniel J. DeNoon
20 States Now Report Cases as Outbreak Toll Rises
Oct. 4, 2011 — Eighteen people now are confirmed dead in the ongoing listeria outbreak from contaminated cantaloupes.
The CDC confirms that 100 people in 20 states have been infected with one of the four outbreak strains of Listeria monocytogenes.
Listeria frequently causes miscarriage, stillbirth, or preterm birth when it infects a pregnant woman. Two pregnant women have been infected in the current outbreak. The CDC reports that “the outcome of each pregnancy is being monitored.”
Current Smoking Rates Could Lead to Millions of TB Deaths
by Kathleen Doheny
Researchers Predict 18 Million New Tuberculosis Cases by 2050 if Smoking Rates Aren’t Lowered
Oct. 4, 2011– If smoking is not controlled worldwide, the habit could produce 18 million new tuberculosis (TB) cases and 40 million deaths from TB between 2010 and 2050, according to a new study.
Tobacco and tuberculosis are linked, with tobacco smoking a risk factor for the disease.
The research is published online in the journal BMJ.
Heart Attack Complications More Likely for Women Smokers
by Kathleen Doheny
Study Shows Women Less Likely Than Men to Get Heart Treatments Like Aspirin After Leaving Hospital
Oct. 7, 2011 — Smokers have heart attacks earlier than nonsmokers, and women smokers are also much more likely than men smokers to have complications after a heart attack, new research shows.
“Female smokers after a heart attack have about a two and a half times greater event rate — things like recurrent heart attacks — over a six-month follow-up,” says researcher Elizabeth Jackson, MD, MPH. Jackson is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, Ann Arbor.
Her research was published online in the American Journal of Cardiology.
Less Toxic Treatment for Aggressive Breast Cancers?
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Newer Chemo Regimen, With Added Herceptin, May Be Less Damaging to the Heart
Oct. 5, 2011 — For women with certain kinds of aggressive breast tumors, treatment has often come with a significant trade-off: The drugs that kill their cancer can sometimes permanently damage the heart.
“Those are patients, many of whom are going to be cured of their breast cancer, but now they’ve got symptomatic heart failure. And that’s typically a long-term problem,” says Amelia Zelnak, MD, a breast oncologist and assistant professor of hematology and oncology at Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta.
Breast Cancer Death Rates Decline
by Denise Mann
Poorer Women Slower to See Dip in Breast Cancer Death Rates
Oct. 3, 2011 — Fewer women are dying from breast cancer, largely because of advances in screening and treatment. Poorer women, however, are seeing a slower and later decline in their risk of dying from breast cancer, in part because they don’t have as much access to these life-saving advances.
In 2008, 51.4% of poor women aged 40 and older had a screening mammogram in the past two years. By contrast, 72.8% of wealthier women had a mammogram in the past two years.
Infections Linked to Biopsies for Prostate Cancer
by Salynn Boyles
Study Shows Men With Biopsies for Prostate Cancer Have Risk for Potentially Serious Infections
Oct. 5, 2011 — New research raises concerns about a rise in potentially serious infections that require hospitalization in men who have prostate biopsies.
Men in the study who had the biopsies were more than twice as likely as those who didn’t to be hospitalized within the next 30 days for infections, bleeding, or other causes, researchers with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reported.
Task Force to Men: Don’t Get PSA Test
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Draft Guidelines Advise Against Common Prostate Cancer Screening Test
Oct. 7, 2011 — Men should just say “no” to prostate cancer screening with the common PSA blood test, according to draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
About a third of men over age 40, and about half of men age 65 to 79, get regular blood tests for prostate specific antigen, or PSA.
Rising PSA levels are an early sign of prostate cancer, but the test gives a false cancer signal up to 80% of the time. Moreover, not all PSA-detected prostate cancers are dangerous.
FDA Approves Cialis to Treat Enlarged Prostate
by Daniel J.DeNoon
Erectile Dysfunction Drug May Be Used for Patients With BPH
Oct. 6, 2011 — Cialis has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of enlarged prostate. It may also be used to treat men who have both enlarged prostate and erectile dysfunction (ED) at the same time.
Cialis is the first ED drug to be approved for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Commonly known as enlarged prostate, symptoms include difficulty starting to urinate, a weak urine stream, sudden urge to urinate, and frequent urination at night.
Anesthesia Before Age 2 Linked to Learning Problems
by Salynn Boyles
Study Suggests Potential Risks of Anesthesia for Very Young Children
Oct. 3, 2011 — There are new concerns about an increased risk for learning problems in very young children exposed to general anesthesia during surgical procedures.
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found a twofold increase in learning disabilities in children who had more than one exposure to general anesthesia with surgery before age 2.
The study is published in the November issue of Pediatrics.
Overweight Kids Risk High Blood Pressure
by Brenda Goodman
Overweight Children Nearly Three Times More Likely to Have High Blood Pressure, Study Finds
Oct. 3, 2011 — Children who are overweight compared to their peers are nearly three times more likely to have high blood pressure, a new study shows.
The study, published in the journal Hypertension, followed 1,111 school-aged children in Indiana for an average of four years.
Concussions on the Rise for Young Athletes
by Denise Mann
Study Shows Many Traumatic Brain Injuries Occur Among Bicycle Riders and Football Players
Oct. 6, 2011 — There was about a 60% increase in the estimated number of concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBI) seen among young athletes during the past decade, according to the CDC.
In 2001, there were an estimated 153,375 traumatic brain injuries among people from birth to age 19. This number rose to 248,418 in 2009.
Many of these injuries occurred among bicyclers, football players, and children in playgrounds. Basketball and soccer players are also at risk for TBI, according to a new report in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Poor Self-Rated Health Linked to Dementia
by Jennifer Warner
Study Shows People Who Rate Their Own Health as Poor Are More Likely to Develop Dementia
Oct. 5, 2011 — Think you’re unhealthy? You could be right, and your brain may be trying to tell you something.
A new study shows that people aged 65 and over who rated their own health as poor were 70% more likely to develop dementia than those who felt they were in good health.
Researchers say the results suggest that poor self-reported health without any clear medical explanation may be an early warning sign of dementia.
Next Decade to See Boom in Older Cancer Survivors
by Salynn Boyles
New Challenges for Health System as 42% Increase Expected by 2020
Oct. 6, 2011 — The number of older Americans living with cancer or who are long-term survivors of the disease will rise dramatically over the next decade, a new analysis shows.
By 2020, more than 11 million cancer survivors will be 65 years old or older, representing a 42% increase in just 10 years, according to projections from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
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