Health and Fitness News

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.

Turnips are one vegetable you can count on during the winter months; like carrots, they store well. The root vegetables are members of the cruciferae family, the same family that brings you nutrient-rich vegetables like cabbage, kale and broccoli (genus Brassica). Turnips are rich in sulfuric compounds, particularly glucosinolates, that are believed to have antioxidant properties. They’re also a very good source of potassium. When you can get them with the greens attached, they’re a two-in-one crop, like beets, as their greens bring you a whole new set of nutrients – lots of calcium, vitamin K, vitamin A and beta carotene – and culinary possibilities. Turnip greens are similar in flavor to kale, perhaps a little more bitter, and with a more delicate texture.

Why Don’t Some People With Asthma Respond to Medication?

by Brenda Goodman, MA

Researchers Learning Not Everyone Has Asthma for the Same Reason

Jan. 6, 2012 — All asthma is not the same.  As a result, a new study shows many people with asthma are not helped by corticosteroid medication prescribed to control their breathing problems.

The government-funded study is one of the largest to delve into the biology of asthma.

Researchers collected data on nearly 1,000 people with asthma who were enrolled in nine clinical trials sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Drug Already on Market May Be a Boon to Gout Patients

by Salynn Boyles

Arcalyst Used in Tandem With Another Drug Helped Prevent Painful Gout Flare-ups

Jan. 5, 2012 — A drug already on the market for some rare conditions may be able to help many people with the far more common condition of gout.

More than 6 million Americans have experienced gout, an excruciatingly painful form of arthritis that comes on suddenly, leaving sufferers miserable and often unable to walk until the attacks subside.

Herpes Drugs Don’t Stop Herpes Shedding

by Daniel J. DeNoon

Got Genital Herpes? You’re Still Infectious, Even if Drugs Cut Symptoms

Jan. 5, 2012 — People with genital herpes can still infect their sex partners — even if they are taking anti-herpes drugs that prevent herpes outbreaks.

Even when they don’t have an active herpes outbreak, people who carry genital herpes viruses are at risk of infecting their sex partners. With the discovery of drugs that prevent herpes outbreaks, there was hope that the drugs would also prevent herpes transmission. But there’s been troubling evidence that this may not be true.

Now University of Washington researcher Christine Johnston, MD, and colleagues show that people with no herpes symptoms often shed infectious genital herpes virus — even while taking very high doses of anti-herpes drugs.

Hopeful Genital Herpes Vaccine Misses the Mark

by Denise Mann

Results Disappointing for Many, but Some See as Step Toward Success

Jan 4, 2012 — It’s back to the drawing board for researchers seeking to develop a vaccine that protects against genital herpes.

Earlier studies of the vaccine were promising, but the new report shows that an experimental genital herpes shot was only mildly effective against herpes type 1 (HSV-1) — which commonly causes cold sores and sometimes genital herpes — and not effective at all against herpes type 2 (HSV-2), the most common cause of genital herpes.

Weight Loss Surgery May Prevent Heart-Related Deaths

by Salynn Boyles

Study: Surgery Protects Against Heart Attack, Stroke

Jan. 3, 2012 — Weight loss surgery lowers the risk of having a heart attack or stroke, and the risk of death from these and other heart-related causes, in people who are obese, according to new research in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The findings come from an ongoing Swedish study comparing long-term outcomes among obese patients who did and did not have the surgery.

Are Vacuum Cleaners Bad for Your Health?

by Denise Mann

Australian Study Shows Most Vacuum Cleaners Release Dust, Bacteria Back Into the Air

Jan 6, 2012 — You vacuum your house religiously to get rid of all the dust, dirt, and bacteria and make sure your indoor air is up to snuff.

But new research suggests that some vacuum cleaners may actually be making things worse, not better.

Certain vacuum cleaners spit fine dust and bacteria back into the air, where they can spread infections and trigger allergies.

Australian researchers tested 21 vacuum cleaners from 11 manufacturers, including two commercial models. The vacuums were six months to 22 years old, and ranged from less than $100 to almost $800. Brands included Dyson, Electrolux, Hoover, iRobot, and Sanyo. The researchers measured 62 different air emissions.

Report Finds Most Errors at Hospitals Go Unreported

by Robert Pear

Hospital employees recognize and report only one out of seven errors, accidents and other events that harm Medicare patients while they are hospitalized, federal investigators say in a new report.

Yet even after hospitals investigate preventable injuries and infections that have been reported, they rarely change their practices to prevent repetition of the “adverse events,” according to the study, from Daniel R. Levinson, inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.

For Neck Pain, Chiropractic and Exercise Are Better Than Drugs

by Anahad O’Connor

Seeing a chiropractor or engaging in light exercise relieves neck pain more effectively than relying on pain medication, new research shows.

The new study is one of the few head-to-head comparisons of various treatments for neck pain, a problem that affects three quarters of Americans at some point in their lives but has no proven, first-line treatment. While many people seek out spinal manipulation by chiropractors, the evidence supporting its usefulness has been limited at best.

But the new research, published in The Annals of Internal Medicine, found that chiropractic care or simple exercises done at home were better at reducing pain than taking medications like aspirin, ibuprofen or narcotics.

Citing Drug Resistance, U.S. Restricts More Antibiotics for Livestock

by Gardiner Harris

WASHINGTON – Federal drug regulators announced on Wednesday that farmers and ranchers must restrict their use of a critical class of antibiotics in cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys because such practices may have contributed to the growing threat in people of bacterial infections that are resistant to treatment.

The medicines are known as cephalosporins and include brands like Cefzil and Keflex. They are among the most common antibiotics prescribed to treat pneumonia, strep throat, and skin and urinary tract infections. Surgeons also often use them before surgery, and they are particularly popular among pediatricians.

The drugs’ use in agriculture has, according to many microbiologists, led to the development of bacteria that are resistant to their effects, a development that many doctors say has cost thousands of lives.

How Hard Would It Be for Avian Flu to Spread?

by Donald G. McNeil and Denise Grady

Recent reports that two teams of scientists had genetically altered a deadly flu virus to make it more contagious have provoked fear, even outrage, in some quarters.

Biosecurity advisers to the American government, which paid for the research, have urged that full details not be published for fear that terrorists could make use of them. The World Health Organization warned Friday that while such studies were important, they could have deadly consequences.

Prostate Cancer Screening Shows No Benefit

by Tara Parker-Pope

Updated findings from one of the largest studies of prostate cancer screening show that the commonly used P.S.A. blood test did not save lives, although questions remain about whether younger men or those at very high risk for the disease might benefit.

Last fall, the United States Preventive Services Task Force concluded that healthy men should no longer be routinely screened for prostate cancer using the prostate-specific antigen, or P.S.A., blood test. That decision was based on findings from five well-controlled clinical trials, including a major American study called the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) cancer screening trial, which studied P.S.A. testing in nearly 77,000 men ages 55 to 74.

The Hormone Surge of Middle Childhood

by Natalie Angier

VIEWED superficially, the part of youth that the psychologist Jean Piaget called middle childhood looks tame and uneventful, a quiet patch of road on the otherwise hairpin highway to adulthood.

Said to begin around 5 or 6, when toddlerhood has ended and even the most protractedly breast-fed children have been weaned, and to end when the teen years commence, middle childhood certainly lacks the physical flamboyance of the epochs fore and aft: no gotcha cuteness of babydom, no secondary sexual billboards of pubescence.

Yet as new findings from neuroscience, evolutionary biology, paleontology and anthropology make clear, middle childhood is anything but a bland placeholder. To the contrary, it is a time of great cognitive creativity and ambition, when the brain has pretty much reached its adult size and can focus on threading together its private intranet service – on forging, organizing, amplifying and annotating the tens of billions of synaptic connections that allow brain cells and brain domains to communicate.

Fussy Baby or a Sleep Disorder?

by Anahad O’Connor

One in 10 infants and toddlers have problems sleeping at night and may be at greater risk of developing a sleep disorder as they get older, a new study suggests.

The new research is a rare look at a problem that many parents and even pediatricians sometimes fail to notice. The study, which looked at children ages 6 months to 3 years, found that sleep problems were common in this age group. But parents did not always perceive red flags like loud and frequent snoring – which can be a risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea, a potentially serious breathing disorder – as problems that warranted mentioning to their pediatricians.

Exercise Boosts Kids’ Academic Performance

by Jennifer Warner

Children Who Are Active in Sports or Physical Education May Do Better in School, Research Suggests

Jan. 3, 2012 — Physical activity may help children exercise their brains as well as their bodies.

A new review suggests that children who are active in sports or physical activity perform better at school.

Researchers say physical activity may enhance children’s brain function and thinking skills by increasing blood and oxygen flow to the brain, as well as triggering the release of feel-good hormones like endorphins.

Study: Preschools Forgo Free Play for Safety, Academics

by Denise Mann

Many Child Care Centers Have Barriers to Physical Activity for Tots

an. 4, 2012 — Kids need to be kids, and that includes running and playing throughout the day. But many preschools and child care centers are so focused on safety and academics that kids are not getting the activity they need to be healthy.

Many children in preschools and child care centers are spending most of their day — 70% to 83% — being sedentary. A mere 2% to 3% of their day is spent in doing “vigorous activities,” according to background information cited by a study from the journal Pediatrics.

Nutrition: 4 Vitamins That Strengthen Older Brains

by Nicholas Bakalar

Higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D and vitamin E are associated with better mental functioning in the elderly, a new study has found.

Researchers measured blood levels of these nutrients in 104 men and women, whose average age was 87. The scientists also performed brain scans to determine brain volume and administered six commonly used tests of mental functioning. The study is in the Jan. 24 issue of Neurology.

After controlling for age, sex, blood pressure, body mass index and other factors, the researchers found that people with the highest blood levels of the four vitamins scored higher on the cognitive tests and had larger brain volume than those with the lowest levels.

Memory Loss May Occur as Early as 40s

by Salynn Boyles

Study Shows Age-Related Mental Declines Well Before 60th Birthday

Jan. 5, 2012 — Age-related memory loss is widely believed to begin around the age of 60, but new research suggests that memory and other mental declines may commonly occur decades earlier.

British civil service workers subjected to a battery of tests designed to assess brain functioning showed evidence of declines in memory, reasoning, and comprehension as early as age 45.

Clue to Alzheimer’s Disease Found in Spinal Fluid

by Brenda Goodman, MA

Protein Fragments in Spinal Fluid May Predict Alzheimer’s a Decade Before Diagnosis

Jan. 3, 2012 — Measuring protein fragments in spinal fluid may soon help doctors predict which patients with mild memory loss will go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease.  

What’s more, the test may help determine the risk of developing Alzheimer’s as early as a decade before symptoms warrant a diagnosis, a new study shows.

Earlier signs may give patients a chance to slow the onset of the disease with lifestyle changes or medication.

A Good Reason to Be Nuts About Walnuts

Walnuts Pack a More Potent Heart-Health Punch Than Other Nuts

Jan 5, 2012 — Sprinkle some walnuts on your salad this evening. Your heart will thank you.

When it comes to heart health benefits, roasted and raw walnuts rule the roost, a new study shows.

Researchers from the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pa., compared the amount of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols in nine types of roasted and raw nuts and two types of peanut butter. They also tested just how effective the antioxidants in the nuts are in regard to heart health using lab analysis.

A clear winner emerged from the nutty bunch: the walnut.

The findings appear in the journal Food & Function.

Jan 5, 2012 — Sprinkle some walnuts on your salad this evening. Your heart will thank you.

When it comes to heart health benefits, roasted and raw walnuts rule the roost, a new study shows.

Researchers from the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pa., compared the amount of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols in nine types of roasted and raw nuts and two types of peanut butter. They also tested just how effective the antioxidants in the nuts are in regard to heart health using lab analysis.

A clear winner emerged from the nutty bunch: the walnut.

The findings appear in the journal Food & Function.

Why Ice May Be Bad for Sore Muscles

by Gretchen Reynolds

Already, the benches in gym locker rooms and beside basketball courts are filling with 2012’s early casualties, those of us who, goaded by New Year’s resolutions, are exercising a bit too enthusiastically and developing sore muscles. Many of us will then drape ice packs over our aching muscles. But a new review article published this month in the journal Sports Medicine suggests that for sore muscles, ice is not always the panacea that most of us believe it to be and that, in some instances, it can be counterproductive.

Licorice Root May Cut Cavities, Gum Disease

By Matt McMillen

Chinese Licorice Root May Help Prevent, Treat Tooth Decay and Gum Disease

Jan. 6, 2012 — A substance known as the main ingredient of a classic candy may actually be good for your teeth: licorice.

According to a new study in the Journal of Natural Products, licorice root may help keep teeth healthy.

The authors report that compounds found in the dried root of the licorice plant may help prevent and treat tooth decay and gum disease.

But don’t rush to the candy aisle. According to information accompanying the study, what’s sold as licorice candy in the U.S. is no longer flavored with licorice root but with anise oil.

Report Rates Best Diets, Easiest Diets

by Kathleen Doheny

DASH Diet Rated Best Overall; Weight Watchers Best for Losing Weight

Jan. 4, 2012 — Who isn’t looking for a diet this month? Whether you’re resolving to lose weight, eat healthier, or manage or prevent health problems, here’s help.

Just out today: the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Diets 2012, a rating of 25 different diet plans.

And the winner is?

The DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), a plan to prevent high blood pressure, took the top spot in the best diets overall category.

Bottom Line: Overeating Boosts Fat, Whatever the Protein Level

by Kathleen Doheny

But Diets High in Protein Put on Less Fat, More Lean Body Mass

Jan. 3, 2012 — Here’s a new study we really could have used before the holidays: If you are going to overeat, be sure your diet has enough protein.

Body fat increases in all who overeat, regardless of the level of protein eaten, the researchers found. But those who overate with low protein levels in their diet stored a higher percent of calories as fat. They also lost lean body mass, while those on the higher-protein diets gained lean body mass.