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.
For some time now the medical literature has been countering the myth that the cholesterol in eggs goes straight to the arteries and that eggs should be shunned by anybody committed to healthy eating. Studies have shown that only a small amount of dietary cholesterol passes into the blood and that saturated fats and trans fats have much bigger effects on cholesterol levels. In fact, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, the only large study that looked at the effect of egg consumption on heart disease found no correlation between the two, except among people with diabetes, who were a bit more likely to develop heart disease if they ate an egg a day.
You can use bagged baby spinach or stemmed and washed bunch spinach for this simple omelet with Mediterranean flavors.
Cook up the greens when you get home to make a meal in minutes.
You can get fancy and use wild mushrooms, but it’s much more economical and equally satisfying to make them with cultivated creminis or white button mushrooms.
This spicy omelet is much lighter than traditional cheese-packed Southwestern omelets.
Sun-dried tomatoes are very much at home in an omelet.
AHA: Sex Safe for Most Heart Patients
by Salynn Boyles
Risk to Individual Patient ‘Extraordinarily Low’
Jan. 19, 2012 — Most patients can safely resume sexual activities one week after having an uncomplicatedheart attack, according to a new report from the American Heart Association.
The report represents the most comprehensive review of the research on sex in heart patients ever conducted by the group, and it is intended to help patients and their doctors discuss the subject.
O
Insomnia Can Be Dangerous, But There’s Rest for the Weary
by Rita Rubin
Behavioral Therapy, Prescription Drugs More Effective Than Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids in Treating Insomnia, Report Suggests
Jan. 19, 2012 — If you find yourself tossing and turning most nights, unable to fall asleep, you’re in good company.
Insomnia, which is twice as common in women as in men, affects 6% to 10% of adults. It’s the most common sleep disorder, yet often goes undiagnosed and untreated, according to a new report. The consequences can be much more serious than daytime sleepiness. Research has linked insomnia to high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and other ailments.
Experimental Contacts May Ease Pain After Laser Eye Surgery
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Study Suggests That Lenses Laced With Pain Meds Could One Day Replace Regular Eye Drops
Jan. 20, 2012 — Researchers are developing contact lenses that may one day deliver painkilling drugs directly to the cornea after laser eye surgery.
The contact lenses rely on nanotechnology to slow the delivery of anesthetic medications.
Researchers say that if the technique works, it could eliminate the need for patients to repeatedly apply numbing eye drops after their photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) procedures.
Knee, Hip Replacements Carry Blood Clot Risk
by Kathleen Doheny
Study: About 1 in 100 Knee Replacement Patients Will Develop a Blood Clot Before Leaving the Hospital
Jan. 17, 2012 — Doctors have long known that dangerous blood clots can occur after joint replacement surgery of the knees or hips.
Now, a new analysis puts numbers on the risk.
About 1 in 100 patients who undergo knee replacement surgery and 1 in 200 patients who have hip replacement surgery will develop a blood clot called venous thromboembolism before leaving the hospital.
Weight Loss: Is Bypass Better Than Banding?
by Salynn Boyles
Very Obese Bypass Patients in Study Lost More Weight, Kept It Off Longer
Jan. 16, 2012 — Gastric banding doesn’t work as well as gastric bypass surgery, according to a new study in the journal Archives of Surgery.
More than 200,000 weight loss surgeries are performed annually in the U.S. and more people are choosing banding procedures over gastric bypasses. Banding procedures are marketed as a safer and simpler alternative, but new research suggests that it may not achieve better and lasting results.
Study: Vitamin D Has No Clear Benefit for COPD Patients
by Denise Mann
But Vitamin D Supplementation May Reduce COPD Flare-ups in People With Severely Low Levels
Jan 16, 2012 — Much hope has been pinned on vitamin D to cure, prevent, or treat a host of diseases, including the lung disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
New research, however, may dash some of this enthusiasm for people with COPD, an umbrella name for chronic lung diseases, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. People with COPD often experience a worsening of their breathlessness and other symptoms (exacerbations) throughout the course of their disease.
But vitamin D doesn’t seem to reduce the number of these exacerbations. That said, vitamin D did benefit a small group of 30 people in the study who had severely low vitamin D levels when the study began.
The new findings appear in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Brain Adapts Quickly to a Broken Arm
by Cari Nierenberg
Shifts in the Brain Improve Skills So You’re Not a Klutz for Long, Study Shows
Jan. 16, 2012 — Breaking an arm and wearing a sling or a cast is a real inconvenience, to say the least. When it’s the arm you depend on to eat, write, dress, brush your teeth, bathe, and do most everything, well, that’s when all the fun begins.
But Swiss researchers have discovered that the brain adjusts quickly to a broken limb. It doesn’t take long — perhaps a week or two — before shifts in the brain occur so people can adapt to their new circumstances and be less clumsy in using their other arm.
A new study has shown that two weeks after a broken arm, there’s an increase in the size of the brain areas needed to compensate for the injury, and a decrease in areas of the brain not being used while in a sling or cast. This rapid reorganization of the brain allows someone who is usually right-handed, for example, to transfer skills to the left hand while the hurt arm heals.
Certain Antidepressants May Raise Lung Condition Risk in Newborns
by Salynn Boyles
Risk for Rare Disorder Higher in Babies Born to SSRI Antidepressant Users
Jan. 12, 2012 — Pregnant women who use certain popular antidepressants may have a twofold increased risk for delivering babies with a rare but serious lung disorder, a new study finds.
Researchers analyzed national registry data from 1.6 million births in five Nordic countries in an effort to determine if using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants during pregnancy raises the risk for neonatal pulmonary hypertension, a life-threatening condition in newborns that normally occurs in one to two births in 1,000.
SSRIs such as Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft are the most widely prescribed class of antidepressants, and millions of women in the U.S. have used them during pregnancy.Jan. 12, 2012 — Pregnant women who use certain popular antidepressants may have a twofold increased risk for delivering babies with a rare but serious lung disorder, a new study finds.
Researchers analyzed national registry data from 1.6 million births in five Nordic countries in an effort to determine if using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants during pregnancy raises the risk for neonatal pulmonary hypertension, a life-threatening condition in newborns that normally occurs in one to two births in 1,000.
SSRIs such as Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft are the most widely prescribed class of antidepressants, and millions of women in the U.S. have used them during pregnancy.Jan. 12, 2012 — Pregnant women who use certain popular antidepressants may have a twofold increased risk for delivering babies with a rare but serious lung disorder, a new study finds.
Researchers analyzed national registry data from 1.6 million births in five Nordic countries in an effort to determine if using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants during pregnancy raises the risk for neonatal pulmonary hypertension, a life-threatening condition in newborns that normally occurs in one to two births in 1,000.
SSRIs such as Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft are the most widely prescribed class of antidepressants, and millions of women in the U.S. have used them during pregnancy.
Is Your Office Making You Sick?
by Kathleen Doheny
Study Finds PFCs in Office Workers’ Blood; Workers in New Offices Have Even Higher Levels of the Potentially Toxic Chemical
Jan. 20, 2012 — Could your office be toxic?
Indoor office air is an important source of worker exposure to the potentially toxic substances known as PFCs, or polyfluorinated compounds, according to a new study.
”Workers who spend their day in a typical office environment are likely to have exposure to PFCs through the air, and that seems to lead to PFC levels in their blood,” says researcher Michael McClean, ScD, associate professor of environmental health at the Boston University School of Public Health.
After Years of Decline, Polio Cases in Afghanistan Triple in a Year
by Rod Nordland
Appointed by the government, paid for by international agencies and given free passage by the Taliban in one of the last three countries in the world where polio is endemic, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative‘s 65,000 volunteers and workers had seemed to have nearly wiped out the disease – until recently.
After years of steady decline, only 25 polio cases were reported in the country in 2010, prompting one international health care official to declare that “the Afghans are heroes.” Then last year, the number tripled to 76, the Afghan Ministry of Public Health said. While the total remains small, polio is highly contagious, and health experts say that each detected case is an indicator of hundreds of “silent” ones, mainly children with mild infections who become carriers.
Health workers are alarmed at the reversal of what has been a local and worldwide trend – particularly since some of the cases erupted far outside the disease’s traditional areas in Afghanistan.
Treating Women’s Sleep Apnea May Lower Heart Death Risk
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Study: Machine That Keeps Airways Open Is Linked to a Lower Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke Death
Jan. 16, 2012 — Machines that help keep the airways open during sleep may be lifesaving devices for women with severe sleep apnea, a new study suggests.
People who have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) stop breathing many times during the night. It is much more common in men than in women.
The struggle to start breathing again causes sufferers to snore loudly, snort, or gasp. That often keeps their bed partners from getting rest.
But there’s a greater danger to sleep apnea. It’s a major stress for the heart
Asthma Drugs in Pregnancy Linked to Slight Risk of Rare Birth Defects
by Denise Mann
Researchers Unclear Whether Medications or the Severity of the Asthma Led to Rare Defects
Jan. 17, 2012 — New research provides some reassuring news for many pregnant women who have asthma.
Treating your asthma during pregnancy most likely does not increase your baby’s risk for most major birth defects, a new study shows. There was, however, a small increased risk for certain rare birth defects seen among women who took asthma medication during the month before they conceived through the third month of their pregnancy.
However, the study authors report that it was difficult to discern whether it was the medications or the severity of the asthma that led to these rare defects.
Bone Density at Age 67 May Predict Later Bone Health
by Kathleen Doheny
Women With Normal Bone Density at 67 May Not Need Repeat Test for 15 Years, Researchers Say
Jan. 18, 2012 — Women with normal or nearly normal bone density at age 67 may not need repeat testing for about 15 years, according to a new study of nearly 5,000 women.
If bone density was normal or nearly so at the study start, “only 10% developed osteoporosis over 15 years,” says study researcher Margaret Gourlay, MD, MPH, assistant professor of family medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “Their bone density was very stable.”
Even Mild Dehydration May Cause Emotional, Physical Problems
by Denice Mann
Women Report More Headache, Mood Changes When Mildly Dehydrated
Jan. 20, 2012 — Even mild dehydration may affect our moods and ability to concentrate.
In a new study of 25 healthy women, mild dehydration dampened moods, increased fatigue, and led to headaches.
High-Normal Blood Pressure Raises Heart Risks in Men
by Salynn Boyles
Earlier Study Showed Same Thing in Women
Jan. 17, 2012 — Having high blood pressure in middle age is a major risk factor for developing atrial fibrillation later in life, and now new research links high-normal-range blood pressure with an increase in risk.
More than 2 million mostly older Americans have the heart rhythm disorder known as atrial fibrillation, which greatly increases their risk for stroke, heart failure, and death.
Study: Overweight Ex-Football Players Put Brain at Risk
by Jennifer Warner
Retired Pro Football Players Have Worse Brain Function if They Are Overweight
Jan. 17, 2012 — Being overweight in retirement may be especially dangerous for professional football players exposed to multiple impacts to the head and concussions in the sport.
A new study suggests that being overweight increases the risk of brain functioning problems in already at-risk retired professional football players.
The results showed that retired professional football players who are overweight suffer from more thinking and memory problems than those who maintain a healthy weight in retirement.
“Obesity is a growing epidemic in youth, collegiate, and professional football players,” write researcher Daniel Amen and colleagues of Amen Clinics in Newport Beach, Calif., in Translational Psychiatry.
Drowning Rates Down for Kids in U.S.
by Cari Nierenberg
Researchers Say More Young Children Are Taking Swimming Lessons; and Parents, Lifeguards Are Stepping Up Supervision
Jan. 16, 2012 — Fewer children were hospitalized for drowning-related incidents over the past 16 years, a new study shows.
Hospitalization rates for children fell 49% across the country between 1993 and 2008, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins and the Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
The number of children who died while in the hospital from drowning-related injuries also dropped by more than 40%.
This is the first time that nationwide trends in drowning-related hospitalizations in children have been reported.
Most States Get an F for Tobacco Prevention
by Bill Hendrick
Children Continue to Be Put at Risk From Tobacco
Jan. 19, 2012 — Most states are doing an “abysmal” job in actions to protect children from cigarette smoking, and some are cutting funds for tobacco cessation programs because of stagnant economic conditions that are reducing revenues, the American Lung Association says in a new report.
The ALA’s State of Tobacco Control 2012 report card monitors progress on tobacco control policies at the federal and state levels and assigns grades that measure how laws are protecting people.
State report cards for 2011 were full of F’s, and A’s in any category were scarce, Erika Sward, director of national advocacy for the American Lung Association, tells WebMD.
CDC: Many Teen Moms Didn’t Think They Could Get Pregnant
by Salynn Boyles
Survey Focuses on Teens Who Had Unplanned Babies, Often Didn’t Use Birth Control
Jan. 19, 2012 — Teens who have babies without meaning to often don’t use birth control because they think they can’t get pregnant, according to a CDC survey.
Half the teenage moms with unplanned pregnancies who responded to the survey said they weren’t using contraceptives when their babies were conceived.
About a third of those who had unprotected sex mistakenly believed they could not get pregnant at the time.
The CDC analysis, which appears in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report(MMWR), is among the first to focus on teen moms who had unplanned pregnancies.
Using Headphones While Walking a Dangerous Move
by Jennifer Warner
Serious Injuries Have Tripled Among Walkers Wearing Headphones
Jan. 17, 2012 — The dangers of driving while talking on a cell phone may be in the news, but walking while wearing headphones can also be deadly.
A new study shows that in the last six years, serious injuries and deaths have tripled among pedestrians struck by a car or train while wearing headphones connected to an iPod or other handheld device.
Between 2004 and 2011, 116 injuries among pedestrians wearing headphones were reported in the U.S., including 81 deaths. The majority of crashes were among young people in urban areas.
Genes Affect How Sharp You’ll Be as You Age
by Denise Mann
Genes Account for About 24% of the Mental Changes That Occur Across the Life Cycle
Jan. 18, 2012 — Our genes may play a role in shaping how sharp we remain as we grow older.
Researchers analyzed genetic material from about 2,000 people to determine how intelligence changes from childhood to adulthood. All of the study participants took tests that measured their general intelligence at age 11 and then again when they were 65, 70, or 79.
Genes accounted for about 24% of the mental changes that occur across the life cycle.
This means that environment also plays a big role in shaping and maintaining our intelligence and mental ability as we grow older.
Report: 1 in 5 Adults Had Mental Illness in 2010
by Matt McMillen
Rates of Illness Significantly Higher Than Rates of Treatment
Jan. 19, 2012 — A new federal report estimates that 20% of American adults — more than 45 million people — had some form of mental illness in 2010.
The annual survey, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), shows a very slight increase in rates of mental illness compared to those reported in the 2009 survey. Overall, according to the latest survey, the numbers have remained steady.
Do Grapes or Alcohol Make Red Wine Good for the Heart?
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Study Shows Both Components May Help Keep Arteries Open
Jan. 19, 2012 — Studies have long suggested that drinking red wine in moderation might be good for the heart.
What’s been less clear is whether it’s the alcohol in wine or its antioxidants — mainly from grape skins and seeds — that may be responsible for those heart and stroke risk reductions.
Now a new study has arrived at a surprising answer: It may be both.
Natural Trans Fats Less Unhealthy Than Manmade Variety
by Denice Mann
Naturally Occurring Trans Fats Found in Dairy May Not Increase Heart Risks, Study Finds
Jan. 20, 2012 — All trans fats are not created equal.
Some are manmade, and have been added to all sorts of foods to increase their shelf life, but others can be found naturally in beef, pork, lamb, butter, and milk. Artery-clogging, manmade trans fats do increase the risk for heart disease, and efforts have been made to get them out of our food supply.
Natural trans fats, however, are another story.
At least in moderation, these trans fats do not seem to be as harmful as their manmade counterparts, a new study shows.
The findings appear in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
How Exercise May Keep Alzheimer’s at Bay
by Gretchen Reynolds
Alzheimer’s disease, with its inexorable loss of memory and self, understandably alarms most of us. This is especially so since, at the moment, there are no cures for the condition and few promising drug treatments. But a cautiously encouraging new study from The Archives of Neurology suggests that for some people, a daily walk or jog could alter the risk of developing Alzheimer’s or change the course of the disease if it begins.
Magnesium-Rich Foods May Lower Stroke Risk
by Cari Nierenberg
Study: Risk for One Type of Stroke Lower in People With More Magnesium in Diet
Jan. 20, 2012 — People who eat more foods rich in the mineral magnesium appear to reduce their odds of having a stroke, a new study shows.
The link between magnesium in the diet and stroke risk was strongest for ischemic stroke, which is when a clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain.
Researchers found that the risk for ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke in older people, was reduced by 9% for each additional 100 milligrams of magnesium a person consumed each day.
Does ‘The Biggest Loser’ Hurt or Help Obese People?
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Study: The Popular Reality TV Show May Reinforce Anti-Fat Attitudes
Jan. 18, 2012 — Losing weight and entertaining people at the same time seems like a win-win situation. But such might not be the case for the reality show The Biggest Loser.
Watching reality TV game show contestants sweat, strain, and diet their way to big weight loss may actually lead viewers, especially thin viewers, to more harshly judge all overweight people, a new study shows.
Researchers think the reason is that the show appears to do a good job of convincing us that body weight is entirely within a person’s control.
That sets up the idea that if show contestants can shrink dramatically, everyone should be able to.
The problem with that notion, experts say, is that it just isn’t true.
Does Junk Food in Schools Matter?
by Kathleen Doheny
Study: No Link Between School Junk Food Sales and Middle School Kids’ Weight
Jan. 18, 2012 — Junk food sales in schools, long blamed for contributing to childhood obesity, do not make a difference overall in the weight of middle school students, according to a new study.
The researchers followed more than 19,000 students from grades five through eight in 1,000 private and public schools.
“What we found basically is, there is no relationship between going to a middle school that sells junk food and gaining weight,” says researcher Jennifer Van Hook, PhD, professor of sociology and demography at Penn State University.
The message, she stresses, is not that junk food is OK, but that schools are probably not the main source of kids’ junk food intake. The study is published in the Sociology of Education.
Are Americans Getting Fed Up With Obesity?
by Rita Rubin
Rate of Obesity in Youth and Adults May Be Leveling Off, Study Finds
Jan. 17, 2012 — The growth in the nation’s obesity rate appears to be slowing and in some groups leveling off, according to new research. Yet, the rate is still more than double the government’s goal for 2010.
“This seems to be happening all over the world,” researcher Katherine Flegal, PhD, a senior research scientist at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, says of the stabilization of the obesity rate among adults. Flegal and her colleagues published a report on adult obesity trends and a paper on obesity trends in children and teens in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Why Coffee May Reduce Diabetes Risk
by Kathleen Doheny
Chinese Researchers Zero in on Coffee Substances That May Explain the Benefit
Jan. 13, 2012 — Coffee drinking has been linked with a reduced risk of diabetes, and now Chinese researchers think they may know why.
Three compounds found in coffee seem to block the toxic accumulation of a protein linked with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
”We found three major coffee compounds can reverse this toxic process and may explain why coffee drinking is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes,” says researcher Kun Huang, PhD, a professor of biological pharmacy at the Huazhong University of Science & Technology.
Previous studies have found that people who drink four or more cups of coffee a day have a 50% lower risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
The new study is published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Recent Comments