Welcome 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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When I make a smoothie I like to make a meal out of it, or at least make something substantial enough to get me through my morning swim…. Lately I’ve been adding substance to smoothies in the form of nuts, seeds and nut powders. I recently learned about the benefits of soaking seeds overnight in water.
Soaking breaks down phytic acid and protease inhibitors, naturally occurring substances in nuts, seeds, grains and legumes that protect them until they germinate but can block enzyme function and reduce the absorption of important minerals in your body. Soaking seeds also breaks down complex starches.
I found that soaking nuts – almonds and pistachios, in this week’s recipes – leached too much flavor from them, but I liked the results for the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds I used in this week’s blender drinks. Soak seeds overnight in the refrigerator and drain before using. I also recommend this method if you use seeds in your homemade breads: They won’t get hard and burn when you bake the bread, and they’ll help keep the crumb nice and moist.
~Martha Rose Shulman~
A traditional smoothie with a twist of nutty protein.
Coconut Pineapple Pumpkin Seed Smoothie
Ice cubes made with low-fat coconut milk give this blended drink extra flavor and texture.
Carrot, Papaya and Sesame Smoothie
Hazelnuts, pistachios and coconut milk add richness to this nutritious drink.
A simple banana smoothie gains complexity from almonds, a trio of seeds and a little spice.
Melon Pomegranate Almond Smoothie
You can get the ruby-colored pomegranate juice for this drink with a juicer or a citrus press.
Prediabetes Linked to Stroke Risk
by Denise Mann
Lifestyle Changes May Help Prevent Stroke Among People With Prediabetes
June 8, 2012 — People with prediabetes may be at greater risk for stroke, a new study suggests.
Prediabetes refers to blood sugar levels that are higher than normal but not high enough to be defined as having diabetes. This condition places a person at greater risk for full-blown diabetes. Many people with prediabetes also have other risk factors for stroke. These include being overweight or obese, having high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels.
Newer Drugs Help RA Patients Live Longer
by Kathleen Doheny
Downside to Biologics Is Lower Immunity, Increased Risk of Shingles, Others Find
June 8, 2012 — Rheumatoid arthritis patients who take medications known as anti-TNFs may be treating more than their disease. According to new research presented at a European meeting, these patients may be less likely to have a heart attack and are more likely to live longer than those with RA who are not taking the drugs.
In one study, the longer the patients take the anti-TNF drugs, the more protected they are from heart attacks.
“The unique feature of this study is, we have tied the time on the drugs with the reduction of heart attacks and other problems,” says researcher Michael Nurmohamed, MD, PhD, of the VU University Medical Centre and Jan van Breemen Research Institute in Reade, Netherlands.
New Treatment for Rare Skin Cancer
Erivedge Works in Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma; May Help Other Cancers
June 8, 2012 — Roche’s Erivedge, newly approved for advanced basal cell carcinoma, is “the greatest advance in therapy yet seen for this disease,” according to an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“It is a landmark day for patients with basal cell carcinoma and all those involved in their care,” wrote John Lear, MD, of the U.K.’s Manchester University.
It’s also a landmark day for Anthony Oro, MD, PhD, of Stanford University. Oro was a postdoctoral student working on a then-obscure signaling pathway nicknamed sonic hedgehog. Hedgehog, it turned out, makes basal cell carcinoma and other tumors grow. Erivedge blocks hedgehog signals.
Risk of Shingles Recurrence Is Low
by Denise Mann
Study Questions Immediate Need of Vaccine Following a Bout of Shingles
June 5, 2012 — A new study offers encouraging news for people who have recently experienced a painful bout of shingles.
For most people, the risk of having shingles recur after the initial occurrence is fairly low. The study appears online in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Waist Size Alone May Predict Diabetes Risk
by Kathleen Doheny
Study Finds Waist Size Strongly Linked to Diabetes Risk, Especially in Women
June 5, 2012 — Waist size can predict your diabetes risk, even if you are not obese, according to a new study.
Diabetes experts have long used both body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight related to height, and waist size to predict risk.
Obese people, with a BMI of 30 or more, and non-obese individuals with large waists are considered at higher risk.
Now, the new research finds that waist size alone predicts risk of diabetes, especially in women.
Racial Gap in Life Expectancy Shrinking
By Jennifer Warner
Gap Between Life Expectancy of African-Americans and Whites at an All-Time Low
June 5, 2012 — The life expectancy gap between African-Americans and whites in the U.S. has hit an all-time low.
A new report shows the racial gap in life expectancy rates declined by about a year for both men and women between 2003 and 2008.
The results showed the difference in life expectancy at birth between whites and African-Americans decreased from 6.5 to 5.4 years among men and 4.6 to 3.7 years among women.
“These racial inequalities among men and women in 2008 are the lowest ever recorded in the United States,” write researcher Sam Harper, PhD, of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and colleagues in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Infant Dies in New E. Coli Outbreak
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Ongoing Toxic E. Coli O145 Outbreak: 14 Cases in 6 States, Cause Unknown
June 8, 2012 — A New Orleans infant is dead and 13 others in six states have been sickened in an ongoing E. coli outbreak.
All of the known cases are caused by a strain of E. coli O145 with the same DNA signature.
The cause of the outbreak is unknown, although CDC and state health officials are working feverishly to identify what the victims had in common and to trace the outbreak to its source. It’s not yet known whether this is a food-borne outbreak, CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell tells WebMD.
Daily Aspirin: Worth the Risk?
Bu Salynn Boyles
Study Finds Higher-Than-Expected Bleeding Risk in Daily Aspirin Users
June 7, 2012 — Millions of people take aspirin every day to lower their heart attack and stroke risk, but new research may change some of that thinking.
Daily aspirin use was associated with a higher-than-expected increase in the risk for major bleeding in an Italian study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The risk for serious bleeds was five times higher than has been reported in clinical trials of daily low-dose aspirin, says researcher Antonio Nicolucci, MD.
Evenflo Recalls 35,000 Convertible High Chairs
By Matt McMillen
Detaching Trays Pose Fall Hazard for Kids
June 6, 2012 — Evenflo is recalling three models of its convertible high chairs because of safety concerns, says the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The reason for the recall is that the chairs’ activity tray could unexpectedly detach, allowing unrestrained children to fall. Evenflo has received 18 reports of cases in which the trays detached. In nearly half of those cases, the toddler fell from the chair, suffering bumps and bruises.
Untreatable Gonorrhea a Global Threat
by Danial J.DeNoon
Sex Bug Becoming Resistant to Last Known Treatment, WHO Warns
June 6, 2012 — Gonorrhea is fast becoming untreatable, spurring an urgent call to action by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO alert follows an even more strident warning by CDC researcher Gail A. Bolan, MD, and colleagues.
“It is time to sound the alarm,” Bolan and colleagues wrote last February in the New England Journal of Medicine. Resistance to all known antibiotics, they warn, is “threatening our ability to cure gonorrhea.”
Test May Predict Spread of Early Breast Cancer
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Rare Tumor Cells Found in Blood May Predict Aggressive Disease, Even When Breast Cancer Is Caught Early
June 5, 2012 — A new study shows that some breast cancers try to spread much earlier than doctors once believed, and a blood test may one day be the way to find out.
The study, of 302 patients with early-stage breast cancer, found that about 1 in 4 patients whose tumors had not yet apparently spread beyond the breast or lymph nodes already had cancer cells circulating in their blood.
These rare cells, which are shed by tumors, are thought to be cancer seeds that can take root elsewhere in the body.
Blood Test May Spot Genetic Disease in Fetuses
New Test Uses Mom’s Blood, Dad’s Saliva to Determine Baby’s Genetic Code
June 6, 2012 — Samples of blood and saliva from parents-to-be may help identify thousands of genetic disorders in fetuses soon after conception without invasive testing, researchers say.
In a study published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers from the University of Washington report that they were able to determine the complete DNA sequence of two babies in the womb by analyzing blood samples from the mother and saliva samples from the father.
Genetic predictions were confirmed once the babies were born by analyzing umbilical cord blood collected at birth.
Childhood CT Scans Raise Cancer Risk
by Salynn Boyles
Risk Is Small, but Study Is First Direct Evidence of Link, Researcher Says
June 6, 2012 — Children who have multiple CT scans before they reach their mid-teens have an increased risk for leukemia and brain tumors, a new study shows.
Assuming typical doses of radiation, researchers concluded that having as few as two to three computed tomography (CT) scans of the head before the age of 15 could triple a child’s risk for developing a brain tumor, while five to 10 head scans may triple leukemia risk.
Teens Safer Behind Wheel, but Too Many Texting
by Matt McMillen
Texts and Emails Can Cause Deadly Distractions
June 7, 2012 — Teens have become safer drivers over the past 20 years, though now they have new distractions that put them at high risk on the road: their iPhones and other tech devices.
That’s one of the major conclusions of the CDC’s 2011 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which was released today. The report lists many types of risky behaviors teens engage in, but this was the first time the federal health agency has collected statistics on the hazards of texting and emailing while behind the wheel.
Technology presents new risks, the CDC’s Howell Wechsler, EdD, MPH, told reporters during a news conference. An estimated 1 in 3 teens reported texting or emailing while driving.
Depression Treatment by Phone
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Phone Psychotherapy for Depression Works, Gets Treatment to More Patients
June 5, 2012 — People suffering major depression are more likely to get psychotherapy if it’s offered by phone, Northwestern University researchers find.
Psychotherapy is an effective treatment for depression. Patient surveys show most would prefer psychotherapy to antidepressant drugs. Yet only a small fraction of patients referred to psychotherapy actually show up for sessions.
Would more depressed patients get psychotherapy if it were offered by phone? Would phone therapy be as effective as face-to-face therapy? Yes, say David C. Mohr, PhD, Joyce Ho, PhD, and colleagues.
Can Too Much Exercise Be Harmful?
By Kathleen Doheny
Chronic Long-Distance Training May Harm the Heart; Moderate Running Linked With Lower Death Risk, Studies Find
June 4, 2012 — Exercisers who train chronically to compete in marathons, triathlons, and other long-distance events may be hurting their heart health, according to a new report.
“Chronic extreme endurance efforts, like marathons, ultra-marathons, and long-distance triathlons, can cause cardiovascular damage over time,” says researcher James H. O’Keefe, MD, director of preventive cardiology at the Mid America Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Health System, Kansas City.
“Healthier exercise patterns involve not such extreme duration or intensity,” he tells WebMD.
His multi-study review is in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Ginseng Relieves Cancer-Related Fatigue
by Charlene Laino
People Taking Ginseng Feel Less Tired, Worn Out
June 5, 2012 (Chicago) — Ginseng appears to help relieve the fatigue experienced by 90% of people with cancer, according to a study that pitted ginseng capsules against placebo.
Researchers studied 360 people with fatigue who had completed cancer treatment or were being treated for cancer. More than half had breast cancer.
Half took a placebo and the other half took capsules containing 2,000 milligrams of pure, ground, American ginseng root daily.
Drinking Coffee May Delay Alzheimer’s Disease
Study Adds to Growing List of Health Benefits Associated With Coffee
June 7, 2012 — Drinking three cups of coffee per day may help turn the tide against Alzheimer’s disease among older adults who are already showing signs of memory problems, a new study shows.
According to the findings, people older than 65 who had higher blood levels of caffeine developed Alzheimer’s disease two to four years later than their counterparts with lower caffeine levels. The findings will appear in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
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