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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These days chefs get away with calling all sorts of grainy dishes risottos. I’ve seen farro risottos, barley risottos and even quinoa risottos on plenty of menus. The problem with calling these dishes risottos is that if they’re made with grains other than starchy rice like arborio, carnaroli or the rice from the Camargue I used when I was in Provence this summer, they don’t have the creamy texture that makes classic risottos so appealing.
It occurred to me this week that I could get the creamy texture I love in a whole-grain risotto if I cooked the whole grains separately and then combined them with some arborio rice cooked in the traditional way. I pulled bags of farro, black rice, red rice and wild rice from my pantry and cooked them up. I was going away for a few days before I’d have time to test all of the recipes I wanted to try, so I froze some of the grains in plastic bags and thawed them the following week for my recipe tests. This is a great thing to do if you want to have the makings for a hearty grain-based dinner on hand.
~Martha Rose Shulman~
Wild rice and corn contribute a New World character to this multicolored, multitextured risotto.
Farro and Arborio Risotto With Leeks, Herbs and Lemon
Adding the lemon and herbs just before serving keeps this chewy risotto tasting light.
Black Rice and Arborio Risotto With Artichokes
Fresh or frozen artichokes work well in this dish.
Black Rice and Arborio Risotto With Beets and Beet Greens
This risotto, tinted red from the beets, is packed with nutrients.
Arborio and Red Rice Risotto With Baby Broccoli and Red Peppers
This satisfying dish features a pleasing mix of colors and textures.
Have You Checked Your Cholesterol Lately?
by Matt McMillen
More Adults Report Getting Cholesterol Tested
Sept. 6, 2012 — The number of adults who say they have had high cholesterol at some point in their lives has gone up, and that may not be a bad thing, according to the CDC.
A new survey of adults nationwide suggests that they are learning the importance of checking their cholesterol. This awareness, not new cases, is likely the reason the numbers have gone up, the report’s authors write.
This may well be true. In a CDC report published earlier this year, researchers found that the overall level of high cholesterol among adults over 20 had dropped from 18% to 13% between 2000 and 2010.
NFL Players at Higher Risk of Brain Diseases
by Denise Mann
Sept. 5, 2012 — Former National Football League (NFL) players may have a higher risk of dying from diseases that damage brain cells.
Research has raised red flags about the health risks associated with cumulative blows to the head. Now a new study finds that pro football players are four times more likely to die with Alzheimer’s or Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS), compared to the general population.
The study looked at nearly 3,500 football players with five or more years in the NFL, playing from 1959-1988. There were a total of 334 deaths, including seven with Alzheimer’s and seven with ALS listed on their death certificates.
The new findings appear in the journal Neurology.
Normal Blood Sugar Levels May Harm the Brain
by Matt McMillen
Study Suggests Need to Reconsider What’s Healthy
Sept. 4, 2012 — Blood sugar levels at the high end of what is considered normal may put the brain at risk, according to a new Australian study.
Researchers in Canberra report a link between the shrinkage of two brain regions, the hippocampus and the amygdala, and normal blood sugar levels.
The hippocampus and amygdala are involved in memory, among other things, and researcher Nicolas Cherbuin, PhD, says shrinkage in these areas could worsen memory.
“It has been generally assumed that blood glucose in the normal range is not a risk factor for brain health in non-diabetics,” Cherbuin says. “If the present results are replicated in other studies the definition of normal fasting blood glucose levels and of diabetes may need to be re-evaluated.”
Household Chemical Linked to Heart Disease
by Kathleen Doheny
Sept. 4, 2012 — A chemical known as PFOA, found in common household products, may be linked with heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease, according to new research.
“Even at the low exposure levels of PFOAs found in most Americans, there is a positive association between increasing levels of PFOAs and cardiovascular disease,” says researcher Anoop Shankar, MD, PhD, MPH.
Shankar looked at data on more than 1,200 men and women, on average in their 50s, collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
PFOA is used to make lubricants, polishes, paper and textile coatings, food packaging, and fire-retardant foams.
Levels of this chemical have been found in the blood of more than 98% of Americans. The chemical stays in the body for years.
The study is published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Expensive Health Care Isn’t Always Best
by Salynn Boyles
Report Identifies High-Quality Primary Care Groups With Low Costs
Aug. 31, 2012 — When it comes to health care, higher costs don’t always mean better care. That’s according to a report published this week by Consumer Reports.
Independent investigators compared quality and cost for 18 primary care groups in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. They found that one of the groups with the lowest costs rated highest for quality of care.
The analysis shows that the old saying “You get what you pay for” doesn’t always apply to health care, says John Santa, MD, who directs the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center.
“There were high-quality groups with lower costs and lower-quality groups with high costs,” Santa says.
Laundry Packs Tempting to Children
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Young Children Mistake Brightly Colored Gel Packs and Pods for Candy
Sept. 5, 2012 — For the second time this year, doctors are sounding the alarm about the dangers of laundry pods and gel packs to kids.
Brightly colored, with a gummy texture, researchers say children appear to be mistaking the powerful cleaning agents for candy.
In some ways, this is nothing new. Poison control experts say curious kids have always gotten into household cleaners. What’s different this time, they say, is how severely kids can get injured in a relatively short amount of time.
A bite into the packs can cause drooling and vomiting and may burn the mouth, throat, eyes, and lungs.
“Certainly, the children we’ve seen have had pretty severe injuries from chemical contact with the soaps,” says Lyndsay Fraser, MD. Fraser is an ear, nose, and throat doctor at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, Scotland.
West Nile Death, Paralysis Toll Climbs
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Severe Cases Expected to Rise Through October
Sept. 5, 2012 — With more than 85 deaths and more than 1,000 cases of severe disease, the toll from this year’s West Nile virus season continues to climb.
Case counts are expected to rise through October, says Lyle Petersen, MD, MPH, director of the CDC’s division of vector-borne diseases. Every state except Alaska and Hawaii has reported pools of mosquitoes carrying the virus. There have been human cases in 44 states.
Third Death in Yosemite Hantavirus Outbreak
by Daniel J. DeNoon
3 Deaths, 8 Cases as Warnings to Park’s Summer Visitors Expand
Sept. 7, 2012 — A third person has died of hantavirus infection in this summer’s outbreak at Yosemite National Park.
Two other park visitors now have become ill, bringing the total case count to eight.
Seven of the eight were infected after staying in the Boystown tents that are part of the Curry Village area of the park. But one of the new cases had no contact with Curry Village. That person stayed miles away in four of Yosemite’s remote High Sierra tents used by hikers and horseback riders.
Plague FAQ
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Dreaded Disease Persists in U.S.: What You Need to Know
Sept. 6, 2012 — Each year, a very small number of Americans get plague, the disease that killed millions in the Middle Ages.
Your odds of getting plague are vanishingly small. But it does happen. That’s because plague bacteria have found a permanent home among rodents.
Prostate Cancer: Start-and-Stop Therapy Works
by Salynn Boyles
Sept. 5, 2012 — “Start and stop” hormone therapy is as effective as continuous therapy in the treatment of some prostate cancer patients, a study shows.
Hormone therapy is also known as androgen deprivation. It is often used to treat prostate cancer if surgery or radiation fails.
Testosterone Drops in Dads Sharing Beds With Kids
by Rita Ruben
Sept. 5, 2012 — Dads who sleep in the same bed as their children may see a drop in their testosterone levels, a study shows.
“This is the first study that’s ever been done on this,” says researcher Lee Gettler, PhD, an assistant research professor at Notre Dame. “No one before had ever asked the question as to whether co-sleeping affects men’s physiology.”
The study is published in the journal PLoS One. It follows an earlier study that shows men’s testosterone levels drop when they become fathers.
Asthma Drug Shown to Stunt Growth
by Salynn Boyles
Children Who Use Inhaled Steroids Are Slightly Shorter as Adults
Sept. 4, 2012 — Children with asthma who take inhaled steroids end up slightly shorter than their peers when they grow up, a government-funded study shows.
Inhaled steroids are known to slow growth in children during the first years of use, but the long-term impact of inhaled steroids on height was unknown until now.
One researcher says the risk for lower growth may be lowered by adjusting the medication’s dose.
Can Childhood Obesity Hinder the Brain?
by Denise Mann
Reading, Math Worse in Kids With Many Obesity-Related Risk Factors
Sept. 4, 2012 — A new study shows that children who are overweight or obese may face problems with brain development, especially if they have risk factors for metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of problems that set the stage for diabetes and heart disease.
Sleep Problems Linked to More Special Ed
by Rita Ruben
Sept. 4, 2012 — Young children who snore or have trouble sleeping through the night are more likely to need special education, a new study shows.
Researchers looked at more than 11,000 children in southwest England. They found that breathing problems during sleep, such as snoring, or problems such as regularly refusing to go to bed, waking up in the night, and having nightmares through age 5 were associated with a greater chance of needing special education at age 8.
Overall, breathing problems during sleep were linked to a nearly 40% increased risk of needing special education. Children with the worst breathing problems had a 60% greater need for special education.
Ginkgo Biloba Doesn’t Protect From Alzheimer’s
by Salynn Bowles
Second Major Study Shows No Benefit to Supplement
Sept. 5, 2012 — A second large study failed to show that the supplement ginkgo biloba can prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
The study included close to 3,000 elderly people in France with memory problems. Some of them took ginkgo biloba and some did not.
Over five years of follow-up, about the same number of people in the two groups got Alzheimer’s disease.
The study is published in the journal Lancet Neurology.
Organic Foods Not Necessarily Better
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Study Questions Health Benefits of Eating Organic
Sept. 4, 2012 — Will eating pricey organic foods make you healthier? Maybe not, a new research review shows.
The review sums up evidence from hundreds of studies of organic foods. It’s published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Some of the studies compared organic milk, meats, eggs, and produce to non-organic foods. Those studies measured nutrients in the foods as well as contaminants like pesticides and bacteria. A few studies tried to find health differences between people who ate only organic or only non-organic foods.
Non-Alcoholic Red Wine May Boost Heart Health
by Denise Mann
Sept. 6, 2012 — Much research has touted the health benefits that come from drinking moderate amounts of red wine.
Now, a new study may extend some of these benefits to teetotalers. Non-alcoholic red wine may be even more effective at lowering blood pressure in men who are high risk for heart attack. The study findings appear in Circulation Research.
The study included 67 men who had diabetes or three or more heart disease risk factors. When the men drank red wine with alcohol, their blood pressure went down a little, and there was no change in blood pressure levels when they drank gin.
When the men drank non-alcoholic red wine, their blood pressure went down enough to lower their risk of heart disease by 14% and stroke by as much as 20%.
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