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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This week it’s hard not to think about pumpkins, even though most of you won’t be cooking your jack-o’-lanterns. But along with the pumpkins in bins outside my supermarket, there are as many kabocha squashes, butternuts, acorns and large, squat European pumpkins that the French call potirons.
You can use either butternut or kabocha squash in this week’s recipes, though the two are not identical in texture or flavor. Butternut is a denser, slightly sweeter squash, and kabocha has an earthier flavor. Kabocha squash absorbs flavors beautifully and is especially well suited for salads because of the nice way it absorbs tart dressings.
One of the most comforting dishes you can make with winter squash is a puréed soup.
Lasagna With Roasted Kabocha Squash and Béchamel
No-boil noodles make this rich-tasting lasagna easier to prepare.
Roasted Beet and Winter Squash Salad With Walnuts
This composed salad sets the colors of the beets and the squash against each other beautifully.
Winter Squash and Molasses Muffins
Add walnuts and raisins or chopped apricots to personalize these moist muffins.
Balsamic Roasted Winter Squash and Wild Rice Salad
Tossing the squash with the vinegar before roasting deepens the flavors of both.
Hypothermia Risk in Sandy’s Aftermath
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Oct. 30, 2012 — With power out and temperatures dropping in Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath, keeping warm is more than a comfort issue. It’s a matter of life and death.
In its early stages, hypothermia — too-low body temperature — is hard to recognize. That makes it especially deadly, as many people don’t know it’s happening and become unable to take care of themselves.
Many people think it has to be freezing outside before they can get hypothermia. But if a person is wet from rain or sweat, hypothermia can set in at temperatures well above 40 F.
Act Quickly to Beat Mold After a Flood
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Oct. 30, 2012 — If you’re trying to clean up a house flooded by Hurricane Sandy, be aware that you’re in a race against mold and bacteria, which can grow quickly in damp environments.
Mold is especially dangerous for people with breathing problems caused by allergies or asthma. But high levels of mold can also cause problems for people who are relatively healthy. Symptoms of mold exposure include wheezing, shortness of breath, sore throats, flu-like aches and pains, and fatigue.
Adult Kidney Failure Tied to Excess Weight as Teen
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Oct. 29, 2012 — Being overweight or obese as a teen is tied to higher risk of kidney failure by midlife, a new study shows.
The study points to yet another looming consequence of the childhood obesity epidemic — growing ranks of adults who will need dialysis or transplants to replace their ailing kidneys.
“We should not underestimate how much harm obesity can cause in our children and young adults. That is definitely something that this paper conveys,” says Halima Janjua, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital, in Ohio. Janjua was not involved in the research.
2nd Pharmacy Recalls Thousands of Drugs
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Oct. 31, 2012 — Ameridose, a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy closely linked to the NECC pharmacy at the heart of the fungal meningitis outbreak, today recalled thousands of drugs sold to hospitals across the U.S.
There have been no reports of fungal meningitis or other infections in patients who received Ameridose products. An FDA inspection of Ameridose has yet to turn up evidence of contaminated drugs.
Debate Over Antidepressants in Pregnancy Ongoing
by Salynn Boyles
Oct. 31, 2012 — The debate over the safety of antidepressants during pregnancy has been going on for a long time, and a new review may keep the debate alive a while longer.
The research review finds little evidence that the most widely prescribed class of antidepressants benefits pregnant women and growing evidence that they cause harm.
But one expert calls the findings “nonsense.”
Investigators of the review concluded that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants should be prescribed “with great caution” during pregnancy.
They point to studies that have linked SSRI in pregnancy to preterm birth, miscarriage, and autism and developmental delays.
African-American Women: Breast Cancer More Deadly?
by Kathleen Doheny
Oct. 28, 2012 — African-American women may be more likely to die of breast cancer than women of other races, especially in the first few years after the diagnosis, according to new research.
As to why, there are no clear answers yet, but the emphasis on vigilant care is clear for African-American women.
“Black women were almost 50% more likely to die compared to white women within the first three years since breast cancer was diagnosed,” says researcher Erica Warner, ScD, MPH, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.
[New Treatment May Kill Head Lice — Fast New Treatment May Kill Head Lice — Fast]
by Denise Mann
Oct. 31, 2012 — Parents dread getting the call or the memo in a child’s backpack: the one telling you that your child or one of his or her classmates has head lice. Now, there’s a new option in pharmacies that might just make that note less dreadful.
The prescription lotion Sklice (ivermectin) may safely knock out head lice in one 10-minute, comb-free treatment, according to a new study supported by Sklice manufacturer Topaz Pharmaceuticals, now Sanofi Pasteur. The findings appears in New England Journal of Medicine.
Early Autism Treatment Benefits Kids’ Brains
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Oct. 29, 2012 — Early, intensive autism treatment improves children’s brain development, a new study shows.
The treatment, dubbed Early Start Denver Model or ESDM, offers a child 20 hours a week of one-on-one treatment with a trained therapist. It also calls for many more hours of the treatment, in the form of structured play, with a parent trained in the technique.
Smartphones Linked to Higher Rates of Teen Sex
by Matt McMillen
Oct. 30, 2012 — A new study shows that many teens use the Internet to seek partners, and those that do are more likely to engage in unsafe sex.
“We wanted to know if the risk was real rather than just hype,” says researcher Eric Rice, PhD, a researcher with the School of Social Work at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
The study analyzed data from a 2011 CDC survey conducted among more than 1,800 Los Angeles students ages 12 to 18. The survey asked questions about being approached online for sex, seeking sex partners online, having sex with online partners, using condoms with those partners, and about their use of technology, especially smartphones.
A Diet That Asks You Not to Lose Weight (at First)
by Rita Ruben
Oct. 30, 2012 — Perhaps the best time to learn how to avoid regaining lost pounds is before you shed a single one, according to a new study.
As anyone who’s ever been on a diet knows, losing weight is easier than keeping it off. “Long-term maintenance remains elusive,” the researchers write.
The problem, they say, is that people tend to abandon the changes they’ve made during a weight loss program, such as healthy eating, physical activity, and keeping a record of everything they eat. Typically, people regain 30% to 50% of the weight lost in the first year after stopping the program.
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